East Vets AGM at Gullane

This whole golfing year has been governed by the weather so why should this, the last official blog of the year, be any different.  It was a complete treat/relief to be inside Gullane clubhouse, looking out on the empty wind- blasted courses rather than the reverse.  What a gale.  All ladies turning up for the AGM and lunch must have got the shock of their lives when checking their coiffure in the mirror, prior to the meeting.  One poor lady who shall remain nameless arrived late, having mistaken the venue and had had to race at break-neck speed to Gullane.  She came through the door just as her name was being called to receive the Wallace Williamson Aggregate Cup,  only to be greeted by a "Have you just come off your motor-bike?"  Pay no attention Vivien, everyone had that harrassed wind-blown look when they came in.

The meeting with 60 ladies had opened with a request for a moments silence to remember Ethel Jack and Moira Thomson.

The prize-giving followed and it was gratifying to have so many people present to receive their trophies and awards.  We mention here only the trophy winners.
Senior Salver won by Christine Reid
Wallace Williamson Aggregate Cup  won by Vivien Mitchell
Beddowes Trophy won by Rosie Dennis
The Rosebowl won by Vivien Mitchell
Ramsden Cup won by Isobel Hastings
Lady MacInnes Shaw Championship Cup won by Ruth Brown

The apologies were reported , this being 67.  The decision had been taken last year to email the minutes to all members with known email addresses and to post a copy to all those who did not, rather than producing piles of hard copies .  This has proved an efficient way of distributing the minutes.  The minutes were proposed and seconded.

There were two matters arising.  With regard to the Ramsden Cup, last year it had been proposed to find neutral ground for the semifinals and final.  The organisation of this proved easier than had been thought and it is to be continued.  Only one of the semifinals had to be played on Liberton for which a guest fee had been paid, courtesy of the Vets Association, whereas the final had been played on Murrayfield, as both contestants were Murrayfield Ladies.  This was won by Isobel Hastings , Denise Mitchell being runner-up.  The decision to play three extra holes - with strokes as necessary - when the game was all square at the 18th, was reiterated, rather than sudden death.

Dulcie Barnes high-lighted to the company her efforts to procure a shirt from Wilkies which could be worn with our traditional green jersey, descibed as turquoise? and how she had managed to get a substantial discount.  Last year a shirt of similar colour had been approved, only to find that Glenmuir was discontinuing that shade.  The Wilkie shirt has been guaranteed for the distant future.

The financial statement had been distributed and opened to questions.  The generous balance we have, was queried and the meeting was invited to suggest useful ways of decreasing it.  The Captain said she had hoped to initiate another scratch match of the lowest handicap players with local Divisions,( none of which have yet been approached) in the manner of our East v West match.  Low handicap Vets, who potentially form the squad from whom the Scottish vets team is selected possibly require more matchplay experience and the more matches between divisions the better.  This was one suggestion.   The suggestions from the company were sending flowers to  members who were unwell, increasing the value of prizes (this had actually already been done) and coaching for the ladies who played in any of the teams. The ladies were asked to put on their thinking caps and communicate with their committee over the next few weeks if any other ideas arose.

The financial statement was adopted.

Katherine said she had some green jerseys she wanted to sell off at bargain prizes and at the end of the meeting these vanished as if by magic.

The Captain gave her report recounting the events of the year in chronological order.  There was a great deal said about the weather conditions and how this had influenced all manner of games, many of which had been postponed or cancelled.  The Spring meeting had been rescheduled, the Elie Match had been cancelled and Haddington had gone underwater with postponement of the championship matchplay games. We had lost on both occasions to the West Vets but had won both our Borders match and our Midlands match, the latter for the first time. Ruth Brown had beaten Sue Penman in our championship in a very tight final , had proceeded to challenge for the Scroggie Cup at Blairgowrie only to be beaten at the seventeenth hole in the final.  Karen Ballantyne had represented the East Division in the Scotland versus Ireland match at Templepatrick but Scotland had not won.  No East Vet had been selected for either of the teams representing Scotland in the Vets Jamboree or the Senior Home Internationals.

The captain thanked all those who had helped throughout the year and in particular her committee. With no further ado and with very little introduction, she then presented Marjory Lauder, as the next Captain and asked for the approval of the meeting.

Marjory thanked Noreen for her work over the last two years.  She in turn introduced Anne Brownie as her Vice Captain.  Anne will take over the writing of the East Vets website, so this is the last entry from this webmaster.   Marjory  dealt efficiently with the AOCB and then pronounced the meeting closed. 

Gullane had produced the most delicious hot and cold buffet which was enjoyed by all.