Activities 2002 2003




	Honoured guests, visitors and fellow rotarians please be upstanding for president Robin Rippin

Immediate past president Sandy welcomes president Robin to the chair

Club Assembly 25th June 2002
After thanking immediate past president Sandy for such sage guidance and leadership over the last year and pinning his past president's medal on him President Robin then turned to the start of his own year of presidency but before begining to outline his plans for the coming year called Sandy Green to the top table and welcomed him into the post of senior vice president by presenting him with the jewel of his new office.
President Robin then began a PowerPoint presentation in which he, and his new committee convenors, put forward the plans which were to drive the Club forward during the coming year.

President Robin, while disliking the term 'mission statement' then explained the following ideals which he hoped the Club would live by during his term of office.

To support, promote and encourage District Officers and Club Rotarians in the development of membership growth and membership retention and to progress extension within the Rotary family.
To provide Rotary and Rotaract clubs with motivation, education, information and the tools to ensure the creation of healthy and vibrant clubs and a commitment to share the Rotary vision and ideals with others.
To each of us, Rotary has a different and special meaning. Some of us cherish the warm fellowship our clubs offer, while others especially appreciate the opportunities to serve and help those in need. Many of us value Rotary for its international spirit, which so efficiently binds us together in service from every part of the world.
There are thousands of activities going on at this moment in the name of Rotary. Whatever we do, one element remains constant: The best Rotary fellowship and service always comes from the heart. When love is infused into our actions, we do not stop to question the time or money we are sacrificing. We are inspired to do more, to give more. Love is the motivating force behind all of Rotary's best work.

He urged members through their own inspiration and initiative working, not from the top down, but from the grassroots level up – we can volunteer our professional talents where they are most needed; help young people overcome today's constraints and become tomorrow's leaders; develop service partnerships across national borders and fulfil our commitment of worldwide polio eradication. We do not need to create new programmes and projects; we can begin right away by participating more and putting our personal touch on the existing ones. When service comes from our heart and is inspired by our own experiences, we do not simply write a cheque; we write Rotary into our lives.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. There is no need to make it more complex. Rotary offers the opportunity of fellowship through service to others and this simple appeal can move men and women to great endeavour.

Finally we cannot hope to achieve peace in this troubled world but as Rotarians we, through our Ambassadorial Scholars, Group Study Exchange teams and Rotary Volunteers can spread our love across oceans and national borders by feeding the hungry, treating the sick and sheltering the homeless. Through Rotary our efforts can manifest itself in clean drinking water, accessible health care, education for more of the world's children and the fulfilment of basic needs for all humanity.

ROTARY WORKS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL PEOPLE

It was then the turn of the convenors to present their plans the main ones being

Club Service

Fundraising 2002/2003 (target £10,000)
Ceilidh
Potato Sales
Senior citizens Christmas party
Valentine's ball
Charity golf day
Great Glen sponsored walk
Hotel
Programme
Committee arrangements
Guest/former member night



	Sandy Green



	Wilf Cameron

Community & Vocational

Maintaining links with primary schools in our catchment area
Schools quiz
Schools essay competition
Promoting 'Youth Enterprise' in our local area
Challenge Enterprise
Euroscola
RYLA
Environmental work with local communities
Stroke awareness – a possible new incentive
Rotary outreach to local communities
Wishing wells
Meetings in local community halls

International & Foundation

.Foundation suppers - two Rounds
Shoe boxes - increase number of schools involved
Shelter box - one already in use in Afghanistan
Fund raising for another
Water Aid - support for the RIBI WaterAid programme
Foundation scholars - provide hosts for overseas scholars
Fraternal link with a third world club - investigate possibilities for international projects



	Ronnie Black



	Bill Inglis

Membership

How do we increase membership?
Every member has an obligation to look out for potential members.
Advertise ourselves perhaps in the press to create more awareness.
Attend local events and functions in our community to promote Rotary and potentially recruit members
Follow up all of the names that have been suggested over the past few months
Create geographic groups of members and charge them to find and nominate potential members from their area
Continue with club guest nights
Contact local businesses and inform them of our activities.

