Reply to the Toast “The Landlord and the Landlady” 1883
Proposer of the Toast “Let it Blaw – the Balerno Burns Club” 1884
Proposer of the Toast “Agricultural Interests of the District” 1885, 1890
Proposer of the Toast “Commercial Interests of the District” 1886
Proposer of the Toast “The Lasses” 1887, 1891, 1896
Proposer of the Toast “Educational Interests” 1888
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John became a member of ‘Let it Blaw’ c.1881 and was first mentioned on the Toast List/Programme in 1883. He is the father of Club Member John Laird Jnr.
He was originally from Cupar, Fife and in 1881 was a “Rubber Factory Manager”. He was married to Agnes, daughter of the Club’s Founding Member Alex Henderson and his wife Jane who were owners of Henderson’s Inn.
When ‘Let it Blaw’ was founded, John was staying with the Hendersons at the Inn together with Agnes, daughters Jane & Isabella, and son John Jnr. As a result, it must be likely that he was one of 23 Gentlemen who attended the first ‘Let it Blaw’. At the 1883 Supper, he replied to the ‘Toast to the Landlord’ and, next year, proposed one of the main Toasts which further points to his involvement from the earliet days
Club records show that John later resided in Edinburgh but, as his involvement in Suppers show, he made the journey back to Balerno each January for some time.
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