The early years from 1986-1994
By Dave Smith
The beginning: the early days of the society
date back to 1986, where a group of Scots from the Episkopi Garrison
meet up to enjoy Scottish Anniversaries; Burns Suppers and St
Andrews Night.
Ian McCardle an active Scot fae Gargunnock, suggested it would
be a good idea to hold a St Andrews Night function away from the
Mess and to involve the many Scottish Expats living in the Episkopi
area.
On St Andrews Night (a Monday) fifteen Scots gathered at the
Paramali Tavern for an evening of Haggis Meze, trifle, dancing
and lots of whisky. There is no exact record of who was there,
obviously too much whisky had been consumed but Dave Smith recalls
that Mr & Mrs I McCardle, James & Phyllis Davidson and
Lil Smith (Dave’s wife) were there
Events slowed down a little during the period 1988 -1990 due
to military duties and posting etc. Nov 1990, Dave Smith now posted
back in Cyprus recalls that with the 1st Gulf War brewing Dave
& Lil plus an other couple which is probably the McCardle’s
went to the St George’s Taverna in their kilts and a bottle
of whisky to celebrate St Andrews Night.
The following year 1991, the Burns Super was canceled due to
the Gulf War, but not to be out done 4 couples ( McCardle's, Watts,
Cameron’s and the Smiths) went to the St George’s
Taverna in Paramali with there own Haggis and Whisky to celebrate
Burns Night and had an excellent evening.
The Epi Hash House Harriers had a Burns Supper in the Mess on
7 March 1991, one week after the War had finished, this was organized
by Ian McCardle but this was really just to get rid of the Haggis
which had be in Ian’s fridge since early January.
Ian McCardle was getting very excited by this time and suggested
that it would be a good idea to form a Scottish Society in Cyprus;
Ian placed adverts in the Cyprus Lion and the English language
newspapers inviting Scottish expats to form a club.
The inaugural meeting of the Society was held at St Georgio’s
taverna on Sunday 30th June 1991, the minutes of the meeting confirm
that the following people attended the meeting:
Mr & Mrs I McCardle
Lt Col & Mrs D Smith
Mr & Mrs D Birrell
Mr & Mrs J Davidson
Mr & Mrs I Crichton
Mrs E McDonald
Mr R Ross
Mr J Reid
Capt C Millar
Mr & Mrs Wingate
The following members were the first officer bearers of the Society:
Ian McCardle was appointed Chieftain, Iain Crichton was appointed
Treasurer and Capt Colin Millar was appointed Secretary.
The 1st St Andrews Night was held in the Columbia Beach Hotel,
105 guests attended the event paying CYP10 for members and CYP12
for non-members.
97 guests attended the 1st Burns Supper of 1992, this was also
held at the Columbia Beach Hotel, and a raffle prize draw raised
CYP184 for the Society.
The Society went from strength to strength, with Tom McSherry
taking over as Secretary when Colin Millar was posted, John and
Renee Reid were appointed dance coordinators and organized Scottish
Country Dancing classes before functions.
St Andrews Balls were held in the Le Meridian Hotel in 1992 and
93, at the cost of CYP14 for members and CYP16 for non-members.
The Burns Supper of 1993 was held in the Ajax Hotel and the Burns
Supper of 1994 at the Four Seasons Hotel.
By now the Society had grown to well over 200 members and at
the 1994 AGM at the Erimi Village Hall on the 16th April, there
was a disagreement among the membership over the writing of a
constitution, thus resulting in a breakaway section that formed
the St Andrews Society in Pafos.
....
Brief History Of The Period 1994 -99
By Jean E. Sadler
After the split with Paphos members and their formation of the
St Andrew Society the Caledonian Society of Cyprus, a smaller
and leaner operation continued with its policy of fun for everyone
and the maintenance of the aim of promoting Scottish culture,
Ian McCardle continued as Chieftain, Tom McSherry as Secretary,
Bob Ross as Membership secretary and John Reid as dance Co ordinator.
The other committee members, changed from time to time but generally
the organisation of the Society ran smoothly on well oiled wheels!
The Officers of the Society remained unchanged throughout the
period.
