Lanark Inner Wheel
President Lorna Grieve
The town of Lanark is situated above and beside the River Clyde, twenty-five miles to the south east of Glasgow and around thirty-two miles to the south west of Edinburgh. Its situation on rising ground above the Clyde is in a relatively central location where several early communication routes come together, such as a Roman road and a highway to Ayrshire. It is this position near these early routes and beside the River Clyde, which is at the heart of why the town was born and at least initially developed. Its convenient position allowed the town to attract the attention of the surrounding rural communities serving as a more or less central hub, which supplied necessary services, as well as being the first link in trade with the immediate area.
According to local tradition the town was granted Burgh status by David 1 in 1140 although there are no written records which back up this claim. Ancient Lanark was a town of some repute. It had its own Royal Castle where the first Scottish Parliament met and where the Scottish Kings stayed on their visits to the district. It also had a Franciscan Monastery on lands granted by Robert the Bruce. Nothing remains of the castle or the monastery but the old street names take us back to the time when the Castle Gait was the road of royalty and Friars Lane was a secluded walk for Monks.
Lanark is a town steeped in tradition. This is typified by the "Lanimers", a week long festival held in early June, which incorporates an inspection of the Burgh boundaries as well as a procession of beautiful floats culminating in the crowning of the Lanimer Queen at a stand in front of St. Nicholas Church and below the statue of William Wallace.
St. Nicholas has the oldest "Bell" in Europe. Cast in 1110, it was used as a curfew. The other churches are Greyfriars, Christ Church and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, all serving the congregations of the town. The Royal Burgh Museum, situated near the centre of this busy market town, has annual exhibitions telling the story of the people at work and leisure.
Castlebank Park has well laid out gardens with plenty of resting places, playground equipment for children and views of the River Clyde, also the Clyde Valley. At the other end of the town is Lanark Loch where many visitors enjoy boating and walking, while children play or watch the many swans. The Golf Club was formed in 1851 and claims to be one of the oldest Clubs in Britain, having two courses, a testing 18-hole course and an easier 9-hole course.
New Lanark World Heritage Village is just over a mile from Lanark being built by David Dale as a series of spinning mills close to the Fall of Clyde. It rose to fame as a model village under the management of Robert Owen on far sighted principles relating to work, leisure and community life. The quality of the restoration has been recognised as outstanding. The Village, home to 200 people, welcomes visitors from all over the world and it also gives access to the Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve. The largest and most ambitious project undertaken by the Trust is the New Lanark Mill Hotel converted from the original Mill One.
I live in the small picturesque village of Kirkfieldbank on
the Clyde Valley road, one mile from Lanark
News from Lanark
President Lorna welcomed members to the September meeting and introduced the speaker, Mrs Anne Mackie from Riding for the Disabled. Members enjoyed a very informative talk on the Clydesdale Group which celebrated its 21st birthday this year. The enthusiasm of the riders and their ability to cope with varying degrees of disability and differing situations is admirable. Riding not only gives therapeutic value, but also confidence, companionship, and freedom to members. The group recently won the National and Scottish Dressage Championships—a remarkable achievement!
We celebrated our 25th Anniversary this year and the photograph shows President Lorna and founder member and first President, Inez Edgar cutting the cake at our September meeting
Our October meeting took the form of a ‘getting to know you’ evening when our guests were District Chairman Sheila Reid and Moira Fotheringham. Sheila spoke very warmly and enthusiastically of her experiences at Club and District level and also her time as Member of Council and on the Conference Committee at Association level. She then spoke of her vision for Inner Wheel in the year ahead. Her enthusiasm, total dedication and commitment to Inner Wheel was greatly appreciated and admired by all the members and was reflected in the warm vote of thanks given by President Lorna.
In November {resident Lorna welcomed our speaker, Mr. Alex
Sinclair whose topic was The Royal Yacht Britannia. Mr. Sinclair worked on
Britannia until recently and delivered a very informative and interesting
talk illustrated with lovely slides. Not only was the Royal Yacht the Queen’s
home when on official visits around the world, but was also where she hosted
state banquets for foreign heads of state in palatial surroundings. Britannia
was a showpiece of great British workmanship and earned money for the U.K.
through hosting corporate events. The prohibitive costs of refitting the vessel
led to her decommissioning in 1997 and she is now a major tourist attraction
in Leith.
Our Christmas Dinner is on 14th December and we all look forward to what is
always a totally enjoyable evening. We wish all our friends in District 2
best wishes and good health in 2007.
CLUB CORRESPONDENT SANDRA AUSTIN
2004/05 News
Our guest speaker at the January meeting was Rotarian Mike Hunter. Mike in his capacity as National Trust of Scotland Director (West) gave a very informative presentation of the Trust's work. The Inner Wheel Day sales table raised funds for Vetaid.
In February Barbara Allison from the Scottish Prison Service gave an interesting talk on their work. The March Business meeting was followed by a quiz.
Sarah Brown explained the work of Vetaid at the April meeting. It supports communities in developing countries with animal husbandry, which provides better nutrition and healthier populations. President Inez presented Sarah with a cheque - the proceeds from the Inner Wheel Day sales table. Peter Campbell, proprietor of McKellar's Jewellers in Lanark was our guest speaker in May.
The AGM was held on 26 June following the President's lunch. President Inez was thanked by Vice President Isobel Brown for her year in office and presented with a piece of jewellery. Thereafter Isobel was installed as President for the forthcoming year. The proceeds of our Grand Charity Raffle were presented to representatives of two local charities, Friends of Lockhart Hospital and Friends of Kello Hospital.
Sandra Austin
Club Correspondent
Middle age is the awkward period
When FatherTime starts catching up
Wth Mother Nature!!
Anne Hill of Lanark was voted Citizen of the Year by
The Rotary Club of Biggar
