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History
The 1990's
by Donnie Mackenzie
In January 1990 Chairman Donald McKee had his photo taken as he weighed in for 'Lews Weight' which was a sponsored diet for the many corpulent Tablers of the time. The Stornoway Gazette appeared to caption the Chairman's picture as 'Man arrested for Arson'.
In 1990, Table organised their first Kids Gala Day at Cuddy Point. The principal mover and shaker was John Marr, ex-Rotoract, who convinced the rest of the Table that it could be done. There's no doubt that it was this event that gave the impetus to Table at that time, that they had the ability to organise reasonably large scale events. This year 1990, also saw the final retirement of our last founder member, past Chairman Malcolm Macdonald.
A 'Tour de Hebrides' from the Butt of Ness to Barra, was held in 1991 and involved seven Tablers cycling through the islands. They enjoyed themselves so much they stayed away from home for an extra day!
In 1992 Table again took on the organisation of the Lewis Carnival which raised over £10,000 for the local branch of the Scottish Society for the Mentally Handicapped who received a Minibus - the perfect 21st Anniversary donation, matching the generosity of that first year. Since 1992, the Lewis Carnival has raised countless thousands of pounds for worthy local causes.
In 1991/92 Kenny Murray became Stornoway's second Area Chairman. Since then, that responsibility has been taken on by Robert Doig 1997/98, Callum Macleod 2001/02 & Willie Macleod 2004/05. The difficulties of travelling from Stornoway, especially in the winter months are obvious and we're sure that our visitors tonight will recognise the tremendous effort that is required on the part of anyone taking on Area Office from an island Table.
The 21st Charter was held in March 1993 (attended by 147), and was generally regarded as one of the best Table nights/early mornings ever by those in attendance, although Prince Charles decided to stay next door at the Crofters Union dinner. Andy Cameron was the principal speaker and spoke without pause for pause for one and half-hours. This event must have been the first Charter dinner in National Round Table history to end up as a Dinner dance.
In 1994 Round Table honoured an old friend Kenny Dan Smith as its first President. Since then Donald McKee was honoured with the Presidency from 1996 to 1998 and Donnie Mackenzie from 1998 to 2002. Donnie retired from Table in 2002 after nearly twenty years of membership.
In 1996 we took on a nearer but even greater challenge. Seven Stornoway Tablers took their lives in their own hands and set off on the high seas for St Kilda - to take up an invitation to a joint dinner with the Royal Engineers. Three days at sea and one night at the Puff Inn that beggared expectations - especially if you have the video - or the photographs of Donnie Mackenzie inspecting the inside of the communal bucket! This meeting was the most westerly Round Table meeting ever held in Great Britain .
1996 was also the year that Pub Orienteering was banned. Only four Tablers of the dozen sent out actually managed to return for dinner.
The 25th Charter in 1997 will be remembered for a number of reasons, but perhaps principally because it marked the setting up of our 41 Club.
In 1999, in anticipation of the new millennium the Table organised their first Hogmanay Fireworks extravaganza along with a party in the British Legion. The event involved a wide and varied selection of musical talent (acquaintances of Robert) ranging from Brittany, USA and local musicians. The term 'Hells Kitchen' will live long in the memory of those serving up 'Kenny Curries' until four in the morning. The Fireworks Display has now become a regular Stornoway Hogmanay event and attracts thousands of people from all over Lewis.
Over the years, the occupations of individual Tablers have been wide and varied. They range from the unemployed or unemployable to Airline Pilots (we had two, one was Colonel Gadaffis personal pilot), Tropical Explorer, RAF Station Commander, Deep Sea Diver, Doctor, Salmon farmer and poacher, to the more mundane Accountants and Optometrist. (Could Robert Doig or David Rattray ever be described as mundane?)
Over the past 32 years Stornoway & District Round Table has established itself as a vital part of the local community and contributed to the social, economic, historical and welfare needs of the islands. Round Table has offered members the vehicle to undertake these tasks in a way that has normally given them a headache every Friday morning! New skills have been learned - how to BBQ, make Candy Floss, parachute, travel to foreign lands - but most of all to have fun.
Many young (and several not so young) men have proudly worn the Table badge in Stornoway and some are sadly no longer with us. Wherever the rest that cannot join in celebration are, let them raise a glass and drink a toast to 'The future of Stornoway 1065'. The 70's
The 80's
The 00's
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