Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Bonnyrigg & Lasswade Local History Society held in the Pitcairn Centre, High Street, Bonnyrigg on Wednesday 20th April 2005. 1. Introduction. Herbert Dryden opened the meeting and welcomed those present. He said that that this was the 23rd 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 Sheena Johnson, Esther Rae, Betty Stoddart, Jeanette Kidd, Mary Renwick and Dick Millar. 3. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting. These were formally approved by the meeting, proposed by Helen Finlayson and seconded by Jan Brown. 4. Treasurer's Report. Howard Turner gave his first report as Treasurer and referred the members to the Balance Sheet. He said that at the start of the season, the cash in hand was £45.71 and the current account was £689.63. Total membership fees for 78 members came to £309.00 and visitors’ fees were £39.00. Donations to the Society were £12.00, the grant from Midlothian Council was £134 and the sale of teas & coffees at the meetings raised £32.34. Returned subscription amounted to £17.00 and Bank interest received was £6.18. The summer Outing to Mount Stuart had so far raised £969.50. Expenditure included £55.00 for subscriptions, the hall insurance was £125.40, Secretary’s expenses were £46.69, Chairman’s expenses £68.20, Treasure’s expenses £9.85, tea expenses were £14.59 and speakers’ expenses were £50.00. Rental payment made for the Pitcairn Centre was £60.00. Expenses for the Alnwick Outing were £752.00, Threave Outing were £381.40 and the Mount Stuart Outing £330.55. Donations amounted to £55.00. This left the cash in hand at £37.92 and the current account at £1044.51. Five new members had joined the Society during the year. Looking through the records, it was noted that in the 1990’s the average membership was 50, in 2001 in it was 48 and since then it had risen to 74. This represented an increase of 62.5%. Thirty nine visitors were welcomed throughout the year. Profits from the tea sales amounted to £17.75. It was noted that the grant from Midlothian Council was very important to the Society and that it was not guaranteed; it had to be applied for each year. It was now almost the same as the amount now paid for insurance by the Society. The donations made by the Society during the year included £50 to the Asian Tsunami Appeal. Mr Turner then invited questions from the members. Mr Dryden thanked Mr Turner for his report and as there were no questions raised, he asked that the accounts be approved and these were proposed by Mary Gardiner and seconded by Alex Waugh. Mr Dryden commented that if membership numbers continued to rise, then the Society may have to consider leaving the Pitcairn Centre and seeking larger premises for meetings. This was seen as potentially a costly exercise and something not to be undertaken lightly. It was hoped that we could remain at the Pitcairn Centre for as long as possible. Referring to future expenditure, he recommended the acquisition of some more storage boxes for our archive material together with the purchase of a simple microphone for use at the meetings. The annual membership subscription rates had remained the same for several years, namely £5.00 (Standard) and £3.00 (Option). At a recent Committee meeting, a decision had been taken to recommend to the members that a fixed rate subscription of £4.00 be levied for the coming year. This recognised the fact that the majority of members were now retired people and it was felt that a fixed rate subscription was more appropriate. Mr Dryden asked the meeting for approval of the recommendation and this was given, proposed by Mrs Sobik and seconded by Mrs Ferguson. Thanks were also recorded to Mrs Mary Muirhead for auditing the accounts. Mrs Muirhead was re-appointed as auditor for the following year, proposed by Cathy Simpson and seconded by Margaret Waugh. 