Rotary Club of Shetland

District 1010 - Scotland North - Club No. 1164

Monthly News Report
(as reported in "The Rotary Month" column of The Shetland Times)

OCTOBER 2008

The Rotary Club had four very interesting speakers at its evening meetings during October. First off was Jim Dickson from Sullom Voe, who concentrated on possible developments to the west of Shetland where there are reserves of oil and gas in the Laggan field. The challenge for us is to ensure that such finds are routed through Sullom Voe, though he admitted that there are no longer any really major fields in that area to rival Brent and Ninian as they were thirty years ago.
The following week David Thomson expounded on the subject of wind energy through his connection with the Viking Energy project, a possibly controversial subject!
Club member Bruce Tulloch was next to speak on the subject of a safari which he and his wife had undertaken in Kenya in 2006; the accompanying DVD of birds and animals they had seen brought the whole evening to life.
To round off the month John Coutts gave a most interesting talk on how he had learned to fly his "Flying Machine" from which in recent years he has taken many outstanding aerial photographs of Shetland scenery. He then held an informal quiz, showing 20 of his photos and asking the members to identify where each was taken, which proved of great interest and even some controversy!

SEPTEMBER 2008

The main event for the Shetland Rotary Club during September was the very successful Showcase Exhibition held over a weekend at the Clickimin Centre. This was well supported by both local retailers who laid on a most attractive display, and by the general public who came to see what was available as "The Best of Shetland". We are very grateful to all who supported our efforts, and several thousand pounds was raised for our charities fund, from which donations will be made both locally and to the wider world.
The first speaker of the month was our MP Alistair Carmichael, who carefully avoided any reference to politics in what he had to say! (Two subjects which are taboo at Rotary clubs throughout the world are Politics and Religion). Alistair chose to talk about economics in the present world situation, and pointed out that the economic boom of recent years was based solely on consumer spending, a situation which cannot be sustained. We were pleased to welcome two Rotarian visitors that evening, Ian Wilson from the Inverkeithing & Dalgety Bay club and Paul Kinsmore from the Glasgow club; also visiting during September were John Naismith from the North Fife club, and furthest travelled by far, Jennifer Dellora from the Ballarat club in Victoria, Australia.
The following week the guest speaker was Tom Stove, who incidentally was a founder member of the Shetland club way back in 1972. Tom spoke about Multiple Sclerosis in Orkney and Shetland, a subject he is well versed in being chairman of the local branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. While a vast amount of time and money has been spent over the years seeking a cure for the illness, without much benefit, an entirely new line of enquiry has been opened up by Dr Jim Wilson. Dr Wilson intends to study the disease where it is most prevalent, i.e. in Shetland and Orkney, with possible reference to gene therapy.
To round off the month, Paul Riddell, recently appointed as editor of the Shetland Times, gave a very interesting talk on his career to date, from the Anderson High School to College, to working with the Daily Mail in both Glasgow and London, with spells on both the London Times and the Scotsman, before returning home to take up his present post. During a lively discussion, the point was made that Shetlanders love their local paper, and each week enough are printed to provide one copy for every two people in the isles. Paul was congratulated on recent improvements to the paper, and promised that this would continue over the coming months and years.

AUGUST 2008

The first speaker at the Rotary Club in August was member Tom MacIntyre who gave a very interesting talk on the subject of Shetland Interfaith. This was set up two years ago by members of various religions to promote harmony and a greater understanding between all religions and faiths, and is proving a useful forum for in-depth discussion among many who would not normally come in contact with other faiths.
The following week member Catherine Hughson told us about her role as manager of the Shetland Council for Voluntary Service, to which she was appointed in 2001 as successor to Jim Irvine, which she freely acknowledged was a hard act to follow! The Council supports voluntary services in Shetland by encouraging people here to offer time to serve their communities. Members were astonished to learn that there are over 700 voluntary organisations in Shetland, 295 of which are registered charities, and the Shetland Council of Social Service has the responsibility of supporting all these, and representing them before the Island's Council and its many committees.
To round off the month, guest speaker Dr Bruce Cleminson spoke about his involvement with the Shetland Aid Trust and the Samara Hospice in the city of that name in Southern Russia. With the help of power-point Dr Cleminson took us on a most interesting tour of the city and a detailed description of their newly built Hospice, and introduced us to the staff whose dedicated work has made the whole project viable. He explained that Russia has little understanding of home and hospice care for those dying of cancer, in particular that adequate pain relief with morphia by mouth was never used. However, the building of the new hospice and the training of staff, entirely funded by voluntary donations, many from Shetland, was just beginning to open a new chapter in the care of terminally ill patients in that city.
During the month we had visits from three Rotarians, David Read from Kinross & District, Marshall Watson from Lanark, and former member Jim Sellens, now of the Banchory-Ternan club.

