After opening our 1162nd meeting, President Euan Fraser had the happy task of introducing a new member, Julien Berg, and recounting Julien’s varied career. Next, we had our EGM, where members agreed to two changes in the constitution, then agreed the new structure for our subs next year.

We are still looking for a new Social Convener, and have had two very successful events since our last meeting. Surgeons’ Hall proved well worth a visit, enhanced by an introductory talk from a member of staff. The whisky tasting event also proved a hit with those who attended. Both walking groups are still going strong, and this Friday the walkers will meet for a coffee before their walk. Next Thursday’s group will meet at 10.00 at our usual car park for a walk round Dunnikier Park.

The first meeting in December is always our quiz day, and quizmaster Stuart Rennie must spend most of the intervening months preparing the quiz, so impessive is it. He is a master of the digital presentation, and this year’s quiz continued the tradition. This year, the quiz was based on the popular tv programme, “The 1% Club” and Stuart could give tv’s Lee Mack and his team a run for their money. The members thoroughly enjoyed the event, and congratulations to Mike Simpson and Joe Hughes who came out joint winners.

On December 18th we are having our Christmas lunch, 12.00 for 12.30: Christmas jumpers if you wish. Our next full meeting is not till January 15th, when we shall hear about The Dog Trust Rehousing Centre. The following meeting on 5th February will be preceded by a committee meeting. The college dinner is on Thursday 20th February – names to Euan Fraser, and family and friends are welcome – and the visit to Kirkcaldy Rugby Club will be on Saturday March 1st.

Phil Dodsworth

President Euan Fraser opened our 1161st meeting and informed us that our next meeting would be preceded by an EGM to agree amendments to our current constitution. He then reminded us we need a new Social Convener, before asking the retiring Social Convener to give us details of the visit to Surgeons’ Hall on Monday, 25th November. We should meet there by 10.45 and, if using public transport, the walk will be about 15-20 minutes from the bus or train station. On Thursday 28th we have our whisky tasting, and the Christmas Lunch is on our usual Wednesday meeting day of December 18th. The Fife Probus Golf AGM is on the 29th of November, 10.00 for 10.30, at Dunnikier Golf Club. Our two walking groups are going well; the Friday group have visited the East Neuk and then Birnie Loch, and the Thursday group are to visit Heatherhall Wood near Ladybank next week.

 Our speaker for the day was Phil Dodsworth talking about Blood Bikes Scotland, a subject of which few of us had any prior knowledge. There are 47 Blood Bikes Groups throughout the UK, and several in Scotland, as “Blood Bikes Scotland” only covers the Health Board areas of Lothian, Borders, Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside. The first Blood Bikes group started in Surrey in 1962, and although they used their own bikes at first, now all riders use the official bikes, which have GPS tracking, sat nav and cameras, as well as RAM tracking, which alerts the controller if any vehicle is stopped in an unusual or wrong place. All the personnel, from riders to trustees, even those in the National Association of Blood Bikes, are volunteers, and every penny collected by Blood Bikes Scotland is spent on maintaining the 15 bikes and 5 cars in the fleet and operating the service in support of the NHS. There is no funding provided by the NHS, by local government or by the national government. The vehicles and their insurance cost £6000 a month, and this all comes from donations.

 There are great benefits to the NHS from Blood Bikes Scotland. They did 9001 jobs last year, driving 259,000 miles in the process. The savings to the NHS were £301,481. Although their name makes us think they only transport blood, this is actually only a small fraction of the jobs they do. They also transport such as diagnostic test samples, life saving treatment, medication to homes including controlled drugs, and documents. The only thing they don’t move is organs.

 A clearly impressed Ian Anderson gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the members.

 President Euan closed the meeting by reminding us of the EGM before the next meeting, which will be our annual quiz, hosted by Stuart Rennie, who is keeping his cards to his chest as to the format.

Sandy Thomson

President Ewan Fraser welcomed 34 members and one guest to the 1160th meeting of Kirkcaldy Probus Club held in the Dean Park Hotel on Wednesday 6th November.

Apologies for absence had been received.  As is customary Ewan looked at the significance of the meeting day and November 6 for Saxophone Day, National Doughnut Day as well as Healthy Eating Day.  On this day in 1860 Abe Lincoln was born.

Secretary report.  Ewan welcomed Ken Robertson as the replacement secretary for Derek Bethune.  Ewan indicate that an extra/special general meeting would have to be called to amend our constitution to change fee payment and bring the changes into line with the AGM. Details and papers would be sent out soon.

Treasurer. Ewan indicated that Robert Main would replace Gordon Levack as Treasurer.

Almoner. Roy Urquhart welcomed back Sandy Mitchell to the meetings. Roy then inflicted us with another selection from his Big Joke Book.

Social Convener. Robert Main apologised for his absence and sent in a report of a very successful visit to Murrayfield Stadium by twelve members and undertook a most professional tour.  A reminder was also given for the forthcoming events, a visit to Surgeons Hall in Edinburgh, a whiskey tasting, quiz match, Christmas Lunch and the Fife College Dinner.

Thursday Walking Group will next week be at Loch Ore Meadows.

The Friday walking group was at Balbirnie last week and will be at Anstruther next Friday, both groups meeting at the normal places and times.

Speakers. Jim Browning indicated that the next talk would be given by “Blood Bikes Scotland” and as a charity they would be looking for donations, monetary that is not blood.  Jim also indicated that speakers were booked in well into the next year but was still looking for additional ones if anybody had any ideas, please let him know.

Kirkcaldy Probus Golf. George Warner said they had had a successful season and the list of games for next season would be sent out in March. The golfers would have 26 members attending their Christmas Lunch on November 26th.

Fife Probus Golf. Bob Hutchison gave notice of the AGM on 29th November.

Web Master. Mike Simpson indicated no report.

The President introduced today’s speaker, Sandy Thomson who would talk about “The History of the Kirkcaldy Area Railways”.  Sandy was born in Crieff and went to university and teachers training college in Edinburgh.  After a few years teaching, in various schools, he ended up teaching Physics and Computing Studies at Balwearie High School.  He has had a lifelong interest in steam locomotives and railways and has continued his passion after moving to Fife.