Renee Reid continued as Dance Instructor and when she was unavailable,
Bob Ross, always beautifully dressed in his kilt did the instructing.
John Reid put a whole case full of audio tapes together featuring
music for dancing and he must be congratulated for this effort,
there was only rarely a “wrong” tune. A Caledonian
Demonstration Dance Team was born and was always there to start
the dancing. Hours of practice of intricate dances left the rest
of us reeling (no pun intended). Renee and Bob must be congratulated
by many for their success rate in teaching so many people with
two left feet the basics of dancing so that they could enjoy all
the events! The Monday night practices held at Erimi for a couple
of months before the St Andrews Night were always well attended
and enjoyed
During these years we held two events in completely new venues,
neither of which has been used again. One was a fantastic ceilidh
at the Sergeants Mess at Episkopi and the other was again a ceilidh
which was held on mid summer night at the Leave Centre at the
top of Troodos! One of the memorable factors about that evening
was how cold it became around midnight. One was glad of a kilt
for warmth, even on a Cypriot summer night.
The St Andrews Night Ball moved from Le Meridien to the Four
Seasons Hotel which remained the venue for the whole period. At
the same time the Burns Supper took up residence at the Mediterranean
Beach Hotel. These events were always really well attended and
some very interesting people were invited to entertain us from
Pipers from the Regiments to great exponents of Scottish humour
at Burns supper. Summer Ceilidh's except for the one at Troodos
were at Happy Valley and AGMS seemed to gravitate to one of two
taverna's in Paramali.
The reputation of the Caledonian society functions became social
events not to be missed resulting in requests for tickets from
near and far. Always an excellent ‘do’! Prices generally
remained fairly constant for the events, but small increases were
starting to creep in by 1999, signs of the growing affluence of
Cyprus. The Ball was no longer £10 but I think nearer £16
(I am working from memory on this) by 1999.
The constitution the cause of so much heart searching and argument
during the previous period was finally settled, written up by
John Reid and distributed to members. Except for minor alterations
and amendments it has remained unchanged since those days, so
it must be reasonable!
Unfortunately, this smooth and even keeled operation had to end
and at the AGM in April 1999, Ian, Tom and John all retired from
office with the Society and an all new Committee took their places.
...
History From 1999-2005
By Jean E. Sadler
It was all change at the AGM in April 1999 with the retirement
of the Chieftain and Secretary. Replacing either of them was a
daunting task but it was undertaken by members at the Annual General
Meeting in April with the election of Bill Burns as Chieftain,
Bob Laing as Secretary, Alex Jamieson as Treasurer, Betty Burns
as Entertainments Member and Bill Scott as Dance Co-ordinator.
Also elected to the Committee were Bette Sullivan and Ted Anderson.
Jean Sadler was co-opted during the summer to take up the publication
of The Glen.
On the suggestion of members attending the meeting and after
a unanimous vote Ian McCardle was elected as Hon. Chieftain of
the Society, the first time this honour was granted. It was decided
that this Honorary position would be for Life.
At the first meeting of this new Committee Ian McCardle and Tom
McSherry were elected Honorary Members in recognition of their
services over the years to the Society. Their wives Morag and
Ann were also unanimously elected to the same status.
Enthusiasm and hard work continued to make certain that the traditions
of Scottish culture were maintained. The St Andrew’s Ball
was once again held at the Mediterranean Beach Hotel and the Burns
Supper at the Four Seasons Hotel. Two new social events were introduced
during this year the Caledonian Discover Cyprus Rally in October
and the Mad March Capers, a Ceilidh type party at the Mediterranean
Beach Hotel to welcome the Spring. All these events were well
supported and enjoyed by all who attended them.
The Chieftain made a vow that membership would be increased to
as near 150 as possible by the AGM 2000. Much to everyone’s
surprise the target was reached and the AGM in April 2000 saw
the Secretary able to announce this success to the members. The
target was then raised to 200 by 2001! The Officers and Committee
were re-elected unanimously and were joined by Maureen Morides
who replaced Ted Anderson who decided to retire at this meeting.
2000-2001 saw the Society enjoying great popularity and events
well subscribed, or even over subscribed. The Chieftain attained
his targets in membership and reached the dizzy heights in excess
of 200.