Other reports were given by rotarians responsible for public relations and IT, the Club archivist, the speakers convenor, the secretary, the sports convenor and the treasurer who, in his own inimitable fashion, reminded us that subscriptions were now due for the new Rotary year.
Before inviting John Minhinick, the assistant governor of zone 6, to sum up president Robin recalled what past president David Rankin said about the ten F words that applied to Rotary which were -

Forward
Fellowship
Facilitate
Flexible
Future

Follow
Fresh
Foundation
Forget
And last but by no means least

FUN

John Minhinick, in summing up, congratulated the Club on such a varied and ambitious programme - especially the targetted fundraising figure of £10,000 and was looking forward to visiting the Club later in the year to see what progress was being made. He then wished the Club well for the coming year.

Assist. Dist. Gov. John Minhinick

John Ewan, July 3rd 2002.
That well known stalwart of the Club, John Ewan, went into the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last weekend for heart surgery and was operated on on Monday morning.
After telephoning Margaret, today, it gives me great pleasure to report that, true to form, John was out of intensive care within 24 hours and was off all support and able to take a shower after 48 hours
Everyone at the club wishes you a speedy recovery and looks forward to seing you back at Fernie to hear your dulcet tones calling us to the dinner table on Tuesday evenings once more.

Update July 6th 2002
I was sitting peacefully, watching the sport on television at about 4.15pm on Saturday afternoon, when the telephone rang and I answered it to hear a voice simply state, "I'm home." It was of course 'Jock'.
It will be three months before he is allowed to drive himself to our Club meetings but I have a feeling that we will be seeing him back long before that. See you then chum.

Shoebox Appeal July 2002
Due to business commitments president Robin was deeply sorry that he was unable to attend his first official club appointment with the pupils of Auchtermuchty Primary School in order to accept the sixty shoeboxes they had collected during the past two weeks for the Rotary shoebox appeal.
However, senior vice president Sandy Green was delighted to deputize for him and, along with Ronnie Black, our International and Foundation convenor who organised the event, took great pleasure in meeting and congratulating head teacher Linda Anderson and her pupils for the effort they had put in to helping young children who are not as fortunate as themselves. Linda explained that as a school they are often asked to help with charitable work and have to be selective about what they do but there was no hesitation in this case.



	The photo shows Sandy,( right), with Linda, Ronnie and the pupils with their shoeboxes.

Bird Hide, July 2002.
Its a dirty job but someone had to do it and the three Sandys, (Davis, Green and Rennie), along with John Kerr set about re-painting our old bird hide at Birnie Loch which we erected 11 years ago. They were fortunate in picking the one Saturday this summer when it did not rain, (unusual - since they arranged to go on the same day as 'T in the Park's' annual mud bath).

(top left l-r) Sandy Rennie, Sandy Green and Sandy Davis - (John Kerr must be round the back doing all the work)

(above) A rare sighting of the greater spotted Sandy Green caught in a relaxed moment showing off his plumage while basking in the summer sun

(right) Tired, dirty and happy at the end of the job Sandy Rennie, John Kerr, Sandy Davis & Sandy Green

Plant Sale, July 2002.
Saturday proved to be a busy day as in the afternoon some of us were to be found back at the Deer Centre only this time we were selling plants. When rotarians Andrew Kennedy and Oliver Will reported at a Club meeting that an elderly lady had broken her wrist and was having difficulty in watering her plants and getting them to market the members stepped in with the offer of help. We found that she had between 1000 - 2000 geranium, fuscia, begonia


			and pelargonium plants. So with the help of former rotarian Tom Ford's truck and permission from the ever helpful Deer Park manager, Graeme Taylor, we went back to the site where we usually sell potatoes at Christmas for our charity appeal - only this time it was a pleasure to




stand there in our shirt sleeves and feel the warmth of the summer sun on our faces instead of being wrapped up in numerous layers of clothing with a wintery east wind whipping round our ankles doing its best to freeze our bodies into icy sculptures.

Annual Cricket Match v Cupar, July 2002.
A month later than planned, due to the rainy weather leaving the square somewhat waterlogged, the annual match against our mother club, Cupar, took place at Scroggie Park the home of Falkland Cricket Club. Both teams fielded a generously agreed number of 'overseas' players, (or ringers from local cricket clubs), and an evening of friendly rivalry ensued. As stated in previous years reports, the scoring system, which I am not going to make any attempt to explain, totally baffled the scorer and players alike and needed an army of dodgy accountants to decide the final outcome.