5. Chairman's Report Mr Dryden said that following Mr Turner’s election to the committee at last year’s AGM that he had later volunteered to take on the duties of Treasurer. Mr Dryden recorded his thanks to Mr Turner for his willingness to take on the role. The members later ratified the appointment at the October 2004 meeting. Mr Dryden said that he was pleased to see Mrs Gray, Andrew Sharp and also our Secretary, Sheena Johnson back amongst us following their recent health problems. Mr Dryden recalled that in the summer of last year we had a very enjoyable outing to Alnwick Castle and Gardens and in the autumn we visited Threave & Kirkcudbright. He looked forward to the forthcoming outing in May to Mount Stuart. Attendances at the meetings throughout the year were so good that concerns had been raised as to our ability to accommodate the larger numbers. In October, Gordon Smith gave a talk to the Society on the “Medals of the First World War”. Mr Smith had made reference to the Royal Scots and also some local people who had been honoured for their gallantry. In November, Jim Dickson & Charlie Summers of the Midlothian Camera Club showed us some slides on “Midlothian at the Millennium”. (Sadly Mr Dickson died a few weeks later.) In January 2005 we welcomed James Simpson who gave us a talk on “Mavisbank House: Past & Present”. In February, Iona Roberts gave us an interesting talk on some of the gravestones to be found at the Old Cemetery at Lasswade. In March we met in the Loudon Hall to hear Phillip Knowles speak to us about the last “100 years of Broomieknowe Golf Club”. Mr Dryden commented that the retiring committee had organised an interesting programme for next session. An invitation had been extended to the Society to attend a service of worship at Lasswade Parish Church and to see some of the historic vessels and the windows contained in the building. Thanks were again extended to the Kirk Session of Bonnyrigg Parish Church for allowing us to meet in the Pitcairn Centre. Also thanks were extended to the Badminton Club for allowing us to use the Loudon Hall for the March meeting. Mr Dryden expressed his thanks to the Society members for their support over the past year and also to Neil Stewart for his support including taking the minutes for the AGM. 6. Election of Office Bearers and Committee. Mr Dryden advised the meeting of the process for electing Office Bearers and Committee in accordance with the Constitution of the Society. He also intimated that the retiring committee, which consisted of Sheena Johnson, Margaret Waugh, Margaret Hamilton, Cathy Simpson, Mary Gardiner, Christine Elliot and Howard Turner, were all willing to be re-elected, if the members were happy that they should serve for a further year. This was unanimously approved by the meeting, proposed by Andrew Sharp and seconded by Mrs Bett. As there were also other members attending who expressed a willingness to assist the committee and also recognising the fact that attendance levels at meetings were on the increase, a decision was taken to co-opt a further two people to the committee, again in accordance with Constitution. To this end, Betty Stoddart and Jeanette Kidd were co-opted to the committee, proposed by Mary Gardiner and seconded by Mrs Bett. Similarly, Alison Ferguson was co-opted to the committee, proposed by Margaret Hamilton and seconded by Mrs Donaldson. Mrs Sheena Johnson was re-elected as Secretary, proposed by Jan Brown and seconded by Mrs Sobik. Mr Howard Turner was re-elected as Treasurer, proposed by Margaret Hamilton and seconded by Mary Gardiner. As the position of Vice Chair remained unfilled, a decision would be taken at the next committee meeting to appoint someone and ratification would then be sought from the members at the first meeting of the new session. It was hoped that with a larger committee, that people would settle into a routine and then would be prepared to accept office at a later stage. Mr Dryden recorded his thanks to the committee members for all of their hard work throughout the past year and for the support that they had also given to him. Particular mention was made of Sheena Johnson’s organisational skills with the programme and speakers, Howard Turner for his work with our accounts, Christine Elliot for the distribution of posters to a selection of shops and other locations to advertise our meetings and Mary Gardiner, Margaret Hamilton & Margaret Reid for the distribution of newsletters to the members. Thanks were also recorded for support currently being received from Jan Brown, Dorothy Anderson, Anne MacDonald and Moira Dryden with an ongoing project that would lead to an exhibition being staged in Bonnyrigg Library. The exhibition would run from October until Christmas as part of the “Friends of Bonnyrigg Library” initiative that was trying to engage with local organisations. Mr Dryden then handed over to Neil Stewart to oversee the election of Chairman of the Society. Mr Stewart intimated that Mr Dryden had expressed a willingness to continue should this be acceptable to the members. Mr Stewart asked the meeting for further nominations for the post of Chairman. None were received, so Mr Stewart then asked if the members wished to re-elect Mr Dryden to the post. This was unanimously endorsed by the meeting and Mr Dryden was duly re-elected proposed by Margaret Hamilton and seconded by Cathy Simpson. Mr Dryden thanked the meeting for their decision. 