 He gave a quick resume of the development of steam engines and their uses along with developments in locomotives. Sandy went on to talk about the inauguration of rail line in the Central Belt and ultimately into Fife.  Lines in Fife started in Burntisland. They were accessed via ferry from Granton and disembarking at Burntisland to board the trains there. This was all before the Forth Rail Bridge was completed.  He went on to explain why the routes from Burntisland ultimately went along the coast before going inland, because of the Lomond Hills, and then proceeded to the north of Fife.  A new station being built at Burntisland after the Forth Rail Bridge completion and the rail route altered to allow connection to the new bridge. New tracks across Fife were developed to accommodate access from pits, mills and factories.  Images from the steam era were projected to show the routes and illustrate the need to service the various industries across Fife.  The floor cloth industry along the length of Kirkcaldy, furniture making, linen works and coal mines being a selection needing access for distribution worldwide.  One line illustrated was from Petticur harbour up to the main line at Kinghorn. This was built to facilitate the off-loading, from boats, of new locomotives delivered from Newcastle.  Many of the illustrations brought back distant memories for the majority of the audience. The talk was finished with the newly completed Leven spur which has replaced the long defunct line that went down to Leven and Methil Docks. The platform at Methil was very short and could only accommodate two carriages.  East Fife Football Club was in the top tier at that time and when bigger teams were visiting and more carriages were needed, they had sets of step ladders to place against the doors so that passengers could alight.

Ken Robertson proposed the vote of thanks for Sandy saying it was a joy to see a teacher keeping his audience so quiet and for highlighting the social and economic sides of the railways in his presentation.  Our next meeting is on Wednesday, 20th November “Blood Bikes Scotland” when the team will give an insight to their work. 

David Munro

President Euan Fraser opened the meeting then introduced our speaker for the day, Dr David Munro, whose topic was “From Loch to Sea”, an exploration of the history of the River Leven, amply illustrated with historic maps and photographs. David is a previous director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, lives in Kinnesswood, and has written a book on Loch Leven. As part of his research, he walked the sixteen-and-a-half-mile long course of the River Leven, and he brought us many fascinating facts about the river and its history. He started with a map of Fife and Kinross from 1654, the oldest available, and with other illustrations, we discovered that the river in the area now known as “The Cut” was originally very twisty and meandering indeed. There were only three bridges across the river at that time, the lowest being at Cameron. By the 1780s, there were more crossings and 40 mills and other industries on the river. In 1828 a map surveyed the whole river, detailed various mills and recorded the drops in water level. The river drops 375 feet over its whole length. The level of the loch was lowered to provide extra arable land for the owner of Kinross House, not for the benefit of the mill owners downstream, but The Cut, when it was finished in 1832, provided a regulated supply of water to the industries.

Ron Wylie thanked Dr Munro for his very interesting talk, on behalf of the members.

Before moving to the business of the day, President Fraser thanked temporary Secretary Derek Bethune for his sterling work over the last eighteen months. We are currently looking for a new volunteer to take over from Derek. A new date for the diary was announced - dinner at Fife College, on Thursday, 20th February -details to follow. In Club Golf, Mike Simpson won our last tournament at Drumoig, winning a family-sized steak pie. The AGM of the Fife Probus golf section will be held in November on a date to be finalised. Our bowlers ended a successful season with a lunch at Marino’s. The next walk of our Friday walking group, on the 18th, will be to Balbirnie, but please phone Ian Gilchrist if going. Next Thursday’s walkers are heading for Blairadam Forest.

We finished with a look at the proposed new structure of our subscriptions, which was accepted by a large majority of members present. Details to follow.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 6th November, when Sandy Thomson will give us a “History of the Railways of the Kirkcaldy Area”.

Ted White

President Euan Fraser began the meeting by passing on the thanks from the widow of Harry Wallace for the large turnout of Probus members at Harry’s funeral. He proceeded to inform us that Treasurer Gordon Levack is to demit office at the end of the financial year (December) and that Social Convener Robert Main is to succeed Gordon. We will therefore need a new Social Convener by January. At the same time, we are looking for a new Secretary. However, Gordon still has one more idea to propose and this is a change to the structure of our annual fees. A paper will be sent out in advance of our next meeting and the paper will be discussed at that time. For that one occasion, we will have our speaker first before proceeding to the business part of the meeting.

We had four birthdays to celebrate this time, and our programme of visits was announced. Our next two visits are to Perth Museum on Monday 7th, and to Murrayfield Stadium on the 28th. Please pay the Murrayfield visit in advance. More details are on our website. If you can recommend any speakers, please contact Jim Browning. Names and deposits for the golf Christmas lunch should be given to George Warner. George was a winner in the Fife Probus final tournament when, along with Mike Stevenson, he won the Texas Scramble at Thornton. The bowling section has closed for the season and Tom Craigie was runner-up in the singles competition. The bowls lunch will be on Monday 14th in Marino’s at 12.30. Names to Mike Birkett, please. Friday’s walk will possibly be from Queensferry to Inverkeithing, and the walk next Thursday will be round Riverside Park in Glenrothes.

Our speaker for the day was Ted White, telling us about the history of John White and Son (JWS), who provide “precision weighing solutions” from Auchtermuchty. The firm is the oldest family-run business in Scotland, having been founded in 1715, and Ted is the eighth generation to serve there. He started by giving us a quick history of weighing – “accurate weighing is a mark of civilisation” – and went as far back as illustrations from ancient Egypt and Cyrene (modern Libya) from more than 500 years BC. The talk was illustrated with many historic pictures from throughout the firm’s history. White and Son originally made scales as one of eight blacksmiths in Auchtermuchty, and the first scale they made is still in existence and would still pass the tests for use today. They are the principal supplier of weighing devices to the whisky industry and serve other industries – including the munitions industry during both wars – and provide the scales you might see in shops. They export throughout the world, and before general use of decimalisation they made weighing machines calibrated to suit many different local systems. Ted illustrated their international clout at the end of his talk with pictures of JWS scales in use at the four corners of the world.

Bill O’Donnell gave a heartfelt vote of thanks for a very interesting talk.

