After 18 months of Covid restrictions with all our 2020-21 winter programme of talks having been presented online by Zoom, we were hopeful that we would be able to present our new season of winter talks commencing in September 2021 ‘in person’ in our regular venue, the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy. However, we were informed that public use of the main hall in the Breadalbane Campus complex would only be possible from the beginning of October. Consequently, our first winter talk on the 17th September was presented online using Zoom, but we were able to return to the Breadalbane Campus for our October talk. We are hopeful that the November and March talks will also still be able to take place in the Breadalbane Campus.
Taking into consideration the likelihood of adverse winter weather during the months of January and February making travel difficult and from comments and suggestions from our members that they are unwilling to venture out on cold, wet winter evenings, we have decided for this season to present the January and February talks online by Zoom. As we hold the talks on the third Friday of the winter months, there is not a talk in December as it would come very close to Christmas. Joining details for each Zoom meeting will be provided prior to each talk.
2021-22 Programme of Winter Talks
Friday 17th September 2021: Dr. David Summers – ‘The Atlantic Salmon’ (by Zoom)
Friday 15th October 2021: Rob Hands – ‘Battles of the Three Muirs’
Friday 19th November 2021: Dr. Liz Auty – ‘The Attraction of Mountains, Schiehallion, ‘Weighing’ the World and Contour Lines’
Friday 21st January 2022: John Borland – ‘The Early Medieval Sculpture of Highland Perthshire’ (by Zoom)
Friday 18th February 2022: Dr. Nicki Scott: ‘Ancient Magnificence: Arbroath Abbey and beyond’ (by Zoom)
Friday 18th March 2022: Annette Carruthers: ‘James MacLaren and the Arts and Crafts Movement’
2022 Programme of Summer Excursions
In association with the programme of winter talks, we also run a short season of half and full-day excursions from late May to mid-July, ideally to locations referred to in some of the winter talks.
Amongst the locations we are currently considering are:
- a full-day trip to visit Watling Lodge, Rough Castle Fort, Seabegs Wood and Castlecary Fort on the Antonine wall, led by Jim walker who presented an excellent informative talk to the Society on the Antonine Wall in November 2019;
- a visit led by Dr. Liz Auty to look at the traces of the social and natural history evident on the the lower levels around Schiehallion;
- a visit to the Duplin Moor and Tippermuir battlefields to the west of Perth, led by Rob Hand following his talk on these battles in October.
In addition, we are considering a three or four-day trip to Angus in late-August to visit a number of HES and other sites, some of which will be referred to in John Borland’s January talk and included in Dr. Nicki Scott’s February talk.
These are our preliminary excursion proposals and may be subject to change. Further details will be confirmed early next year.
Refer to the Events page for further information on the forthcoming season of Winter Talks.
