TALKS

Douglas Saunder was the clubs speaker today. He volunteered to give a talk on "The Friends of Silverburn Park" who are an independent group of local volunteers which aim to support the regeneration of the park. Members can support as much or as little as they can

Douglas gave a detailed history of the park and it's link to the Jute industry, the plans for the future in renovating the mill building to be used as a museum for public to get the story of the past, growing of Jute, which they have done in an adjacent field. Douglas's presentation was supported with photographs of the upgrades to the site, an interesting talk about local history, for more information click on the link to the web site. A vote of thanks was given by Angus Bell.    

Potatoes at the Chelsea Flower Show

A welcome return by John Marshall to tell a story of the Potatoes that were displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show. John started his talk by covering a bit of history of the potato, the varieties and the growers. John then talked about a display of potatoes that were set up at the Chelsea flower show. An interesting talk on the days leading up to the show, the show itself then the packing up of the show.the talk was complemented by an excellent photo presentation. A vote of thanks was given by Jim Miller        .

Scottish Coal Race

The Scottish Coal Carrying Championships The idea of a Coal Race was the concept of Race Organiser, Michael Boyle who was looking for a modern-day link to the heritage of his home village of Kelty. The village became the home of the Scottish Coal Carrying Championships in 1995.

Forensic Biologist

Our speaker on this occasion was Kirkcaldy born forensic biologist Carol Rogers. Carol started off by explaining she wanted to be a forensic scientist since she was 12 years old and was inspired by a TV documentary about real life cases that had been solved by forensic science. Carol has been doing this job for 24 years starting with Strathclyde Police Force and now works at the Scottish crime campus in Gartcosh Lanarkshire. Carol started her talk with a breakdown of "What is a Forensic Scientist" followed by blood patterns. crime scenes and DNA.. She works closely with other divisions within Police Scotland. Carol has worked on thousands of cases where DNA is crucial in the  conviction of criminals from house breaking, car theft to rapes and murders. Her talk finished by covering two major investigations of murder and how the murderers were tracked down and eventually convicted to these murders. A fascinating talk well presented supplemented with a power point presentation, on the working life of a Forensic Biologist. Vote of thanks was given by Past President Neil Watson with the customary approval of all members attending the talk. .   .

Tales from the Tent

The speaker today was Jess Smith, Her subject focuses on the experiences of Scottish travellers. As of 2018, she has published six books, including an autobiographical trilogy recalling her own childhood experiences, and a booklet on Traveller Dialects. Jess kept the members entertained with her stories and experiences of becoming an author, vote of thanks was given by member Angus Bell.

Falklands Story

The Club members welcomed two speakers today, John Bradshaw and Sandy Barclay both are members of the Aberdour, Burntisland and Kinghorn Probus Club.. John and Sandy were part of the naval task force given the task of defeating the Argentinians's occupying the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The talk was presented jointly by John and Sandy. Both presenters covered the conflict which lasted 74 days and resulted in loss of ships, aircraft and men on both sides. The talk covered not just the Naval story but the assault by British soldiers on the mainland. From start to finish members listened to two brave men that had experienced the battles and the losses, the members were presented with many photographs depicting the graphic scenes of war. An excellent talk, with the vote of thanks given by Gordon Beaton.       

Glenrothes Salvation Army

Our speaker today was Bet Kidd and his wife from the Salvation Army, Both are serving staff with the Glenrothes Branch. Bert started his talk with a bit of history of the Salvation Army started by William Booth in 1860 and the difficulties they experienced in the early days, He then went on to tell the members his experiences over the years in various locations in Scotland. Bert finished his talk with a short video which brought laughter to the audience. The video was entitled "false teeth" used as a promotional film. A serious subject, but presented with a bit of humour into the talk. The vote of thanks given by member Peter O'Reilly.     .  . 