Our next speaker will be Dr David Munro, who will speak on “From Loch to Sea”, an exploration of the River Leven. This will be followed by our normal business meeting and a discussion of the proposal for a change to the way of paying our subs

Agnes Allan

Vice-President Mike Birkett again took the reins for our 1157th meeting. The meeting began with a minute’s silence for member Harry Wallace, whose funeral will be on Tuesday 24th at 12.45 at Kirkcaldy Crematorium. Mike continued with “This Day in History”, telling us this was the birthday of Brazilian footballer Ronaldo in 1976, and the anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970. It was also the day, in 1879, when the first Blackpool Illuminations were switched on. Also, of course, on 18th September 2014, the Scottish Independence Referendum was held.

Our almoner gave us updates on two members, before amusing us with another batch of humorous one-liners. Our next two visits are to Perth Museum on Monday 7th October, meeting at 10.00, and a stadium tour of Murrayfield on Monday 28th October, meeting at 10.30 for an 11.00 o’clock start. Names for Murrayfield must be with Robert Main as soon as possible. In club golf, Bob Hutchison won the Stableford at Balwearie, and the Race To Balwearie was won by Ron Wylie. Mike Simpson won the Plate, and our last outing of the season is to Drumoig on 10th October, another Stableford. Fife Probus golf round off their season on 30th September at Thornton for a Texas Scramble. We have reached the final of the bowling competition, and the end-of-season lunch will be at Marino’s on 14th October at 12.30. Names to Mike Birkett please. The Friday walking group will meet at the Merchant’s House for coffee then their walk, and next Thursday’s group will venture to Balbirnie Park.

Agnes Allan joined us to talk about “Hearing Dogs for Deaf People”. The charity has been going for over fort years, founded by Bruce Fogel, Ben’s dad. Deafness is “the hidden disability”, and one in five in the UK have a detected hearing loss. There are over 3000 volunteers, some of whom breed the dogs and look after the litter, before the pups go to others who socialise them for up to 18 months. The full training can take up to 2 years. The dogs used are usually labradors, cocker spaniels, Cockapoos and poodles. They are trained to alert their owners to sounds such as doorbells, telephones and alarm clocks, and they have a different response when there is a fire alarm. Dogs are assessed so that they can be partnered with the right human to support their needs. It’s also fine to approach these dogs and their humans, because deaf people can often feel isolated.

It costs about £40,000 to maintain a Hearing Dog over its lifetime. And this all comes from donations, money left in wills and sponsorship. If you sponsor a puppy you will receive updates regularly giving you updates on progress.

Roddy Henderson proposed the vote of thanks on behalf of the members.

Our next speaker is Ted White, of Whites of Auchtermuchy, scale makers, telling us about his family business. This will be on October the 2nd, and will be preceded by a Committee meeting at 9.15.

Mike Simpson

Vice-President Mike Birkett opened our meeting by following the President’s regular “This Day in History” introduction, with a difference. He looked at the events around this fortnight seventy-nine years ago, as three of our members had been born in that period. The most significant event was on September 2nd, VJ Day, when Japan officially signed the surrender treaty to conclude the Second World War. Locally, on the 4th of September itself, the Forth Road Bridge was opened.

Our almoner had no bad news to report, but he did have a good series of one-liners with which to entertain us. Our social convener outlined his plans for the next period, starting with a visit to Perth Museum on 24th September. The dates of subsequent activities are to be found on our website. The final club golf outing of the season is to Kirkcaldy Golf Club on Thursday 5th, a Stableford competition, and also the final of “The Road to Balwearie”. The knock-out competition has finished, and Graeme Cockburn beat Ron Wylie and George Warner to win the Quaich. In the last Fife Probus outing, Euan Fraser won the handicap competition and Jim Browning made a successful defence in the scratch competition. The next outing is to Thornton on the 30th of September. There are a mere four Mondays left in the bowling season, with only this last week’s event being rained off. The Friday walkers should meet at 10.00 at the usual café, before starting their walk, having had a successful trip to Leven last time; and next Thursday’s walkers will visit Birnie Loch.

In the absence of our scheduled speaker, we were very fortunate that webmaster Mike Simpson was able to provide an excellent talk at the last minute. His talk was on “Las Islas Encantadas” – the enchanted islands of the Galapagos. The Galapagos are famous for their isolation, and most of the species Mike talked about were unique to the islands. Many of the creatures are called after the islands, to mark their uniqueness. The marine iguanas, which are plentiful, are the only swimming iguanas in the world. Like the sealions and many other creatures featured, they were completely unfazed by the intrusions of human beings.

Although on a boat with only 93 passengers, the boat could not always go to shore, so R.I.Bs were needed. Strangely, since the archipelago straddles the Equator, the water is cold and Mike needed a wetsuit to take to the water. Yet these islands are of volcanic origin with volcanic activity still on the most westerly island of Fernandina.

An impressed Graeme Cockburn thanked Mike for stepping up so well and delivering an excellent talk.

Agnes Allan will be our next speaker, and she will be telling us about “Hearing Dogs for the Deaf”.

Graham Ferguson

President Euan Fraser opened the meeting by telling us we needed to look for a new secretary, as the current secretary had increasing commitments elsewhere. The duties are not onerous, mainly the minutes of our infrequent committee meetings and preparation of materials for the AGM. All volunteers welcome. Euan continued by looking at the Fife Free Press of this week in August 1933, the week of member Alan Court’s birth. One item was that the Transport Minister of the time took no action on a proposal to build a road bridge over the Forth. Another was that Scotland’s Own Air Circus was on display at Balgove outside St Andrews, where short flights could be purchased for five shillings (25p).

Our webmaster requested that help would be appreciated maintaining our website. The next Probus golf outing is to Strathtyrum, with a large contingent from our club. We have two walking groups, one on the Friday of the week of the Probus meeting, the other on the Thursday of the following week. Contact Ian Gilchrist for details of the Friday walk and Mike Birkett for details of the Thursday walk. The bowls continue at St Clair Bowling Club on Mondays.

