British Legion: 'Clubs' work must not be allowed to die'

IT IS always sad to see the demise of a treasured institution, especially when it is one that has done so much good work for those who once fought for their country.

But it appears that time is catching up with the Royal British Legion, and especially its clubs across the nation.

Membership has fallen by more than 37 per cent since 1995, to 47,000 in Scotland. There are now only 5,800 members in Edinburgh, which means that many local Legion clubs are struggling to survive.

One of the region's oldest clubs, Portobello, has seen numbers tumble from 1,700 a decade ago to just 700. This is not enough to keep it going, and to open up such clubs to the general public would threaten their charitable status.

Hundreds of public houses have called time in Scotland in recent months, for reasons ranging from the smoking ban to the recession. But when Portobello's Legion joins them next month, the town's only war "memorial" will also close.

Perhaps this is the inevitable result of the passing of time – of the deaths of ageing members and the inability of many survivors to get out as much as they once did. That, together with younger ex-servicemen preferring more modern pubs and clubs, seems to mean that demands for the clubs to continue are diminishing.

But the death of the Legion is more than just the shutting up of places where old soldiers could go for a quiet pint and to reminisce about their days in the forces.

The pubs were also places of comfort for war widows. They are also central to annual local poppy appeals and other fundraising campaigns. It may be impossible to keep open clubs which lose money, but the work they do cannot be allowed to die too.

Ghostly goings-on

WORKMEN creating a new pub in Rutland Place are refusing to work nights or alone after a series of creepy happenings convinced them the building is haunted.

Edinburgh has more than its fair share of ghosts and ghoulies – just ask the thousands who have been down Mary King's Close, ventured into the Dungeons or joined one of the scary tours through the Old Town.

And as a former church and a casino, Ghillie-Dhu has been home to plenty of souls seeking salvation . . . or bemoaning their losses.

But the cynics among us might take the view that anyone who has been spooked by a "ghost" has simply been on the other kind of spirits – especially in a new pub.