President Susan McLaren welcomed members and guests to our October meeting for the last time of her current Presidency.
We held our AGM and voted in our new committee with the assistance of the Tannadice ladies who counted the votes for us.
Important as the AGM undoubtedly is, the evening saw a very rare and momentous event take place. Five members, all with over 50 years membership and service to Cortachy Rural were presented with certificates of loyalty to our institute. Each recipient spoke briefly of what the Rural has meant to her and while the friendship and fun were prominent themes – reluctance to join, the learning of new skills and the rare and the welcome opportunity to make a short get away from the house and family duties also featured.
Our guest for the evening was the daughter of one of our founding members, May Kidd, who has probably served every senior office in the SWRI and many outwith that. One of her grandest sounding titles, which still gives her great pleasure is World President of the Association of Country Women of the World. Many of those who know May feel that ’World President’ is a thoroughly appropriate designation for her.
May told us tales of her mother’s early life attending Cortachy School and her experience as a steward at Edinburgh HQ in the early days of the SWRI. May then recounted the origins of her involvement with ACWW and her rise to being voted World President.
Top points winners for institute competitions - (l to r) Sandra Boath and runner up Hazel Hood.
Prizegiving for the 2019 -20 session, abruptly curtailed by covid, followed, with May presenting the prizes and expressing her delight at the enthusiasm and support of our membership for the ACWW, and our participation in a fund raising walk for ACWW with babes in push chairs and children on foot.
Competitions
Jar of Autumn Leaves
1, Patsy Paton; 2, Hazel Hood; 3, Sandra
Boath;
Jar of Chutney
1, Caroline Lang; 2, Hazel Hood; 3,
Sandra Boath;
Flower of the Month
1, Patsy Paton, 2, Caroline Lang; 3, Margaret Mackie
Caroline Lang thanked the enumerators from Tannadice for helping us find a committee for the new session, despite the closure of their own institute; she thanked May and her sister Jean for maintaining their long family connection with Cortachy and thanked tea hostesses Michaela, Ruth and Sine for a tasty supper.
November meeting – “Decluttering your Home”
