Page 24 - QARANC Vol 20 No 1 2022

24 The Gazette QARANC Association
SCOTTISH BRANCH
Zoom has made a huge difference!
Chair: Karen Irvine RRC Secretary: Sheila Jones
It seems so long since submitting our last Gazette article but at the same time I honestly don’t know where the time has gone.
Some things don’t change though; Covid remains a topic in the news and the return of tightened restrictions over the festive period will no doubt have spoiled plans made by many. So far so gloomy! But wait a minute, on a more positive note there are plenty other things that also haven’t changed, such as the friendship, kindness and support offered by Association members, which I am sure has made a difference to many of us over the last couple of years.
We have all made use of Zoom throughout the pandemic, and who had heard of it before the first lockdown in 2020? I certainly hadn’t, but the benefits have been immense, so like many others the Scottish Branch will continue to put it to good use.
A good example of this being our AGM; with our membership spread across such a huge geographical area, there is no one location that is within easy travelling distance for everyone. Using Zoom has allowed attendance by members from the Highlands to the Borders and all points in
Una Smith ARRC and Michelle Drayton-Harrold at the Garden of Remembrance in Glasgow
Dumfries & Galloway, not to mention a sneaky wee catch up in Lanzarote of all places! What’s not to like about the combination of drinking great coffee in
Our last Branch Christmas lunch in 2019 seemed a dim and distant memory, having taken place pre- pandemic when we were all in blissful ignorance of what was to come. So we were all looking forward to celebrating Christmas at the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh and hoping that despite the arrival of the Omicron variant, it would still be able to go ahead. Once again luck was on our side and just in the nick of time, we managed to squeeze it in before the introduction of tighter restrictions put paid to larger indoor gatherings across Scotland.
It was a perfect opportunity to meet some of our new members and wonderful to hear the buzz of conversation around the room. Suffice to say, a great time was had by all.
We are very excited to be working on our Branch forecast of events, so bring on 2022 and our members getting the chance to meet up, both in person and online.
Karen Irvine
between.
We have held our last two
warm sunshine.
Using Zoom Sadly, our planned
AGMs online and the hot
news from our most recent
is that the Branch has now welcomed three Honorary Members to the fold. We
have continued to attract
new members, including another who lives overseas
in Spain and it seems
more of our members are venturing online, with now
only four who don’t use the internet.
members of Scottish Branch were out in force at the Services of Dedication to mark the opening of the Garden of Remembrance in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
On Remembrance Sunday, our Secretary, Sheila Jones and I drove through to Edinburgh where Sheila was very proud to lay our wreath at the Stone of Remembrance at the City Chambers.
has allowed attendance by members from the Highlands to the Borders and all points in between
Hogmanay get-together in Auchterarder was a victim of tightened Covid restrictions and had to be postponed, but plans are afoot to try again in the spring.
There was a welcome return of the more usual commemorative events in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day and with public attendance permitted,
That said there is nothing quite like getting together in person and so with the eventual easing of restrictions we have been able to return to coffee catch ups in person. What can I say? It’s a great treat to have a cup of coffee and cake/scone/roll made by someone else for a change!
So far, we’ve managed to meet up in Glasgow, Falkirk, Cumnock and