JULY 2008

July marked the beginning of a new Rotary Year, and early in the month Harry Tait was duly elected as President of the Shetland Club to serve for the next twelve months. This is Harry's second term as President, having previously served in that capacity in 1996-97, at which time the Club celebrated its Silver Jubilee. We were delighted to welcome Peter Campbell who joined the Club that evening, bringing our numbers up to thirty which over many years has been our average membership.

The first speaker of the month was Mark Fuller who, as an interesting change from our normal routine took us all out to his place of business in Lerwick. Mark has set up the company known as Tay-Cad which is involved in Computer Aided Design, and members were impressed by the sophisticated equipment and the amazing range of designs to suit every need. From indoor and outdoor posters, to banners, to leaflets & flyers, to business stationary, everything was there for whatever graphic design needs a business might have.

The following week member Geoff Blackman described in fascinating detail how he had become hooked on the Internet, or rather the investigation of his family tree back through several generations to early in the nineteenth century. For a modest fee it is now possible to obtain copies of Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates and Death Certificates from the Web, and from this information Geoff had been able to build up a very detailed family tree, such that he discovered uncles and cousins about whom he had previously known very little.

Throughout the world Rotary clubs are divided into Districts for administrative reasons, and each year every District appoints a District Governor, one of whose tasks is to try to visit every club in his District during his year in office. Our District, consisting of 86 clubs, is known as "Ten Ten" (1010), covering North East Scotland and the Islands, and on 23rd July we welcomed David Rankin from the Howe of Fife Club, our District Governor for the coming year. David spoke eloquently of the Rotary movement in Scotland and internationally, with particular reference to our commitment to the total elimination of Polio throughout the world. To bring the message home to us, David quoted an African mother who had said to a Rotarian working in her area "When the Rotarians come, our children stop dying".

While dwelling on the international aspect of Rotary, it was very pleasing to have two visitors from overseas clubs that evening, Dr Yves Shuitlecetti from Belgium, and Dr Rachad el Masry from Cairo, perhaps our very first Egyptian visitor; both doctors are at present working in the Gilbert Bain Hospital.

To round off the month, member Larry Sutherland showed us a film made for the BBC in 1956, featuring Chris Chataway visiting Scalloway and chatting to several people about the poor state of the economy in Shetland at that time. Both crofting and fishing were failing to provide an adequate income, and it was interesting to note that ideas for the future included enlarging crofts to make them economically viable, and the building of fish processing and freezing plants to increase the value of catches landed locally. Mr Chataway was able to point out how prosperous the Faroese fishing industry was at that time when compared to that of Shetland.

June 2008

Early in June the Shetland Rotary Club was delighted to be able to confer a considerable honour on member Larry Sutherland, a loyal member for many years and who was Club President in 2006/2007. Larry has worked tirelessly over the last two years to promote the Shelterbox charity, and with colleagues has taken a Tent and its contents around most of the schools in Shetland, to explain what it is all about and how the money raised here enables the charity to send Shelterboxes to disaster areas across the world, such as China and Burma. On behalf of the members, President Douglas Simpson presented Larry with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award. Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer, was the founder of the Rotary movement in 1905, and the awards are made in his honour to Rotarians who have supported their Club and the ideals of world-wide Rotary for many years. Well done Larry!

We were delighted to have with us that evening Rotarian Ian MacDonald from the Forres & District Club, who as a newly elected Assistant District Governor was in Shetland to meet the members and to encourage us to even greater efforts in our work in the community and with fund raising .