Before the game our star wicket keeper, immediate past president Sandy Matthew (top l), sustained a painful blow on the elbow while practicing at the nets, which is not surprising when you look at the way that Jim Storrar, (top), and Mike Black were warming up with the ball. Alas this was not the end of poor Sandy's troubles as during his time at the crease, when asked to run for a quick single, he strained a calf muscle and after manfully batting out his innings retired to the safety of being umpire for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the farming fraternity of Black, Whiteford and Black, (top r), took up their positions in the slips - well - it would take a good bat to get a ball past three pairs of hands that size.
Captain, and left hander, John Kerr (below l) and sports convener, Sandy Davis (below r) stroked the ball around the pitch with consummate ease but it was all to no avail as the result eventually went Cupar's way.
The game over both teams

then repaired to the clubhouse to enjoy the facilities and where refreshments, tea, sandwiches and sticky buns were on hand to bolster any flagging spirits
I have it at first hand that our sports convener, allthough stung by defeat and chastened by the thought of Cupar chosing a better class of ringer for the game, stoutly denies any truth in the rumour that he is already on the lookout for suitable players to strengthen the squad for next year. .

Charity Ceilidh, October 2002
Since we have a log jam of events in the spring of each year and very little to fill our calendar from July to December we decided to spread our functions out more evenly and the result was that President Robin took great

	delight in welcoming the members and their wives, families and friends to our second ceilidh of the year. Once again, with the emphasis on fun, about 90 of us made our way to Strathmiglo village hall to skip the night away to the Herculean Ceilidh band. The buffet was, as usual, par excellence and a special thank you goes to the ladies for providing the salads. Also, after last years tremendously successful raffle, some thought that this year it would be difficult to follow. However, the committee put their thinking caps on and after a bit of hard work came up with four major prizes, a round of golf for four on the new Torrance course donated by the St. Andrews Bay Hotel, A bottle of 18 year old malt whisky donated by Wisemans Dairies, a week in a Highland cottage donated by immediate past

president Sandy Matthew and a week in an apartment in St. Andrews donated by senior vice president Sandy Green as well as a host of smaller prizes brought by the members and guests which made this year every bit as successful as last year - although without the charms and sales techniques of Lyndsey Bennett and Suzanne Petrie, (who terrorized us all into parting with our cash), who knows what might have happened.

Golf Away Day, October 2002
Nine stalwarts arrived at Scoonie Golf Club, Leven on the wet and windy morning of 10 October intent on defying the elements and playing some mildly competitive golf. The first hazard most had to contend with was not the driving rain, but the esoteric rules of "Super Stableford", a format few had heard of, let alone played.

After a welcome hot bacon or sausage roll, the first threesome set off to brave the elements. Luckily, the rain had stopped by the time Bob Simson made the opening tee shot on the first hole, "Scoonie Burn". A predictable score of par 4 was the result, netting Bob 3 Stableford points and one bonus point for a tee shot landing on the fairway. Roger Guy managed a respectable 3 points total, but the third member of the trio, Sandy Davis, had to content himself with a single point from his gross seven. The second threesome set off at a blistering pace behind, with Oliver Will making at least 2 Stableford points on each of the first 9 holes. Indeed, not until the 9th hole did Oliver fail to add a bonus point to that tally! David Price started steadily enough, but his back 9 ensured that his unofficial handicap increased by two. Sandy Rennie opened his account with 3 Stable-




	ford and 2 bonus points on the first hole and though he faltered a little on the next, "The Dyke", he was to amass a fair total including a "record" 7 (4 Stableford for a net eagle and 3 bonus points) on Hole 7 "The Sheds". The Ladies' pairing of Ann Davis and Wilma Moore decided that the weather gods seemed in more benign mood than earlier, so they might as well try 9 holes anyway. However, they found themselves on the 18th fairway sooner than expected, and Bob Simson was there to witness an excellent approach shot from each of them onto the "Hame" green. Sheila Will performed sterling service as roving rules adviser and score card auditor. Oliver Will and Sandy Rennie managed to score points on every hole, finishing in first and third places respectively. Bob Simson took second place, but was let down by an

uncharacteristic 6 on the par 3 10th, "The Drap", where his 3 putts earned him a minus point.
All agreed that it had been an exhilarating round of golf and a fitting way to mark an end to the season. We shall aim to kick start the 2003 Foursomes League with a similar outing towards the ends of March.

