Events 2010
The Hamilton Race Course outing has proved to be a very popular fixture in the West of Scotland Diary. Friday 14th May, is the date for this Racing Evening.
Contact Branch Secretary John Barnard
T:0141 779 8600.
More info/booking form: here
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Branch News
Annual Dinner
10/12/09
Secretary John Barnard reports another successful Annual Dinner for the West of Scotland, held as usual at Glasgow’s Hilton hotel. 380 members and their guests were there on the Friday 4th December for an evening of traditional entertainment at which the Haggis was paraded, accompanied by the pipes, and solemnly toasted in proper fashion.
This fine assembly was our top table, with, in the centre, Chairman Andy Carruthers looking particularly grand.
L to R. John Hayes – Scotland North Chairman. John Barnard –Secretary. Colin Wells - East of Scotland Chairman. Peter Brown – Guest speaker. Iain Barr – past Chairman. Andy Carruthers – Branch Chairman. Mike Travers (Rear) – Project Scotland. Joe Lynch – Welfare Officer. John McKelvie – Guest Speaker. David Welsh - past Chairman. Allan Bowie – Treasurer.
Last year, guest speaker ‘Big John’ McKelvie was a star with his fund of refereeing and policing anecdotes and his return earned long applause. Along with John was Peter C Brown, a very popular after dinner speaker who’s slogan is – ‘always leave them laughing’. He did. Our two speakers made for an evening’s splendid entertainment.
There was, of course, a very successful auction. That, plus the silent auction, and the raffle contributed substantially to the sum of over £20,000 which was raised for our Benevolent Fund.
The dinner was also supported by Mike Travers of Project Scotland.
Golf at Drumpellier
17/07/09
A view over the course.
Willie Patterson, our Scotland West golf convenor, brought together 47 players for the Branch golf day on 26th June. Drumpellier is the branch’s usual venue, and so it was again.
Our golfers enjoyed good weather, fine but with gusts of strong wind. That wind, together with the fact that, due to a club match the previous night, the pins were in extremely difficult positions, gave our golfers something to think about. However, our competitors mastered the wind and the pin positions and scoring was reasonable.
At the end of a most enjoyable day the visitors prize went to Murray Cromar of AON Insurance and the Scratch prize was won by our golf convenor, Willie Paterson.
Willie reports that a good day was had by all, and despite the economic situation we managed to raise some funds for our benevolent fund into the bargain!
‘Braveheart’ a Winner
West of Scotland’s ‘Braveheart’ race night at Hamilton on May 15th was a splendid success, both as a social gathering (there was a lot of fun) and as a fund raiser for our Benevolent Fund. The excellent turn out filled our marquee and did justice to the committee’s efforts to keep this popular evening ‘on the road’ in spite of current difficulties.
There was a good crowd in our marquee at Hamilton
Secretary John Barnard writes that ‘a great night was had by all, except that Alan Carson lost his shirt betting on what turned out to be very dodgy tips. Our auction was well supported, our sponsors were generous, and the cash collection produced a sizeable sum.’
The evening included an excellent dinner, a silent auction of sporting memorabilia, a professional tipster and our very own tote to enable his advice to be easily followed up.
The high point of the evening came when Emma Watts of Contracts Scotland made the formal presentation to Branch Chairman Andy Carruthers of a cheque for £25,000, the West of Scotland Branch contribution to our Benevolent Fund for the year 2008.
Chairman Andy Carruthers, the £25,000 cheque, and Emma Watts. In the background the ‘silent auction’ lots which raised a goodly sum.
12/01/09
Our West of Scotland Branch again held a very successful Annual Dinner at the Glasgow Hilton last December.
The first hilarious drama came when our Archie Cowie addressed the Haggis so vigourously that his brandished knife took the Chef’s hat clear off his head!
‘Big John” McKelvie. A ‘Super’(!) speaker.
Football was the link between our two accomplished after Dinner Speakers.
First up was ‘Big John’ McKelvie whose 30 years experience as a senior referee, and (the Day Job) as a long serving police officer, gave him, and on the night us, a host of extremely funny stories. Football and Villainy seem to sit very well together!
‘Big John’s’ last posting as a policeman was as Superintendent in, as he puts it, “a quaint little fishing village on the banks of the Clyde – Govan!
Jim Leishman MBE Another star performance.
More football anecdotes followed as Scotland’s football legend Jim Leishman MBE came to entertain us. First signed as a schoolboy in 1968 by Dunfermline, Jim has returned to his roots after a star career – he is now Dunfermline’s Director of Football. There’s no doubt that these days Jim is as good with words as he was on the soccer field. He is Fife’s Poet Laureate, as well as being a wit and a wonderful teller of tales – skills he demonstrated to our crowded company.
These two talented raconteurs ensured that our over five hundred members and their guests were thoroughly entertained.
Congratulations are due to organiser John Barnard who again put together an evening that was successful on every count – not least the fact that that this, the Branch’s premier event, raised £20,000 for our Benevolent Fund.
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Meet the
Team...
Branch Chairman
Andrew Carruthers
T: 01555 812452
M: 07891 475 001
Branch Secretary
John Barnard
Direct Dial: 0141 779 8602
M: 07917 804456
Welfare Officer
Joe Lynch
0141 956 1252
Welfare Officer for the
Border Regions
Ted Ball
T: 01573 224315
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