The first speaker of the month was Sarah Johnston, who is Recreation Club Co-ordinator for Disability Shetland which is a Registered Charity and Company. The key aim and "mission statement" of the charity is "To support the efforts of disabled people to realise their full potential in all areas of life", and to do this the charity has an elected board of 10 members plus 57 volunteers. Sarah is in charge of a number of Disability Shetland Clubs, including the Saturday Club, the All Stars Football Club, a Yoga Club and the Unst Swimming Club, to mention but a few. She explained very carefully the work she does, and everyone found her talk most interesting and informative.

The following week guest speaker was Victor Sandison, Deputy Chief Executive of Lerwick Port Authority. Discussing, with the help of fascinating film, the history of the Port from the setting up of the Lerwick Harbour Trust in 1877 to the present day, Victor explained the present work whereby the North entrance to the harbour is subject to a major dredging project which will widen and deepen the main channel into the Harbour from the North. This is considered essential if the Port Authority is to be in a position to secure lucrative contracts to dismantle huge redundant modules from the offshore oil and gas fields in the next few years.

We had three Rotarian guests that evening, Norman Waldie from Galashiels paying us a second visit, David Broadhead from Diss in Norfolk, and farthest travelled by far, David Allan from Brisbane Planetarium, Australia. Indeed Rotary is a world-wide organisation; any Rotarian can visit any Club wherever he or she happens to be and be sure of a warm welcome.

To round off the month---and the Rotary Year--- member Mark Robinson gave us a very enjoyable and informal talk on the recent Classic Car Show in Lerwick, ably assisted by his son John who was in charge of the power point display. Mark's enthusiasm for his subject was very obvious, and there is no doubt that the regular Shetland Shows have become an important part of the national calendar for such events. It is highly commendable that Shetland should be able to attract 7 members of the Bean club, 9 of the Bentley club and no fewer than 21 of the Lagonda club to travel North to take part. Mark himself has recently become the proud owner of a really neat little Austin lorry which he hopes to fully restore over the next few years---the very name Austin brought back many nostalgic memories to older members of the Club!

May 2008

The first speaker of the month at the Shetland Rotary Club was Bob Kelman, Operations Manager for Scottish & Southern Electricity in the Islands. In the course of a very interesting talk, illustrated by PowerPoint, Bob described the setting up of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board after the war and how it became responsible for providing electricity to the whole of Shetland. He also talked about the contingency plans which are set up each winter in case of heavy snowfall and damage to the overhead network here, though fortunately this has not been a serious problem in recent years.
The following week guest speaker Angus Nicol entertained us to a honey-tasting event as he described the life of the honey bee in Shetland. The life cycle of the honey bee is a truly fascinating subject, and Angus had with him honey combs, beeswax, jars of honey and pollen, and examples of Propollus capsules and ointment. These are products made from honey and pollen, and many people swear by their efficacy in helping a number of medical conditions such as arthritis and excema.
Visiting us that evening were two Rotarians, Bill McGregor from Kilmarnock and Paul Day & Pauline from Loughborough, while Peter Campbell had been a guest during the month and John Sowrey formerly of the Portobello Club paid us what has become almost an annual visit.
To round off the month, we had a most interesting visit from three schoolboys who are members of Club Exel at the Anderson High School. The Rotary Club had given their Club a donation towards their expenses involved in a recent working visit to South Africa, and Liam Nicol, Robert Antonio and Mark Davies came along to tell us of their adventures. Firstly the group leaders Andy and Christine Carter explained how Club Exel had been set up as a challenge to young folk aged 14 to 16 years to improve their employability, and then with the help of a very good PowerPoint presentation Mark described everything that had happened to the 10 young Shetlanders in Cape Town. Their main task to work with local children to create a vegetable garden next to an orphanage; first they had to build a fence round the plot which involved foraging in the Bush for suitable trees. Mark obviously enjoyed talking to us, and we were all most impressed his ability to hold the floor for 15 minutes without using any notes at all.
Many of you will now know of the Shelterbox charity which has been so well supported by many Shetland schools and individuals. The latest news is that some 1700 Shelterboxes have been transported out to Burma, and although foreign aid workers are not being allowed access to the disaster area, the Shelterbox Response Team in Rangoon is training government personnel to help in the distribution of the tents. More recently 400 Boxes were dispatched to China from the Shelterbox Depot in England, and it is nice to think that perhaps some of the Boxes so generously donated by Shetland schoolchildren are helping people in these two disaster areas.