The Club Golf Foursomes League
This, unfortunately, has not been the most successful of competitions, as only half of the required matches were played. Even that would not have been achieved had it not been for a late change in pairings. All the same, the golf that was played was much enjoyed, and we finished up with clear winners.
Apart from the difficulties many of us had in arranging matches, the competition was marked by the discussions that were generated on unofficial handicaps. The 'committee' has not gone as far as to insist on handicap certificates for the 2003 League, but players using their own yardsticks can expect to come under close scrutiny!
Congratulations to Bob Simson and Sandy Matthew who were unbeaten on the golf course and worthy inaugural winners of the Matthew Vase. Runners-up Bill Inglis and Sandy Davis were the only team to play all of their matches, but were unable to translate enthusiasm into points.


	*Gavel Competition Vs. St. Andrews* A team of 8 stalwarts travelled in hope from the Howe of Fife to St. Andrews on the evening of 17 October 2002 to do battle with the RC of St. Andrews.

We even had the luxury of a non-playing captain on this occasion! One carload left from Strathmiglo - Sandy Matthew, Peter Holt, John Kerr and Sandy Rennie. Our team captain, Sandy Davis squeezed 3 farmers - Charles Samson, James Storrar and Ronnie Black - into his car and still found room for Bob Simson.The venue for this occasion was the New Golf Club premises, and St. Andrews had everything set up for our arrival. One side of the room was taken up with carpet bowls, and though the pre-match practices did not augur much, we were still quietly confident. Despite one or two encouraging ends, though, our hosts always had the upper hand. Perhaps the fact that St. Andrews plays this game nearly every Monday night had something to do with their prowess. The Howe did not expect to fare well in the putting competition against this opposition and in such close

proximity to the R&A. Also, the 'green' had some very subtle borrows that the home team seemed to be able to read better than we could. So, we were not at all disappointed when we came second in this discipline too Shove ha'penny is one of these games where either you have the knack or, in the case of our gallant few, the technique is remarkable elusive.
Despite all of the foregoing, however, the Howe kept their nerve and made a good showing in that game of skill and daring - Jenga. All the same, we had to concede victory to the home team who amassed 23 points to our 1.
Sports convener Sandy Davis has taken this defeat rather badly and has promised that there will be 'no more Mr. Nice Guy' for the next round against Cowdenbeath.
Watch this space.

Gavel Competition Vs. Cowdenbeath
Our only home match in this year's competition was against Cowdenbeath on 29 October 2002. Out team captain - who once more had the luxury of 8 players enabling him to concentrate on off-pitch tactics - decided he needed to make the most of the home advantage if we were to have any chance of progressing further in the competition. Selecting the disciplines was therefore of paramount importance. Jenga had to feature, and sure enough, we managed a 3-1 victory here. However, the quirkiness of the scoring system - also devised by (and understood only by!) our team captain - meant that this would not necessarily translate itself into a winning margin. Notwithstanding our experience at St. Andrews, putting was also on the agenda. However, as Cowden-


	beath is not known for its prowess at this sport, this was not considered much of a risk. In the event, they were not a match for us, and we were able to chalk up 3 wins out of 4 here also. The third discipline was a game called Scattegories, which is somewhat more cerebral than the usual Gavel Competition fare. History will record that Cowdenbeath were certainly bested at this game, but that can be put down to the fact that they seemed more bemused than were the Howe players! Our pièce de résistance, which was calculated to ensure a home victory against all the odds, was remote control car racing against the clock. Charles Samson provided all the equipment for this no-expense-spared event and also gave extempore instruction on the course, rules

and technique. It was therefore no surprise that Howe chalked up more wins in this event than did Cowdenbeath, but the number of points available amounted to several hundred in each match, enabling the opposition to make up an alarming amount of lost ground. In the final analysis, though, Cowdenbeath came a good second, and we wished them better success against St Andrews than we had.
Home pairings were: Robin Rippin/Bill Inglis, Roger Guy/Jim Storrar, Sandy Rennie/Sandy Matthew and Charles Samson/John Kerr.
(The web master would like to say a special thank you to Sandy Davis, our sports convener, for compiling the last four reports and sending in the photographs).

