11 June 2015 Bill McColl - A Vet's Life
Thu, Jun 11th 2015 at 12:00 am - 2:00 am
Bill McColl talked about his life and work as a vet. We had our RYLA candidate Fiona Dick and Beth Young who is attending a Round Square conference along. Both are being supported by the club.
President Peter Farr welcomed five visitors to last week’s meeting.
Our speaker for the evening was Bill McColl talking about his life as a Vet.
We were also joined by our Rotary Youth Leadership Award candidate, Fiona Dick who was accompanied by Jacquie Bradley. Fiona has just started 5th year at Dunblane High and will be going to the RYLA camp at Nethybridge in 3 weeks’ time. Fiona thanked the club for sponsoring her and said she was very much looking forward to the opportunities and challenges she will face. She will give a presentation to the club on her return.
Finally the club welcomed Beth Young along with her dad, Graeme. Beth (11) attends Beaconhurst School and has recently been awarded a place at an international Round Square conference. Round Square is an education charity that "promotes in young people a commitment, beyond academic merit, to personal growth, and responsibility through service to others and through practical, experiential learning." The club had agreed to a donation to help Beth attend the Conference and looks forward to hearing about her experience later in the year.
Bill McColl gave a very entertaining talk on his life as a vet. Inspired by the James Herriot books, farmer’s son Bill went from school to the Dick Vet College in Edinburgh. This was in 1976 when the intake was 40 male and 20 female students. Current intake is around 120 of which over 100 are female – a significant change, as is the cost; then £5-8k now £90k to get through the course. On graduating in 1981, Bill went to Belize for a short spell, then to a small animal practice in Kent where the salary was £4-5k with a car and a flat; current salaries are around £25-28k with no car or accommodation. Bill set up his practice in Dunblane in 1984 and was one of the founders of the Broadleys Veterinary Hospital when his practice merged with others. Bill interspersed his talk with many amusing anecdotes about his experiences but also reflected on one of the most harrowing times in his career during the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2000.
Rod Jones thanked Bill for sharing his experiences with us and for giving a most entertaining talk.