News update

SHELTERBOX REACHES BURMA

In recent months, the Rotary ShelterBox Charity has been generously supported by several Shetland schools and by many other individuals and organisations in the Islands. Following the disastrous cyclone which recently hit Burma four members of the ShelterBox Response Team in London were among the first to obtain Visas to enter that secretive country, and obtained permission for a charter plane to land at the main airport. So far 1648 ShelterBoxes have been flown in, and although the Rotarians have not been allowed to participate in the distribution of these Boxes they have been able to train government personnel who are taking the aid to the devastated Irrawaddy Delta area; unfortunately there are no Rotary Clubs in Burma with whom they could liase. More recently a large area of China has been devastated by a severe earthquake, and ShelterBox is standing by to provide whatever help it can. Unlike Burma, the Chinese Government is welcoming outside aid, but unfortunately with only two Rotary Clubs in the whole country there is little Rotary contact to work on, to provide contacts and communication. However, ShelterBox has succeeded in Burma and will do its very best to overcome any obstacles in getting aid to those who so desperately need it in China.

April 2008

During April one of the main events of the Rotary year took place, the annual Conference of all the Rotary clubs in Britain and Ireland, which this year was held in Blackpool. Shetland was well represented by our president Douglas Simpson and his wife Kathleen along with four other members and their spouses, and during the weekend there were some excellent speeches and presentations by a variety of people whose lives had been touched by Rotary the world over. One of the most telling and poignant of these was by an Indian airline pilot who had been abandoned by his family at the age of three when he contracted polio (infantile paralysis). Against all the odds he had qualified as a pilot last year, and now devoted much of his time and energy towards the treatment and eradication of polio throughout the world, which is a goal supported by Rotary. Over the last 15 years Rotarians world-wide have donated huge amounts of energy and money through their charity Polio Plus, such that the disease is now found in only three countries, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Shetland club has played its part in this effort by donating a good proportion of the money raised here by its fund raising activities to Polio Plus, and now the drive is on to finally eliminate Polio from the world, hopefully within the next three years. It has been aptly said that "Polio Plus is a gift from Rotary to the Children of the World".
Another important event last month for the Shetland Club was the twice yearly Cheese and Wine evening held in the Town Hall, one of our main fund raising events of the year. It is thanks to the unstinting support of the people of Shetland that the Club is able to contribute to so many charities both local and international, and there is no doubt that we shall be making a further substantial donation to Polio Plus in the near future.
On 9th April member Silvija Crook gave a power point presentation on a very topical subject, that of the country of Tibet which unfortunately is now de facto a province of China, having been invaded and annexed by Chinese forces many years ago. Silvija's talk proved to be of great interest and there were many questions to be answered afterwards. Joining us that evening was an old Rotarian friend Donald Miller from Inverness and during the month we also welcomed back another Rotarian visitor Dr Yves Schiettecatte from Belgium who is presently working in Lerwick.
The following week member John Boxwell gave a movie-maker presentation on the Spanish city of Valencia, complete with a musical accompaniment to the commentary. There is no doubt that Spain is dear to John's heart, and his enthusiasm for the country came over very clearly during his talk.
To round off the month, guest speaker Shirley Manson spoke to us of her involvement with the local charity Arthritis Care. Shirley herself has suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis for many years, but she told us enthusiastically how her life had been transformed with the help of a lady masseuse based in Shetland, who voluntarily gave of her time to help many sufferers whom she has contact with through the local Arthritis Care group.