Canada to Scotland Rotary Curling Tour 2002
In 1956, when Rotarian Bob Mackintosh was on a business trip to Canada to promote a book, he met fellow Rotarian Aubrey Legge from Montreal. During the conversation Aubrey mentioned that one of his ambitions was to curl in Scotland and as a result 12 Canadians and 4 Americans came to Scotland beginning over 40 years of Rotary curling fellowship.
The Scots returned to Canada in 1960 after which a decision was made to tour every 2 years
Three trophies are played for
The Bob Mackintosh Transatlantic Quaich awarded for the best aggregate number of points scored during all the games between the Canadian team and the various local Scottish teams
The Duddingston Trophy awarded to the winner of the game played between the Canadian Team and the Scottish team and
The John Cutler Trophy played for by the two most recent teams on either side of the Atlantic

This year our immediate past president, Sandy Matthew, was host to Bill Stevens from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, for two nights. Bill arrived in Scotland on November 2nd, went to Stirling on the 3rd to 5th; Perthshire for the 6th & 7th; Inverness for the 8th & 9th; Aberdeen for the 10th & 11th; Dundee and Angus for the 12th & 13th; and Fife for the 14th & 15th.


	The teams on the Kirkcaldy ice, (with Sandy ringed) (photo courtesy of Bill Hill Photographs)

On their arrival in Fife the Canadians were met in a wet and windy St Andrews where they had coffee in the New Club before going on a tour of the R & A and in the evening rotarian Wilf Cameron and his wife Alison joined Sandy and Bill for dinner at Gorno Grove.
Friday morning saw them on the New Course for a game of golf thanks to Wilf and, after lunch, Fife took on the Canadians at curling on Kirkcaldy Ice Rink. Fife lost by four shots and in the evening a ceilidh was held in the Dean Park Hotel in their honour. It was a fun evening much appreciated by the guests.
On Saturday Sandy's wife, Dianne, took their guest to Edinburgh for the next stage of the tour which was Edinburgh 2 days, Borders 2 days, Dumfries and Galloway 2 days, Ayrshire 2 days, Hamilton 2 days and finally Glasgow for 3 days before flying home on 30 November - for a rest maybe.

Christmas Charity Appeal 2002
Santa is coming to the Deer Centre early this year and, once again, signals the start of our annual Christmas charity drive. Our very good friends Cavaghan and Gray arranged another donation of 10 tons of potatoes and President Robin can be seen below accepting them from Gus Farmer. But the potatoes do not arrive on our doorstep

without help and we are grateful to Eric Ritchie of W.C.F., Abernethy for providing the bags, Henry Shanks of Falklandwood Farm for grading and bagging them and Lomond Haulage of Markinch for delivering them.
Over the next four weeks we will be braving all that winter throws at us to try and beat last year's record sales.

We will be using two locations at the weekends and our thanks go to Graeme Taylor at the Deer Centre and John Hodson of Cupar Garden Centre for their continued support. Mid-week will still see us going from door to door throughout the villages and hamlets of the Howe

and in an effort to ring the changes we will be 'setting up shop' in the middle of Cupar on Thursday 5th December - the night that the Christmas lights are turned on and local businesses open for late night shopping.

(Top r) pres. Robin thanks Gus Farmer of Cavaghan & Gray for the potatoes
(Middle r) Ronnie Black and Sandy Davis at the Deer Centre
(Above) The Cupar Garden Centre
(r) Rick Bond and Alan Whiteford enduring some

traditional tattie selling weather at the Garden Centre
(below r) David Price on one of our evening excursions happy at having been successful.
(below l) Oliver Will doing what a treasurer does best - counting the money. Goodness knows what he will do next year when he gives it all up to concentrate on being senior vice president.
(bottom r) The hard work over with another ton of potatoes sold and the group repairs to a local hostelry to count the money, discuss the evening's successes (or failures) and to enjoy the camaraderie of Rotary over a well earned refreshment.

Members and visitors will be delighted to know that we eventually sold 16 tons of potatoes this year, (one more than last year), and set a new target to beat next Christmas..

Rotary Shoebox Appeal, December 2002



After taking charge of the 80 boxes, which represents approximately one box for every family at the school, Mrs. Easton took President Robin on a sentimental tour of the playground and the school buildings. The next day saw him visiting the primary school in Auchtermuchty to collect even more shoeboxes from Mrs. Linda Anderson and her pupils and congratulate them on a tremendous effort as this is the second time this year that the school has contributed to the appeal, (the last time was in July), and they were so successful again that they had to phone us up for more boxes to wrap all the gifts that the children brought.


