Strollers Walk - Thursday 23 February 2012

Walk No 154:  Historic City Walk - North Edinburgh, including Broughton and Canonmills

Just over 60 turned up for this historic walk, led by two guides, Karen MacCormick and Maggie McLeod. We met up at the excellent Cafe Camino, beside St. Mary's RC Cathedral, then headed off along Picardy Place, down Union Street, through Gayfield Square to East London Street, where we heard the history of Gayfield House (built 1763). We then moved on to Hopetoun Crescent to learn about physician and botanist John Hope (1725-1786) and the "Physic Garden". After a view of the remains of Shrub Hill tram depot and power station, we continued down McDonald Road and Beaverhall Road to the site of the former Powderhall Stadium. We finished by coming along the Water of Leith to Canonmills. Many Thanks again to Alastair D. for organising this walk and to our guides for their detailed historic research.

If you want to have a peek inside and see the magnificent interior of Gayfield House, have a look at Savills.co.uk, property detail - Gayfield House, Edinburgh

Strollers Walk - Tuesday 24 January 2012

Walk No 153:  Historic City Walk - Infirmary Street and Vicinity

Around 58 Strollers turned up for this historic walk, led by two guides, Karen MacCormick and Helen. Starting from Infirmary Street, it included the site of the first Infirmary, the first High School and the original Surgeons Hall, then on to Dumbiedykes, The Pleasance and finished at The Engine Shed in St Leonards. Despite a poor forecats, the weather was readsonably kind to us with only a few showers. A number of walkers remained at the Engine Shed for a welcome and enjoyable post-walk lunch. Many Thanks to Alastair D. for organising this walk.

Pensioners' Association - Purpose

The Pensioners’ Association exists primarily to enable ex head-office / Edinburgh-based staff pensioners and their partners to enjoy social occasions with other head-office retirees. Membership is offered to staff retirees (and their spouses / partners) at their point of retiring from the company and intending to take receipt of their company pension at that time. There is an initial joining fee payable to the Association. There is no continuing annual membership fee.
Pensioners’ Association activities presently include:

• Summer Coach Outings (monthly during the summer season)
• Strollers Walking Group (monthly)
• Annual General Meeting

 The Association's activities are organised and run by a volunteer committee of staff pensioners who are appointed by the members at the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

Summer Coach Outings

The Association organises coach outings during the summer months, usually one each month during May through September. We vary the day of the week on which these are held to try to accommodate as many people as possible during the season. Each outing is usually a whole day trip, starting from St Andrew Square, Edinburgh at 09:30, includes a high tea and returns to Edinburgh around 20:30. There is a charge for each person attending an outing. The programme of outings is set at the beginning of each year and the dates and venues communicated to members.

SL Strollers

This is a sub-group of the Pensioners’ Association. It meets once each month throughout the year, summer and winter. The day of the week on which these are held varies to try to accommodate as many people as possible during the year. During the winter months, the walk may include an indoor or outdoor guided tour. Once the weather (hopefully) gets warmer, there is a leisurely walk of around six miles, often with a stop for a picnic lunch. Any Pensioners’ Association member interested in being part of the Strollers group should make sure that they are included in the Strollers email distribution list (contact the Association email address to arrange this).

Contacts

Any staff pensioner wishing to contact the Chairperson or any committee member of the Pensioners’ Association should do this via an email to our central mailbox email address: sl.pensioners.association@gmail.com. For reasons of confidentiality, no personal phone numbers or email addresses will be available via this publicly available website. Alternatively, contact Staff Pensions department and ask them to forward your query in an email to our central mailbox.

Purpose of this Blog

This Blog is intended only for the use of Edinburgh-based Staff Pensioners of a particular company with its Head Office in Edinburgh. Although this Blog is open to view by anyone, use of the information contained therein should be limited to those who are members of the relevant company's Pensioners' Association.