March 2008

Continuing on the theme of the Shelterbox Charity, as reported last week Mid Yell School has come up trumps by holding a Craft Fair which attracted very large crowds, most of whom found the demonstration Shelterbox Tent and its contents of great interest. Proceeds for the day were sufficient to purchase two Shelterboxes, and the good news is that this effort has been matched by BP, so that in fact a cheque for £1960 was handed over to Rotarians Douglas Simpson, Larry Sutherland and Harry Tait when they visited the school last month. Once the four Boxes have been purchased, it will be possible to follow them on the Web to wherever in the world they are most needed.
The first speaker of the month at the weekly Club meetings was Shona Manson who gave us an interesting and lucid account of the charity Mind Your Head with which she is closely involved. The charity seeks to help mainly young folk who may be suffering from mental health problems which unfortunately still carry a certain stigma, though fortunately not as much as a generation ago. The Charity would ideally like to see the appointment of a Support Worker, and are raising funds towards that, the main event of the year being the high profile Spiggie Fun Run & Walk which attracts many people of all ages and backgrounds.
The following week member Peter Garrick produced "A Letter From The Past" which gave a fascinating insight into what life was like in Sandness in the eighteen sixties. Written by one Sarah Peterson of Huxter to a relation in England who was tasked with selling on a quantity of stockings which Sarah had knitted, the letter gave a detailed description of daily life in Sandness in 1864. Times were indeed hard, with many young people emigrating, but she was pleased to report that the then Laird, Mr. Scott, let it be known that he would never turn anyone out of their house even when annual rent for their croft had not been paid for several years.
Even at this time of year a number of Rotarians have reason to visit Shetland, and during the month we were pleased to welcome John Adams of Aberdeen Deeside, Alistair Davies of Langholm, and an old friend John Naismith of North Fife.
To round off the month, guest speaker Peter Campbell gave us a very interesting introduction to the game of Shinty, which not many of us were familiar with but which he played for many years. It is thought that the game may have been introduced to Scotland from Ireland some 1500 years ago, but it really came to the fore in the 17th and 18th centuries when it was an essential part of warrior training for the Clan system---in those days it would be played the length of a Glen with everyone taking part! The Camanachd Association was set up in 1893 to regulate the sport, which now enjoys a widespread following in the Highlands and Western Isles, with the most important centre being Newtonmore.

February 2008

The first guest speaker of the month was Capt. George Sutherland, Chairman of the Northern Lighthouse Board, who gave a very interesting and detailed account of the Board from its foundation in 1786 to the present day. Initially the Board's remit was to provide visible lights and audible fog-horns all round the coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man "for the Protection of Life at Sea", and no fewer than five generations of the Stevenson family were involved in this work until 1928. However, in recent years the importance of lights and audible warnings has decreased while that of other navigation aids such as LORAN has increased. Nowadays the Board's two vessels, Pharos and Pole Star, are constantly involved in marking of wrecks, offshore windfarms, fish farms etc., while a number of former lighthouse complexes are being transformed into Public Access Lights. An example of this is Sumburgh Head Light where the former lightkeepers houses are being converted to holiday accommodation, offices and a café which should make this venue a first class tourist destination.
The following week guest Alex Johnson took us on an adventure expedition from New Zealand to the frozen continent of Antarctica, following in the footsteps of Shackleton and Scott. Using power-point to illustrate his talk, Alex had a really unique series of photos he had taken of the interiors of both Shackleton's and Scott's Huts which are still standing more or less as they were abandoned almost 100 years ago. Efforts are now being made to repair and conserve these buildings by the New Zealand authorities, with some financial help from the UK.
To round off the month guest speaker Philip Ashley-Smith described his work as Active School Manager for Shetland, which involves trying to persuade children to lead a more active lifestyle and to eat more healthy items of food. Philip confirmed our suspicion that at present we have a generation of inactive children, which does not bode well for the future when these children themselves become parents. He and his staff try to organise holiday activities for the children, encourage cycling to and from school, and advise them that they should drink water instead of sweetened fizzy drinks.
During the month we were pleased to welcome to three meetings former member Jim Sellens who is now a member of the Banchory-Ternan club. Also visiting were Ian Napier from Scalloway, and Rotarians Paul Withers from Retford and Robert Redwood from Lichfield St Chad.
Those of you who follow the Rotary Month in the Shetland Times will have heard of the Rotary Charity known as Shelter Box, which provides emergency tented accommodation and cooking facilities for people devastated by natural disasters all over the world. In the last year Larry Sutherland and members of the Club have been demonstrating a Shelter Box Tent to schools all over the county, and such has been the interest aroused that Shetland Schools have contributed funds to provide no fewer than five Shelter Boxes. Each box costs £490 delivered to any country, and it is possible to trace each box from despatch to arrival in the devastated area---this can be done by logging on to www.shelterbox.org on the web. Click on Roll of Honour, then Box Number. Each box has a unique number, and for interest the following is a list of the boxes donated by Shetland schools, with their eventual destinations:-
For Symbister School enter the number 28225---sent to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
For the other schools scroll down to UK/AMA and then enter the number---
For Aith/Walls/Sandness/Skeld Schools----1676---sent to Nairobi, Kenya.
For Scalloway School---1677---sent to Nairobi, Kenya.
For Baltasound School---1678---sent to Nairobi, Kenya.
For Gott and Sound Schools---1679---sent To Nairobi, Kenya.

