Club News

Notes on Last 6 Club Meetings

Evening Meeting held at Watts Restaurant on Wednesday 25th August 2010

Thirty-eight members attended the Club's weekly meeting at Watts Restaurant on the 25th August, with President Graham Findlay in the Chair.
The speaker for the evening was Rotarian Vince Fusaro. Vince ensured his audience paid attention to his speech on whisky by offering as a prize a free bottle of the product to the person who managed to answer the most questions in a quiz on his subject.
Vince gave a talk full of facts, some of them surprising, such as the number of European and Asian countries that have whisky distilleries. He also revealed how whisky has remained a relatively cheap drink by informing us that the yield of barley has increased in a generation from 2 tons per acre to 3+ tons per acre and that the new varieties of barley giving this increased yield have themselves a higher starch content and therefore produce more alcohol.
One of his last points was that whisky may be becoming more environmentally friendly as the waste from whisky production may be used as biofuel for cars in the future.
Rotarian Pat Mitchell gave the vote of thanks.

Evening Meeting held at Watts Restaurant on Wednesday 18th August 2010

Thirty-seven members attended the Club's weekly meeting at Watts Restaurant on the 18th August, with President Graham Findlay in the Chair.
The speaker for the evening was Rotarian Christina Renton. Christina was until recently the headmistress of Kilmaron school in Cupar.
Christina’s subject for the evening was the problem of adult literacy within a sizeable proportion of the Scottish population. Although literacy problems are linked with poverty and deprivation Christina went on to give more details regarding dyslexia which affects all sectors of the population citing famous examples of people with dyslexia such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Jackie Stewart. Christina herself has seen some of Leonard da Vinci’s notebooks that contained mirror writing, this being a sign that Leonardo had dyslexia.
Christina also gave a few pointers as to how parents and grandparents can help with the development of a child’s reading skills.
Rotarian Peter McKinnon, having deciphered his own hand-written notes, gave the vote of thanks.

Evening Meeting held at Watts Restaurant on Wednesday 11th August 2010

Rod McCall (Howe of Fife President), George Berstan (District Governor), Graham Findlay (Cupar President)

The first meeting of the Rotary Club of Cupar at the new venue of Watts Restaurant was graced with the attendance of several members from the neighbouring Howe of Fife club, in addition to the Cupar club's own 34 members. But the main guests were Rotary district 1010 (North of Scotland) District Governor nominee Robin Rippin and the speaker for the evening, the current District Governor George Berstan of Turriff Rotary Club.
Before George made his speech the club was informed that the total raised from the Rotary Club's coffee morning held on Saturday 7th August was £1,355.
George Berstan in his speech contrasted the large and small aspects or Rotary worldwide by telling us that he had recently met District Governors from all over the world in the US, but that the number of District Governors at this meeting was the relatively small number of 500. He told the members of Rotary International's President Ray Klinginsmith's priorities, namely 'building communities, bridging continents' and continuing in Rotary's work in bringing to an end the scourge of polio in the last few countries that still have the disease.
He ended his speech with the reminder that if you think you are too small to make a difference then just try sleeping in a room overnight with one active mosquito.
Rod McCall of Howe of Fife Rotary club gave the vote of thanks.

Evening Meeting held at the Armaan Restaurant on Wednesday 4th August 2010

Thirty-two members attended the Club's weekly meeting at the Armaan Restaurant on the 4th August, with President Graham Findlay in the Chair.
There being no speaker, the evening was given over to an evening of fellowship. Secretary Ian Copland received approval from the members to donate £250 to Fife Young Carers, this being a charity supporting young people in Fife who act as carers for other members of their families.
As from Wednesday 11th August the club now meets at Watts of Cupar, Coal Road, Cupar. The meeting time, 6 p.m. on Wednesday evenings, remains unchanged.

Evening Meeting held at the Armaan Restaurant on Wednesday 28th July 2010

Thirty-six members attended the Club's weekly meeting at the Armaan Restaurant on the 28th July, with President Graham Findlay in the Chair.
The speaker for the evening was Rotarian Stuart Campbell. Stuart spoke of his passion for restoring neglected and/or accident damaged classic cars.
He led us through the main stages of restoration – strip down and assess, panel work including welding and filling, painting and rebuilding and refitting. Projects can take months to complete with the work being done in ‘spare time’ at Stuart’s workplace, MacLeod’s Auto Centre in Cupar.
Stuart illustrated his talk with photos of projects both ongoing and completed. The current ongoing project is a 1963 series 1 Land Rover.
Examples of projects completed were Stuart’s own mini and a fellow Rotarian’s Morris Minor. Stuart’s photos showed the painstaking work required to strip down, repair or replace panels, the care taken in repainting, and the extras such as improved suspension and hand-painted coach lines.
Rotarian Bruce McHardy gave Stuart a double vote of thanks, one for the speech and one to Stuart and his fellow craftsmen for the excellent work carried out on his own vehicles.

Evening Meeting held at the Armaan Restaurant on Wednesday 21st July 2010

Twenty-eight members attended the Club's weekly meeting at the Armaan Restaurant on the 21st July, with President Graham Findlay in the Chair.
The speaker for the evening was Rotarian Margaret Beetlestone. Margaret took us via her photographs on a trip to the blue skies of the Algarve in Portugal and the neighbouring regions of Spain.
The photos around Albufeira showed us cork oak trees, Cliff Richard’s mansion, and storks nesting on the top of chimneys. The coast line looked amazing with cliffs, caves and strange pillar rock formations.
Then to Seville with fountains, the golden tower that received the gold from Spain’s South American empire, a monument to Christopher Columbus and the largest cathedral in the world.
Then back to Portugal to the most south-westerly point in Europe and then Lisbon with the monument to Prince Henry the Navigator who spearheaded the Portuguese voyages of discovery along the African coast.
Rotarian Grant McLeish gave the vote of thanks for a talk that lightened up a grey, wet evening.

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Thanks to Roger Siddle of the Carnforth Rotary Club for his revolving Rotary wheel.