		President Robin took a nostalgic trip down memory lane when he visited his old primary school, at Kingskettle, where he first started his education all these many years ago. He was there to collect shoeboxes from the pupils who, under the guidance of Mrs. Anne Easton, their head teacher, took part in the scheme for the second year in succession Mrs. Easton said, "She was delighted that the school had taken part again as it made them all happy and taught the children to give something to people less fortunate than themselves".

Above left (l - r)Mrs. Easson, President Robin and Rtn. Sandy Davis, who organised the event, with the children loading their shoeboxes.
Above right (l - r)President Robin with Mrs. Linda Anderson and her pupils carrying the boxes to the horsebox

Gavel Competition Vs Carse of Stirling, December 2002
The team of 8 that made its way to Stirling to do battle with the Rotary Club of the Carse of Stirling knew that they were likely to be up against the odds. Stirling had the bit between their teeth, having already defeated their two other opponents in this round of the competition, so only needed to hold the Howe to a draw to progress further.




But Stirling was not going to rely purely on luck to see them into the next round. They introduced us to a couple of fiendish games - table curling and carpet boules or pétanque. Despite some of our players having experience in the 'grown-up' versions of these games, we were unable to get to grips with the subtle differences at this level, and did not quite hold our own. The upshot was that Carse of Stirling came out worthy winners scoring 21 points to our own 11. So endeth District 1010 Gavel Competition 2002 - at least for the Rotary Club of Howe of Fife. On behalf of President Robin, a big thank you to


			We were all given a very warm welcome at the Terraces Hotel, and much enjoyed joining in the weekly Club meeting. An interesting talk on modern policing methods rounded off the formal part of the evening, and then we got down to the serious business. Two of the events were not unfamiliar to our heroes - dominoes and putting. However, the luck of the draw was not with us, and though skill was undoubtedly not lacking, Stirling came out on top in the dominoes. Also, despite one or two sterling (no pun intended!) individual performances, Howe was just not on putting form.

all participants. We may not have covered ourselves in glory, but we represented our Club in fine style and furthered the ideal of Rotary fellowship. The darkest days of winter are still before us, so if any of us feel the need to get in some practice before Gavel 2003......


Senior Citizens Christmas Dinner, December 2002 President Robin welcomed members, wives and guests to this year's Christmas dinner when 60 of us sat down to platefuls of Christmas fare and cheer at Fernie Castle on our last meeting before the Festive break.

Once again we were royally entertained, by President Robin's multi talented family, (wife, Margaret and daughter, Rebecca), along with that most accomplished musician, singer and family friend, Michael Ellacott, to a selection of music from various shows and films. The highlight of the evening came when Margaret and Rebecca sang a duet from Chess and a medley from the Disney movies Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King.
The evening was rounded off with everybody joining in to sing Christmas Carols before each guest was given a present of box of chocolates and then chauffeured home.



*Congratulations* President Robin only made one announcement on Tuesday night and that was to deliver the delightful news about the engagement of Rotarian Bob Simson to his long time companion Wilma Moore They take the best wishes of everybody within the Club and we all wish them many happy years together

The Marriage of Robert Henry Eastwood Simson and Wilma Margaret Moore, 25th January 2003.
In Scotland the 25th of January is normally celebrated by honouring the national bard Robert Burns. But this year the Club were delighted to break with tradition and instead of attending a supper to toast the haggis, the bard and the lassies we attended the wedding of one of our members and took greater pleasure in toasting the happy couple whilst wishing them a long and happy life together. The weather was kind and though it was cold and blustery the rain kept away and did not spoil their happy day.
Bob duly arrived at the church, resplendent in his kilt, soon to be followed by the blushing bride, (who did not

keep up with tradition by making him wait at the altar), and after a ceremony witnessed by their respective children, grandchildren, friends and members of the Club emerged into the brilliant sunshine as Mr. and Mrs. Robert Simson.

Since they were not travelling on honeymoon immediately we were all invited to their house in the evening to join them for 'a glass of champagne and nibbles' and the members took the opportunity to present Bob and Wilma with a crystal claret jug similar in shape to the one presented to the winner of the open golf championship

The end of a beautiful day

New Member, 28th Jaunary 2003
In these times of falling membership it is always a pleasure for the president of any club to welcome somebody new into the arms of Rotary and, thanks to the hard work of his membership committee, president Robin was able to induct his third new member of this Rotary year.
Paul Northway, who has been attending meetings as a guest for the past few weeks, decided that the aims of Rotary were similar to his own and applied for membership
Paul is married, a father of two, a pharmacist and a keen golfer.
He was quickly reminded that to be a member of the Rotary Club of the Howe of Fife requires a sense of

humour, (or a touch of madness), when, immediately after his induction he listened to, and took part in, David Pollard's talk about hats when David showed the Club the collection of hats he has acquired from his travels around the world and explained where, when and why he bought them before making the members model them.




