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It is with deep regret we have to report that after this season 2007/2008 Dalziel Camcorder Club will cease to operate.


The camcorders have been put away to gather dust, the screen has been rolled up and the amplifier is on mute!

 

The decision to close has not been taken lightly and a report as published in the local press appears below.

 

We'd like to thank all those of have ever supported Dalziel by being a member, in friendly combat as a rival Club in competitions or our many actors who took part in our award winning films for their support and friendship over the past 47 years! 

 

The report opposite appeared in the local press and was written by Brian Saberton

DALZIEL CAMCORDER CLUB


At a special general meeting at the Daisy Park Centre on Tuesday night members of Dalziel Camcorder Club took the sad decision to close down the club due to insufficient support.

Dalziel's history goes back to 1960 when the club was founded by Jessie Mathews and Bob Black as Dalziel Cine Club and met in the former premises of Dalziel Co-op in Coursington Road, Motherwell for many years. After moving to Wrangholm Hall Community Centre in 1981 and then to the Daisy Park Centre in 1983, the club survived the change from cine film to video and held a successful 40th anniversary dinner in 2000 with over 60 friends and members in attendance. Sadly, the last few years have seen a consistent decline in membership to the point where the club was no longer viable.

The club's Honorary President Dr Norman T. Speirs of Edinburgh, who has been associated with Dalziel since the early 1960's, attended the final meeting with his wife Dorothy and both expressed their sadness and dismay that a previously strong and active club was having to close down. In recognition of his loyal support and interest over so many years the members presented Dr Speirs with the President's gavel as a memento.

All of the films that were made by the club are being lodged with the Scottish Screen Archive together with a summary of the club's history and background information on how the films came to be made. This will ensure that the films are properly preserved for future generations and that the Dalziel name will live on in some small way.

It is a sad fact of life that many organisations are finding it difficulty to attract new members yet it is clubs and societies that are the life-blood of any community. The lesson from the experience of Dalziel Camcorder Club is simple: use them or lose them.