Graham Ferguson of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society was our guest speaker, and he was telling us of the “History and Work of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society”. The Society has been “Educating, inspiring and challenging” since 1884. The Society has had several premises and is now based in “The Heart of Scotland”, in Perth. Part of the premises is “The Fair Maid’s House”, the oldest secular building in the city. Many famous names have been (and still are) associated with the RSGS, including one of the founders, the daughter of David Livingstone, Ernest Shackleton and David Attenborough. Shackleton was an early secretary of the RSGS and the Society funded his polar expedition. He was an outgoing gentleman, in contrast to William Speirs Bruce, who founded an observatory in Antartica which is still in use.

The Society is always reaching out to inform and inspire people, with books like “Horrible Geography” and by talks, to all age groups. Much of their work nowadays is environmental, helping to maintain our planet. They have two principal awards, the Shackleton Award for leadership and the Livingstone Award for humanitarian reasons. They deliver talks all over the country, and the next local one is in the Old Kirk on 16th September, when Mark Brandon will talk about, “Why we should save the Arctic and Antarctic”.

Mike Birkett gave the vote of thanks to Graham for his very interesting and informative talk.

Our next meeting is on 4th September, when Callum McAndrew will ask, “Why the Long Grass”, a story of St Andrews Botanical Gardens. Our next committee meeting is at 9.15 on 2nd October.

Ben Pacholek

Vice-President Mike Birkett was in the chair for our 1054th meeting. He followed one of the patters of our president by looking at the main events of this day in history and one significant event was when US President George Washington introduced a new medal in 1882. This was in the shape of a purple heart, and was the first time a medal was created for ordinary soldiers. Till then, all medals were awarded to the officer class.

Our treasurer reminded members who had inadvertently taken their badges home that they should be returned. Our social convener gave a long list of possible visits and activities for us to ponder, and these will be circulated in the future. The new golf trophy of the Kirkcaldy Probus Club Crystal Award was won at Canmore by Ron Wylie and the club knock-out competition is in progress. The next Fife Probus competition is on Wednesday 28th at Strathtyrum and please inform Bob Hutchison of your intentions. The second round of the bowling competition is starting, and as yet we have had good weather every Monday at St Clair’s Bowling Club. The walkers are also enjoying good weather. The Friday group have had three good walks, including one to Bo’ness. And the next walk of the Thursday group will be to Burntisland.

Ben Pacholek has been a member of Fife wildlife crime squad since 2019, and he was giving us an “Introduction to Wildlife Crime”. Traditionally, most people think of wildlife crime as fish poaching and dog crime (like hare coursing) and perhaps raptor persecution. Fife has a huge population of brown hares, which attracts crime. Hare and deer coursing are amongst Fife’s most common crimes. There are sometimes clues that the public can detect, such as a group of people with dogs but spread out, “casing” a field. Some people have been caught because human DNA can be detected on dead hares. Since 1981 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act, the police have the powers to stop and search and to arrest anyone acting suspiciously. This Act also protects all wild birds, and if you are worrying about bird droppings, only Canada Geese and feral pigeons have droppings which could be dangerous. The other important act is the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act of 2023 , and the Fife Foxhounds have been disbanded since then. Under these two acts, custodial sentences of up to five years can be imposed, surely a deterrent? If you see anything suspicious, remember FARM; F is to phone; A is to avoid disturbing scene; R is to record as much as possible; and M is to maintain observations till police arrive.

Anderson Lindsay gave the vote of thanks to Ben for his interesting and humorous talk.

Our next meeting is on 21st August, at the Dean Park Hotel, when Graham Ferguson will tall us of “The History and Work of The Royal Scottish Geographical Society".

Tom Stevenson

As next week marks the 90th birthday of member Eddie Cockburn, President Euan Fraser looked at the Fife Free Press from the week he was born in 1934. There were no pictures in the newspaper at that time. A Standard 9 car cost £135, with the new innovation of synchromesh in second gear as well as in third and fourth. It was reported that the Government had received £2.84 million in income tax that year, and £1.9 million in death duties!

Our website receives nearly 2000 hits a month and, while most members have a look, who are the others? Our social convener is looking at several possibilities for visits. The Games Afternoon will restart with the Autumn season, with variations; and our annual visit to Kirkcaldy Rugby Club will be on 7th December. Our club golfers visited Cowdenbeath and Euan Fraser proved a worthy winner. Competitions have started in the bowling group, and so far, the weather on Monday afternoons has always been good. The weather was also good for the Friday walkers to Balwearie Tower, and last Thursday from Hill of Tarvit to Ceres. The next Thursday walk is from Kirkcaldy to Kinghorn.

Professor Tom Stevenson was our speaker, and his subject was The Museum of Communication in Burntisland High Street, which functions on donations. First of all, Tom took us through a history of communication, which can be defined as the transfer of information, storage of information and, essentially, access to information. The best communication is considered to be person to person, and Tom believes mobile phones do a good job of helping with communication. We looked at semaphore and visual transmission from hill to nearby hill, but neither of these were secure if observers knew the codes. Letters were safer but were not quick to deliver. Telegraph took over and expanded rapidly. It was Marconi who saw the potential of wireless technology to communicate with ships. Transistors were first utilised in 1947 – low voltage and very little power – and micro-electronics came in in 1958. Now we have mobile devices, which have many functions.

Tom gave us the history of the museum, which opened in 2003 but the trustees already had a great deal of material, collected over more than 30 years, in storage. The material goes back to early broadcasting, ‘20’s style, right up to more modern artefacts. The museum is located on Burntisland High Street. It opens on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while group visits can be arranged at other times.

Bill O’Donnell gave a fulsome thank-you to Tom for his very comprehensive talk.

Our next meeting is on 7th August, when Ben Pacholek will be our speaker on the topic of wildlife crime.

Tommy Bryson

President Euan Fraser opened our 1152nd meeting by looking at “This day in history”.  Adam Smith was born on the 3rd of July in 1728, and the Stone of Destiny was returned to Scotland in 1996. It is also ‘stay-out-of-the-sun day’, so no problems with that so far this summer! Our next golf outing is to Cowdenbeath on the 4th of July, followed by a trip to Canmore on 1st August. The Fife Probus pairs tournament at Aberdour was not very successful for our members. though the weather for the walk round Birnie Loch last Friday was very good.

