Secretary’s Report

KELVIN  PROBUS CLUB

 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – 28 MAY 2019

 

SECRETARY’S  REPORT

 

The Club membership has seen several changes in the last year. Whilst only two new members have joined the Club, John Crawford and Willie Ross, a number of members have moved over to the Associate category. There were three Deaths, John Macnaughton, a Past President and latterly an Associate Member, Jim Boyd and Roy McBurnie. A detailed review of the membership was carried out during the year, resulting in some transfers to Associate Membership category, and inactive names being removed from the membership. As a result, the number of Ordinary Members now stands at 72, the lowest for several years. A drop in the number of members brings with it an inevitable drop in income from subscriptions, and for this reason the Club Committee urges members to make strenuous efforts to recruit new members to help the numbers recover. The number of Associate Members stands at 16. Despite the drop in the number of members, attendance at meetings remains high, whatever the weather outside, and the quality of the talks is regularly matched by the interest shown in the talks and in the questions and afterwards.

 

The Club meetings were held following the established pattern on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, from September to May. Also following long established tradition, tea, coffee, scones and biscuits were provided – and much appreciated – before the talks, and soup and sandwiches afterwards, also greatly appreciated. This social aspect of the Club’s life is viewed as important by the Committee, and is clearly very much welcomed by club members.  Thanks are due in large part to the excellent quality of the catering provided by Flo and Walter. The opportunities to catch up with each others’ news, and then afterwards to share opinions of the talks remain a particular strength of Kelvin Probus.

 

The topics of the talks in the session now ending ranged from the international – India, Japan, Nova Scotia, Ghana and the Antarctic – to social issues such as food banks and the work of the Sailors’ Society. Local colour featured with three talks about the River Clyde, namely the work of the “Riverman”, rowing on the Clyde and a fascinating talk about GALGAEL. Memories of the Commonwealth Games provided a lighter alternative to the World End Murders.

 

Outings and theatre visits have continued throughout the year, now organised by Gordon Barclay who took over the duties of Social Convener from Archie Henderson. Last October, 20 members visited the Peoples’ Palace. The Christmas lunch was held at Cafe Source at Hughenden, when the address was given by the Rev. Campbell Mackinnon of Balshagray Victoria Park Church. In January a group of 18 visited the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, and in February 25 members enjoyed the Paisley Musical and Operatic Society production, which this year was “My Fair Lady”. Anniesland College was the venue for lunch on February 21, and a behind the scenes visit to the Theatre Royal has been arranged for May 13.

 

Thanks are due to Gordon Barclay, our Social Convener, for arranging these visits. Thanks are also due to Robbie Mitchell who takes charge of the audio-visual needs of our speakers; Shaun Digges who looks after the Club website; and Hamish Eadie who has taken over the organisation of the fortnightly walks from Bob Crawford. In January, the Club Secretary, David Moir, was taken ill, and the previous Secretary was appointed as Acting Secretary. Thankfully, David is making a steady recovery, and the Club wishes him well.

 

The contents of the whisky bottle came to £130 which was donated to the Sailors’ Society. Members were also invited to make donations of cash to go to the Blawarthill Food Bank. At the time of writing this report, the sum of £220 has been raised (most of which will be Gift Aided); the final amount will be reported to the AGM. Each year, the President chooses a charity to which a donation is made; this year, the President has selected GALGAEL, the charitable trusty based in Govan which seeks to provide a therapeutic environment to enable people to re-establish themselves on the community. A donation of £150 has been made.

Finding new office-bearers to serve the Club has proved increasingly difficult in recent years, and a major stumbling block is the daunting task of compiling the syllabus of speakers. Over the years, it has been the practice that this responsibility has fallen to the Vice-President. At the 2018 Annual General Meeting, the question was raised whether this had become too daunting a task for one individual. Taking this on board, the Club Committee has set up a Programme Support Committee whose task will be to assist in the preparation of the annual syllabus of suitable speakers. As in the past, the contribution of suggestions from Club members for topics and speakers will be very welcome. I am happy to report in this context that the syllabus of speakers for next session is already agreed with an interesting and diverse range of topics to look forward to. The new Committee will also be asked to help in finding appropriate members to propose the Vote of Thanks to each speaker, and also to assist the Social Convener with ideas for visits and outings. We feel that this new committee will go a long way to “future-proof” the Club.

 

Under the Presidency of Angus Murchison, the Club has enjoyed another successful year, with a programme of first-rate speakers on a wide variety of topics, in addition to which members have also enjoyed the many opportunities offered for social contact, both at the Club’s twice-monthly meetings and through outings and the activities of the walking group.  I am able to conclude this report confident that Kelvin Probus continues to be in good heart, and can look forward to a healthy future.

 

9 May 2019        STEWART ROY.

Secretary’s Report