Unfortunately this year saw the start of the break up of a very
successful secretariat with the resignations of Bob Laing, Alex
Jamieson and Jean Sadler so that new blood was introduced at the
AGM 2001. At the elections in April, Bill Burns retained his position
of Chieftain, Betty Burns as Entertainments Member and Bill Scott
as Dance Co-ordinator. Bette Sullivan agreed to remain as the
Society Welfare Officer. The vacancies were filled by Ian McArthur
as Secretary, Maureen Morides as Treasurer and Pat Kyriacou as
Editor of The Glen. Norman and Sheila Ferguson were co-opted onto
the Committee during the year and on the resignation of Maureen
Morides Scott Kennedy was co-opted as Treasurer.
During this year the social events remained at the same venues,
The Four Seasons Hotel, The Mediterranean Beach Hotel and the
Kensington Club at Episkopi Garrison.
2001-2002 continued on the roll of great success with the social
events. The retirement of Jean Sadler saw the fall of the Caledonian
Discover Cyprus Rally but all the other events carried on as usual
with great emphasis in the Scottish Dancing. Bill Scott ran extremely
successful evenings at Erimi Village Hall.
However, the end of the glory days were ahead and at a very
acrimonious AGM at the Erimi Village Hall in April 2002 the whole
Secretariat stood down and Bob Laing was elected Chieftain, Robert
Hodgson as Secretary, Elizabeth Straughan as Treasurer, and Jean
Sadler as Membership Secretary and Editor of the Glen and Scott
Kennedy as Entertainments Member. Anne Hodgson stepped into the
slot of Welfare member, Alex Jamieson returned as a Committee
member and our Honorary Chieftain agreed to serve as an Ordinary
Member for just a year.
Thus it was that the Society picked itself up off the deck, brushed
itself down and decided that the new Committee must prove itself
as good and hard working as the one that went before. The first
event was the Jubilee Ceilidh for which we were able to return
to the much loved venue of Happy Valley at Episkopi, by kind permission
of the WSBA. What a wonderful night to celebrate our return to
this venue. Well over 100 revelers were there and as an added
treat we had a surprise musical interlude with the Pipes and Drums
of the Royal Dragoon Guards.
The next event was the return of the Caledonian Discover Cyprus
Rally in October. At the end of November came the Annual St Andrew’s
Night Ball at the Mediterranean Beach Hotel. As usual this event
was really well attended and a great night was enjoyed by all.
The cost was up a bit though now £18.00 per member. This
increase did not seem to deter anyone from coming though!
The Burns Supper was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, again a
very well attended function but again a sign of the times in a
form of a price increase. Now £23 for members.
Unfortunately by the end of March things started to go wrong
for us in that our very popular and active Chieftain, Bob Laing
was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and in under two weeks had
died. His death occurred a couple of days before the AGM but on
his own insistence the event went ahead and a very moving letter
was read by the Secretary that was written by Bob only three or
four days before the end. In the spirit of Bob’s wishes
the meeting and Ceilidh went ahead. Alex Jamieson was elected
Chieftain to succeed Bob, Robert Hodgson re-elected as Secretary,
Elizabeth Straughan as Treasurer Scott Kennedy as Entertainments
Member and Jean Sadler as Membership secretary. They were joined
by Mark Richardson as Dance Co-ordinator. Don Campbell-Thomson
and David Hynds as Ordinary Members. In June Bob Hodgson left
for UK and David Hynds took over as Secretary. He stayed in position
until the Autumn when he handed over to Margaret Whitelaw.
The first event of the 2003-04 year was the First Bob Laing Memorial
Golf Competition. This was held in May at the Episkopi Garrison
golf Club and the trophy was won by Bill Norton. After this event
the rest of the year saw a Summer Ceilidh at Happy Valley, the
Discover Cyprus Rally in October, the St Andrew’s Ball at
the Four Seasons and the Burns Supper was held at the Mediterranean
Beach Hotel. Both these events were their usual success, especially
the St Andrew’s Ball which was oversubscribed and had a
waiting list!
