Scottish Association Forum and karaoke

IRRV Scottish Association members once again headed to Dumfries in November 2010 for the Revenues and Benefits forum, followed by an evening of Chinese buffet and questionable karaoke talent.
In true time honoured tradition, there was the usual wrestle with the chinese TV and karaoke discs, in an attempt to get the system up and running (are we the ONLY people who ever use it?) before we broke with tradition and headed for a proper karaoke bar in town - why have we never explored that before...?
Pictured below are Scottish President Brian Jeffrey and National President Kerry Macdermott belting out very enthusiastic rendition of Daydream Believer....!!
Dumfries was suitably impressed I'm sure....

IRRV Forum presentation

Friends and colleagues wished Jim Littlejohn of Falkirk Council all the very best on his retirement, after a long standing contribution to the Revenues and Benefits Forum in Scotland. Jim was also a former Secretary to the then Scottish Branch of IRRV.

He is pictured below receiving a presentation from Scottish Association President Brian Jeffrey at a forum meeting.

Scottish Association AGM 2010

The IRRV Scottish Association’s Annual General Meeting for 2010 took place on Thursday 25th February 2010 at the Municipal Chambers, Falkirk and included a complimentary half day seminar and lunch.

As well as the formal AGM business, attendees enjoyed informative presentations on:
* Corporate Visiting System – a presentation by Dundee City Council, winner of the IRRV Scottish Performance Award in 2009.
* IRRV Committee of Inquiry into local taxation in Scotland.
* Debt in Scotland - an overview of the debt issue in Scotland, following the 2009 Citizen Advice Scotland report “Drowning in Debt.”

Scottish students achieving success in the December 2009 examination session were also presented with their certificates by Scottish Association President, Brian Jeffrey (below). Congratulations to all.

IRRV Scottish President's Christmas Reception

The Scottish President, Brian Jeffrey, hosted an excellent evening at the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh on 9th December 2009, attended by IRRV members, colleagues, partners and friends.
Brian is pictured below with National President Geoff Fisher.
(The full set of photos can be accessed from the title link.)

Scottish Benefits Conference

The Scottish Benefits and Fraud Conference was held at Crieff on 2nd and 3rd December 2009 and delegates enjoyed a wide ranging variety of presentations, covering topical issues and updates.

Attendees enjoyed the usual Christmas themed social evening on the Wednesday evening. Party hats and streamers a-plenty, a great time was had by all, as evidenced by some SLAIOG colleagues below:

Annual Scottish Association karaoke Chinese!

The evening of Thursday 26 November 2009 was a memorable occasion, when IRRV Scottish Association members and friends let their hair down after the joint association meeting and Revenues & Benefits Forum in Dumfries for the now infamous annual karaoke chinese event.

As can be seen (but fortunately not heard!!) from the pictures, attendees were in fine voice and belted out a selection of well known numbers into the wee small hours.....!! Our Scottish Association President, Brian Jeffrey, was a particularly keen singer this year....... Shortly after this picture was taken, Geoff Fisher, National President led the singing with a rousing version of The Lambeth Walk!!

Another great night had by all.

IRRV National Conference 2009

It was terrific to see not one, but TWO Scottish winners at the national IRRV Performance Awards 2009!!!

Glasgow City Council were WINNERS in the category of Most Improved Council:

and Dumfries and Galloway Council were WINNERS in the category of Excellence in Social Inclusion:

Dumfries and Galloway were also Highly Commended in the Revenues Team of the Year category.

A huge congratulations to our two Scottish winners and commisserations but very well done on reaching the finals to the other Scottish finalists.

Scottish Conference 2009

The IRRV Scottish Conference 2009 took place on 2nd and 3rd September, once again returning to the beautiful surroundings of Crieff in Perth and Kinross.
A highlight from the event was attendance by MSPs from the four main parties:


The institute was grateful once again to receive great support from many sponsors and exhibitors. Main conference sponsors were Gandlake:

The provost of Perth and Kinross, Cllr Dr John Hulbert, gave the Civic Welcome. He is pictured here with National President, Julie Holden, and Scottish Association President, Brian Jeffrey:

For more conference photos, including exhibitors, delegates and speakers, please click on the title link above this article.

Scottish Conference 2009 - Performance Awards

Scottish Conference 2009 saw an impressive array of performance award entries being showcased in our awards village, with a number of Scottish authorities also being successful in reaching the finalist stage in the national IRRV Performance Awards.
The winner of the "Best in Scotland" performance award was Dundee City Council. Julie Holden, National President, is pictured below with Brenda Miller and Jane Crawford from Dundee.
GOOD LUCK to all Scottish finalists going to Bournemouth.

Please click on the title link above for photos of all the awards village entrants.

Scottish Conference 2009 - student presentation

The achievements of successful IRRV students were recognised in a presentation ceremony at Scottish Conference 2009. They are pictured below after receiving their certificates from National President, Julie Holden, and Scottish Association President, Brian Jeffrey.
Congratulations to all - very well done!!

