Formal Evening

The first meeting of the year for the Rotary Club of South Queensferry took place in the Dakota Hotel on Thursday 9th January. Before the formal dinner, President Jim McCulloch inducted Sarah Fletcher to the club. Now retired, Sarah has recently moved from Dundee to Queensferry to be near her son. Her background is teaching chemistry at both secondary and tertiary level. A former member of Abertay Rotary Club (now the Rotary Club of Broughty Ferry) Sarah thanked President Jim and members for making her feel so much at home. The night's speaker, introduced by Matt Purdie, was Eric Davidson from Newtongrange. In a quirky talk, by times humerous and serious, Eric reminisced about the seventies to an appreciative audience. He related his own poem 'Psychedelia Summer' about his experiences as a child in 'sixties Newtongrange, then a thriving mining community. Referencing family life, football, national and international events like the rise of the Beatles and the 1969 moon landing, his poem was delivered in one long chant which brought an instant round of applause.

In proposing the vote of thanks, Rotarian Grainger Falconer said that Eric Davidson's talk must have awakened memories for many of the audience.