Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Bonnyrigg & Lasswade Local History Society held in the Pitcairn Centre, High Street, Bonnyrigg on Wednesday 16th April 2003. 1. Introduction. Mr Herbert Dryden opened the meeting and welcomed those present. He said that he reckoned that this was the 21st AGM of the Society. He asked everyone to ensure that they had signed the members' attendance book prior to the start of tonight's meeting. 2. Apologies. Apologies were recorded on behalf of Miss Agnes Anderson, Mrs Bella Sobik, Mrs Mary Renwick, Charlie & Nita Adams, Jean Cowie, Helen Finlayson and Mr & Mrs Pinkman. 3. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting. These were formally approved by the meeting, proposed by Mr Alex Waugh and seconded by Mrs Mary Gardiner. 4. Treasurer's Report. Mrs Margaret Reid advised the meeting that at the start of the season, the cash in hand was £73.62 and the current account was £488.95. The membership fees were £224.00 and visitors' donations were £31.00. Donations to the Society were £7.00, the grant from Midlothian Council was £134 and the sale of teas & coffees at the meetings raised £64.63. The Summer Outing raised £545.00 and the Autumn Outing £485.50. Bank interest received was £6.55. Expenditure included £29.00 for subscriptions to magazines, the hall insurance was £95.55, Secretary's expenses were £15.00, tea expenses were £12.77 and speakers' expenses were £30.00. There were two rental payments made for the Pitcairn Centre totalling £120.00. Expenses for the Summer Outing were £485.40 and the Autumn Outing £507.50. Refunds for the outings amounted to £45.60. This left the cash in hand at £29.58 and the current account at £689.85. Nine new members had joined the Society during the year. The total membership was sixty-seven. Mrs Reid commented that our insurance costs had increased by about £9.00 and that our speakers' expenses were lower due to talks given by Herbert Dryden and Sheena Johnson not incurring any costs. Our current bank balance has increased by approximately £157.00. No large expenses had been incurred so far and most of the grant from Midlothian Council was available. Mr Dryden thanked Mrs Reid for her report and invited questions from the members. As there were no questions raised, Mr Dryden asked that the accounts be approved and these were proposed by Mrs Jan Brown and seconded by Mrs Dorothy Anderson. Thanks were also recorded to Mrs Mary Muirhead for auditing the accounts. 5. Chairman's Report Mr Dryden advised the meeting that during the year, two founding members of the Society had died. Dr Mary Noble died in July and Mr George Campbell died in October 2002. He said that tributes had already been paid to these great historians of the burgh, who by their enthusiasm and tireless energy, had worked extremely hard to get the Society up and running in the Spring of 1982. Their work was officially recognised by the Society when they were granted life membership in October 2000. He thanked them for all their work for the Society over so many years and said that whilst we would miss them from among us, that we could not and would not forget them. He reminded the members that in the Spring of 2002, that they had enjoyed an outing to Glamis Castle. He said that whilst it had been arranged when the Queen Mother was still alive, that it had taken place just weeks after her death and therefore had taken on an added significance. In September 2002, members enjoyed another lovely day at Culzean Castle. This was the last time that many of the members had contact with Mr George Campbell. Mr Dryden commented that attendance at meetings over the year had been good, so much so that the committee had to consider other possible venues to accommodate the increased numbers. He said that whilst the committee had been happy with the accommodation over the years in the Pitcairn Centre, if larger audiences had to be comfortably accommodated, then we must address the matter. He reminded members that in October 2002, they were shown material from the Society's Archive and this included slides taken by the late Dr Noble. In November 2002, Professor Ian Campbell from the Dept of English Literature at Edinburgh University, gave us an insight into "Jeykll & Hyde". In January 2003, Mr Dryden & Mrs Sheena Johnson had given a talk on Pittendreich House. In February 2003, Mr David Smith from the Dalkeith Local History Society gave a talk on "The Body Snatchers". This talk had attracted the largest audience of the year. In March 2003, Mr Mary Smalley of the Esk Valley Trust spoke about the "Hidden Gems of the Esk Valley". Progress has been made on the updating and cataloguing of the Society's Archive and also the feasibility of producing a "Walking Trails" booklet on some aspects of the town's history. Thanks were extended to everyone who had volunteered to help with these tasks. Thanks were also extended to the Kirk Session of Bonnyrigg Parish Church for the use of the Pitcairn Centre for our meetings. Mr Dryden thanked the committee and the membership for their support throughout the past year. He also expressed thanks to Honorary President, Neil Stewart, for his continued support and assistance in the work of the Society. 6. Election of Office Bearers and Committee. Mr Dryden outlined the procedure for electing office bearers and committee in accordance with the Constitution. No nominations had been received prior to the meeting regarding membership of the committee. The retiring committee members, Mrs Margaret Waugh, Mrs Sheena Johnson, Mrs Margaret Reid, Mrs Margaret Hamilton, Mrs Helen Hope, Miss Catherine Simpson and Mrs Mary Gardiner, all indicated that they were willing to stand again for another year. Mr Dryden then asked if there were any further nominations. None were received so Mr Dryden asked for a proposer and seconder to re-elect the committee. This was proposed by May Bett and seconded by Nancy Donaldson. Mr Dryden thanked the office bearers and committee members for their hard work and support throughout the year. Particular thanks were extended to Mrs Sheena Johnson, Mrs Margaret Reid. As Mrs Waugh, Mrs Johnson and Mrs Reid were all willing to serve as Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer respectively, for another year, their re-election was proposed by Mrs Moira Dryden and seconded by Mrs Mary Gardiner. Mrs Margaret Waugh then asked the meeting for nominations for the post of Chairman. No nominations were received. Mr Dryden intimated that he was prepared to continue as Chairman for another year. This met with the unanimous approval of the members and he was re-elected, proposed by Mrs Margaret Hamilton and seconded by Mrs Dorothy Anderson. Mrs Waugh recorded her thanks on behalf of the committee and members to Mr Dryden for the work that he had done during the year. 7. Any Other Competent Business. Mr Dryden said that the Committee had started to look at possible speakers for the coming year. He also reminded members of the planned outings to St Andrews on 7th June and also one to St Giles Cathedral on 16th June 2003. Meetings will continue to be held in the Pitcairn Centre in the coming year, although the committee will continue to monitor the sizes of audiences, as previously indicated. A proposed Local History Fair is to be held at Dalkeith Arts Centre and was this was discussed. The provisional date for this is 11th October 2003. Mr Dryden also outlined to the meeting a proposal for the Society to gain associate membership of the Esk Valley Trust. He said that he considered that it would be advantageous and sought the approval of the members to submit an application. The meeting approved membership of the Esk Valley Trust together with a £5.00 donation and this was proposed by Mrs Margaret Hamilton and seconded by Mrs Jan Brown. Mr Dryden also mentioned the proposed restoration of the house and grounds at Mavisbank and said that it would also be featured in a BBC TV series called "Restorations", to be screened later in the Summer. He said that he had asked to be kept informed of the progress of this project. Mr Stewart said that he had also heard of this and had received information from The Edinburgh Green Belt Trust. He said that he would pass any further information received to the Society. Mr Dryden mentioned that he had written a letter on behalf of the Society to Midlothian Council, objecting to proposed plans to site an asphalt plant adjacent to Cockpen Church and Dalhousie Castle. A short discussion followed on this matter. As there was no further business Mr Dryden thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.