 With our scheduled speaker incapacitated, Tommy Bryson, a regular speaker for us, agreed to bring his talk forward, and told us about a trip he had made on the Yangtze in 2001. At that time, the famous Three Gorges Dam was still in construction and Tommy presented us with many amazing facts about the dam and the building of it, showing his own photographs by way of illustration. He also showed us plans of the dam at that time, which have since been turned into reality. The river trip from Wuhan to Chongqing covered 552 miles, but there were regular stops for short excursions along the route. When they made a short trip, the bus was always followed by a big black car, because this was in the days before open tourism.

 The Three Gorges Dam was built to manipulate water all down the river, to alleviate flood damage and, of course, to provide power. The dam itself took an amazing seventeen years to build, and is 185 metres in height, 154 metres wide and 2308 metres long. Counting the ship lift and the locks, the whole length reaches 2.3 kilometres.

 Tommy showed us a picture from 2001 with markers way above his height showing how high the water would rise. The highest marker is at 175 metres, and all the modern towns, built for the people displaced from beside the natural river, are built above that height. 140 towns and 326 villages were submerged, and 1.3 million people displaced. Before that time, the land on the river banks provided 40% of China’s grain and 70% of their rice.

 Tommy’s pictures showed us forests of cranes during construction, and also some of the frequent commercial traffic on the river, heavily laden and with not a Plimsoll Line in sight. There were also fishermen, using traditional fishing methods, who looked like they came from another age.

 On behalf of the members, Ron MacLeod thanked Tommy for his very full and interesting talk.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 17thJuly, the speaker to be confirmed. Following that, on August 7th, another member of the Bryson clan, Vincent, CEO of Scottish Curling, will be giving the talk.

Dr Peter Grant

President Euan Fraser welcomed five guests then made two birthday announcements, before looking at the Fife Free Press of this week in 1956. There were some interesting adverts - to the modern eye. The only furriers had a sale of mole coats and Suttie’s were selling televisions “up to 21 inches”, and all were UK makes. Fife Council agreed the purchase of twelve acres, for the siting of the new Balwearie High School.

 There was a report from our webmaster, advising our guests that the Kirkcaldy Probus webpage could be visited at any time. Euan Fraser won the recent golf Stableford competition, and the next club competition is on July 4th at Cowdenbeath. Arrangements for the next Fife Probus Golf competition will be announced on Friday. The bowlers have been fortunate with the weather every week. This Friday’s walk will be determined by the weather, later this week, and next week’s Thursday walk is to Falkland Estate.

 Jack Dempsey introduced our speaker for today, Dr Peter Grant OBE who was speaking on James Clerk Maxwell under the heading, “How Maxwell created the modern world.” Maxwell is not a household name like Newton before him and Einstein after him, but he is the most significant physicist of the nineteenth century and Einstein claimed his work “stands on the shoulders of Maxwell.” Maxwell, who came from a family with several scientific predecessors, was born in Edinburgh and returned from the family estate aged 10 to attend Edinburgh Academy. His paper on oral curves was presented to the Royal Academy in 1846 when he was too young to be allowed to deliver it himself.

 Maxwell worked on colour vision and, using at first a prism then a colour wheel proved that any natural colour could be produced from the three primary colours. He was the first to produce a colour picture, and even colour reproduction nowadays using pixels is a development from his work. Without Maxwell, there might be no televisions and no mobiles.

Maxwell’s other significant contribution was to give the first definitive theory of electromagnetic radiation showing that the speed of such electromagnetic radiation equalled the speed of light. This theory is applied everywhere, from radar to mobiles, and electrical engineers, physicists and mathematicians still study his equations today. A statue was unveiled to Maxwell at the east end of George Street in Edinburgh in 2008.

Alan Court gave the vote of thanks to Dr Grant for his comprehensive talk.

 Our next speaker will be Agnes Allan who will be telling us about “Hearing Dogs for the Deaf” on the 3rd of July.

Euan Fenelon

President Euan Fraser opened our 1150th meeting with two birthday announcements, then recapped the Fife Free Press of June 4th, 1971, for our edification. On that day, the front page was in pictures and there were adverts for “Hot Pants” at £2.00 and Kent Police were recruiting in Kirkcaldy. There were only three TV channels, and the letter “c” in brackets denoted a programme in colour!

Our treasurer reported that Bo’ness Railway, where we had a successful recent visit, had set up a “Just Giving” page to help them restore the model railway, which had been destroyed by fire in an act of vandalism. There were two reports from our almoner, and the speakers’ convener is looking for “any suggestions” to help populate our future calendar. We have a club golf outing on Thursday 6th, with a following one on July 4th – is there anything else of national significance happening that day? If you play a tie, remember to contact George Warner with the result. The next Fife Probus golf is at Aberdour, when the game will be played with partners, so this is a good opportunity to bring a friend. Friday’s walk will be to Muthil, weather permitting.

President Euan was pleased to introduce our guest speaker, as it was his own son-in-law, Euan Fenelon, who was talking about “The Renewable Offshore Wind Industry in Scotland”. Euan started by asking “Do you like wind turbines?” then revealed that one hundred years ago similar opposition was given to pylons. He looked first at Scotland’s renewable energy goals, which originally stated that, by 2030, 50% of all energy would come from renewables. That was not just for electricity, it also included transport which was more difficult to achieve, and heat – more difficult still. That target has now been dropped. He told us that power stations are closing, nuclear plants are reaching the end of their lives, but we still have hydro. In cold January and February we can have highs sitting over the whole of Scotland, so no energy is produced by wind, therefore we need to back up wind power. If there is a change in Scottish government, we may have mini nuclear plants. We are already a net importer of energy.

With offshore wind, there is the possibility of building turbines as tall as 300 metres (three football pitches). The bigger the turbine, the more cost-effective, though problems increase. The UK missed the opportunity to construct wind turbines, but there is still a lot of opportunity for employment in Scotland. 24,000 turbines are needed and small ports will be able to fill local needs, with local communities benefitting from supply chain opportunities.

The environmental impact needs to be considered: the impact on fish, on sea birds and on whales (from the noise) can create problems. There is no general weather effect. Shipping routes and fishing rights also have to be considered.

On behalf of the members, Stuart Rennie thanked Euan for his expertise and for educating us so well on his subject.

