Speaker for Tuesday 10th December 2013 - Mrs Gwyneth McQuiston

Photo: Vice President Gordon Ward greets Mrs. Gwyneth McQuiston, with club members John Dobson and Mike Turner (L) with John Ludlow and Des Johnston (R)

Talk by Mrs. Gwyneth McQuiston on 'The University of Life'

Club Vice President Gordon Ward took the chair and welcomed members to the meeting. He went on to introduce our speaker for the morning Mrs. Gwyneth McQuiston, the manager of the Diamond Centre in Coleraine who gave an interesting talk on her career (so far) under the title of 'The University of Life'. Mrs McQuiston started her career as a Secretary in Cogan and Shackleton in Coleraine before becoming a stay at home mum for 9 years. After a period as a Part Time and then a Full Time Reservist she took up employment as a PA to the Vice President of Seagate in Limavady. When the VP retired she became the Business Development Manager at the Radisson Roe Park Hotel. 11 years ago she became the Shopping Centre Manager at the Diamond Centre in Coleraine, a job in which she is very happy but one in which she faces difficult challenges.

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Speaker for Tuesday 3rd December 2013 - Mr. Ian Wilson

Photo: Vice President Gordon Ward greets Mr. Ian Wilson, with club members Jim Gordon and Graham MacDonald (L) and John Graham (R)

Talk by Mr. Ian Wilson on his 'Experiences as a Museum Curator'

Club Vice President Gordon Ward took the chair and then introduced our speaker for the morning Mr. Ian Wilson, who gave an interesting talk on his 'Experiences as a Museum Curator'. Mr. Wilson was a teacher at CAI before becoming the Curator of the North Down Museum. He has a particular interest in shipwrecks and has written several books on the subject including one on HMS Drake and another on the shipwrecks of the Ulster coast. Ian began his talk by saying that he was now retired, but had spent the last 27 years of his working life at the museum in Bangor. He had applied for the job of Curator in the newly built and nearly finished museum while at 'Inst". He had many memories on the school, staff and pupils, and many anecdotes that connected his time in Coleraine with his later work. These held told throughout his talk.

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Speaker for Tuesday 19th November 2013 - Dr. Keith Munro

Photo: President Graham Kane greets Dr. Keith Munro, with club members (L) Cecil Spotten and Leslie Brennan (R)

Talk by Dr. Keith Munro on the Foyle Hospice

Club President Graham Kane welcomed club members to the meeting and then introduced our new member, Norman Gallagher and presented him with his badges and club documents. The President then introduced our speaker for the morning Dr. Keith Munro, who talked about, and showed a 45 minute video of, the Foyle Hospice.
Dr Munro (Keith) introduced his video talk with a brief look at the origins of the Hospice movement and the concept of a Hospice for the North West of Ireland. This was triggered by local GP Dr Tom McGinley when visiting an 18 year old man dying of terminal cancer. Dr Tom felt, not only his own inadequacy, but also that of the Health Service in general at being unable to provide the necessary care for this young man. This failure became a personal challenge which subsequently became the vision of a Hospice for the area.  A small steering committee was set up in early 1984 and intense fundraising started in earnest.
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