Jim Birrell Sports Dinner 2013

Front Cover Design: Scott Sinclair

MENU Starters Homemade Soup or Mini Spring Rolls & Sweet Chilli Dip

Main Course Hunter’s Chicken (Chicken with Bacon, Cheese and BBQ Sauce) or Steak Pie

Dessert Apple Pie or Individual Cheese Plate

Table Service: Yet again, we have a great group of volunteers providing table service for your drinks orders during tonight’s event. Not only does this allow you to sit back and relax without worrying about whose turn it is to go to the bar, it minimises disruption for our speakers. It is a brilliant gesture by the girls to give up the glitz and glamour of the Dunfermline nightlife on a Saturday! If you have any change left in the kitty tumblers at the end of the night for tips, I am sure it would be greatly appreciated.

Fundraising: The continued generosity shown by patrons of the Dinner has been incredible and has benefited a range of local and national causes. We are also hugely appreciative of the donations of raffle and auction prizes from individuals, businesses and organisations. Thank You! Heads & Tails will kick off tonight’s fundraising before dinner is served with a prize for the winner.

If you would like to take part, members of the committee will collect the money from you at your table before the welcoming address.

Raffle - Envelopes will be on your table with raffle tickets inside. If you would like to take part in the raffle, please take the tickets out the envelope and put your donation in the envelope. These will then be collected before the draw.

Auction – A list of auction lots should be available on your table.

A lot has happened since the last time we met in the Civil Service Club in March 2012. Jim’s best pal Stuart turned 50, his eldest son Andrew married Nicole in Mexico and on Christmas Day at 1:06am, Jim’s grandson Niven James Alexander Birrell was born, just in time to get home and wake up his big sister Robyn! I’d love to think that as Stuart celebrated both these milestones, Jim was somewhere organising a toast to his pal and family.

Given how proud I am to call myself Jim’s son, I look forward to telling my wee boy about his Di, the man he takes one of his middle names from. Christmas with our new arrival was a magical experience. Whilst I would have loved there to be another place setting at the dinner table, I looked at a family that I know he would be very proud of and in turn, I am proud of the lasting influence that my dad has on us and of course, this amazing night that is held in his memory.

Last year, the amazing generosity that friends continue to provide to this dinner meant that we were able to support two wonderful causes, presenting them each with a cheque for £3000. The funds to the Arran Brown Rainbow Foundation will go towards the creation of a registry that will allow medical professionals to share knowledge and have a better understanding of the kidney disease that Arran fought so bravely against and will hopefully lead to more effective treatment for those children who are born with this rare condition in the future. I had the pleasure of meeting little Millie MacKenzie when the Pars players handed over the cheque to her mum Kellie after last year’s dinner. She has a lovely smile that would warm any heart and it has been great to receive regular updates from Kellie on Millie’s progress and the news that she has become an auntie to her big sister’s baby boy, Archie.

This year, we are hoping that any money raised tonight will be shared between the families of two local children who need equipment that is not available to them through the NHS. Calum McGregor was born with Cerebral Palsy and this affects his whole body. He is able to walk only with assistance of a specialised walker. He is 6 years old and attends a local primary school. He is very sociable and likes to be in the middle of all the action. Unfortunately he has outgrown his present walker and needs a more specialised walker. When he had a trial of the new walker it allowed him run to around with his little brother and sister. Specialists have said the new walker would be hugely beneficial to Calum as it would allow him to integrate into normal play with other children in the playground and at home.

Caoimhe Potter was born in September 2011 with Spina Bifida. She required major surgery to her back and needed several months of plasters on her feet to correct the position of her feet. Caoimhe (pronounced Keeva) is just starting to learn to sit by herself. The Squiggels early positioning system allows her to learn to sit with support, whilst playing with her toys. The rest of the system allows Caoimhe to be in a good position as to not let her spine develop a curve. A local physiotherapist from Carnegie Clinic described Caoimhe as a very brave little girl that lights up the room with her smile and we hope that the proceeds from tonight’s dinner can go towards these support tools to help both Calum and Caoimhe.

On the back of tonight’s programme, I have attached a piece of coverage from last year’s dinner. It covers all the reasons why we meet up every year, and whilst I know that no one does it for the recognition, it highlights the generosity that you show, year on year. Thank You! Last, but certainly not least, a note on our top table tonight. If there is a top table anywhere in Scotland that comes close to rivalling our three speakers this evening then I would very much like to see it, but I doubt it exists. As with last year, we welcome back some old friends of the dinner, John Gahagan (speaker at our third dinner) and Joe Camay and we extend a warm welcome to Lorraine Summers. As Lorraine makes her debut tonight, Joe – a firm favourite with guests down the years - makes it a hat-trick of appearances. You are in for a real treat, enjoy your evening! 

Many thanks to the team at Kenny’s Music for their continued support, providing the PA system