Speaker Malcolm Cordwell Smith

Rotary club of Stirling, meeting of 17th March 2017.

President Alan welcomed members to our Friday meeting. There were no visitors.

The final of the Primary School Quiz is in the Logie Theatre, Stirling University on Sat 22nd April.  President Alan attended the presentation meeting of the Young Enterprise Forth Valley awards, to which we had contributed. Schools were required to plan and present their finished business project. Boness were the overall winners.  John Rankin plans an outing to see a production of "The Steamie" at the McRobert on 11th
October.   Jim Kerr reminded members that the Wilkenden golf match will
be held on 3rd May, and is looking for teams to enter.  Mike Queen proposed that the club should send a donation to the multi charity famine relief appeal, and this was supported by the meeting.

Rotarian Malcolm Cordwell-Smith spoke to us about his recent trip to South Africa. He has visited his mother there over the past twenty seven years, and on this occasion was able to make the outward trip by sea ,in the comfort of the Queen Mary 2, a journey of 17 days.  Commissioned in
2002 and recently refurbished, the ship was able enter to the rather small harbour at Cape Town with ease.  After a few days in Cape Town he traveled North via Durban to his 92 year old mother's house in Pietermaritzburg. It was in this area that the Anglo/Zulu war was fought in 1879, as portrayed in the film Zulu. There were two major battles within 24 hours. The first, and less known here, was at Isandwala where the British were defeated by a much larger force of Zulus, whose numbers more than made up for their lack of modern weapons. The battle of Rourkes Drift next day was eventually won by the British, but only with great loss of life.  Three VCs were awarded at Isandwala and eleven at Rourkes Drift. The whole area is well preserved, and the sites marked with memorials to the British and Zulu casualities . The vote of thanks was given by Stewart Wilson, just back from his latest cycling tour of New Zealand.

Next meeting 24/3/17  Speaker's host Stewart Wilson, Visitor's host David Paterson.  For more info www.stirling.rotary1010.org

Ian Richardson