Autumn Talks Program
Every year FoDH organise talks on a Thursday afternoon at 2pm in the Long Gallery in Duff House. The talks are open to everyone; free entry to members of FoDH (just £10 for the year) and members of Historic Environment Scotland and those with House entry; otherwise a nominal fee is payable at the shop desk. Don’t forget lunch and/or afternoon tea in the tea-room !
Thu 19th Oct “No Stone Unturned”. Gordon Casely, who has often entertained us, will give us an informative, light-hearted and apolitical alternative look at the Stone of Scone. Gordon has had a lifetime interest in the Stone of Destiny and shares his wide-ranging fascination.
Thu 26th Oct “Maximising the Opportunities Presented by our Culture, History and Heritage” by Marc Ellington. As the Executive Director of The Scottish Traditional Skills Training Centre, Marc will draw on his experience as a recording artist and heritage related board member, to highlight the many and often unrecognised opportunities our inheritance provides for the future, focussing on the North East of Scotland.
Thu 2nd Nov “To The Journey’s End” by Berni Martin. A short film with some truly outstanding photography has been created by Berni about the life cycle of the Atlantic Salmon, it’s trials and tribulations and joys. We will show the short film and Berni will explain some of the techniques.
Thu 9th Nov “First Darkness then Light” by Georgia Rose Murray. Her Exhibition of paintings made in response to Polar Night and Midnight Sun starts in Duff House on 1st Oct, and express the poignant fragility of the Arctic landscape. Georgia, a lecturer in Contemporary Art, will explain the background and her relevant experiences and way of working.
Thu 16th Nov “Scotland’s Early Silver”. Alice Blackwell of the National Museums Scotland tells the story of silver from the arrival of the Roman army until the dawn of the Viking Age. With the upcoming Silversmithing project in Banff this will provide an interesting background.
Thu 23rd Nov “Place Names of the Gamrie Coast” by Jennifer McKay. This talk will explore derivations, meanings and stories behind names on Gordon of Straloch’s map of the early 1600’s and a few of the Ordnance Survey First Edition of 1869.
Thu 30th Nov “Scottish Photographers of the American Civil War”. Keith Steiner, brought up locally, has considerable experience in the practical aspects of heritage photography, skills that underpin his presentation, with images from well known battles and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Thu 7th Dec “Henrietta Tayler” by Maggie Craig, a local author (hopefully not snowed in this time). Henrietta (1869 to 1951) was a most remarkable woman with a most interesting life, visiting Duff House as part of the Duff family and with her brother wrote many books on the Duff family and the Jacobite risings. Maggie has a most readable writing style, and we look forward to a speaking style to match !