District News
Rotary Club The meeting on Monday, March 5, was opened by Carluke Rotary president Gordon McCallum. After the meal and business had been concluded the speaker for the evening Helen Tew of the Butterfly Trust, a Scottish charity which supports people with cystic fibrosis, was introduced. Helen gave an informative and moving illustrated talk about the condition which it is estimated that one in 20 people carry. The faulty gene which causes the disease damages the lungs and pancreas and those affected have a life expectancy of no more than 30 to 35 years. The Trust was founded in 2002 to provide support to the cystic fibrosis community in Scotland, and their help is provided free of charge and is often practical in nature. Helen took many questions from the members and the vote of thanks was given by Guy Miller. Camera Club The guest speaker at Friday’s meeting of Carluke Camera Club was Ross Eaglesham, a leading member of Eastwood Photographic Society. Ross is also a professional photographer, who specialises in weddings and sports events. The high quality of his work has earned him many awards and he is particularly well known for his coverage of sporting events, which have been widely published in the national media. He demonstrated the different techniques required in news pictures, compared with general photography. In particular, very speedy processing of pictures, on site, is required to meet media deadlines. His talk was well illustrated by many examples of his work, including international sporting events, such as the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the 2016 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This was greatly enjoyed by both camera and sporting enthusiasts. One of the club’s members, Chris Bonnington, has recently received a Distinction Award from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. This award is made only after a portfolio of exhibition-standard work has been submitted and is thoroughly scrutinised by an adjudication panel. Only a small number of these prestigious accolades are made each year, and the club is very proud to offer its congratulations to Chris. Their next meeting is on Friday, when the guest speaker will be David Sadler from Dundee Photographic Society, who will be talk about ‘something completely different’. This will take place at 7.30pm in St Andrews Parish Church hall on Mount Stewart Street, and visitors are always most welcome. Full details of the club’s schedule, as well as contact details, are available on its website at www. carluke-cc.org. Gala fundraising A successful fundraising karaoke and disco took place in Castlehill Bowling Club last Saturday, to raise funds for this year’s gala day. The committee would like to express their thanks to all who came along and supported this event. The club’s annual general meeting recently announced the following office bearers for the new season: chairman Robert McClay, vice chairman Ross Cain, club secretaries Christine Cain and Ann Wilson, gents’ president Robert McClay, gents’ vice president Ian Donnelly and ladies’ president Agnes Ruthven. The 2018 opening will take place on Saturday, April 14 with the ladies’ section opening event the following week. Entertainer Dave Cairns will be top billing in the clubhouse on Saturday, April 28; tickets £10 are selling well and can be booked by contacting ladies’ president Agnes Ruthven on 01555 770132. The last three special Saturdays at Castlehill were sold out, so don’t miss out on this night of great entertainment.