The Rotary Club of Edinburgh
This Week's Bulletin
Bulletin 2,017 - 15th July 2004
REVIEW
ATTENDANCE
There were 74 of our members last week joined by two visitors and their guests. Shelby from Kingsbay, Florida presented a banner from the Crystal Villa club and extolled the virtues of her town. It offers fishing, diving and we were told is a paradise which welcomes visitors.
POTENTIAL MEMBER
Philip Yelland who lives at 83 Camus Avenue and promotes client relations at the Law Society, to join our club.
THE CENTENARY CALENDAR
John Havard is looking for orders for the Paul Harris Centenary Calendar by 22 July. The calendar provides the essential guide for projects and activities planned throughout the UK for the Rotary Centennial Year. It is modestly priced at £3 which includes a 30% donation to Rotary charities.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
Alan Young would like to remind you all that the annual subscription is due and that an incentive is offered for prompt payment. This is also a chance to bolster up our charity funds in support of our many activities.
GAMES FOR THE HOMELESS
Bob McIntyre is making an appeal for unwanted leisure items - games, keep fit apparatus, books etc for hostels for homeless people. He is collecting appropriate items at the club on 15 and 22 July or alternatively you could deliver direct to his premises in the Pleasance. This is a very worthwhile appeal for forgotten or long unused things from the back of the cupboard.
FOCUS
A TRIP TO LEITH
The well kent visits are the best. The Leith club is only ten minutes from the Balmoral, with a space to park the car outside the Hibs stadium door. The club meets on the second floor either through the Hibs shop or past the sophisticated lady in reception.
I rejected the lift, the button is quite hard to spot. The climb was worth it. The meeting is held in a light airy room overlooking the football pitch and, with a little imagination, a view of the sea and the Lomond Hills of Fife beyond.
Despite the long interval since my last visit, I found that I knew half the members. They are easy going and happy to chat. The lunch, a thick soup and chicken with a rosemary branch planted on top was described as "chicken again"
The proceedings were informal compared to our own lunches. However they managed to fit inthe introduction of a guest and myself, have a speaker talk for 15 or 20 minutes on Queen Victoria's holiday love, Scotland, and her acquisition of Balmoral through Lord Aberdeen. He succeeded in selling her his brother's castle at Balmoral on the strength of some flattering watercolours. A little self interest showing off Victorian entrepreneurial values.
Finally they fitted in their presidential hand-over with ribald comment from the existing and succeeding Presidents, and we were still off by 2.05 p.m. A lesson to be learned and a pleasant excursion!
PRATTLE
SOUTH QUEENSFERRY DOUBLE
Remarkably for both Rotary and for Edinburgh we hit the pages of the Times on Monday 15 June in a report on the inauguration of the new RIBI president, Gordon McInally from the South Queensferry club. Coincidentally South Queensferry has also provided us with the local District Governor in the form of David Buchanan. This remarkable double from a small club has reached the pages of the Times and as a cutting our bulletin board.
GARDEN PARTY
Linda Gilmore representing our club at the Garden Party at Holyrood House found that she was not alone with many other members from our club attending in different roles. These included George Reid and Drew Wightman. Linda managed to confuse Prince Phillip by introducing her partner as a Sutherland and further to joke about umbrellas with her large blue advertising golf brolly in blue as far more Scots than her alternative, a red Drambuie brolly which could be referred to as rather Welsh.
CLUB CONGRATULATIONS
Malcolm Wylie is to be congratulated on becoming a grandfather to Callum McGuchan. At the other end of the scale Fred Ainsley was presented with a card from the club and with a round of Happy Birthday sung to our latest octogenarian. The club was delighted to see Fred in good form and wished him many happy returns.
THIS WEEK'S SPEAKER
Thursday 15 July 2004, Ian McIntyre - Quincentenary of the Royal College of Surgeons. Vote of Thanks: Jim Murray
NEXT WEEK'S SPEAKER
Douglas Osler
Vote of Thanks: Rtichie Campbell
PREVIEW
Whilst Douglas did receive one of the Vatican's most prestigious awards without belonging to the Church, he did not reveal his material for his talk. However we can anticipate a direct and fascinating address which should inspire the club next Thursday.