Rotary Club of Shetland

For the Rotary Club the winter season got off to a flying start when we held our regular Autumn Cheese & Wine evening in the Town Hall in early November. This continues to be one of our main fund-raising events of the year and as always was generously supported by members and friends. During the evening, Club President Martin Nicolson presented a number of cheques to charities both local and national, the Gilbert Bain Hospital receiving £700 to purchase four flat-screen televisions for use in the wards, Shetland Bereavement support received £500, the Shetland Stroke Support Group £500 and Sail Training Shetland £2,000 towards next year’s Tall Ships visit to Lerwick.

David Thomson was the first guest speaker of the month, and gave a very lucid and comprehensive talk on the Burradale Windfarm which lies between the Dale Golf Course and the Tingwall valley. The 5 Windmills there have now been in operation for ten years, and are the most productive in the world, supplying some 10% of Shetland’s power. David was able to show that the Windmills had no adverse effect on either animal or bird life, one of the main problems he has to face is the amount of sheep dirt deposited around the towers, and on a more cheerful note Oystercatchers have nested beside the towers. In the ten years of operation, he is aware of only one fatal bird strike on the rotating blades.

The following week member Alan Preshaw took us through the life history of a remarkable Aberdonian, born in Fraserburgh but who lived latterly in Balgownie Road Aberdeen before emigrating to Japan Thomas Blake Glover began working for a trading company and later he and his brother moved to Japan, being among the first Westerners to be allowed to settle in what had been a very closed country. He helped the Samurai overthrow the Shogun, and became known as the Scottish Samurai. He settled in Nagasaki and is credited with the founding of the Mitsubishi industrial empire, as well as establishing the Yen as Japan’s currency.

During December member Larry Sutherland showed a fascinating selection of photographs of old fishing boats, mostly Shetland owned, which proved of great interest particularly to those in the Club who had connections with the Harbour and the Fishing Industry.

The final speaker of the year was member John Groat who reminisced about how he came to join the merchant navy on leaving school, training to be a radio officer and joining the P & O fleet. Initially serving on one of their cargo vessels, John talked about a fascinating list of destinations in the Far East he had visited during a voyage which is now part of history with the rise of containerisation, as is the post of Radio Officer with the advent of satellite navigation and world-wide telecommunications.

To round off the year, members of the Club visited some fifty elderly or disabled people in the community who live alone and would perhaps not expect to see anyone during the holiday. Each person visited received Christmas Greetings and a small gift from the Club.