The Rotary Club of Edinburgh

Bulletin 2119 - 27th July 2006

REVIEW

Last Week’s Meeting – 20 July 2006

Attendance was 51 including one guest and one visitor and it is hoped that this rather poor turn-out indicates nothing more significant than that many members are on holiday in mid-July.
Absentees missed a truly inspiring address from the Reverend Ian Gilmour, Minister of South Leith Parish Church and Public Relations secretary of Leith Rotary Club.
Having served Mammon successfully as a Chartered Accountant for five years Ian turned to the service of God by entering the Ministry of the Kirk and over the past 25 years has been much involved in its overseas missionary activities. He has a special interest in the Chipembi Girls’ Boarding School in Zambia which was founded by Scots missionaries and played a key role in the establishment of strong links between the school, Leith Rotary Club and South Leith church.
Chipembi School has made a great contribution to the development of female secondary education in Zambia but it faces continuing socio-economic difficulties of which the most pressing is the provision of adequate food for the pupils. This problem is being overcome by the skilled intensive farming of land owned by the school with the object of making it self-sufficient in food and in this process various initiatives sponsored by the Leith Rotary Club have given valuable support.
This fascinating presentation was rounded off with a short film of Chipembi School which admirably complemented Ian Gilmour’s message and demonstrated vividly what can be achieved in the Third World by the wise application of even the most meagre financial resources.

Attendance Credits

Members are reminded that declaring their involvement in a number of Rotary activities counts towards their attendance credits and that each time they attend a meeting they are required to record their attendance. Over the last three months 30 members have achieved 100% attendance records but in 28 of them their attendances have included a number of “make-ups”.
Members are requested to improve our statistical record by declaring all their Rotary participation – including golf, fishing, curling and attendance at committee meetings and at other clubs as visitors. attendances at District meetings and Rotary functions such as race-nights, musical evening and dinners also count as “make-ups”

The Pilton Youth and Childrens’ Project – Treasurer Wanted

Carol Duffus, the Convener of our Public Relations Committee has received from the Manager of the Pilton Youth and Childrens’ Project (PYCP) a request for Rotarian assistance in finding a new Treasurer for the project. The requirement is for someone prepared to give to the project some 4-5 hours per month with experience of book-keeping and preparing accounts. The Treasurer attends Board Meetings on the first Thursday of each month and receives a small honorarium in addition to travelling and other expenses.
The PYCP is for all ages from 5-18 in the greater Pilton Area. It runs such activities as football, drama, pool and cooking and has a café with internet access.
The staff offers advice on a range of subjects including careers, jobs, education and housing and co-ordinates the activities of youth workers based at four schools in the area.
Carol Duffus has a copy of the PYCP Annual Report for 2005/06 and would be pleased to hear from anyone seeking further information about the project.

With the Piscatorians in the Trossachs

George Holmes reports that on 14 July, instead of celebrating the storming of the Bastille in 1789, or the feast of St Bonaventure, eight Piscatorians including our President and Vice-President fished for the day on Loch Vennachar in the Trossachs National Park which unusually is stocked exclusively with native brown trout. They fished from three boats, all with motors and enjoyed magnificent scenery on a day when the sunshine was continuous from dawn to dusk. The fellowship was excellent and so was a well-lubricated lunch on the banks of the loch talking Rotary and fly-fishing.
Bright sunshine makes trout very shy and the catch was only two fish, one of which was returned as too small, so that on this occasion the odds were heavily in favour of the fish. George has worked out that over the day the eight rods made a total of 7,500 casts (or 3,750 casts per fish) but all enjoyed themselves hugely and so did the fish!

The next Piscatorian outing will be in early autumn – contact George Holmes.

The President’s Questionnaire

All members should by now have received a copy of a questionnaire prepared by our President from which he hopes to obtain their views on a wide range of Club activities.
A typical example is “The weekly Club Bulletin is very useful” to which members are expected to answer YES, OK, or NO and your Editor awaits with severe apprehension the response which this elicits.
Members are urged to complete the questionnaire and return it to the President as soon as possible.

The Centenary Cook Book

The costs of production of the Club’s Centenary Cookery Book have been completely covered by sales which is very gratifying and all further sales represent profit.
Remaining copies of the Centenary Cookery Book are on offer to members at a cost of £5.00 each.