1st October 2013

1st October 2013 - BBC Correspondent

Sina Graham

Biggar Probus Club President Michael Heale opened the new session on Tuesday 1st October and introduced our speaker Sina Graham, a lady originally from the Isle of Skye, a native Gaelic speaker who in her early years travelled to the mainland to learn English. By a coincidental contact as a teenager she was taken on by the BBC in Inverness to establish a Gaelic broadcast and thereafter moved around most of the regions of the UK within the radio service before joining the BBC World Service as a Correspondent. This involved world travel including visits to hazardous areas and many war zones, Lebanon during the Israeli conflict, the Gulf wars and a number of years in South Africa and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. During her travels she has interviewed many important people, Nelson Mandela whilst in Robben Island prison, and again following his release. During most of her travels she was accompanied by her pet cat Charlie (at a time was considered to be the oldest cat in the world, he was 29 years and 9 months when he died),he was probably also the most travelled cat around and this included a flight on Airforce One with the complements of Bill Clinton. The VOT was given by Robert Ross, who advised the next meeting will be on 15th Oct when the speaker will be Graham Stewart from Dawyck Botanical Gardens.

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