Fife's Lost Railways

Our speaker was Sandy Thomson and the subject "Fife's Lost Railways" Fife’s lost railways linked local communities well into the C20th. A key exception being a direct route from Cupar to St Andrews.We learned that in 1847 the Edinburgh & Northern Railway opened at Cupar Station and that it was the temporary terminus for the line that split for Dundee and Perth. In 1850 the world’s first boat train crossed from Edinburgh to Burntisland and the Dundee line went on to Ferryport-on-Tay which was then renamed Tayport. On the Firth, navigational hazards were identified by captains sailing the Tay. Their objections helped lead to construction of the ill fated Tay Bridge was in 1879 The Tayport to Wormit line was retained even when the new bridge was built and became an early commuter line.In 1854 Leven station was built and the line extended round the East Neuk to St Andrews. servicing the coalfields and Fife tourism. In the opposite direction travellers could catch trains to Glasgow from Crail.But, rail passenger numbers in Britain began to decline after the First World War and the small lines were grouped into the big four in the 1920s. LNER taking the east coast route through Scotland. By 1945 much of the lines and stock had been damaged by bombing, and car ownership was rapidly expanding, and in 1948 the railways were nationalized. British Railways came into existence as the business name of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four railway companies.Dr Beeching’s notorious and now much regretted culling of underused lines descimated the rail network in the 60s as did the loss of the Fife lines. The loss of local lines was however more to do with the decline of the local coal industry.Sandy illustrated this informative talk with numerous slides depicting locations that many of our members recognised. For example, the Hilton Tunnel throu gh which Edinburgh trains sped through on the route to Perth. The tunnel was built in 1841 and is still there. Next up we viewed pics of vanished stations like Luthrie . At some places cars use roads where trains had previously chuffed along such as the viaduct at Lower Largo or Mount Melville Bridge and also under the railway bridge at Luthrie. Elsewhere there are just traces of a railway presence, like the paired piers in the Eden at Guardbridge or lines now in use as footpaths such as the Leslie line. Elsewhere remnants of stations can be found such as Platform 3’s buffers at Ladybank. In Wormit the signal box remains in situ. The original station having been relocated to Bo’ness Heritage Rail If you’ve recently been to furniture sales you’ll be aware that the Sterling warehouse at Auchtermuchty was the former station. while at Kilconquhar the station is now a private house. Aerial views reveal train routes or junctions at Kilmany or Parbroath or Mawcarse or show how the original line went straight into Dunfermline from where Queen Margaret station now stands. We also had a glimpse of how some sites look now: For example, the bus station in St Andrews, the harbour carpark in Tayport, and Leuchars Old station where the Guardbridge road meets Main Street. Between there and Tayport is the elusive Morton Siding. Finishing with hope of rail lines’ renewal it was welcome news that work has begun on the Levenmouth rail link which was approved in 2019. Will the line eventually run from Leuchars to  St Andrews? Well, hopefully post Covid we’ll be able to look out for a revamped rail route timetable near you  Interesting and informative talk supplemented with maps and photo's in a power point presentation After some interesting Q/A the vote of thanks was given by our own Railway enthusiast Jim Rankin.  .

The World's End Murders

A Welcome return to Tom Wood giving a very interesting talk on The World's End Murders ---- is the colloquial name given to the murder of two girls, Christine Eadie, 17, and Helen Scott, 17, in Edinburgh, in October 1977. The case is so named because both victims were last seen alive leaving The World's End pub in Edinburgh's Old Town. The only person to stand trial accused of the murders, Angus Sinclair, was acquitted in 2007 in controversial circumstances. Following the amendment of the law of double jeopardy, which would have prevented his retrial, Sinclair was retried in October 2014 and convicted of both murders on 14 November 2014. Tom's talk was very emotional as he was personally involved with this case. Purey by chance that evening BBC was showing a documentary of the murders and Tom was heavily involved in the episode. A vote of thanks was given by Bob Hutchison

Robert Burns

A welcome return to the club by Malcolm, this time his subject was Robert Burns "The Man" an insight into the man. He covered the life of Robert from his birth in 1759 until; his death in 1796. An entertaining,interesting and well researched talk on Scotland's National Poet, Vote of thanks was given by Alec Forsyth.  

