Speaker Evening

On Thursday 27th February members and guests of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry enjoyed another thought-provoking talk by veteran club member Gordon Wood. Entitled 'A Point of View', Gordon's talk was a reflection on how the world had changed between his early days in Sheffield, where poverty and poor housing was accepted, to his retirement in Edinburgh, which had a well-deserved reputation for the quality of life it offered. Both cities had tackled the housing problem in a similar fashion, replacing small local communities with often brutalist tower blocks offering modern facilities but destroying community spirit. These in turn had become obsolete as their disadvantages became apparent. Though Edinburgh was not without problems, it was 3rd top in the UK prosperity league, its bus service was second to none and it seemed to be moving towards at least a partial housing solution with the number of new developments being built all round the city. Despite this, barely sixty miles west, Inverclyde was bottom of the league. Sheffield, too, had taken steps to improve prosperity, for example Sheffield University established a world-class research facility in partnership with Boeing on the site of the Orgreave Coking Plant, near Rotheram, once notorious for riots during the miners' strike. A great irony was that these improvements were happening when the gap between wealth and poverty had never been greater. In his long career in banking in both England and Scotland, Gordon had met three people from modest backgrounds who had become multi-millionaires or billionaires, but the chances of this being possible in the current climate were remote. In conclusion, Gordon mentioned his  involvement with PASDA, which supports adults with autism, and Vocal, a carers' charity based in Leith. He said that Queensferry showed a great sense of community, citing organisations like QCCC and GreenFerry working to the improve the quality of life of all the residents.

Gordon's talk was very well received and prompted a general discussion from the floor in which many of the points he had raised were discussed. He was introduced by Morrison Handley-Schachler. Ed Kelly proposed the vote of thanks.