Fellowship Evening

On Thursday 29th October, President Kate Gibb chaired a fellowship meeting of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry. Rotarian Gerald Smith gave a brief presentation on the club's Microfinance Investment Group. The Lendwithcare scheme allows individual Rotarians to contribute relatively small sums to help some of the world's poorest people work their way out of poverty. All loans are repaid and the lender can opt to reinvest or withdraw their money, which can be as little as £15. Now in its second year, the scheme has already helped 105 entrepreneurs who support 521 family members and created 29 jobs. To find out more about Microfinance, visit the website www.lendwithcare.org

S1 FOOTBALLERS SCORE WITH FUNDING

Coach Matthew Armes accepted a donation of £300 from the Rotary Club of South Queensferry. The money will go to providing strips and equipment for the S1 Football Team at Queensferry High School. President Kate Gibb said: 'We are delighted to support young footballers in their first year at secondary school. We wish them every success on the pitch.'

Pic: S1 footballers in their new strips.

YOUNG CHEFS SHOW OFF THEIR TALENT

The Rotary Club of South Queensferry held its second Young Chef Competition at Queensferry High School on 22nd October. The five competitors, all extremely enthusiastic and competent, each produced a main course and a desert. Quality of cooking and presentation was outstanding, which gave Rotarian Jill Templeton, Principal Teacher of Home Economics / Food and Consumer Technology at the Royal High School who judged the competition, a difficult task.

After heartfelt deliberation, Megan Porteous was declared the winner and Conor Faherty was awarded second place. Leah Faherty, David Boath and Alexander Melville were all highly recommended. All entrants received Rotary Medals and Certificates. Megan and Conor also received cheques from Rotary and will progress to the next round of the competition to be held in Penicuik High School on 27th November.  The Rotary Club is extremely grateful for all the work of teachers Rachel Kerr and Eleanor Grandison  prior to the event and on the evening. The school and Rotary Club are so pleased with the success of the competition, it is hoped to make participation an annual event.

Pic1       Winner Megan Porteous

Pic 2    From left:

            Megan Porteous  Leah Faherty  Conor Faherty  David Boath 

            Alexander Melville

ROTARIANS DISPLAY THE NELSON TOUCH

On Thursday 22nd October, one-hundred-and-ten years and a day since the Battle of Trafalgar, the meeting of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry had a distinctly nautical flavour.  Club members Alan Brown, a Master Mariner with a lifetime's experience in the merchant service and Coastguard Alan Armes took Nelson's victory as the theme of their presentation. In authoritative fashion, Alan Brown related many fascinating facts about the battle and the ships involved. Although the British lost no ships, France had one ship destroyed and ten captured and Spain had eleven ships captured.  Curiously the flagship Victory might never have been afloat had not an alert shipwright noticed just before her launch in 1765 that Chatham dock gates were too narrow to let the ship into the Medway when she left the slipway. Just in time he and a gang of workers managed to chop the wood of the gates away, clearing just enough room for the ship. With the audience wrapped in historical detail, one Alan donned his captain's cap and the other his coastguard hat. Members realised something was up when they launched into an hilarious parody of Trafalgar, the captain playing Nelson and the coastguard playing Hardy who now objected to every order of his superior on modern health and safety grounds. 'England expects every person to do his or her duty regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability,' gives an idea of the dialogue which became increasingly comical. The crow's nest was closed until the carpenter could build scaffolding, but he was busy knocking up a wheelchair access on the foredeck. The performance ended with Nelson asking what had happened to rum, sodomy and the lash, Hardy replied that the only one that was now quite legal was sodomy to which Nelson of course replied, 'Kiss me, Hardy.'

The rousing applause confirmed that this was one of the most original and amusing presentations the club has enjoyed for years. Both Nelson and Hardy were awarded a hearty vote of thanks.