Annual Dinner & Dance & Presentation of Prizes
The annual presentation of prizes was held on Saturday 31st January, once again in the excellent Cairn Hotel Bathgate where the manager Jennifer and her staff excelled themselves again with first class service ensuring that everything was carried out to perfection down to the last detail.
What a super venue this has turned out to be this is our fourth year at the Cairn and it gets better and better each year we return.
As is the custom of our club the main guests and major winners were piped into the hall to take their seats before club president George Wilson welcomed the company of 164 members and friends and introduced the guests for the evening.
This year our main guests were R.P.R.A. President Les Blacklock and his wife Meril and the late Jim Hamilton’s two daughters Francis and Anne and their husbands. After a delicious meal George got the serious business underway by inviting Les to say a few words and toast the club as expected Les did this as eloquently and professionally as ever.
The presentation started by Francis and Anne presenting the club with a hammer and gavel beautifully crafted out of elm wood and presented in an inscribed box in memory of Jim this will ensure that his name will live on, as this will be used at future meetings and events within the club.
Anyone who had the good fortune of knowing Jim will appreciate what an appropriate gift to the club this will be as this was his forte, there was no one better at conducting the business of a meeting than Jim Hamilton.
Jim played an enormous part in the formation of this club he would have been an immensely proud man today to see the way that George has guided this club forward since it’s inception in 2005.
Receiving an Honorary Life Memebership to the Club is Robert McLaughlin
Following this Francis and Anne were asked to remain on the floor to carry out a very special presentation to that great ambassador of the sport Mr Robert McLaughlin he was invited to come forward to receive an Honorary Life Membership of the club, this was a thoroughly deserved honour for Robert who is undoubtedly one of the greats of Scottish Pigeon Racing.
There was one more task for Francis and Anne to do and that was to present the silver medal donated by their late father for the winner of the extreme distance race from Saintes to Pete Patrick of Thornton Fife for his great performance with his bird winning 1st Sect M.
The following presentations were made by Les Blacklock, Meril Blacklock, Ally Forrest and George Wilson
The Young Bird National - Winner Dave Owen of Coldingham was next to be presented with his silver medal along with the section winners who received bronze medals Sect C : B McKenzie Dundee. Sect D : Mr & Mrs Forrest & Son Newbridge. Sect E : Mr & Mrs D Elliot Newbiggin. Sect F : B McCrindle & Sons Glasgow.
Inland National Wanstead Flats - Winner of the Silver Medal for 1st Open was John Ellis of Wellbank Dundee and section winners. Sect A : R White Gretna. Sect B : A Lees Eyemouth. Sect D : J McNeill Broxburn. Sect E : N Peacock Biggar and Sect F : J McCallum Glasgow.
The Reims Gold Medal Race - Winner 1st Open and Gold Medal : Stuart Mullan Port Glasgow.
Section winners - Sect B : P Virtue Cockburnspath. Sect C : J Proctor Kirkcaldy. Sect D : J Mack Alloa. Sect E : W Mitchell & Son Lesmahagow.
Messac - Winner 1st Open and Silver Medal : Wilson & Jack Lanark.
Section winners - Sect B : P Virtue Cockburnspath. Sect C : T Currie Dairsie. Sect D : J Mack Alloa.
Arras - Winner 1st Open and Silver Medal Peter Virtue Cockburnspath
1st Yearling and Silver Medal : J Bell Tranent.
John Ellis a winner of Section C
Section winners - Sect C : J Ellis Wellbank Dundee. Sect D : R Jack Falkirk. Sect E : K Buchanan Hamilton. Sect F : J Alexander Glasgow.
Overall Average 2008 - Winner of the Claret Jug ; Peter Virtue Cockburnspath pictured here with his Grandsons.
Extreme Distance Average - Winner of the Decanter : Peter Virtue Cockburnspath.
Section Average winners for 2008 : Sect B : P Virtue Cockburnspath. Sect C : J Mackenzie Anstruther.
Sect D : J Mack Alloa. Sect E : A & E Stokes Carstairs.
Hall of Fame Gold Award - Dennis Dall Ladbank Fife
The John Fairbairn Memorial Plaque was presented to the winner of the Gold Medal race Stuart Mullan who has the honour of being custodian of the plaque for a year. The plaque is inscribed with the names of the race winners yearly.
Our P.R.O. Mr Ian Brown was called upon to close proceedings, It should be acknowledged that Ian does a tremendous amount of work on behalf of the club throughout the year and I know speak for all our members in saying that it is great to see him getting back to better health once again.
Ian’s opening remark was to state what a difficult task it was to follow Jim Hamilton who’s job it has been each year to give the closing speech but Ian did so with inspiring style and finished his excellent closing speech with three words endorsing what this club is all about: Fellowship - Friendship - Unique
So another great S.N.R.P.C. weekend was over all too soon and the many members who attended said their farewells after breakfast and wished old friends and new acquaintances the very best for the fast approaching season.
Everyone left the hotel in high spirits confident that the club is in good hands and that we will continue to prosper in 2009.
Duncan Knox for the Scottish National Racing Pigeon Club