2018 Autumn Talks programme

Autumn 2018 Talks programme (Thursdays, 2pm, in the Long Gallery)

These talks are open to all with no need to book.  There is no extra charge to those with entry to Duff House nor to members of FoDH; a nominal charge is payable by others.  The talks are timed to allow attendees to enjoy lunch, and/or afternoon tea, in the downstairs Tea Room.  There is disabled access to all floors.
Important: The Friends Talks are a perfume free zone.  We politely ask that all those coming along do not use perfumed products beforehand.  This is important for all Talks please, but vital for the first one, as the speaker will not be able to talk if he has to wear a mask to avoid having an allergic reaction!  Thankyou

 

Thu 18th Oct

In search of an artist”. Ian & Pam Williams have been researching a collection of exquisite wildflower watercolours from the early to mid 19th century.  Each painting is dated and with a location, but the artist is not named.  As the opportunity arises the speakers have been trying to hunt down clues that might eventually lead to an identification.  The quest has led them up and down many interesting paths that are far removed from the artwork itself.  This Talk focusses on a particular Scottish location.

 

Thu 25th Oct

Attitude with AltitudeGordon Casely is a much loved speaker and this time has combined his love of adventure travelling and his lifetime of cycling.  Cycling across Tibet is probably not something many of us would do – and we are delighted that Gordon will show us lots of pictures and tell us many interesting tales.

 

Thu 1st Nov

Remembering George Campbell Smith of Banff” by Dr Douglas Lockhart.  George Smith was a land surveyor who worked both locally, including making some plans of some for the Fife estates, but also in Ross-shire, Inverness-shire, London and Victoria, Australia.  Dr Lockhart is a Trustee of the Scottish Local History Forum and is on their Publications Board.

 

Thu 8th Nov

Rubislaw Quarry – a Unique Legacy to The Granite City”  Hugh Black is the owner of this amazing feature.  Aberdeen has always been his home and his passion, initially as a Quantity Surveyor, and then running the still operating Nu-Style Products Ltd until he sold it in 2010 to his management team – when fortuitously “the quarry” project started on its remarkable journey.

 

Thu 15th Nov

”Piping Pigs and Groping Mermaids” – the wooden panels at Fetteresso, by Stonehaven. Jane Geddes is Professor of History of Art at Aberdeen University, and will tell us about the unusual iconography of these panels, and how they give a glimpse of the humour and good cheer lost after the Protestant Reformation.  Be prepared not just for saints, but a bare breasted mermaid, and pigs dancing while playing the bagpipes!

 

Thu 22nd Nov

Recording Sound”. Postponed from the Spring series.  Ben Kennedy has had a long interest in the invention and development of phonographs, gramophones, records and some of the personalities involved with them.  Not only will he give us some interesting stories but will bring along some of his collection which we can study.

 

Thu 29th Nov

Henrietta Tayler” (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 Craig has a most readable writing style, and we look forward to a speaking style to match !  (Twice postponed due to snow!)

 

Thu 6th Dec

Aden Country Park” is a place many us know something of, but Jack Grant, the Landscape Officer there, will be able to tell us more, some of what goes on behind the scenes, particularly as Jack oversees the Council nursery, providing plants for all the beds, tubs and baskets in our towns.