Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Bonnyrigg & Lasswade Local History Society held in the Pitcairn Centre, High Street, Bonnyrigg on Wednesday 15th April 1998 at 7.30pm. 1. Chairman's Remarks. Mr Stewart opened the meeting and welcomed those present. He explained that the programme for the evening would consist of two parts. There would be a formal part, the business meeting and an informal part, which would be a buffet. He said that the buffet was a way of saying thanks to everyone who had supported the Society throughout the year. Mr Stewart advised the meeting of the following notices:- (a) The summer outing on Sunday 10th May to Paxton House. This was a replacement for the advertised outing to Kinross House. It was not possible to make the planned visit due to domestic problems at Kinross House. He hoped that it might be possible to go there at a later date. (b) We would not be taking part in the Bonnyrigg Fun Day. It was felt that it was time to take a break from this event. An exhibition and fund raising stall would be considered for future events of this kind. 2. Apologies. These were recorded on behalf of Dr Mary Noble and Mrs Mary Hay. 3. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting. These were formally adopted by the meeting, proposed by Mr George Campbell and seconded by Mrs Waugh. 4. Treasurer's Report. Mr Stewart invited Mrs Dorothy Anderson to give a report on our annual accounts. Mrs Anderson's report to the meeting included the following:- On the Income side of our accounts, the opening balance for the year was £461.05. Although this was a much lower figure than the previous year, it was not in any way a matter for concern because we had not applied this year for a grant of £134 from Midlothian Council. We were in fact in profit overall for the year. The numbers of subscriptions were lower than the previous year. We actually had six members less. Our fund raising efforts at our stall at the Bonnyrigg Fun Day brought in £45. This comprised £40 raised at the stall and a £5 donation. This was particularly appreciated because of the atrocious weather on the day. Interest from our bank account had increased. On the Expenditure side of our accounts, subscriptions had again been made to the Scottish Local History Forum and Midlothian Voluntary Action. Gift tokens to invited speakers were the same as last year. Donations had been made to the Bonnyrigg Community Events Committee and Soutra Hospital Project (S.H.A.R.P) of £10 & £30 respectively. Printing & photocopying was higher at £30.80. This included the printing of copies for members of the transcript of Mr Stewart's talk on "Bonnyrigg Street Names". Rent for the Pitcairn Centre was the same as last year as were the Secretary's expenses. Mr Stewart had purchased a projector stand for the Society together with two cartridges for the slide projector. Mrs Anderson invited any questions regarding the accounts. As there were no questions, the accounts were formally adopted by the meeting, proposed by Mr Alex Waugh and seconded by Mr Doug Smith. 5. Chairman's Report. Mr Stewart gave a brief report of the highlights of the year's activities. He was pleased to report on another successful year, not just from the financial point of view, but also from general interest and enjoyment of the programme. We had started the season in September '97 with an outing to Gosford House and had been given a tour of the house by its owner, the Earl of Wemyss & March. Members had remarked that they had been fascinated by the tour. Mr Stewart recalled his own talk to the Society in October '97 on "The Origins of the Street Names of Bonnyrigg & Lasswade". He said that he been very encouraged by the response to this talk not only on the night but also later, when members had requested copies of the transcript. In November'97, we were privileged to hear David Smith's talk on "Dalkeith in the 19th Century". This was an excellent talk, which was very well received by the members. In January'98, we listened to Mrs Jean Blades from the Fala & District Local History Society talking about "Thomas Telford". This was an illustrated talk with particular emphasis on the building of the A68 road. In February'98, Mr Buchan from the Royal Botanical Garden made a return visit to us. This time his talk was about the building of the famous "Glass Houses" at the Garden in Edinburgh. Last month, our speaker was Dr Brian Moffat from the Soutra Hospital Project. This again had been very well received and members were intrigued by the various potions described by Dr Moffat that the medieval monks used in the treatment of diseases and war wounded. Our archive had been the source of inspiration for three talks given during the year by Mr Stewart, to other Societies. These included talks to the Women's Rural Institute at Rosewell and the Women's Guild at Bonnyrigg Parish Church, on the "History of Bonnyrigg & Lasswade". Also a talk was given to the Midlothian Family History Society based on research and family history material on "William McTaggart RSA". Mr Stewart ended his report by thanking the members for their continued support and encouragement and looked forward to seeing as many as possible at the outing to Paxton House. 6. Election of Office Bearers and Committee. Mr Stewart was invited to continue as Chairman and this was unanimously endorsed by the meeting. Mr Alex Waugh was elected to the post of Vice Chairman, proposed by Mr George Campbell and seconded by Mrs Mary Renwick. Mrs Dorothy Anderson offered to continue as Treasurer for another year, but intimated that she would retire at the next AGM. This was endorsed by the meeting. Mrs Sheena Johnson had been co-opted to the committee after last year's AGM, filling the post of Secretary. Mr Stewart thanked her for her help in her first year in the post. Mrs Helen Hope was elected to the committee, proposed by Mrs Mary Renwick and seconded by Mrs Bella Sobik. The new committee was confirmed as Mr Neil Stewart, Mr Alex Waugh, Mrs Dorothy Anderson, Mrs Sheena Johnson, Mrs Jean Lindsay, Mrs Margaret Reid, Mrs Ena Tait and Mrs Helen Hope. 7. Any Other Business. Mr Stewart opened this section by highlighting several pieces of correspondence received by the Secretary. These included a handbill on "The Missing Link" an exhibition at the Edinburgh City Arts Centre, information on the Midlothian Libraries Local History Week, "Midlothian at Leisure" an exhibition by Midlothian Local Studies staff at the Midlothian Libraries HQ. Also an illustrated talk on "Sports & Games in Victorian Midlothian" by John Burnett of the National Museums of Scotland. A newsletter from Midlothian Voluntary Action was also available. Mrs Jan Brown asked for an update on Rosslyn Chapel and suggested that we invite a speaker on this subject. Mrs Mary Renwick suggested the Crannog Centre at Loch Tay, as a possible outing. Mr George Campbell gave several suggestions for speakers and these were as follows: - (a) 1999 marks the 350th anniversary of the execution of King Charles I (1649); perhaps the History Dept of Edinburgh University could be contacted to provide a talk on the subject. (b) Nunraw Abbey and Lennoxlove, as a possible sites for outings. (c) Haddington Local History Society, to provide a speaker on the history of the town. (d) Yester House built by William Adam and completed by Robert Adam. (e) Inchcolm Abbey. Miss Irene Dickson suggested a talk on "Beatrix Potter" by Dr Mary Noble. As there were no further items of business, Mr Stewart closed the meeting. He thanked the members for their attendance and invited everyone to stay and enjoy the buffet.