September - December 2007

During the last three months, members of the Shetland Rotary Club have kept themselves busy with a variety of fund-raising activities. In early September they organised a very successful Ideal Homes exhibition in the Clickimin Centre which was well supported by the local retail trade and by the Shetland public. As already reported, more than £9,500 was raised from that event over and above expenses, and at the Club's Autumn Social Event held in the Town Hall at the end of November, a donation of £10,000 was made to CLAN towards the re-location of that service (Cancer Link Aberdeen & North) to a new building in the near future. Other donations made that evening, from funds gathered over a number of events, included £1,000 to the charity called From Shetland with Love, supporting a children's orphanage in South Africa, £420 to Sound Primary School for a trip to Edinburgh, £250 each to Mind Your Head, to the Aith and Lerwick Lifeboats, and £200 to the Shetland Inter-Faith group.
Members of the Club and guests have been treated to a variety of speakers and subjects in recent months. David Kirk told us about his years in the coal-mining industry, and Martin Leyland described how the Shetland Amateur Athletic Club organised junior athletics locally. Sonny Priest and Rachel McCracken gave an amusing talk on the history of the Unst Brewery which included a very popular tasting session! The following week there was a power-point presentation by our youngest ever speaker, John Robinson aged 10, who with the assistance of his father Mark gave a splendid talk on a project he was doing at school about a selected charity, in this case the Rotary Movement world-wide. Silvija Crook described her enthusiasm for cross-country skiing, and brought with her an interesting variety of skis and poles to illustrate her talk. Helen Moncrieff talked about her work as RSPB Warden at Sumburgh Head and Mousa, which struck a chord with several members who are keen birdwatchers Mona McAlpine talked about her charity From Shetland with Love which supports an orphanage in South Africa dedicated to helping those whose lives have been devastated by the Aids pandemic in that region. Staying in Africa, Steve Davidson talked about living and teaching in Botswana for three years, a peaceful and reasonably prosperous country but one which has also been severely affected by the Aids epidemic. Kelly Naules told us about the Moving On Employment Project with which she is involved, a Shetland based charity which started at the Eric Gray Centre and which now assists young unemployed people to find a fulfilling role in society. The final speaker of the year was Kathleen Simpson who delivered a fascinating power-point presentation on the restoration of West Hall, one of Lerwick's grandest houses. She and her husband have spent the last three years on this project, and her talk was of particular interest to those who had visited the house in former years.
Several members of the Club are still involved in demonstrating the Shelter-Box Tent to schools throughout the county, and we are all grateful for the support we have received from both staff and parents. Enough money has been raised to send several Shelter-Boxes to areas of disaster throughout the world, and each school is able to track it's own Box to whatever destination it ends up in.
To round off the year, members and spouses enjoyed a convivial evening with Christmas Dinner followed by the Quiz, which has become a regular feature of our calendar, the outcome of which is hotly contended each year!
During Christmas week, members of the Club visited some sixty elderly or disabled people in the town and country to deliver a small gift and express Season's Greetings to those who might not expect to have any visitors at that time.