Dear blog reader
Cairneyhill Temperance Society held annual soirees which were often reported on in detail in the newspapers and below is the report of the Cairneyhill Temperance Society’s annual soiree in 1836.
I do hope you find this interesting.
Jacqueline
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FIFE HERALD THURSDAY 31 MARCH 1836
DUNFERMLINE
In exercise of our correspondence, it is sometimes necessary to narrate doings which exhibit rather the dark side of human nature – points, which like the skilful painter, we would rather ‘cast discreetly into shade’ – but this week it is our pleasing task to present the bright side of the picture, while shortly noticing another soiree in this district, a species of entertainment which we are glad to see becoming more popular.
On the evening of Friday last the Cairneyhill Temperance Society held its annual soiree, and seldom have the echoes of that now thriving village rung with a more harmonious company.
The chair was most ably filled by Mr Noble, teacher in Cairneyhill, who addressed the meeting in an appropriate speech. During the evening the importance of temperance, and he value and propriety of acting on the society’s principles, were warmly advocated by several of the members especially Messrs Paterson, Blair, and Kirk, all of whom, despite of homely phrase and diction, spoke well and to the point.
Nor were songs, glees, and recitations, awanting to give zest and piquancy to the intellectual entertainment. The company did not break up till eleven o’clock, and even then were ‘sweer to part’ – feeling assured that ‘there would be nae sair heads the morn’ – having spent four hours together in the utmost harmony and good fellowship, a striking proof of the utter uselessness and worthlessness of ardent spirits in promoting mirth and cheerfulness.
Tea, coffee, and breads in abundance, and afterwards oranges and other fruits, constituted the entertainment, the whole being got up under the management of a committee of ladies belonging to the society, and to whose exertions and willingness to please, may be attributed much of the pleasantness of the evening. Admission was by tickets, and upwards of 50 attended – no mean number considering the population of the village and the cause.
Cairneyhill People and History 