Speakers’ Clubtalks covera varietyof subjects

East Kilbride Speakers’ Club’s season continued with Alex Rintoul conducting the latest meeting from the chair and introducing each of the participants.

By drawing on the 17th century conflict between two families of Scottish border reivers, Tony Dinwoodie’s use of vivid vocabulary gripped the audience’s imagination as he told of how – to avoid being hanged when captured – William Scott chose the option of a forced marriage to his adversary’s reputably unattractive daughter.

The twist in the story was that the marriage was a surprising success, resulting in one of their descendants being the Scottish author and poet Sir Walter Scott.

The use of excellent word pictures by Isobel Dunlop enabled her to convey her memories of life during the Second World War when she was of primary school age.

Her skilled delivery succeeded in allowing the younger members of the audience to share her experiences of air-raid and gas-mask training at school, food and clothes rationing, Churchill’s speeches on the radio and much more.

However, Isobel said that there was still time for fun and holidays to Rothesay.

The ability to create a speech from the most unlikely of subjects was exhibited by Ross Hammond when he gave an intriguing account of the history of noodles from their origins in China before being adopted by Japan in 1880.

Ross described how, following the Second World War, Japan imported American wheat flour from which one enterprising Japanese invented instant noodles that in turn gave rise to the pot noodles that we enjoy today, and became a staple diet amongst Ross’s fellow university students.

George Stevenson concluded the main speeches in fine style when he carried his listeners with him as he described the journeys he made as a youngster accompanying his uncle on fishing trips throughout Scotland and the places he got to know and love as a result of this.

The impromptu topic subjects posed by Isobel Dinwoodie received wellstructured responses and, in his general evaluation, Ewan McRobert gave an incisive overview of the evening’s proceedings.

Visitors are welcome and details of what the club has to offer can be obtained from secretary Ken Murray on (01355) 265424.