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Programme of Winter Talks

We now have the list of next season’s Winter Talks which will take place on the first Thursday of the month from 5th October 2023 to 4 April 2024 (with the exception of January); refreshments will be served afterwards.


The talks are free, but a donation to the Dr Neil’s Garden would be welcomed.


Take a look the exciting and varied list of topics below – be sure mark the dates in your diary...


Thursday 5 Oct 2023  Jewels of the Forth  |  Ian Archibald  |  

The Firth of Forth has been for centuries one of the major gateways to Edinburgh and Scotland from Scandinavia and the Baltic. This presentation shines a spotlight on the deserted islands of the Forth. All within viewing distance of the land, many of these abandoned islands are home to tales that deserve to be better known.


Thursday 2 Nov 2023  Robert Louis Stevenson’s Road to Swanston and the Pentland Hills  |  Mike Lewis  |  

This talk describes the route that Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly took from Edinburgh’s New Town to Swanston and the Pentlands.


Thursday 7 Dec 2023  The Falklands War 1982 – A Fighting Royal Marine’s Perspective  |  Brigadier Iain Gardener  |  

Ian Gardiner was a rifle company commander in 45 Commando and he ‘yomped’ with his Marines across East Falkland and captured the Two Sisters mountain in a furious night battle. He will explain many of the wider aspects of the war as well what it was like to take men into battle in this most challenging of environments.


Thursday 1 Feb 2024  The Great Tapestry of Scotland  |  Dorie Wilkie  |  

Dorie was the stitcher coordinator. She took on the huge job of recruiting and organising one thousand stitchers – making the tapestry one of the world’s largest community arts projects.


Thursday 7 Mar 2024  |  The Rise of Rhubarb  |  Kath Hay  |  

The introduction of rhubarb into Edinburgh by Sir Alexander Dick and links to the arrival of the printing press. Dr Neil’s Garden has an interesting connection to this story.


Thursday 4 Apr 2024  Dr Elsie Inglis  |  Lesley Orr  |  

The woman who wouldn’t sit still! Eliza Maud “Elsie” Inglis (1864 – 1917) was a Scottish medical doctor, surgeon, teacher, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals.

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