Tommy Mulvee: Ron Sutherland - Florida

The Rotary Club welcomed one of its own members, the much travelled Ron Sutherland, as its speaker last Thursday. When Ron and his wife Pat twelve years ago hosted an American ambassadorial scholar Kevin Guthrie little did they think that a friendship born then would continue for so long, and result in an invitation for them to attend his wedding in Florida last month. The subject of Ron's illustrated talk was, therefore, about Florida and their travels there. They visited many interesting cities and well known tourist spots such as Tampa, Clearwater, Fort Myers, Cape Canaveral, Sebring, Naples and the Everglades. Amongst Ron's photographs of these places he showed many photographs of the wildlife to be found there, such as bald eagles,spoonbills and different species of seabirds, and in the Everglades they saw  manatees,  endangered mammals that dislike the cold and are often found near the outlets from power stations where the water discharged is warmer than that in the canals and waterways.Photographs of the wedding were amongst those shown, and thereafter Ron answered many questions from his fascinated and envious audience, with the vote of thanks enthusiastically accorded.