Stayin Alive

Our speaker today was David Cruickshanks joined the Navy at the age of 16 in 1981 as a junior marine engineering mechanic. Within a month of signing up he found himself on the way to the Falklands aboard HMS Fearless, after serving the duration of the Falklands in the notorious ‘bomb alley’ at San Carlos Bay where he served for the duration of the conflict . After a knee injury from running David was discharged from active service on medical grounds  He went shore side and worked at the naval base in Rosyth for a year up to 1986 before going into a career in photography, working for newspapers including the Fife Free Press, The Glaswegian and The Daily Record It wasn’t until he went to London to work freelance that his experiences in service came back to haunt him. He manages PTSD better now but says it is an ongoing battle.  Around 2001 he had a panic attack and realised that he needed help. David went back to University three years ago and completed a Masters in writing for TV and started working with Veterans Scotland helping with their social media and making films.David's talk was supplimented by a power point presentation

The vote of thanks was given by Past President David Rees.

Ruxton

Tom Wood the author of the book Ruxton The First Modern Murder told the story of two dismembered bodies discarded in the borderlands of Scotland, hideously mutilated to avoid identification. Forty-three pieces of rotten flesh and bone wrapped in rags and newspaper. A jigsaw puzzle of decomposing human remains. A glamorous young wife and her dutiful nursemaid missing. A handsome, mild-mannered town doctor insanely jealous of his wife’s friendships with other men. It is 1935 and the deaths of Isabella Ruxton and Mary Rogerson would result in one of the most complex investigations the world had ever seen. The gruesome murders captured worldwide attention with newspapers keeping the public enthralled with all the gory details. But behind the headlines was a different, more important story: the groundbreaking work of Scottish forensic scientists who developed new techniques to solve the case and shape the future of scientific criminal investigation. With access to previously unseen documents, Tom re-examined the case and reveals for the first time the incredible inside story of the investigation and its legacy, an interesting talk supplimented with photo's of evidence collected at the crime scene and the early reconstruction of the head.of Isobella Ruxton. Vote of thanks was given by Eric Adam who himself was serving police officer
This is the first modern murder

The Fall of Singapore

The speaker at today’s meeting was the author Hamish Brown. He told the story of his early years. Hamish was born in Colombo in 1934 the same year that Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. His father worked for the bank and after a spell in Columbo moved back to Scotland for some home leave. In 1939 the family moved to Japan. As Japan entered World War 2 the family decided to move to Malaya.in 1941. The town of Klang where the family lived was bombed by the Japanese so it was decided to dangerous to stay and the family move to Singapore but his father stays in Klang The family have to move once more as the Japanese continue their advance towards Singapore. The family sail to South Africa. The father makes his way from Malaya to Singapore and eventually through Sumatra then boat to South Africa meeting up with the family. Hamish’s talk was fascinating telling us of his family accounts of life before and after the fall of Singapore covering the family life and the horror of war. His story is told in his book entitled East of West, West of East. The vote of thanks was given by Jim Boyd our Talks Convener.    

Glenrothes Food Bank

The club welcomed Lynn Smart from the Glenrothes Food Bank. This is our second visit from a staff member. This time Lynn talked about the running of the Foodbank, the difficulties during the Pandemic and gave touching examples of the difficulties the young and old are experiencing at this time. she covered staff number both full time and voluntary, How grateful they are  to so many people both individuals and organisations that donate to the Foodbamk. Training that will now start up again from Handling heavy items to supporting people in desperate situations. A cafe to provide a place to sit down and chat over a cup of tea. Lynn said the Foodbank is a lifeline and no person in our community should have to face going hungry or freezing conditions. The Foodbank provides three days nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to the Foodbank in crisis A well presented talk from Lynn giving a heart renderring insight into the excellent work carried out by Glenrothes Foodbank. The vote of thanks was given by one of our members John Guthrie.