Thursday September 19th 2024
Tait Hall in Kelso.
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A request to recognise a Borders operatic society stalwart with a plaque in her honour has been politely rejected – over fears it could create an unwanted precedent.
Mary Easson, who died in 2022 at the age of 90, was an honorary life-member of Kelso Amateur Operatic Society.
Kelso Common Good Sub-Committee received a request from her family to erect a memorial plaque in the town’s Tait Hall, where the society stages productions.
The Tait Hall is a Common Good asset and the request required the approval of the sub-committee.
But when members met on Tuesday, September 17, they made the judgement that, while acknowledging Mr Easson’s contribution to the town’s cultural life, the erection of a plaque could “open a can of worms”.
Councillor Tom Weatherston said Mrs Easson did do a “fantastic amount of work over many years” but added: “This is a difficult one, and I’ve talked to several people about it. This would be setting a precedent, how far do you go back, how many people do you put on a plaque etc, where does the plaque go – it could be opening a can of worms.
“While I sympathise with the request it could upset some people if they were left out. It may be better to leave things as they are.”
Councillor Simon Mountford agreed, adding: “Once you start going down this route, it’s like snowballs – they just gather momentum. I can see over the years you would get an increasing number of people thinking, well my great aunt, my mother or whatever did a lot of work for this organisation and it would be lovely to have a little plaque up.
“Even if we agreed this was a nice thing to do we’d have to set aside an area which was exclusively for plaques, because you can’t have them dotted all over the building.”
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