Wednesday, June 19th is “Bring A Friend Day”, and on that day Professor Peter Grant will tell us “How James Clerk Maxwell created the modern world”. On July 3rd we will have a talk on hearing dogs for the deaf.

Police Constable Ashley MacGregor

President Euan Fraser opened our 1149th meeting revisiting the pages of the Fife Free Press of 60 years ago. Some fondly remembered names cropped up, like Allen Litho and May’s travel agents, and the first BHS in Scotland opened on Kirkcaldy High Street. The Rio was still a cinema, but Andy Stewart was making an appearance: the Raith was by then a ballroom, and Mike Berry and the Innocents were starring that week.

Our treasurer is keeping his sense of humour but still needed to give a gentle reminder about some unpaid subs, and our almoner reported on two incapacitated members. Our website still receives a gratifying number of visits monthly and a new link has been added for Police Scotland in anticipation of today’s forthcoming talk. Mike Stevenson triumphed on the visit to Charleton Golf Club, and the next opportunity for others to show off their golfing skills is on the 6th of June at Falkland. The next Fife Probus golf competition will take place on Thursday 27th June. This Friday’s walk is to Leven and next Thursday’s will be round Heatherywood with an extension to Ladybank for coffee. The good weather on Monday brought more bowlers out: let’s hope for a repeat this coming Monday. We visited Dundee Museum of Transport last week, which was enjoyed by all. We are hoping for a similarly good day for our summer barbeque.

Ashley MacGregor is one of Fife’s Community Safety and Crime Reduction Officers and she was talking to us about “Prevention and Intervention of House Security and Scams”. She was not talking about internet security to us, but she has visited 150 schools this session to talk on that very subject. Interestingly, when new housing estates are planned in Fife, the police are involved in the planning to anticipate potential opportunities for crime.

Ashley spoke about ATMs, and her advice is to use indoor machines, or to ask for cashback in stores. To illustrate what can go wrong, she passed round two examples of the sort of plates that criminals can adhere to the front of ATMs to skim all your information from a card.   

Ashley gave some general advice: Don’t answer your door without knowing who is there; don’t answer calls from strange numbers - if they are genuine, they will leave a message; and no-one genuine will ask for bank details over the phone. She also recommended “Trusted Traders”, who have all been vetted. Other good ideas for home security were given, such as “Ring-type” doorbells, cameras, Padlocks for double patio doors and dusk-to dawn lights.

The Motto should always be, “Be prepared, and be vigilant.”

By happy coincidence, Ashley was taught by Mike Stevenson, and Mike had been asked to give the vote of thanks. He was delighted to do this, as Ashley’s clear and informative talk had certainly done him proud.

We will meet again on 5th June, when our speaker will be Euan Fenelon, telling us about “Windfarms - Development and Construction”. June 19th is “Bring a Friend Day”, and we will hear Dr Peter Grant speaking about James Clerk Maxwell on that occasion.

Mike Birkett

Today’s 1148th meeting began slightly differently from usual. President Euan Fraser was on holiday and Vice-President Mike Birkett was standing in for today’s scheduled speaker, who was indisposed. That meant that Past President Stuart Rennie took the reins, and with him we had a look at today’s front pages. The English papers mainly covered the same story, the sword attack in London, but there were a couple of other approaches.

 Our treasurer told us most subs are now in, and our almoner reported on a member who has recently returned from hospital. Our webmaster reported on Global Probus, which meets quarterly and whose meeting can still be seen online. Our first golf outing is on Thursday 9th to Charleton, while the Fife Probus golf has already had a game at Scoonie, with George Warner coming second. Last Thursday’s walk was round Balbirnie Park and next Thursday’s will be to Townhill Loch, while the Friday walk went from the Merchant’s House to Kinghorn. The bowling continues on Mondays at St Clair’s at 2.00. The trip to Boness railway was very successful, and in excellent weather. The next trip, to Dundee Museum of Transport, is next Wednesday, meeting at Beveridge Park at 9.30. The BBQ is on Saturday, 15th June.

 Our Vice-President Mike Birkett was today’s speaker, and his subject was “Camouflage – Now You See Me, a Hidden Story”. Throughout, he gave us ideas such as, “In nature, the trick is to stay alive: if they can’t see you, they can’t eat you!”.  Mike spoke of robins, and nine out of ten don’t survive the first year, showing why camouflage is important. For the first time of many, he had an illustration of a well-camouflaged creature; and not for the only time, most of us struggled to see the camouflaged creature till he pointed it out. Of course, camouflage works the other way around: if you are a predator, it helps if your prey cannot see you.

 The three elements of good camouflage are: match the colour of your surroundings; match the texture of your surroundings; and either stay still or match the movement of your surroundings.

The armed forces use “disruptive” camouflage, and the army has different patterns depending on their local terrain. We saw one photograph of a soldier, almost invisible, except that he was given away by his standard-issue boots. Good advice for humans is, “If you want to survive – hide,” but this is only good if your pursuer does not have modern tech available. John Stewart thanked Mike for his excellent and very informative talk, on behalf of the members.

 Our next meeting is on the 15th of May, with a committee meeting beforehand at 9.15. Our speaker that day will be PC Ashley MacGregor talking on “Security and Scams – Protect Your Home”.

Jim Leggat

 President Euan Fraser began our 1147th meeting by looking at the Fife Free Press of 21st April, 1951, the week two of our members shared the same day of birth. There were municipal elections taking place, new ration books were issued, the Links Market (of course) was on, and a court case involving two gentlemen was completed just two weeks after the crime was committed!

 The treasurer reported that subscriptions were coming in and that the reward of the new handbook was waiting on receipt of payment! On the social side, we are going to Boness railway on Tuesday 23rd and car-sharing has been organised. Our summer barbeque is on the 15th of June at Kirkcaldy YMCA Gallatown hub, from 2.00 to 6.00. The venue can hold over 100 outdoors or in and the cost will be £10.00 per person. We are also going to Dundee Transport Museum on May 8th, cars to be organised at our next meeting. On the 9th of May, the first golf outing of the club will be at Charleton, and the relevant members will be contacted about the Fife Probus golf outing to Scoonie. The bowls begins on Monday 22nd April at 2.00 at St Clair’s Bowling Club and all members are welcome. Bowls are available for those who need them. Those wishing to join the Thursday walkers should contact Mike Birkett on the Wednesday to confirm arrangements and the walkers for this Friday are heading for Balbirnie.

