Secretary’s Report March 2009

Meetings

The Club is indebted to Dumbarton Bowling Club for the use of their clubhouse for Committee Meetings and the AGM.

Membership

Six new members were admitted during the year. Membership now stands at one hundred and sixty six, comprising one hundred and fifty six ordinary members, six life members and four overseas members. There are currently five on the waiting list.

Committee Outing

In June the Committee visited Ballochmyle and the Holy Fair at Mauchline. The day was rounded off with a meal at the Sorn Inn.

St Andrews Night

The St Andrews Night Dinner was held in the Dumbuck House Hotel, which is now owned by Glasgow businessman Ian Donaldson. A new menu was tried and 86 members and guests attended a very successful evening. All four of the Club’s radio microphones were used successfully.

Dumfries Howff Club St Andrews Night Dinner

Since the Club could not be represented at the Howff Club’s Burns Supper due to our two suppers coinciding in 2009, the Secretary and Treasurer represented the Club at the Howff Club’s St Andrews Night Dinner on 2^nd December 2008. The Secretary conveyed our Club’s greetings to the Howff Club and presented their President, David Miller, with a suitably personalised copy of Jimmy Hempstead’s new book Robert Burns : Cronies, Colleagues and Contemporaries then the Treasurer recited Cocker’s The Deluge. Overnight accommodation was provided at Ellisland Farm and custodian Les Byers was duly thanked in an appropriate manner.

Presiding Officer’s Burns Supper

The Club was one of only five Burns Clubs to be represented at the Presiding Officer’s Burns Supper held in the Scottish Parliament on 21st of January. The Secretary represented the Club at an event which showcased our young talent including the Young Burnsian of the Year 2008, the Scottish Youth Theatre, the National Centre for Excellence in Traditional Music, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. The “old” talent included Len Murray and two MSPs, David McLetchie and Cathie Peattie.

Burns Supper

One hundred and forty seven members and guests attended the Burns Supper. The entertainment was excellent but there were significant problems with the meal and the sound system, both of which need to be resolved prior to the St Andrews Night Dinner.

Ian Strang's etching

James F Miller kindly acquired a print of the etching by Ian Strang (commissioned by Dumbarton Burns Club in 1926 to commemorate the return of the Burgess Ticket to Dumbarton) on behalf of the Club. The timing was very appropriate since it was presented at the Club’s 150^th anniversary supper and the 250^th anniversary of the Bard’s birth. It is intriguing, to say the least, that the very Club which commissioned the etching has no record of what happened either to the original etching or to the Club’s own print of the etching.

Venues for Future Functions

The Dumbuck House Hotel had been booked for both of the 2009 functions on the basis of the success of the 2008 St Andrews Night Dinner. Following the problems of the Burns Supper, the Secretary and Treasurer met with hotel staff to make them aware of our concerns. In fact they themselves were aware of the problems which were due to staff shortages and apologised for the shortcomings. They gave an undertaking to offer the Club a very good deal for the St Andrews Night Dinner and that there will be no repeat of the problems at the Supper.

Schools Competition

Aitkenbar, Braehead, Cardross, Colgrain, Dalreoch and Knowland Primary schools and Dumbarton Academy held competitions this year. The Club will donate prizes to each school and every child taking part will receive a certificate.

Bowls Match

The annual bowls match with the Dumfries Howff Club took place at Dumbarton in September. The weather held fair and an excellent afternoon was enjoyed by all – regardless of the standard of bowling.

Election of Committee and Office Bearers

The outgoing Committee recommends the undernoted to the AGM :-

President P. Reilly

Vice President P.M. Trust

Secretary J.M. Nelson

Treasurer J.R. McLean

                    Members of Committee :- R.A. Callander, R.N. Armstrong, M.C. Taylor, G.W.B. Thomson, A.D. Galt
I.D. Bouttell,G.C. Munro, J.G.N. Young, W. Kean,J. Wallace, J. Platt,         J.G. Findlay

Homecoming Year 2009

Following an approach by West Dunbartonshire Council late in 2008, the Secretary, along with the Secretary of Alexandria Burns Club, met the council’s Tourism Development Officer and Press Officer. They enquired whether our two Clubs would be prepared to join together to hold a Burns Supper during the Homecoming Year. We made it clear that we are Clubs whose functions are open only to members and their guests. We also made it clear that we are not commercial operations and that while we could provide speakers, readers, singers and musicians for such an event, we would expect the Council to fund, organise and promote the event. We suggested that it should be held in June, on or about the anniversary of Burn’s visit to the town.

The Secretary took the opportunity to point out that Dumbarton Burns Club had been planning events for 2009 for the past two years and that of the requests we had made to WDC we have, regrettably had only negative responses.

The Secretary provided them with the Club’s website address in order that they could create a link to it from the Homecoming website.