7. Any Other Competent Business. Mr Dryden reminded the members that he had advised them at the March meeting about a letter received from a gentleman in Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, who had a relative who had been the Station Master at Lasswade Railway Station. As Mr Dryden also had a family connection with Lochmaben, he had recently exchanged correspondence. The gentleman had further advised Mr Dryden that he had an old school friend called Ian Todd who had attended George Watson’s School in Edinburgh. Mr Todd later became an actuary and also had a connection with the mills in Lasswade. Mr Dryden asked the meeting if anyone knew Ian Todd but this did not draw a positive response. Mr Dryden then gave details of the forthcoming outing to Mount Stuart at Rothesay (on the Island of Bute) on 1st May 2005. Mr Dryden recommended to the meeting that the Society renew its associate membership of The Esk Valley Trust. Whilst no membership fee was sought by the Trust, a donation of £5.00 had been given by the Society last year. Mr Dryden asked the members to consider a £20.00 donation to be given to the Trust, this year. This was approved by the meeting. The 2005/2006 programme would consist of the following:- In October 2005, there would be an illustrated talk by Mr John MacFie on “Drawings of the Lady Victoria Colliery”. Mr MacFie’s drawings are on display at the Scottish Mining Museum until the end of April 2005. In November 2005, Alistair Johnson and Drew Elliot would be giving a talk on “The Scottish Parliament (Old & New). In January 2006, Stella Rankine would be giving a talk about her garden in Kevock; “A Passion Out Of Hand”. In February 2006, “Memories of Midfield House” would be presented by Althea Dundas-Bekker, Cathy Simpson and Ross Corney. The March 2006 meeting would be replaced by a visit to Dalkeith House. Mr Dryden asked if the members would be interested in a possible visit to the New Scottish Parliament, perhaps in November 2005. A large show of hands at the meeting suggested that there was much interest, so Mr Dryden said that he would make the necessary arrangements. On Wednesday 4th May 2005, the Edinburgh Green Belt Trust would organising a “clean up” of Burghlee Park, Loanhead. Volunteers were being sought to assist with this task. Mr Stewart had received an e-mail and a telephone call from the Arts Department of the BBC regarding a television series to be produced towards the end of 2005 about the landscapes of Britain as seen in landscape paintings and recorded in poetry. The BBC is very interested in the archive material held by the Society on William McTaggart. Mr Stewart reminded members that material from the McTaggart Family Archive had already been used in a television programme called “The Bigger Picture” which had been produced by Billy Connolly’s company “Ecosse Films”, several years ago. Mr Stewart considered that the approach from the BBC underlined the importance of our archive and he would be reviewing it with the production team shortly to determine the material that would be suitable for the television series. The Society could expect to receive a payment or donation from the BBC to cover the use of any material chosen for inclusion in the TV series. A further two approaches had been received in connection with the McTaggart Family Archive, one from Mrs Agnes Binnie of Liberton who has a connection with the McTaggart family through William McTaggart’s parents from Kintyre. McTaggart’s mother’s maiden name was Brolochan and Mrs Binnie is related to that side of the family. The other contact was from the community in Machrihanish who were interested in our archive collection. Copies of photographs could be made available to them in the future. Mr Stewart also appealed for some assistance in dealing with the large volume of inquiries being received through the website on family history traces. Much research was necessary and this required a lot of time and effort. He also reminded the committee that he had a quantity of acid free storage boxes which were to be used for additional storage of archive material. As there was no further business Mr Dryden thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting. There followed an illustrated talk by Mr Howard Turner on “The Maiden Castle”.