"Cards in the Pot Night" - Meeting of Tuesday 9 December 2003

The December social event was held in Glasgow and enabled members and friends to network in a convivial atmosphere, aided by the presence of a buffet and bar.

In addition to the social interaction, the main event was "Cards in the Pot" whereby everyone put their business card in the "Pot". Cards were drawn and the person whose card was selected gave a short 5-minute presentation on anything they liked. Prizes were awarded for the best talks.

Among the speakers were Ken Thomson who outlined his early career; Tom Hanan who described a marathon rail journey to Poland and back and Andrew Capes who raised a number of interesting points on traffic congestion.

The Scottish Region Chairman, John Standaloft spoke on his 8 years in the oil industry and 10 in the whisky industry. Gerry Condron entertained everyone with his story of the £5 cruise. Mike Connolly described his early career and was followed by John Yellowlees who told the story of a Stranraer bound freight train.

Bill Barnes described his experiences of working abroad and Steve Lockley spoke briefly on a number of topics. Crawford McGhie outlined his involvement with the "Step Change Project" and David Reid told the audience of some of his near misses in a glider and on his yacht. Colin McLean described his rail journeys in India and about missing a flight home from Newfoundland, managing to get home at Canadian Forces rates! Gerry Maguire described a long night coping with a family celebration and John Fender rounded off the evening with some tales from the bus industry.

The audience then voted for the best presentations and the prize of a bottle of whisky went to John Yellowlees, with runners up being Ken Thomson and Mike Connolly. Graham Atkins was the timekeeper assiduously ensuring that everyone kept to their allotted time.

Report by John Fender.