Happy Christmas.

A blip of three mottos taken in our meeting room in Newbattle Abbey; this coat of arms was very poorly lit so, not only did I have difficulty focusing but, I didn't see the "Happy Christmas" until I viewed the shot on the computer. I would imagine that students had put up Christmas decorations in this room and then been unable to remove all the traces of them. You will notice that there is nothing square here, although all the masonry blocks fit together neatly, they don't all line up. Judging from the work that Everest Double Glazing did on TD Towers, they learned their skills at this renowned educational establishment.

Newbattle Abbey was owned by the Clan Kerr from 1587 until 1937 when they gifted it to the nation. The family had held various titles over the years including : Lord Newbattle, Earl of Lothian and Marquess of Lothian.
The Latin motto under the shield reads, "Sero sed serio" which translates as, "Late, but in earnest." Others have interpreted it as, "We're richer than you are," it has been assumed that this does not refer so much to the text as to the coat of arms itself: "Our coat of arms is better than yours because we are richer than you are." Whatever the truth is, the inscription is the motto of the clan.

I was there for the beekeeping club's monthly meeting, we gave our novices some theoretical instruction on inspecting colonies, the low temperatures (less than 10 deg Centigrade) meant that we couldn't do practical training.
This was followed by our AGM where I lost one job but gained another. The job relinquished was that of President, my three year tenure is complete, I am now "Immediate Past President," not quite such an onerous role but it still carries a degree of responsibility.