THE new president of the Rotary Club of Musselburgh is keen to work with other local groups to ensure that the town is a “vibrant and community-spirited place to live and visit”.

Julie Ramsay, 66, who ran The Tolbooth Gift Shop on High Street for 10 years, recently received the chain of office from her predecessor Brian Johnstone.

Mrs Ramsay, who lives near Musselburgh Racecourse, has been a member of the Rotary Club of Musselburgh since 2015, having just completed her year as president of the Inner Wheel Club of Musselburgh, of which she is still a member.

She had been involved with Musselburgh Rotary before joining, as her late husband Eoin was a member until he died in 2013, and his uncle Bill Brodie was a past president of the club.

Mrs Ramsay said: “This is my first term as president and, having only been a member for a relatively short time, I am most honoured to take on the role and hope that I can steer the club to serve more in the community over the next two years.”

She added: “Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have been unable to meet at the Mercat Grill in Whitecraig so have been having our weekly club meetings via Zoom.”

She highlighted how Rotarians and Inner Wheel members had been supporting community efforts during the Covid-19 crisis.

She said: “A couple of members worked with the Resilient Musselburgh group delivering soup and sandwiches to people in the community.

“These were made by Graham Blaikie, owner of the Mercat Grill, who is a Rotarian. He also gave donations to East Lothian Foodbank and Edinburgh Zoo.

“Some Rotary and Inner Wheel members made scrub bags which were given to the staff at Adamwood and St Anne’s care homes.

“As shops in the town were closed, we have been out watering the planters on High Street along with other volunteers.

“Masks are also available, made by Inner Wheel members, raising money for local charities.”

Mrs Ramsay added: “I hope to make Rotary a well-known organisation in the town and not a mystery.”

She highlighted the club’s ongoing project to provide life-saving defibrillators in the town, adding: “I would also like to work with other groups to make Musselburgh a more vibrant and community-spirited place to live and visit.

“The club believes in youth projects and I would like to see more young people involved in what we do, possibly through Rotakids and Interact Clubs.”

Mrs Ramsay ran The Tolbooth Gift Shop on High Street from 1984 to 1994 before moving on to a job in corporate giftware. She then spent 10 years as a sales agent, joining her husband in the gift trade, covering the whole of Scotland. She retired shortly after he passed away.

She has two sons, Alan and Simon, who are both married, and she has two grandsons.