Appetite for dinner in perfect company
The speaker at East Kilbride Probus Club’s meeting on January 18 was Nigel Lawrie OBE.
A science PhD graduate of Glasgow University, he had a distinguished career in education, including 19 years as headteacher of Port Glasgow High School and five years as one of Her Majesty’s inspectors of schools.
He was awarded an OBE for services to Scottish education in 2003.
He told the club about the lives and achievements of five people whom he would have liked to invite to dinner, namely Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sir Alex Ferguson, Tony Benn, Chic Murray and Jung Chang.
Desmond Tutu has been one of the greatest spiritual and moral leaders of recent decades, a man who confronted and challenged the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa and argued for the abolition of apartheid.
Following the 1994 democratic election, he was appointed chairman of the truth and reconciliation committee.
He supported the ordination women to church ministry, campaigned on behalf of gay people and railed against corruption in the new ANC government.
Sir Alex Ferguson has probably been football’s greatest-ever manager in terms of the number of trophies he has won.
In 26 years at Manchester United the club won 13 Premier League titles.
Tony Benn was the longestserving Labour MP, sitting in the House of Commons for 50 years after refusing to accept his inherited peerage.
He was also an avid writer of his diaries, which show him as a very humane and amusing person, devoted to family life.
Chic Murray was a marine engineer before devoting his life to being a stand-up comedian. He was particularly noted for his one-liners, some of the best of which were recounted by Dr Lawrie.
But Chic was also no mean actor, appearing both on TV and in films, notably ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Gregory’s Girl’, as well as portraying Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly on stage.
Finally, Dr Lawrie recounted how on a holiday in China he came across a book entitled ‘Wild Swans: Three daughters of China’ by Jung Chang.
The stor y details the experiences of her grandmother, mother and herself as they lived through Chinese history from the Boxer Rebellion to the Culof tural Revolution.
She came to the UK in 1978 to study and stayed on but has been able to return on a visit to China.
The vote of thanks was given by Allan Stevenson.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, February 15, at 2pm for 2.30pm in the Old Parish Church hall, Glebe street, when Jimmy Livingstone will talk about the International Rescue Corps.