Former Presidents Dinner

The eve of Scottish Conference 2009 saw a very distinguished gathering in the form of former Scottish Association Presidents and guests. This included David Shepherd, who was also National President in 1968. Back row: David Magor (Chief Executive), David Shepherd, Alan Henry, Roy Paterson, Brian Jeffrey (Scottish President), Ian Ballance, Eric Geddes, Sandy Brown.

Front row: Mrs Susan Paterson, Hillary Kelly, Ron Skinner, Julie Holden (National President), Mrs Jaye Skinner

Scottish Conference 2009 - Golf

The traditional pre conference golf competition once again took place in 2009, sponsored by Civica OPEN Revenues, with some talented golfers (and some less talented but very enthusiastic!) making their way round 18 holes of Crieff Golf Club. The weather was glorious for approximately 3/4 of the way round, however all of the groups were hit by the torrential downpour around the 14th to 18th holes. Spirits remained high nonetheless and all groups completed the course - the only slight disappointment of the heavy rain being the fact that Jacek Nowak's wonderful "polish tartan" trousers were unfortunately covered up by waterproofs for the last few holes!!!
Fergus Walker of Argyl and Bute Council was the worthy winner and was presented with the impressive silverware at the Gala Dinner at Conference. For more golf photos, please click on the title link above this article.

Sandy McConachie retirement

Sandy McConachie from Grampian Valuation Joint Board retired on 31 August 2009, after 42 years uninterupted service, having been employed by the Valuation Authority under Aberdeen Corporation, Grampian Regional Council and currently GVJB.
Sandy has been a member of the IRRV since 1996 but it is now time (in his words) for him to "hang up his parchment"! Sandy has been a great supporter of IRRV and our Scottish Conference and has spoken at the event on a number of occasions.

Sandy is pictured above with Councillor Jackie Dunbar, Depute Convener of the Grampian Valuation Joint Board and Depute Provost of the City of Aberdeen. She is presenting an inscribed quaich, which was part of Sandy's retirement presentation from the Board.

Friends and colleagues wish him all the very best in his retirement.

National President's Reception

London Transport Museum was the venue for our National President Julie Holden's Annual Reception on Monday 6th July 2009. As is customary in any social gatherings, Scotland was well represented with a number of our association members attending the event.

Revenues and Benefits Forum farewell

Forum members bid a fond farewell to a familiar face at the Revenues and Benefits forum meeting in Tillicoultry on 26 June 2009.Don Catteral has been a strong supporter of the Forum over the years and a presentation was made to mark his impending retiral from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

Don is pictured here (second left) with Forum and Exec members Jim McCafferty, Bob Mackay and Les Robertson.

See our "NEW" archive material

With grateful thanks to Ron Skinner for digging back in his archives, you can now view a number of "new" archive posts.
Who'd have thought this Blog had been going since way back in the 80's???!!
Please do take a look back in time.... you may even spot a familiar face or two from yesteryear....
This is most definitely NOT an April fool.....

IRRV Revenues and Benefits Forum

The Scottish Revenues and Benefits Forum in Lothian Chambers, Edinburgh on 27 March 2009, marked the end of another era - Alison Barrett, Revenues Manager at Aberdeenshire Council, is retiring at the end of the month.

Alison has been a regular attendee and contributor to the Forum and was a valued member of the Scottish Association Executive. Alison was presented with a gift in recognition of her many years of service.

Pictured below is Alison, along with Scottish Association President, Brian Jeffrey.

SLAIOG farewell

SLAIOG (The Scottish Local Authority Investigating Officers Group) recently said a fond farewell to Marion Short of Scottish Borders Council after many years of valued contribution to the group and to IRRV.
Here, Marion thanks the group for a gift she was presented with at her last meeting.

Out with El Presidente - Welcome THE KING!!!! Brian Jeffrey!

Brian Jeffrey has been an excellent Vice President during which time, at national conference 2008 in Manchester, he announced that if he was lucky enough to take over the helm of the Scottish Association, he didn't just want to be President - he wanted to be KING!!!

So ladies and gentlemen, I give you (crescendo, drum roll ........) King Brian Jeffrey of the IRRV Scottish Association!!!
Congratulations Brian and all the very best during your reign as (ahem) King!!

Scottish Association AGM 2009 - the old and the new!

Pictured here is new Scottish Association President Brian Jeffrey (right), with Allan Traynor (former Scottish Association colleague and also former National President) who is stepping down from the Executive in 2009 and also Ron Skinner (centre) former Scottish Association colleague.

The Scottish Association also wishes a fond farewell to Mike Peterson and Alison Barrett, both stepping down from the Executive in 2009.