Report of the 250^th Anniversary Sub Committee

The year 2009 represents a double anniversary year for the Club in that it is both the 250^th anniversary of the Bard’s birth and the 150^th anniversary of the founding of the Club. Events, projects etc taking place during 2009 are being developed by a Sub-Committee (under the Chairmanship of the Honorary Secretary). Since it was set up in 2006 it has met on ten occasions and is well on the way to fulfilling its remit.

Burns Supper

The Burns Supper was held on Friday 23^rd January 2009 and attracted the best attendance for many years. Notwithstanding the problems already identified, the evening was a great success and lived up to expectations with excellent performers. To mark the double anniversary a brief history, including a few photographs, was included in this year’s Burns Supper programme, offering a brief insight into the Club’s development over the past 150 years.

St Andrews Night Dinner

The St Andrews Night Dinner will take place on Friday 27^th November 2009 and will be chaired by President Paul Reilly. The Toast to Scotland will be proposed by Elish Angiolini, Lord Advocate, the Toast to the Lassies will be given by Len Murray and the reply on behalf of the Lassies will be given by Annabel Goldie MSP.

Club Ties, Badges and Key Rings

Ties, badges and key rings were purchased and then distributed at the Burns Supper, Members receiving them gratis. Those not attending received theirs by post once they had paid their subscriptions.

Club Diaries

Burns Diaries were purchased on a self financing basis on behalf of Members and were distributed at the Burns Supper. Those not attending received theirs by post.

First Day Cover

The procedure for first day covers has changed completely since the Club last produced one in 1987. The local Post Office and Sorting Office are no longer involved in the process, it is now handled entirely by Royal Mail’s Philatelic Bureau which is based in Edinburgh.

The Club paid Royal Mail to manufacture an exclusive handstamp to our own design which was subsequently used to cancel the postage stamps on the First Day Covers. The First Day Cover itself was printed in-house by Ian McLean thus saving a significant sum. The front of the envelope shows Strang’s etching and on the reverse a photograph of both the plaque and of Lavinia Drew unveiling it on Glencairn House during the Bi-Centenary in 1996.

The postage stamps used in conjunction with the handstamp and First Day Cover had to be from Royal Mail’s Burns 250^th Anniversary Miniature Sheet and the first class stamps with Burns head and Burns at the plough were used for our First Day Covers.

The First Day Covers were distributed at the Burns Supper. Those Members not attending the Supper received theirs by post once they paid their subscriptions.

Four documents were enclosed in the first day cover :-

1. a covering letter

2. a facsimile copy of Burns’ Burgess Ticket

3. clarification of the text of the Ticket

4. an explanation of the discovery of the Ticket and its return to Dumbarton.

The Secretary was contacted by several collectors and dealers seeking our first day covers. Since we had a few left over they were asked for a donation towards Club funds.

Floral Bed in Levengrove Park

The Secretary reported to the 2008 AGM that West Dunbartonshire Council had agreed to plant a floral bed in Levengrove Park, where Burns is reputed to have stayed at Levengrove House, the home of John McAuley the then town clerk, when he visited the town in 1787 and received the Freedom of the Burgh. Unfortunately a further letter from the Council intimated that regretably “the council is no longer able to provide commemorative floral displays at no cost due to the current financial constraints within which it is operating….The cost of such floral displays require to be borne by the initiating organisation….I can advise that the sum is likely to be in the region of £6,000 per bed”.

Inter-Denominational Service

The inter-denominational service was held in Riverside Church on Sunday 25^th January. It was taken by Robert Watt (who is a Member of the Club) and Father Francis Wilson. Four other Club Members took part in the service, Stuart Cook is the church organist, Joe Platt read Psalm 90, Bob Callander recited To a Mouse and Ian McLean sang A Man’s a Man.

Civic Reception (following inter-denominational service)

Despite the Secretary writing twice, the Club did not receive a definitive response from the Provost.

Burns Exhibition

The exhibition space on the balcony of Dumbarton Library no longer exists, and while there is a proposal to reinstate a dedicated exhibition area this is unlikely to come to fruition in time for our exhibition. The Local History Room can however used to put on a smaller scale exhibition, including a copy of the Burgess Ticket and key aspects of Burns’connection with the town based on his West Highland Tour. This should be on display from approximately 23^rd June to the end of August.

Publications

Jimmy Hempstead’s new compendium of poems Rag Bag of Rhyme has been submitted to three printers for quotations. Once these have been received and we have clarity on other spending commitments for 2009, printing details will be finalised.

The “History of Dumbarton Burns Club” will be re-printed later in 2009 once it has been updated by Mike Taylor to include the double anniversary celebrations.

Fund Raising

A very substantial sum was raised by raffles and donations to fund the Club’s projects for 2009. The finances associated with the 2009 projects are contained in the Treasurer’s Report.

                                                                                                             J.M. Nelson

                                                                                                             Honorary Secretary