Ayrshire Fire & Rescue Service – 26 September ‘23

The members were treated this week to a talk from two very experienced firemen from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Station Commander (Ayr Community Fire Station) Gordon Cairns and Group Commander Rod Anderson. Their presence was particularly appreciated since they had both been involved over the previous 48 ... More

The Future of Aircraft Maintenance at Prestwick Airport

We welcomed the return of our guest speaker Mike Stewart, who provided a talk on ’The Future of Aircraft Maintenance at Chevron Prestwick’.  Mike is currently Director of Maintenance at Chevron Aircraft Maintenance Ltd based at Prestwick Airport, and has a long history in the aviation industry. He started his aviation ... More

Frazer Donaldson  ‘Podiatry helps to put our best foot forward’.

  Frazer was brought up in Alloway, eventually graduating in Podiatry from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2014, and has worked as a Podiatrist in the NHS and private sector since graduating. He now owns a practice Best Foot Forward in Ayr where he serves the local community as well as the Ayrshire Bulls Rugby ... More

Michael Hitchon MBE – Ayr Arts Guild – 22 August

Michael Hitchon needed no introduction to most of the club members given his reputation as the long-term “face” and treasurer of Ayr Arts Guild. His accomplishments in bringing the arts to the Ayr public are legendary in the town. Amongst many other community roles Michael has been president of Kyle and Carrick ... More

Dr. James Keyene, Uganda

THE MBABAALI MEMORIAL SCHOOL FOR ORPHANS Report by Loudon McAndrew In the present climate where too much of the news is negative, it was a pleasure to welcome Dr. James Keyene to give a presentation on the above orphanage. Dr Keyene is a Rotarian as well as being a Doctor of Divinity and a Bachelor of Education. The ... More

Presentation from 16 year old Matthew McColm

We were treated to a presentation from an extremely talented young Belmont Academy pupil, called Matthew McColm. He has set up his own company, DevelopX Creative, which designs and develops brands that help tell clients’ stories. DevelopmentX specialise in accessible design for create user-friendly interfaces for ... More

Refereeing Anecdotes – Louis Thow – 25 July ‘23

Louis Thow is a name well-known to football fans generally and to Ayrshire fans especially. An established name on the speakers circuit, Louis entertained the members with a host of tales from the days when, as an SFA category 1 referee, he officiated in some 1400 games between the years of 1979 and 1996. Louis’ ... More

Jim Redmond from RNLI

Our guest speaker Jim Redmond, on the challenges and work of the ‘Royal National Lifeboat Institution’ generally referred to as the ‘RNLI’. Jim was born and brought up in Ayr, initially trained as a baker before joining the rescue and fire service where he served for 19 yrs. He then medically retired from the fire ... More

Ron Swanson of the Ayrshire Hospice

The Ayrshire Hospice aspires to ensure that every adult with palliative and end of life care needs and those people most important to them will receive timely and equitable access to high quality service, delivered by appropriately trained staff and volunteers, said Ron Swanson, Assistant Fund Raising Manager at Ayr Rotary ... More

Liz Marquis of the Energy Agency

Liz was our speaker at our recent meeting. Two German exchange students accompanied her on the evening. The Energy Agency is a charitable organisation providing free, impartial and expert advice to households, businesses and communities, covering energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transport. Our ... More