Scottish Association AGM 2009 - the Executive

Pictured below are the members of the Scottish Association Executive 2009.
Back Row: Fraser Macpherson, Jim McCafferty (Vice President), Ian Ballance, Bob Mackay, Kevin Fraser
Front Row: Ann Bain, Janette Proud, Hillary Kelly, Brian Jeffrey (President), Joy MacKenzie, Lynn Brady, Catherine Black.
Missing from picture: Jenni Craig, Alistair McNair, Jacek Nowak, Billy Phillips, Les Robertson

Scottish Association AGM 2009 - students certificates

At the AGM of the IRRV Scottish Association on 18 February 2009, a group of successful students were awarded with their certificates by new Scottish Association President Brian Jeffrey.

Here the whole group are pictured with the Scottish President:

Individual student photos will be posted via a link from this blog if/when they are supplied to me by the official photographer.

Scottish Association AGM

NEW PRESIDENT.... coming soon!

The Scottish Association is looking forward to its AGM in Wednesday 18th February 2009, when a new President will be elected.

In addition to the AGM, we have two guest speakers and will also be making presentations to students successful in the December 2008 examinations.

Photographs will be posted here, after the event. Watch this space!

IRRV Scotland's Website

You can click on the headline above to link to the IRRV Scotland website!

Happy New Year!

A Happy New Year from the IRRV Scottish Association - and all good wishes for 2009!

Scottish President's Christmas Reception 2008

The Scottish President's Christmas Reception 2008 was held in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament. Pictured here are National President, Julie Holden, Alison McInnes MSP (our sponsor for the evening) and Scottish Association President Hillary Kelly:

Unfortunately no photographic evidence is available this year of the now annual/customary visit to the Princes Street Gardens attractions, however rest assured that Mr Peterson once again persuaded a few hardy souls to join him on the big wheel etc.!!

Scottish Benefits Conference 2008 - delegates!!

A couple of additional delegates turned up for the second day of the benefits conference (courtesy of Jon Gibbs from IBS)!!! They didn't hang around long though...

Scottish Benefits Conference 2008

The Scottish Benefits Conference 2008 was held in Crieff Hydro Hotel on 3rd and 4th December 2008.

There was a packed programme and excellent feedback was received in relation to the speakers and sessions.
As is custom at Scottish benefits conference, evening entertainment was provided in the form of a Christmas dinner and disco - paper hats were the dress code of the evening, with everyone joining in the fun and plenty of energetic dancing until the "wee small hours".


A few photos are attached here - please click on title link for more....

Karaoke Chinese, Forum, Dumfries

The Scottish Association is very proud of its strong revenues and benefits forum. Meetings are well attended and quarterly meetings are supported by most authorities in Scotland.
For a number of years, of all the meetings during the year, a firm favourite has been the November meeting, usually held in Dumfries. This has become something of a tradition, as it is preceded, the evening before, by a karaoke in a Chinese restaurant in the town.
The IRRV National President is always encouraged to kick off proceedings with a rendition of their favourite karaoke number (or to settle for something which IS actually available in the limited volumes of backing tracks available in English!).


Here, Julie bravely chooses from the back catalogue of "Now That's What I Call Chinese Volume 32"

I'm sure all attendees would agree that the highlight of the 2008 karaoke was Bob Mackay's "moving" performance of "Sweetly Sings the Donkey" .... a "popular" children's classic (no, we had never heard of it either!!!).




Mike Peterson provided much hilarity by producing a Twinkle Toes bib - modelled here by Hillary (there's always one person daft enough!)

Much fun was had by all - an excellent evening as always.

Looking forward to returning in 2009.

National Conference 2008 - Performance Awards Dinner

2008 saw the greatest number of Scottish local authorities shortlisted for Performance Awards, so our Scottish Association was well represented at the annual Performance Awards gala dinner.
Kilts-a-plenty for the men (obviously not just the glitz and glamour of the ladies!) made sure that the Scots were easily identified and an excellent evening was enjoyed by all. Please click on title link for a further selection of photos from Digital Paparazzi. The whole gallery of photos can be viewed from the IRRV national website.

National Conference 2008 - Hard Rock Cafe

Scottish Vice President (and future King) Brian Jeffrey was well impressed to view his idol Eric Clapton's guitar at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manchester, during a social event at National Conference 2008.

National Conference 2008

The girls from Perth and Kinross were surprised to see a familiar face lurking around the hotel.


None other than Jim Davidson!

One for the photo album definitely....

Scottish Conference 2008 - dinner

The Scottish Association were grateful to Scott and Co, sponsors of corporate hospitality, including dinner and drinks at the 2008 Scottish Conference 2008. The dinner was excellent, held for the first time in the new Melville Hall at Crieff Hydro Hotel: Fraser and Janet Macpherson enjoy a rare moment of light relief at the hands of the After Dinner Speaker:

Although few were safe from being the butt of a joke, here Hillary "thanks" the speaker for his entertainment: