Was it evidence of a putsch? Was Chairman Richard sleeping with the fishes? The true explanation for our Chairman’s absence from the first meeting of the New Year was revealed when Vice Chairman Simon welcomed members and guests to the Distillers Lounge on Thursday 14 January 2026 and disclosed that our Chairman was enjoying himself on holiday in Sri Lanka leaving Simon to chair the meeting in his absence.
After welcoming members and 2 guests; former 41 Club member John Wray and former Round Tabler Martin Johnson Simon explained the format for the evening which started with a selection of nibbles accompanied by a measure of Filey Bay whisky from the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery in Hunmanby.
There then followed a visit to the basement to view the Whisky Vaults which were described by Simon as the largest collection of English Whiskeys in the World to which a member of Scottish heritage commented that it would doubtless be a very small vault!
The Whisky Vaults were found to contain a substantial collection of bottles of various whiskeys all distilled in England including a selection of English Whisky which had been bottled by the Scottish Whisky Society. High praise indeed!
After the visit to the Vaults while waiting for the meal to be served Simon took the opportunity to personally present several reports including an exhortation to all members to attend the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Club due to take place on Saturday 21 March at the Scarborough Rugby Club.
A proposal by Simon and seconded by Peter Calow to spend £250 on the purchase of 100 lapel badges celebrating the 70th Anniversary was passed without any objections. Perhaps it was the offer of a free badge to every member who attended the 70th Anniversary celebration which made all the difference.
The Catering Officer informed members that the February meeting would be held on Thursday 26 February at Restaurant 1909 at Scarborough TEC on Filey Road. John assured members that there would not be a haggis in sight since it was not a Burns Night Supper but a themed night with more details to follow.
With the business part of the meeting finished members enjoyed a beef in red wine pie followed by a selection of cheeses and an unexpected further measure of whisky this time a corn based whisky called Old Dog from the Henstone Distillery in Oswestry.
The meeting ended with Martin Johnson confirming that he had enjoyed the evening so much he may attend the February meeting.
Simon brought the meeting to a close with a toast to RTBI.
Post Script: Secretary Mike subsequently sent an email to members with an apology that the evening had not gone according to plan. John had agreed with the Distillers Lounge manager that during the visit to the Vaults members would sample 2 whiskeys and enjoy a short talk on whisky. In the absence of the manager this did not happen. After Mike had made representations on the evening a second measure of whisky was forthcoming. Well done Mike!
Whisky Correspondent
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