7 February 2013 Liz Balding Face to Face
Thu, Feb 7th 2013 at 12:00 am - 2:00 am
New Member, Liz Balding, formerly a member of the Rotary Club of Keighley, gave her Face to Face talk.
Rotarian making the news
'Never knowingly upset anyone as you never know when you need to go back to them' is a piece of advice that was given to journalist Liz Balding when she began work 45 years ago. Now a member of the Bridge of Allan & Dunblane Rotary club, Mrs Balding told members at their meeting on Thursday evening that it is advice to which she has always tried to adhere.
"It's particularly pertinent if you're working on a local newspapers as you're more than likely to bump into the people you write about and if they're not happy, they'll tell you."
She said that the allegedly criminal actions of a very small group of people, currently awaiting the due process of the law, do not reflect the professionalism and honesty of the vast numbers of journalists. "When people disparage the media, it does annoy me because most of us do show our interviewees a duty of care and don't abuse that trust."
Although she has worked on local newspapers, the bulk of her career has been spent on womens' magazines like Woman and Woman and Home. She was also managing editor of The M&S Magazine for several years, during which time she launched foreign editions for the company's French, German, Portuguese and Chinese customers. She then became editor of the ASDA magazine and for the last few years she has freelanced.
"It has been enormous fun and I have been privileged to interview on occasion ordinary people who have done extraordinary things like Lt Col Sam Derry - a Second World War British army officer, who jumped off a moving prison train in Italy and found his way to the Vatican, where he was hidden for two years by a sympathetic Irish priest and ran a secret escape organisation for prisoners of war."
Alan Lee gave the vote of thanks.
In other news: the new Interact club at the Queen Victoria School Dunblane will be officially chartered by the Rotary 1010 district governor Cath Chorley on Wednesday February 27. Sponsored by the Bridge of Allan & Dunblane Rotary club, it already has 42 members, aged between 14 and 18, who have chosen Startup Stirling as their local charity and Mary's Meals for the international charity for the year. Rotary club member Jill Adams, a teacher at the school, and who has been a prime mover in setting up the Interact club, will act as staff liaison.
Derek Collins reported the club had secured victory over Stirling Rotary in their annual match held at The Peak earlier in the week to win the Lars Christansen Trophy after a few unsuccessful years of trying.