St. Valentine's Ball, February 2003 - A Roaring 20's Success The sell out St. Valentine's Ball organised by the Club in the Corn Exchange, Cupar, raised £6,500 towards our charities account Among the 200 people attending were district governor Ron McKail and his wife Ann, assistant district governor John Minhinick and his wife Sheila and former district governor Bill Moodie with wife Betty. (Photograph courtesy of Bill Hill Photographs)

President Robin said afterwards, "I am delighted with the support for the event and thank all the businesses and companies who so generously donated prizes for the raffle or who helped sponsored it by advertising in the programme. As a result many deserving local, national and international charities will benefit along with several organisations and groups. My chosen charity this year is Children First and they will receive a sizable donation Other donations will go to The Maggies Appeal, Rotary's Water Aid project and several others."
The ball's theme was the 1920's and a large number of the members and their guests dressed appropriately with prizes for the most original costumes. Even the tables for dinner had names associated with the Roaring Twenties including Buster Keaton, Al Capone, the Great Gatsby and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Stroke Awareness Day, 1st March 2003

The Rotary Club of the Howe of Fife and their mother club, the Rotary Club of Cupar, in partnership with Chest Heart and Stroke, Scotland, have teamed up to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by offering free blood pressure checks and information to residents in the Howe of Fife and Cupar area on Stroke Awareness Day
Trained medical staff will be giving free blood pressure checks and advice on reducing high blood pressure, which is one of the greatest risk factors for causing strokes, in the car park of Tesco, Cupar
The aim is to ensure as many people as possible are given the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked and therefore be aware of any potentially lifesaving lifestyle changes they may need to make. Members of the public who have high blood pressure will be given a card for them to take to their GP so that they are able to discuss its implications and, if necessary, plan follow-up readings


	An apprehensive president Robin getting his blood pressure taken by rotarian Dr. John Kerr

Strokes are the single biggest cause of death in Scotland and the number one cause of severe disability. Over 100,000 people are affected each year. People with high blood pressure have up to a seven times greater chance of having a stroke than those with normal blood pressure and a number of simple life changes can help reduce the risk of taking one.
President Robin said, "Rotary fully supports Chest Heart and Stroke, Scotland, in this campaign. This devastating condition can be prevented in a large number of cases if people would only have their blood pressure taken and then take a few appropriate measures to keep those levels under control. Simple life adjustments as explained in the information leaflets can have life saving effects."


Always remember that prevention is better than cure and the Rotary Club of the Howe of Fife and the Rotary Club of Cupar have teamed up to invite everybody who is in the area to visit us at our caravan to have a free blood pressure test taken and take part in this major health awareness initiative.""


	Photographs (top l) The caravan supported by the para medical vehicles while, inside, (top r) Jim and Lynne Kennedy, from Dunbog, have their blood pressures taken.(below l & r) Megan Perry, from Ceres, watches her mother tested before having her own blood pressure checked

Over 300 people, (nearly 50 per hour), took advantage of our offer on the day - and the results? About 50% of those tested were within normal ranges, a further 20% had slightly high readings, another 27% were verging on high and advised to visit their doctor. But, most importantly, 3% who had abnormally high readings, and were totally unaware of their problem, will now be able to take action and, hopefully, visit their doctor to correct whatever is causing their condition.

The Fifth Annual Rotary Lecture, The Rights and Wrongs of Rights of Way, March 2003.

