Clubs and organisations
Legion Ex Service; Black Watch v Letham A; Saints Hamdani v Staff Club; Tulloch Saints v Staff Club A. Perth and District Ramblers Walk on Saturday, September 16, is a nine-mile grade C walk from Bankfoot to Dunkeld by Glengarry. Meet at 8.50am at the bus stop on Dunkeld Road, Perth, opposite Asda to take bus to Bankfoot. Return to Perth from Dunkeld by bus. Registered assistance dogs only please. Further information from Paula Bowman on 01738 582339 or 07870 937963. The group also holds walks every Wednesday. For details contact Jim Pirie on 01738 451314 or 07923 457219. Perth Hillwalking Club Club members faced challenging weather conditions for the September walks in the Cruachan/Loch Awe area. The 28 walkers split into four groups and tackled routes ranging from low-level forest walks to the Munros of the Ben Cruachan range. The winds were strong and gusty by mid-morning, and brought rain which became very heavy later in the afternoon. All returned safely having enjoyed an exhilarating day. The next walks are on Sunday, October 1, with a combined coach to Crianlarich. Two challenging walks will tackle various hills to the east of Glen Falloch, while two moderate walks will follow part of the West Highland Way from Inverarnan to Crianlarich. The coach leaves Broxden Park and Ride at 7am, and bookings should be with Elsie Wilke by Thursday, August 24. New members are most welcome to try out a walk. Contact Eric Pryde, membership secretary, on 01738 445609 or see www.perthhillwalkingclub.co.uk for information on the club and further details on the walks. Perth Probus Club Introducing Cameron Munro as sometime senior legal adviser to Glasgow City Council and a lover of Scottish cricket, president Duncan Naysmith didn’t happen to mention our speaker’s gift for humour – especially the throwaway line variety. Now his topic, The Profumo Affair lent itself to a load of laughs, yet Cameron not only knew the historical details thoroughly – he spoke without notes or illustrations – but enlivened his talk with wit and satirical comment throughout. First, he set the well-known story in the context of the early Sixties when social and moral attitudes were very different to those of the present. He used Philip Larkin’s poem, Annus Mirabilis, to show how, 1963 was a watershed ‘Between the end of the ‘Chatterley’ ban/ And the Beatles’ first LP’. Cameron highlighted the change in attitudes with the observation that, if Christine Keillor’s exploits had been reported today, she’d finish up on Celebrity Big Brother or eating bugs in the Australian jungle. And Profumo would probably not have been hounded out of parliament, nor Stephen Ward pressured to the point of taking his own life. The double standards of the Establishment of 1963, with its blind-eye turning and hypocrisy, tacitly protecting those of the inner circle, were bound to be exposed in an era which saw the relaxation of censorship laws in the media and the theatre. The age of satire, however, had barely begun as the Profumo scandal broke. John Profumo ‘redeemed’ himself eventually by working diligently for the Toynbee Trust, ironically earning himself an MBE in a slightly more enlightened age. The next meeting at Bell’s Sports Centre takes place at 10.30am on Wednesday, September 20, when the talk will be about the V&A at Dundee. Perth Speakers’ Club President Jim Reid opened the first meeting of the 2017-18 session of Perth Speakers Club. He welcomed chairman of the evening Rodger Scott who introduced three speak- Rotary Club of Perth’s Alastair MacLean, president David Lindsay and Mark Beveridge collecting in Dobbies
ers in turn: Paul Winson, ‘Electric Motoring’, examining the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars; Euan Dear, ‘GAP’, or General Adult Psychiatry, on the need for mental health services to be local; Cameron Horne, ‘A Man for A’ That,’ relating a story claiming that Robert Burns was really English. The speakers were evaluated by Hugh Mackenzie, Ewen Anderson and Mitchell Watson. Topics Chairman Sue Kilby gave topics to eight members based on a newspaper headline or picture, with a time of two minutes but allowing up to three minutes. Those participating were: Cameron Horne, OAP’s ‘escape’ from prison; Hugh Mackenzie, picture of a Second World War soldier and a girl beside a ruined castle; Euan Dear, Light shone on ‘hero’ status of local farmer; Paul Winson, Right royal