The year ended with something new, a second Rally which was held
in March 2004 and organised by Andrew Darling.
2004-2005. The Annual General Meeting was held at Paramali. Mark
Richardson resigned as Dance Co-ordinator, Don Campbell–Thomson
and David Hynds retired and the rest of the Committee was elected
en bloc, Margaret Whitelaw confirmed as Secretary. New blood was
brought into the Committee in the form of Andrew Darling as Dance
Co-ordinator and Norman Ferguson as an Ordinary Member
The first event of the year was the second Annual Bob Laing Golf
Competition. This was held at Vikla Golf Club and the Trophy won
by Dave Smith. This was followed by the Summer Ceilidh, a slight
change of venue being held on the beach at Episkopi. Unfortunately
the evening was not as perfect as usual in June and a cold wind
was blowing across the site for most of the evening.
The next event, another new one, was a wine tour with tasting's
and a meal at the end! Another successful Andrew Darling event!
Early October saw the Discover Cyprus Rally held in Eastern Cyprus,
a challenging and enjoyable day out! Thus we came to the highlight
of the year; the return to the Columbia Hotel for the St Andrew’s
Ball! Members will recall that the first St Andrew’s Ball
was held here. Not at the beautiful brand new Resort though. A
new venue and a new band and once again a sign of the times with
an increase in price up to £28 for members, a far cry from
the 1991 price of £10. The Ball was a great success with
excellent entertainment from Skelpit-lug the Ceilidh band from
Scotland. Overall a very interesting venue but not considered
the greatest place by some members who considered it too far from
Limassol.
After Christmas came the Burns Supper, held in the Aphrodite
Suite at the Mediterranean Beach Hotel. The sound system fantastically
improved after attention by our Dance Co-ordinator, everyone could
hear every word. A slight change this year in that Moira Kerr
came over from Scotland to sing some of her haunting Scottish
folk songs.
The year finished with the 2005 Bob Laing Memorial Golf Trophy,
held once again at Vikla and won for the second year by Dave Smith
2005 AGM This meeting was held at the UKCA Clubhouse in Limassol.
Another new venue. At this meeting Alex Jamieson retired as Chieftain
and Jean Sadler retired as Membership Secretary and Glen Editor
as did Norman Ferguson as Ordinary Member. Scott Kennedy was elected
Chieftain, Margaret Whitelaw as Secretary, Elizabeth Straughan
as Treasurer, Ed Findlay as Entertainments Member, Lynn Hughes
as Membership Secretary, Eleanor Lawson as The Glen Editor, Andrew
Darling as Dance Co-ordinator and Bette Sullivan as Ordinary Member.
At the time of this AGM the paid up membership had fallen to 94.
Cont/...
By Scott Kennedy
The first event of 2005 started with the Spring Rally, organised
by Andy Darling, this turned out to be a great success with around
30 members enjoying a tour of the WSBA and a meal by the sea.
The traditional Summer gathering was organised by Ed Findlay,
the new Entertainments member. The William Wallace Ceilidh held
at the UKCA in Limassol, the Society decided to name the Summer
Ceilidh the William Wallace Ceilidh as a tribute to Sir William.
Around 75 members and guests attended the Ceilidh, the evening
got of the good start with dancing, food, music and cheap drink.
However the night was marred by the unruly behaviour of a certain
Committee member, this caused the night to end a little flat.
Jun 05 - History in the making the Society goes online with the
Caledonian Society website.
The next event on the calendar was the "Doon the water cruise"
organised by Ed Findlay 09 Sept 05. The Caley Swaley, as Ed called
it, an all inclusive booze cruise @ Cy27 per head. We had our
very own floating Ceilidh with singing, dancing, story telling,
fun and games. A very successful night which will surely be a
permanent fixture for the Society.
The Sept 05 Committee meeting addressed the forced changes to
personnel on the Committee. Elizabeth Straughan resigned as Hon.
Treasurer due to family & personal commitments, Margaret Whitelaw
took over as Hon. Treasurer and Elizabeth Watson was co-opted
on as Hon. Secretary and Bette Sullivan replacing Elizabeth Straughan
as Welfare Officer. Eleanor Lawson resigned from the position
as Editor of the Glen due the commotion she caused at the William
Wallace Summer Ceilidh.
