The Rotary Club of Edinburgh
Bulletin 2166 - 5th July 2007
REVIEW
Last Week’s Meeting – 28th June
As befitted a Rotary President barely one hour before demitting office
Fred Lawson was in ebullient form as he gave an almost rhapsodic St Vitus’
Day greeting to 57 members and one guest. Far from being agitated and
hyperactive on this anniversary the company seemed unusually sluggish
and, in the absence of visiting Rotarians, President Fred had no hesitation
in rebuking members for their delay in taking seats for lunch.
Fred’s final Presidential grace was a beautiful traditional Irish
invocation which admirably expressed the spirit of Rotary and which could
be appreciated by Rotarians of all faiths or of none.
Members were delighted to hear from the President about the many “thank-you”
letters he had received from children who had attended KidsOut on 13 June.
In spite of poor weather this had been a huge success at which 206 handicapped
children had been happily entertained and members fully shared the President’s
view that KidsOut is the most worthwhile event organised by the Club.
Members were also glad to learn that Ronnie Sinclair was making good progress
following his third hip replacement and some were thankful to be reassured
that, unlike the Manx coat of arms, he does not have three legs.
Pitenweem Arts Festival, 3 August 2007
The Arts Committee is organising a trip to the preview evening of the Pittenweem Arts Festival.A buffet meal has been arranged at a cost of £10-12.50 (wine not included). For best use of transport we are making up car parties and programmes will be available from 12 July.
Contact Jacqueline Easson on <<removed>>, or email <<removed>>.
Concert by St Mary’s Music School
St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place at 6.45 for 7.30 pm on Thursday 27 September.Tickets £10 including a glass of wine and nibbles.
Contact: Arts Committee Members.
Speaker: Sir John Ward, Chairman Scottish Enterprise, “Economic Opportunities”.
President Fred had time for only a thumbnail sketch of our guest speaker’s distinguished career and achievements but even this drastic abridgement of Sir John Ward’s CV was highly impressive. He has held a wide range of important public appointments in Scotland including Chairmanships of CBI (Scotland), Scottish Homes, the Quality of Scotland Foundation, the Scottish Electronics Foundation and the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Currently he is Chairman of the Dunfermline Building Society as well as of Scottish Enterprise. In 1995 he was made C.B.E. and in 2002 he was knighted for services to Public Life in Scotland.
Sir John started by reminding us of Scotland’s relatively poor economic performance over the past 15-20 years. He then presented a fascinating but disturbing analysis of the factors responsible for this amongst which he identified low productivity, inadequate investment and very poor value added power. He was, however, convinced that Scotland was potentially a wealthy country and that our economic performance could be vastly improved by more effective use of our skills and assets, both material and intellectual; in short we must make our assets work for us and the most important of them are our academic excellence, our financial and business expertise and our energy resources.
In the mid 19th Century Scotland was one of the wealthiest countries in the world but the basis of its wealth was manufacturing industry. Today we have what is predominantly a service economy the growth of which is stunted by inadequate research and development, by our poor national health record and by transport problems.
Edinburgh and Glasgow are our two economic hubs and the establishment of a central Scottish business conurbation is an urgent necessity. It was also essential for Scottish business as a whole to be weaned off “dependency culture” and he was encouraged by the way in which our universities are marketing their intellectual assets, especially their research expertise. This was particularly apparent in Informatics, Engineering, Genetics and other areas of Bio-Science. Scottish Enterprise was set up to close the gap between Scottish productivity and Scottish economic potential and there are signs which justify a degree of optimism about the attainment of this objective.
This was a powerful hard-hitting address delivered with total conviction and carrying a clear message for all Scots who care about their country’s future. It will be long remembered by all who heard it from whom it received an enthusiastic ovation. Douglas Osler’s appreciative proposal of a vote of thanks to the speaker perfectly underlined the Club’s gratitude to Sir John for a most impressive address and was received with loud applause.
The Presidential Handover.
Last week’s meeting marked the end of Fred Lawson’s Presidential term and before demitting office he gave us a brief but warm-hearted and gracious valedictory address in which he expressed his deep gratitude to the Council, Office Bearers, Convenors and members for their support and encouragement throughout the past year. He reviewed with satisfaction the highlights of 2006-07 including the Burns Supper, the Cocktail Party at the New Club to launch the 2012 centenary celebrations and the award of Paul Harris Fellowships to John Barclay, Judith Sischy and Bill Barr. He also expressed his pleasure at the success of KidsOut, of the Senior Citizens’ Outings and of the Christmas parcels delivery, as well as giving special commendation to the achievements of the International Committee.He then divested himself of the Presidential Chain and placed it round the neck of his successor Robin Wilson to whom he gave his best wishes for a happy and successful tenure of the Presidential Chair. New President Robin’s graceful expression of the Club’s gratitude to Fred for his distinguished leadership was warmly applauded.