 Our speaker this week was Jim Leggat, OBE, Deputy Lieutenant of Fife. He is an RAF veteran of 39 years, having been born in Kirkcaldy before serving for 10 years in the ATC in West Lothian. His subject was “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission”. The aim of the Commission is “to ensure our history remains relevant.” Jim began his talk with a short video illustrating the many different jobs involved in maintain war grave in pristine condition. The stats are amazing: all 1.7 million war dead from the UK and the Commonwealth are commemorated, 1.1 with headstones. The largest cemetery has 14.000 graves, at Tyne Cot in Belgium, and the youngest recorded fatality is fourteen - many youngsters falsifying their ages during the First World War, and one merchant seaman in WW 2. The graves cost £60 million per year to upkeep, and six Commonwealth nations contribute, related to the number of fallen from their countries.

 The Imperial War Graves Commission was begun after pressure from Fabian Ware, who believed that ordinary soldiers should be commemorated if they died. The Commission began in 1917 with Fabian Ware as its head. In 1960 its name was changed to The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Not all war graves are in cemeteries dedicated to the purpose, 306,000 are in ordinary cemeteries and there are 75 cemeteries in Fife with war graves. The four Kirkcaldy cemeteries have 150 graves. These are of people who perhaps died in hospital having been transported home, of perhaps civilians who died in enemy bombing. The French Government decreed that no bodies should be repatriated from the battlefield – fear of passing infection – so all soldiers killed in the wars were buried nearby. There are war graves throughout the world and Jim showed us pictures of cemeteries in many far-flung locations. Nowadays, the graves are tended by a huge number of people, including 900 gardeners, and the Commission also cares for the personal graves throughout the world, making sure the relevant inscriptions are still clear.

 Bill O’Donnell thanked Jim for his full and informative talk on behalf of the members.

 The President reminded us that the funeral of John Edmunds will be at the crematorium at 3.00 on Friday 26th April. Our next speaker is Claire Paton, who will talk of “The Life of a Pot of Honey”.

John Helliwell

President Euan Fraser began our 1146th meeting with a eulogy for Secretary, John Edmunds, who had sadly passed away. The funeral date will be advised.

Euan changed his introduction for the beginning of his second year in office, by giving us interesting highlights from the Fife Free Press of eighty years ago this week, then of seventy years ago. Eighty years ago, the paper contained the essential information, during the war, of black-out times, and also of the opening of the newly converted Strathearn Hotel. He then gave the cinema programmes for this same week from all of the six (six!) cinemas in Kirkcaldy and the one in Kinghorn.

We are visiting Boness and Kinneil Railway on 23rd April, cost £15.00, and we should meet to car share at 9.15. There will also be a trip to the Museum of Transport in Dundee on the 8th of May, cost £8.50 - and don’t forget the Summer Barbeque on Saturday June 15th. The second games afternoon was successful, and the games afternoons will return after the summer seasons of bowling and golf have finished. The first club golf outing is on May 9th, and members and guests are welcome, and the first Fife Probus golf outing is earlier on 24th April. The bowling will hopefully start at the end of the month. Next Thursday’s walk will depend on the weather so phone Mike Birkett on the Wednesday, and this Friday’s walking group will meet in the Merchant’s House and take it from there. The previous walk to see the daffodils of Aberdour was enjoyed by all.

John Helliwell, from Mary’s meals, has visited us before, a long time ago, and he gave us an update on Mary’s Meals. Mary’s Meals was started by a man from Dalmeny in Argyle, called Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, who took aid to Bosnia, then took a week off to visit Malawi where he was inspired to do even more. John told us many anecdotes, illustrated, of children who have been helped by Mary’s Meals, and of how their lives have been transformed. The vision of Mary’s Meals is that every child receives one daily meal in a place of education and that those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things. Schools are often in the open air, and Mary’s Meals is in it for the long term. They serve in countries in need that are less affected by war, as education is an important part of their mission and their meals are delivered in school, but if war comes to a country they are already serving, they do their best to continue for their children. The principal food in Africa is phala, a kind of porridge, and it costs only £19.50 to feed a child for a whole year. At the latest count, 2,429,182 children were fed daily, and all the money comes from donations. Roy Urquhart gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the members.

Our next meeting is on April 17th, when Jim Leggatt will speak on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Joe Mulvenna

President Euan Fraser welcomed 39 members to the 1144th meeting of Kirkcaldy Probus Club held in the Dean Park Hotel on Wednesday 6 March.   Apologies for absence had been received. As is customary Euan looked at the significance of the meeting day and 6 March for some is Frozen Food Day.  On this day in 1525, the explorer Magellan was born.

 Neither the Secretary nor Treasurer had anything to report.  Both Walking Groups continue enthusiastically.  Robert Main reported that plans for a visit to Edinburg Airport has advanced as has a trip to the National Library of Scotland. A club barbecue is now planned for15 June.  The recent club indoor games afternoon was a success, and another will go ahead on 14 March.  Roy Urquhart reported a clean bill of health which preceded another extract from his Big Joke Book.  George Warner updated members about the outing dates for this year’s Club Golf and announced two new trophies for the coming season.

 The President introduced the day's speaker, Mike Mulvenna who is Project Manager of the Leven mouth Rail due to open later this year.  Mike originates from Dumbarton where he spent the early part of his life.  He entered the rail industry after leaving school and has worked in it ever since.  The new rail link between Thornton Junction and Leven will replace in part the former East Fife route which ran from Thornton Junction to Leuchars.  Under the Beeching plans this line was axed in 1969 in an efficiency and cost cutting scheme.

 Work has been ongoing since 2020 with a scheduled opening day of 2 June this year.  The new line follows the previous route, but a few changes have been made because of safety considerations. The old Cameron Bridge station has been virtually rebuilt while the station is at a new site which will give easy access to the bus station.  Local communities have been consulted at every level so that the rail link will best serve their needs.  In an answer to a question from the floor Mike clearly stated the whole project the finished scheme will be “On time and within budget”

 Bob Hutchison proposed the vote of thanks, congratulating Mike on a well prepared presentation which had been thoroughly researched and provided masses of information on a local infrastructure project which will benefit generations to come.