ding dong over pong; Mitchell Watson, Picture of elephants on a beach; Rodger Scott, Huge metal spider appears in Perth; Jim Reid, Living in a leafy hell; Ewen Anderson, A case of sour grapes: Rome suspects prosecco plot. Timekeeper was Jim Reid. A general evaluation of the evening was given by Sidney Coleman. The next meeting of the club which is open to all interested men and women is Thursday, September 21, from 7.30pm, in the Salutation Hotel. Perthshire Writers Perthshire Writers next meets on Tuesday, September 19, at 7.30pm in the Conference Room, Perth Fire Station, when the club looks forward to welcoming members of Falkirk Writers’ Circle for an evening of reminiscences on the topic ‘Memories Are Made of This’. New members are always welcome at Perthshire Writers, and any of the Tuesday meetings are a great opportunity to come and see what the group is all about. For more information see Facebook, visit www. perthshirewriters.co.uk or search on Twitter for @PerthshrWriters. Rotary Club of Perth The recent collection at Dobbies, Perth, for the Shelterbox charity raised £575. The club has decided to send a total donation of nearly £1800, being the cost of three boxes. Each box contains a tent and supplies to give a family shelter and essential
supplies. This donation is made as Shelterbox staff are assembling in Panama from where they are planning their deployment of relief supplies to those that need it most following the devastation left by Hurricane Irma. Rotary Club of Pitlochry Mindful of the terrible conditions being encountered in the British territories of the Caribbean Islands the Rotary Club of Pitlochry has sent a cheque for £590 to cover the cost of a Shelter Box to be sent to the areas already being supported by Rotary and Shelterbox volunteers in the Caribbean islands. A Shelter Box is a compact heavy duty container which contains an extremely durable tent designed for extreme weather conditions big enough for 10 people, bedding, blankets and all essential tools for people to start rebuilding homes as soon as possible. They also contain kits and boxes which contain items which help to transform a shelter into a home such as cooking sets, eating utensils, solar lights, water purification equipment and activity sets for children. If anyone reading this wishes to donate to The Shelter Box Trust and help with disaster fund aid please go to https://www.shelterbox. org/ website and follow the instructions for donating. If you wish to be involved more closely with this type of aid for the community or international disasters please contact the local Rotary Club on 01796 473096. RSAS Club The next meeting of the committee of management is on Sunday, September 24 at 10.30am. Cabaret is scheduled for Friday, October 6, with entertainment from ‘Just Beatles’. A Hallowe’en party for members children/grandchildren is being organised from 4.30-6.30pm on Tuesday, October 31. The Festive Party Night is scheduled for Friday, December 15. It’s £20 per person and includes a three-course meal and entertainment. Work groups and individuals welcome. Contact the club for further information. The association darts event is scheduled for Friday, September 15, being held at the Perth club. Golf is Sunday, Septenber 24. All match play competition to be
completed. Ladies darts is Tuesday, Setember 19 and features Blind Triples at the Ex-Service Club. Scone Bridge Club Results for Friday, September 8: N/S 1 R Metcalf/M Anderson (58.33%), 2 S Valentine/A Walker 54.17%, 3 E Collin/N Bull 51.39%. E/W 1 B Leith/I Watson 52.78%, 2 P Martin/M Rogerson 52.08%, 3 B Pow/L Beecroft 47.92%. St John’s Probus Club On Tuesday, September 5, when the club resumed after its summer recess vice-president Colin Fawcett introduced Willie Couper – a past president of St Leonard’s Probus Club – who gave an extremely interesting presentation entitled ‘The Palestine Campaign 1917-1918’ dealing particularly with the battles for Gaza under the command of Sir Edmund Allenby and culminating in the defeat of the Turkish forces. In 1917, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire but the strategic location of the Suez Canal which Turkish forces had attacked two years earlier, coupled with the ongoing war on the Western Front, meant that the region was militarily important for the British Empire to retain control. In March and April of 1917 British forces suffered two defeats in what became known as the First and Second Battles of Gaza. In October of that year General Sir Edmund Allenby replaced the former commander and the Third Battle for Gaza started with him capturing Beersheba, a very strategic site due to the availability of the water in the wells there. During subsequent operations about 50 miles of formerly Ottoman territory was captured as a result of victories at the Battle of Mughar Ridge fought between November 10 and 14 and the Battle of Jerusalem fought between November 17 and December 30 when Allenby walked into Jerusalem to accept its surrender. Mike McEwan proposed the vote of thanks to Willie. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 19, when the speaker will be Martin Payne. He will give a presentation entitled ‘The Great Wall of China’. St Leonard’s Probus Club President Bob Leggeat welcomed all to the meeting and introduced Heidi Knorr, of the Tayside Chiropractic and Wellness Clinic, whose subject was ‘Chiropractic for the over 60s’. The role of a chiropractor was defined which included professional training in defined subjects. Many aspects of the ageing process was explained and the importance of keeping active, eg getting a hobby, staying hydrated and eating regularly etc. Ms Knorr also explained the chiropractor’s goals when assessing suitable treatments. Sensible activities for the over 60s included swimming, cycling, golf, hillwalking, gardening and many more were all recommended. The common conditions, e.g. back pain etc were listed including the appropriate chiropractic treatments. Many chiropractors “tools” were demonstrated including the use of cold laser therapy. It should be pointed out that cold laser therapy is an adjunctive therapy only used by some chiropractors and is only used locally by Heidi Knorr. Chiropractors do not write people off because of their age but take into account medical history before deciding appropriate treatment. Demonstrations using laser therapy was carried out on Probus members Bert Jones, who has problems with his knee, and Jack Rivet on his arthritic fingers. These demonstrations also included exercises to improve balance. The vote of thanks was given by John Greaves. The next meeting will be held at Caledonian Bowling Club on Thursday, September 21, at 10am when John Hulbert will talk about Perth’s history. Tay Probus Club At the September 6 meeting, members were treated to a fascinating account of The Life and Times of H M Frigate ‘Unicorn’ by Dr Billy Rough, Education Officer of the Unicorn Preservation Society. Commissioned as a warship in 1817 and completed in 1824, Unicorn would have been one of the elite ships of the fleet. However, the end of the sea campaign against Napoleon meant that she was not immediately required in service, was never rigged, had her hull roofed over and was put into reserve. Traditionally built from oak wood, from as many as 1000 trees, Unicorn also had the new iron rib components and this, together with her roof and non-seagoing activities and secure use as a gunpowder store, has enabled her preservation to date. She is now the last intact warship from the days of sail and there are only five older ships than Unicorn in the entire world. Following several uses under her reserve status in the South of England, in 1872 she was towed to Dundee to act as a training ship. Since her arrival there Unicorn has enjoyed a variety of roles – as base for the Dundee Company of the RNVR, becoming part of the Hood Company of the Reserve, briefly named ‘Cressy’ when the Navy confusingly gave a new aircraft carrier the ‘Unicorn’ appellation, was home to the Wrens during the Second World War and received the surrender of a German U-boat in 1945. Moved in 1962 to Camperdown Dock, with an estimated crowd of over 20,000 spectating – many probably assuming it would sink – the ship now resides in the city’s Victoria Dock. Since founding in 1968 The Preservation Society has successfully operated the vessel as a museum, education centre and social/corporate event venue, recently increasingly involving primary school pupils on related projects. Within the next few years, as part of Dundee’s waterfront regeneration, it is planned to move Unicorn to a permanent dry- dock site with an adjacent maritime museum. Dr Right was thanked by Joe Mayland for his enthusiastic and detailed delivery of the story of a ship which had previously been only a name to most of those present.