January 2010
Dear Members,
We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to 2010, and all that it has in store for us, particularly the World Cup.
Hogmanay is the name Scots give to New Year’s Eve, a celebration with a unique mix of tradition, hedonism, sentimentality and enthusiasm. The roots of the Hogmanay are in ancient pagan festivities based around the winter solstice. When Scottish Protestant clerics in the 16th century abolished Christmas for being a Catholic mass, the Scots, not wanting to miss out on a mid-winter knees-up, put their energy into greeting the New Year. Houses were cleaned, debts paid, quarrels made up. After midnight bells were rung to welcome good luck into your home.
Visiting your neighbours and bearing gifts is known as “first-footing”. The ideal first-foot is a tall dark-haired male carrying a bottle of whisky. Women or redheads, on the other hand, bring bad luck – though to be honest no one carrying a bottle of whisky tends to be turned away, these days!
Right up until the 1950’s Christmas was a normal working day for many people in Scotland, and Hogmanay was regarded as the more important celebration.
IMPORTANT VISITORS TO CAPE TOWN
The Mother City was recently graced with a brief visit by a Scottish trade delegation led by Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland, SHONAIG MacPHERSON.
Petite, with strawberry-blonde hair and a soft Edinburgh accent, Shonaig, a distinguished intellectual property lawyer, has worked for some of the most demanding chief executives in Britain. Sir Terence Conran, Sir Martin Sorrell and Mohamed al-Fayed have been her bosses. At 45, she stunned colleagues by walking away from her job running McGrigor Donald, one of Scotland’s leading law firms, with no real idea of what to do next.
She wasn’t twiddling her thumbs for long. In addition to her role at the NTS and – until November – ITI Scotland, she is chairman of BT in Scotland; chairman of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry; a board member of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo; a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; a governor of Edinburgh College of Art and a member of the Convocation of Heriot-Watt University, and sits on various public commissions. She is also married (to the property entrepreneur Scott Cairn), the mother of two teenage boys and stepmother of a third.
Society member WILL CARTER spent a morning with Shonaig and discussed a variety of issues relating to increased business opportunities and cultural links between the two countries. Will was also given a comprehensive briefing on the new Burns Memorial Village and Museum development in Dumfries and Galloway.
Later that day, both – accompanied by Iain McTaggart (from the Scottish Council for Development and Industry), Julia Weedon (Head of International Development for Telford College) and Jan Campbell (senior executive with
HSBC) – attended an informal gathering at the gracious Claremont home of Chevalier Micheil Armstrong of Mungbyhurst.
It is also known that THE LORD SEMPILL will be visiting Cape Town in early February.
Currently working as a global consultant specialising in ancestral tourism, Lord Jamie Sempill was Director of The Gathering 2009, which was the centrepiece event of the Homecoming Scotland programme.
In 1995 he inherited one of Scotland’s oldest titles and took his seat in the House of Lords as an independent Crossbench Peer. During 1998 he became actively involved in the Scottish devolution debate, joined the Conservative Party and in May 1999 stood for Edinburgh North and Leith in the inaugural Scottish Parliamentary elections. He continued his involvement as constituency Chairman ‘till 2002, during which time he was also a lay inspector of schools.
Jamie is currently High Constable of the Port of Leith, and Vice-convener of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
Lord Sempill will be in Cape Town to deliver one of the toasts at next year’s dinner of the Cape Town Burns Supper Club.
ALSO visiting for the same event will be the fabulous writer, explorer, musician and now sheepdog breeder, LADY SYLVIA LARKE-DOUGLAS of Skye.
MEMBERS NEWS
Congratulations and good luck go to Alistair, the son of Peter and Nicky Ross, Past Chief and Lady President, who has passed his CTA. He writes his first Board exam at the end of January.
Congratulations to Tracy Meyer, daughter of Councillor Trish Meyer, who has recently graduated from Stellenbosch University with a B. Occup. Ther.. Our best wishes accompany her as she heads off to Madedene in Natal to complete her year of compulsory service in the community.
ROYAL SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY – CAPE TOWN BRANCH
A Beginners workshop will commence on Thursday 4th February 2010 in the Claremont Congregational Church Hall at 20h00. Please wear comfortable shoes. A foundation to Ceilidh and Scottish Country dances is taught by qualified teachers.
The Cape Town Branch is celebrating it’s 60th Anniversary with a Celtic Ceilidh in the Kelvin Grove Crystal Ballroom on the 8th May 2010. Come and enjoy entertainment by professional artists and Scottish Country dancing by members of the Combined Clubs of Cape Town.
All enquiries: Rose MacMillan – Ph 021 948 3122 or 021 949 1317
BURNS NICHT
Come and join us as we celebrate the 251st birthday of Robert Burns who was born on the 25th January 1759. Our Burn’s Nicht will be held on 23rd January 2010, in the Palmyra Room at Kelvin Grove, Campground Road, Newlands.
Starting time is 19h00 for 19h30. A delicious three-course meal, with haggis served as a starter, will be served. Tickets cost R150.00 per person.
Please complete the booking form attached to this newsletter. To confirm your attendance telephonically in the meantime, please call Jacinta Munro on Tel. No. 021 761 0568 or on her Cellphone No. 072 602 6144
FROM YOUR CHIEF
I have been watching the various countries ringing in the New Year on T.V. , and noted that the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh drew a crowd of 80 000 people, even though the temperature was -6°C! Weather conditions were so bad in Inverness that their Hogmanay celebrations had to be cancelled. I do not think that we can complain about our good old “Cape Doctor” which is blowing at 45 km an hour.
While watching the New Year celebrations I wondered what had transpired in history 100 years before 2009 and found the following interesting facts: The South Africa Act was passed by the British Parliament on 20 September 1909, and on that day, King Edward VII proclaimed that the Union of South Africa would be established on 31 May 1910.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, the well-known historical novelist, Nigel Tranter, and the equally well-known actor, David Niven, were born. As a boy, I think I read just about every Nigel Tranter book I could lay my hands on. Lastly, flight was still in its fledgling state and on 25 July 1909, Louis Blériot flew across the English Channel from Calais to Dover in thirty-seven minutes. Thus becoming the first man to complete such a long flight.
As you have read, our Burns’ Nicht celebration promises to be a grand affair, and I encourage you all to bring friends along with you to celebrate the life of Rabbie Burns in traditional style.
I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that 2010 will bring many good things for all of you.
Yours Aye
Stuart
BIRTHDAYS – JANUARY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS!!
1st Beth Odendaal
5th Katherine Smith
8th Audrey Smith
8th Edna Higgins
9th Norma Jergensen
14th Narina Gilder
22nd Alfred Husband
From your Chief, Lady President and Council
And your scribe.
