2009

At the Curling Competition for the Edinburgh Trophy against the other two Perth Clubs on Thu 6th Nov the Perth St John’s curlers were in devastating form winning all four games. John Fyfe received the Trophy on behalf of the winning team. Interviewed later by the By George curling correspondent, John stated that he put this win down to hard work and concentration by everyone in the team. He particularly paid tribute to Mark Cairns and Paul Kyle who are new to curling and are already displaying considerable skill and enthusiasm. The Curlers will look forward to defending the Trophy next year.

Stuart Cameron, Ian Mutch, David Grant and Rob Burke played in the first rounds of the Rams Head Competition on Sun 2nd Nov. While they won the first game against the Rotary Club of Glasgow they lost the second game against the Rotary Club of Perth. The top four teams go through to the next stage but as we finished in 5th place we just missed out.

On a brighter note Perth St Johns have played the first two rounds of the Perthshire Rotary League winning both games and are at present top of the league.

Our guests enjoying music and songs from the Dunkeld and District Strathspey & Reel Society at the Senior Citizens Ceilidh.

Our thanks went to all who supported our 11th Charity Dinner at the Lovat Hotel. The money raised went to:

• Shelterbox - an outstanding Rotary charity which delivers urgent emergency support to devastated communities worldwide.

• Cash for Kids (formerly Caring for Kids) - a Tayside based charity which offers imaginative and wide ranging help to disadvantaged young people in our community.

• Our own Charity account which assists a wide range of charities in our community and elsewhere.

Eight teams from Perth schools took part in our Primary Schools Quiz on March 10th.

Congratulations to the winning team, from Calendonian Road School! They were close runners up in the Rotary Zone final, and went forward to the District competition at Meldrum Academy on Saturday 6th June.

I completed my ‘jump’ on Thursday 14th May and found the whole experience really exhilarating. Quite a rush it has to be said - hurtling to the earth at 120 mph. Check out my cheeks in the photo - that's what you get for going at that speed not safely inside a vehicle!!

Thanks to everyone who raised sponsorship for Polio Plus.

Maureen and Rob accompanied a dozen youngsters from the Princess Royal Trust for Young Carers on a day out to RAF Leuchars.

The highlight of the day was an inspection of a front line Tornado F3 with pilots from No. 111 Squadron.

Over a gloriously sunny two days, more than 300 people enjoyed the fun of trying to find the blue-tipped nail in the haystack. Historically, this challenge has been enormously successful and this year its drawing power was evident yet again.

With over 500 nails in place there were still over 50 winners, at times placing a bit of pressure on reserves! However eventually £225 net was recorded to be donated to various Rotary charities. Additionally, Rotary St. Johns benefited from members being able to discuss its charitable work with interested participants.

We bought a much-needed hoist for PRI Stroke Rehabilitation Unit. After it was installed, club president Ian went to see it demonstrated.

The track allows patients to be supported safely and comfortably while they exercise. Ian reported that it is a very impressive piece of equipment which clearly is a huge asset to the staff in the unit, and to all the patients over the coming years who will benefit from using it on their journey of recovery following a stroke.

2009 will go down as the barbecue summer that wasn’t. But did we let that get us down? No, of course not and the annual club BBQ went ahead as planned, albeit inside with the heating on.

The first challenge was getting the barbecue lit, as ever Stuart Cameron came to the rescue, surprisingly with a screwdriver rather than a match. Our three chefs were magnificent.

Next delight was the many salads and puddings, not least Jeanette’s clouty dumpling & pavlova. A drink, a burger and a salad along with some excellent company and it was all over for another year.

New illuminated faces for the Rotary Centenary clock outside Perth Concert Hall. It was presented to the city of Perth in 2005 by the three Perth Rotary clubs to mark the centenary of Rotary International.