Oct 05 - Further changes to the Committee, Ken Watson was co-opted
onto the Committee as Editor of the Glen, Ken was then set the
difficult task of republishing the Glen.
Nov 05 - The St Andrews Ball at the refurbished 4 Seasons Hotel
was a great success, Skelpit-lug for the 2nd year running entertained
us to the wee small hours in the morning. The Ball received excellent
reviews all round, although the ticket price had escalated from
last year, Cyp35 members & Cyp40 non-members, all who attended
agreed it was excellent value for money, with the common view
being that it was the best ever St Andrews Ball the Society's
had.
Dec 05 - The first edition of the republished Glen was sent out
to members, this was greatly received by all. Ken spent a lot
of time & effort in putting the Glen together, his Chic Murray
sense of dry humour beds well with his publishing, well done a
great effort! Also, big thanks go to Jean Sadler for helping &
advising Ken in getting the Glen back on track.
22/12/05 - total paid up members to date 149.
Jan 2006
The Chieftain and members of the Committee organised a Caledonian
Society New Year's party in Northern Cyprus, an open invitation
was sent out to all members, 17 members & friends duly responded
and took up the offer to celebrate the New Year in the old historic
harbour of Kyrenia.
The New Year's party was a huge success, all who attended had
a great time. It certainly will be repeated & booked again
for 2007.
Burns Night 28 Jan 2006
The Elias Beach Hotel & Country Club was the venue for our
Burns Night celebrations, around 80 members & guest turned
up to enjoy a good old fashioned Burns Supper, with the usual
high standard of speakers & entertainers on hand to make the
night flow & get through the odd bottle of whisky (13 or 15)
Feb 2006
A sad time and a bad month for the Society, 2 of our members
die, Mrs. Margaret McLeod passes away after a very short illness
& Bob Whitelaw, the husband of our Hon. Treasurer dies suddenly
@ age 66. They will both be missed!!
25th Feb 06
The Scotland v England "Auld Enemy" Pub Games at Harley
Bar in Limassol was a great day out.
12 Scots v 12 English @ Darts, Dominoes, Connect 4, Carpet Bowls
etc, this was arranged as a fun day of celebration before the
main event the "Calcutta Cup" match at Murrayfield.
1st blood goes to the English as they defeat us by 1 point 26-25,
Chris Parry the English Captain lifted the Caledonian Cup which
was sponsored by John Harley, and the Bob Whitelaw memorial Quaich,
2 hours later our tears turn to tears of joy as our Rugby team
led by Chris Patterson lifted the Calcutta Cup by Gubbing the
English @ Murrayfield.
Mar 2006
Membership slowly improves, as we now have 158 paid up members.
April 2006/SK
Caledonian Society AGM 07/04 @ Harley's Bar
Well that's my 1st year in the "Hot Seat" over and
what a year it was, I believe as a Society we had a successful
year and I have certainly enjoyed the experience and the responsibility
of being Chieftain. Also, I must thank my Committee for all their
hard work over the last year as we could not have achieved this
success without them.
Our AGM @ Harley's Bar was an interesting affair, with the usual
mixed bag of Scottish input & moaning!! To continue on the
moaning theme, my only disappointment over the last year was the
poor showing and apathy of the members who didn't support or attend
the functions.
We had a total of 12 functions/events during last year, and as
you know it takes a lot of hard work, planning and effort to put
on a function therefore without the full support of members it
difficult to continue with a full events schedule.
Can we all try and make a conscious effort to support the Events
and Functions!
The Society offers a hearty welcome to our two new Committee
Members, Mrs. Pat West & Linda Jamieson.
The Committee for 2006/07 as follows:-
Chieftain - Scott Kennedy
Hon & Mem Sec - Elizabeth Watson
Hon. Treasurer - Pat West
Entertainment - Ed Findlay
Dance Co-ordinator - Andy Darling
Ord Member - Linda Jamieson
Welfare Officer - Margaret Whitelaw
Glen Editor - Ken Watson
As the new term begins we now have 112 paid up members.
The
History of the Caledonian Society of Cyprus 