Danny Cepok

President Euan Fraser welcomed 38 members to the 1143rd meeting of Kirkcaldy Probus Club held in the Dean Park Hotel on 21st February.  One apology for absence had been noted.  Euan was delighted that for the second successive month there had been an improved attendance.  He also congratulated two members celebrating birthday since the last meeting.   Carrying on his practice of looking for the significance of the meeting day in world affairs, serious or otherwise.   This was National Sticky Bun Day as well as International Mother Tongue Day.

 News from the business part of the meeting laid some emphasis on the forthcoming annual general meeting on 13 March, with the Secretary needing conveners' reports for pre meeting publication.  Almoner Roy Urquhart reported that a member has now returned home from recuperation and would welcome visitors, provided they gave prior notice of their visit. Robert Mani's social report referred to the recent in doors Games Afternoon had been most successful and would be repeated in March.  The Edinburgh Airport visit has been delayed and most likely will now take place in the autumn.  Bo'ness Railway has been added to the list of likely trips, probably in the summer.  Also then will be another new venture, a summer Barbecue.  Jim Browning had an update on forthcoming speakers with Joe Mulvaney attending the next meeting with the latest news of the progress on the Thornton to Leven railway and after the AGM a return to Mary's Meals. The two walking groups continue enthusiastically.  The new golf season is not too far away, and Fife Probus Golf fixture list has been published.

 The day's speaker was well known local man Danny Cepok, long time associated with Fife Council and now director of the promotional body ‘Love Oor Lang Toun’.  Danny's general theme concentrated on Kirkcaldy's assets as a town while rehabilitating those areas which have seen better days.  Much has been said and written about the decline of the High Street from its previous commercial eminence with so many closed shops and empty spaces above these former shops.  The development of the local retail park, internet shopping, high rents and rates as well as parking issues have all contributed, not only to the demise of the centre of Kirkcaldy but to many other towns in Scotland.

 ‘The Future is Now’ is an exercise aimed at restoring the fortunes of central Kirkcaldy. Using the services of such as architects to identify key sites for redevelopment to encourage local independent stores and possibly shortening the lengthy of the High Street retail area.  Another problem which poses major headaches is the large number of empty spaces above existing shops whose owners are disinclined to do anything with them.

 Danny strongly approves of the current Esplanade development which he sees as a real asset to the town with its exciting vistas and real potential.

 Robert Main proposed the vote of thanks, congratulating Danny on a highly informative presentation which had given real pleasure to all.

 The President closed the meeting with a reminder that the next gathering will be on 6th March when the previously mentioned Joe Mulvaney will be the speaker.

Dr Gary Connor

President Euan Fraser welcomed 35 members to the 1142nd meeting of Kirkcaldy Probus Club held in the Dean Park on Wednesday 7 February.   Euan was pleased that there was an improved attendance for this meeting.  Congratulations were passed on to three members who had recently celebrated their birthdays.  As was his practice, Euan had researched the significance in history of the day's date 7 February and the births of important people listed on this date.

  The day's speaker Dr Gary Connor was then introduced to members.  He is an Ulsterman by origin but has spent most of his adult life in Scotland where he came initially to study engineering at Edinburgh University.  He completed his Ph. D at Strathclyde University and also lectured there.   He is now involved with Nova Innovations who specialise in tidal power.

 There was little to consider in the business part of the meeting.  The Secretary reminded conveners to submit timeously their annual reports for the AGM.   If any member has had changes in his personal details in the Members Booklet, the Secretary should be informed.  All's well on the financial side if the Club and the Treasurer had nothing to report.  Almoner Roy Urquhart noted that one member's health had deteriorated.  The Social Convener was absent, but his report was read to the meeting.  A new event, an Afternoon's Games will start on 15 February in St Clair Bowling Club.  Proposed visits to several venues including Edinburgh Airport were announced. The National Library of Scotland and Bo'ness Railway are all under consideration for the spring and early summer.  A Summer barbecue has also been mentioned.  Both Walking groups continue enthusiastically.

 In his presentation Gary reminded the meeting that 37% of the world's population lie in coastal locations and the sea is a major power resource.  He made comparisons with other energy resources and the sea has many advantages with the technologies.  In Scotland, Shetland with its many islands and inlets is rich in development possibilities.

 Mike Simpson proposed a thoroughly well deserved vote of thanks congratulating Gary in presenting a complex subject in language everybody could understand.

 President Euan closed the meeting reminding all that the Club will meet again on Wednesday 21 February when Danny Cepok’s subject will be “Love Our Lang Toun”.

Ian Gilchrist

President Euan Fraser welcomed 29 members to the first club meeting of the new year. He was disappointed that the attendance was lower than expected but was understandable considering the prevalent severe weather and the age profile on the club membership. Eight members had intimated apologies for absence. Since the last meeting six members had celebrated their birthday. Euan had his customary looked at the significance of the day's date on this and in other years.

 There was no need to introduce the speaker for this meeting, long time member and past President, Ian Gilchrist. Ian had adapted the old whisky advert “Scotch on the Rocks” to “Scots on the Rocks” for his talk on aspects of Scottish geology. Although professionally Ian had been a teacher of chemistry, he had a long term interest in geology and in his address he cast his eye over many aspects of geology in Scotland.

 The study of geology in Scotland probably dates back to the early 19th century during the Age of Enlightenment when many academics questioned how the Scottish landscapes came to be formed and the types of rock underlying them.  Studies then showed that all rocks originated from volcanic outpourings to form igneous rocks and over millions of years many of these igneous rocks underwent change through tectonic movements and these became the category of metamorphic rocks. These in turn were broken down and are still being formed into the newest category of sedimentary rocks.

 Ian looked at several Scottish landscapes and explained how they had developed into their present shapes in terms of the rock classification he had previously described.

 Roddy MacLean proposed a well deserved vote of thanks for a very informative presentation which introduced many members to the world of geology and its relevance to the present day.