January 6th saw Anstruther Rotary restart after the Christmas and New Year break. Club members looked refreshed and full of energy!! And fully recovered from once again delivering Christmas post around the East Neuk, from Elie to Crail. This is a service the club has run for well over 25 years - this year raising £3,470 for charitable causes. And at 20p a card meaning more than 17,000 cards received, sorted and delivered.

Appropriately for a ‘first of the year’ meeting the club was very pleased to welcome a new member. We were also pleased to welcome gamekeeper Kenny Horn, who entertained with an interesting talk about his life and work. Mr Horn is Head Keeper at Teasses Estate by Ceres, where he has been since 1996.

We heard of the start of his career in the Cairngorms where he remarked that snow had been known to lie, with some roads impassable, from early November to the start of June. He also reminisced about time spent at the Duke of Atholl’s estate by Tulliemet in Perthshire.

It was particularly interesting to learn that some £400 million is earned for the rural economy from managed game shooting each year. Central to that is Mr Horn’s view that game keeping today is principally and importantly about land management – very much as he sees his own role. We heard of the numerous organisations that he now works with in supporting effective land management and in protecting the diversity of wildlife.    

Following questions, club President Alastair Graham proposed a vote of thanks