NEWS

September 2009 Excursion

On Sept 19 members plan to take the bus to Stirling and visit the Smith Museum.
Probably we will have lunch in Stirling together before the tour by the director herself, Dr Elspeth King..
Those who would like to join us should contact: Kenneth S Stewart, 22 Warriston Avenue, Edinburgh EH3 5NB or telephone 0131 552 4949 or by email to socialconvener.standrew@yahoo.co.uk

Visit to National Library of Scotland

Sixteen members of the St. Andrew Society enjoyed a most interesting tour of the National Library of Scotland on Saturday, January 24, 2009. Our guide, Pauline Scott, first gave us some general information on the Library and then took us down into the stacks.

The Library began in 1689 as the Advocates' Library, became the National Library of Scotland in 1925, and moved into its present quarters on George IV Bridge in 1956, having absorbed the donated collection of the Advocates' Library. It has the right to free copies of everything published in Britain, which means that the Library receives and processes 7,000 items each week – not just all books, but all newspapers, all magazines, all theatre programmes, etc! As the volume mushroomed, new premises had to be built nearby, which, however, we did not see on Saturday. In addition, the Library uses an annual budget to purchase manuscripts and certain books published in other countries.

Formerly, the National Library was not necessarily a welcoming place. But the present policy is to give the building a new, user-friendly image, to which the visitor centre to be opened by summer will contribute. The Library is a request library. Users are not permitted to search the open shelves, except in the reference room. Instead, they fill out a slip; and within about 30 minutes the desired books are made available to them – within about an hour and a quarter if the books are stored in the annex. A shuttle vehicle commutes between the two buildings all day to transport books back and forth.

Down in the stacks we learned about the Library's storage system and its safety measures. The books are stored according to size – not subject matter! – to conserve space. The temperature is kept at 19 degrees centigrade, and the humidity is kept at 50%. Dust is removed by an air filter. An extensive sprinkler system has been installed to quench any fire before it can spread, because the librarians would rather cope with damp pages than burnt ones. Damp books are frozen until they can be air-dried.

After our tour, we were given welcome coffee and biscuits and the chance to ask more questions. Everyone may use the National Library after having procured a reader ticket, and I am sure that members of our group will soon be back.

Marybeth Stewart, social convenor

Earl of Wemyss and March

It is with great sadness that the Society notes the passing of our immediate past Honorary President, The Earl of Wemyss and March. Lord Wemyss died on December 12th 2008, aged 96. He served as our Honorary President for over forty years until he stepped down in 2007. Lord Wemyss contributed greatly to the life of Scotland and will be sadly missed.

Farquhar Macintosh Gaelic Scholarship Appeal

Following the passing last year of our former President, Farquhar Macintosh, the Sabhal Mor Ostaig Development Trust and his family decided to raise an appeal in his name. The Appeal is to raise funds for future scholarships to the Gaelic College on Skye. The Society feels that the Appeal in the name of one of our former Presidents is for a genuinely worthy cause very much in line with the aims of the Society. To this end the Society has made a substantial contribution to the Appeal and would encourage likeminded inividuals and Societies to make a contribution. Further Information can be requested from and donations sent to:

The Farquhar Macintosh Gaelic Scholarship Fund

Sabhal Mor Ostaig Development trust

Sabhal Mor Ostaig

Sleat

Isle of Skye

St Andrew's Day Dinner 2008

This year, on the eve of St.Andrew's Day 2008, the St.Andrew Society held a dinner to celebrate Scotland's patron saint. We met, at 7:30 on November 29 at Café Truva in Edinburgh's Canongate, where we had a delicious Turkish and Mediterranean buffet dinner and listened to a most interesting talk by Dr. Elspeth King on the celebration of St.Andrew through the centuries. The affiliates' secretary conveyed the greetings from other St.Andrew Societies around the world. The Chair of Council proposed a toast to the President and commended the tremendous work done by Vice President, Dave Williamson, in securing funding for, and organising the upgrading of the audio-visual equipment at the Heritage Centre. This will provide commentary in six languages. The evening finished with a raffle and was deemed an all-round success.

Flag Trust Site Goes Live

Centenary

2007 is our Centenary year and we look forward to celebrating it with various events, some of which can be found on the “future events” page. The undoubted highlight will be Centenary St Andrew’s Day Dinner Dance, which will be held this year on St Andrew’s Day at the Braid Hills Hotel, Edinburgh. Members and friends, past and present, are already enquiring about tickets for this event. To ensure your place at this historic Dinner contact the Secretary early! We have also marked the Centenary by commissioning a St Andrew Society Centenary Tartan which is available exclusively through the Society.

Price List Tie - £12 Bow Tie - £14 Scarf - £22 Sash - £38 Cloth - £23/m P&P - £3.50*

Contact the Secretary to place your orders
*UK small orders. For overseas and large orders contact the Secretary for a quote .

Mouse Mat Initiative

In recent years The Flag Trust's only promotional merchandise has been the excellent T-Shirts. Funding for promotions of this type has always been an issue, as has the lack of local retail outlets. Thanks to The St Andrew Society The Trust has produced The Athelstaneford Mouse Mat.

The cost is £2.50 plus 25p postage and is available from the society by emailing
flag@st-andrew.org.uk