The president covered the super gig at Applegarth by Emily Smith and friends so I will say only that the wine was cheap plonk but I could have listened to Emily all night.  Earlier that day, the treasurer and I welcomed a further two visitors from St. Petersburg and trekked through the rain to Burns House and Mausoleum but the ladies who spoke perfect English were enraptured. Later, a high-powered team assembled in the clubroom to conduct the final ploof reading for the Commemorative Book. I have long thought that accurate ploof reading is a skill, which few of us have but Mr. Baird was satisfied at the end.

Back to Solway Offset on Tuesday 28^th October. The book looks fantastic and should become a collector’s item in future. At the same time, I left a selection of photos, ancient and modern, for the special edition of the Burns Chronicle next year. I have to say that the committee photo from 1939 is much more impressive than the modern counterpart.  The second Winter Lecture of the series on 29^th October was presented by pp Peter Kormylo and his colleague Mark Oxbrow from LTS, Glasgow and well covered by the Webmaster in the Events Page. Suffice it to say that the biscuits, which dated to March 2009, will be replaced for the next lecture.  The president’s comments on the Hallowe’en Supper said it all and personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening. Some issues arose which were addressed by the office bearers on 2^nd November and I look forward to the St. Andrew’s Night Dinner with anticipation.  A particularly happy event was the gathering of past presidents for the photograph in the clubroom on 4^th November. 27 out of 30 surviving pasts crammed into the space and posed for the pic, which is destined for the “Big Issue”. It was pleasing to see so many from the last century and I spent a pleasant hour in reminiscing. Pleased to record that James Haining who was absent due to ill health is now on the mend.  The buffet that followed was consumed in short order. Met up with President John on Friday 6^th to go over the programme for the Gala Concert. The demands made by the guest artist’s agent for chewing gum, lettuce sandwiches and Perrier Water to be placed in the dressing room seem excessive to me but then, what do I know about the artistic temperament.   Monday 9^th and got psyched up for the 2009 Project Sub Committee followed by the Excom meeting at 7.30. Delighted to hear that tickets for the Gala Concert are going well but this is due to members of the Male Voice Choir rather than the club and the president struggled to find six committee members to help out as stewards.  Off to the Friends of Ellisland AGM on Wednesday 11^th. The agenda was completed in 20 minutes but “Any Other Business” lasted over an hour and included accusations that the displays are becoming “Disneyfied”. The chairman could take a leaf out of John Caskie’s book.

An evening of superb entertainment on Friday 13^th at New Cumnock Burns Club attended by David Baird and I when Billy Kay and friends presented a night of music, poetry, story and song celebrating the Scottish diaspora and its influence all over the world. In the first half, Billy took the company round Europe with songs including “The Forfar Sojer” and songs of exile like “The Sun Rises Bright in France” from the Peninsular War. North and South America was the setting for the second half. Billy’s narrative and the songs and music from “Jock Tamson’s Bairns”, three first class musicians and vocalists variously on the fiddle, guitar, flute, bhodran and Jew’s Harp, made the patriotic blood race and left the audience gasping for more. The return journey was interesting.

DS