This year's speaker was Alistair Lawson, MA., Dip. Phys. Ed., Cert. Ed., Cert. Teafl., M. Envs. Alistair is a native of Dundee whose early studies took him to St. Andrews University and Loughborough College of Physical Education He has more recent taken a degree in Environmental Studies at Strathclyde University.
While teaching geography he undertook travels and climbing in Peru, South India, Ceylon, Africa (from Capetown to Cairo), the Atlas mountains, Corsica, the Alps and Scandinavia. These experiences have all formed a basis for subsequent learning.
He is currently a Field Officer for the Scottish Rights of Way and access Society, (Scotways), whose duties include sign posting work, 'trouble shooting' case work, recruitment, overseeing of field volunteers, liaison with local authorities, publicity and public lectures. His other interests include skiing, hill walking, running, cycling, the Scottish countryside and philately

The audience eagerly awaiting the start of Alistair's lecture

120 people gathered for our fifth lecture at Fernie Castle and, after the speaker was introduced by president Robin, listened to a highly entertaining and informative lecture which was liberally illustrated by slides to highlight specific rights of way and past court cases that the Society was involved with.
They were taken on a trip of 15,000 years showing the progression of early man's rights, how they came about and how they were developed. Formed, firstly by people moving from one hunting area to a more productive hunting area, these paths, as the years progressed, soon served to take produce to market, worshipers to the kirk, some became coffin roads for taking the dead to the cemetery or drove roads for driving sheep or cattle between pastures thus forming linear rights of way before forming the crazed network of roads that we know today.
At question time Alistair was asked about the effect the new legislation, recently passed through the Scottish parliament, would have and while the society agitated for, and welcomed, the act they were not sure how it was going to work out. It was felt that there were going to be problems and test cases would probably be raised to determine their outcome. Though there will be a new, more comprehensive, countryside code published towards the end of the year which will give more detailed do's and don'ts of what should, and should not, be done when in the countryside.


	President Robin introducing the speaker


Alistair with his attentive audience

People are often surprised that there are rights of way in Scotland, but anyone who enjoys recreation in the countryside is bound to have used them frequently. Many of the most famous routes in Scotland are rights of way, for example the Lairig Ghru, Glen Tilt, the Minigaig Pass, the Gaick Pass and Jock's Road.
To become a right of way, a route has to meet certain legal conditions; in particular, it must have been used by the general public for at least 20 years and must link two public places (usually public roads). Rights of way vary from long hill routes (often historical drove or kirk roads) to local routes used for walking the dog or as short cuts to shops, schools and other local amenities.
The Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society has been working to safeguard rights of way for over 150 years. It is probably the oldest organisation in the world dedicated to improving countryside access.
Their objects are the preservation, defence, restoration and acquisition of public rights of access for the public benefit over land in Scotland, including public rights of way.
There are now around 1250 of their distinctive green and white signposts on rights of way all over Scotland. These not only indicate routes, but also help to safeguard their status.
The Society may be traced back to 1845, although rights of way have existed in one form or another, for example as drove roads, for many centuries. At that time landowners in Scotland were becoming increasingly jealous of their possessions and ordinary folk were being prevented from walking in the countryside.
The citizens of Edinburgh, angry at these restrictions, called on their Lord Provost, Adam Black, to convene a public meeting at which a motion was passed which in effect called for a right of access to the countryside. Following this meeting, the Association for the Protection of Public Rights of Roadway in and around Edinburgh was formed.
Before the evening drew to a close John Minhinick the assistant district governor for zone 6 proposed the vote of thanks to the speaker



	Asst. gov.John discusses the evening's programme

In deep discussion about the evening

The Rotary Club of the Howe of Fife would like to take this opportunity to thank Kettle Produce for sponsoring this year's Lecture

Rotary Round the Howe, Wednesday 19th March 2003
In what could be the first step in the start of a new initiative to raise the profile of, and to introduce and explain Rotary to the communities in the Howe of Fife the Club held its Tuesday night meeting in the Victory hall in Collessie village last night.

The idea is the brainchild of rtn. Jim Storrar who over the last two weeks delivered leaflets through the doors inviting everybody who lives there to join us for the business session of our meeting in their local hall.
The meeting was attended by a good cross-section from the community and was chaired by president Robin. Committee chairmen presented the reports of their activities, (past, present and future), and an account of the disbursement of the charity funds raised by the club was given before inviting questions and comments from the floor.
One question raised by local historian John Stark, who was born in Collessie, has set the club an interesting exercise. He has established that there is only one other place in the world called Collessie which is in South

Africa and he has asked the club to use its Rotary contacts to either try to trace the townships roots or to find a contact that he can correspond with directly to investigate who was responsible for founding the town.
At the end of the meeting president Robin presented a cheque for £200 to the chair of the Victory Hall Committee Mr. Peter Smith before inviting everybody to join us in refreshments.

Visit to RNLI, Anstruther, March 2003.