Members' Centres and
Friends' Groups

CAMBRIDGE FRIENDS of the NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND

The Cambridge Friends of the National Trust for Scotland is one of the latest Members' Centre to be established. A programme of evening meetings has been arranged for October 2009 through to April 2009.

All evening meetings are held in Newnham College at 7:30pm for an 8pm start. Wine and soft drinks are served before and after the meeting. Meetings cost £6 per head. It is better to apply for tickets in advance although it may be possible to attend some meetings by buying tickets at the door.

To apply for tickets, or to receive full details of the programme, please send an e-mail to : cambridge@ntscentres.org.uk.
Alternatively a printable application form is available in PDF format by following this link.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read this form.

Programme for 2009/10

Thursday 15th October 2009 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m.

"Monarch of the Glen".
Dick Balharry

Dick Balharry was born and brought up in Muirhead, halfway between Cupar and Dundee with an insatiable curiosity about animals. As a child he accumulated a menagerie of some forty waifs and strays some of which he even bred in captivity. Although he trained as an engineer he originally was employed by the Red Deer Commission and later as warden of Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve in Wester Ross. He made himself an expert on Pine Martens. He is now also involved with the John Muir Trust. Dick Balharry is currently a member of the Council of National Trust for Scotland. Tonight he will be speaking about principally the management of Red Deer in a way which ensures that both they and the remainder of the wildlife and countryside of the Highlands can be properly maintained. Lots of pictures.

Thursday 19th November 2009 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m.

"Edinburgh Zoo in the 21st Century".
David Windmill.

David Windmill is the Chief Executive of The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland responsible for Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland's second largest paid tourist attraction. Zoos are changing as anybody who has visited one recently will know. Our speaker intends to tell us about how he hopes to change the way in which the zoo is administered during the current century. Revolution may be on the way. A lavishly illustrated talk.

Wednesday 13th January 2010 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m.

"What goes with Whiskey or the Roaring Lyn".
Dan Watson.

Dan Watson is the ranger employed by National Trust for Scotland to manage Grey Mare's Tail in The Southern Uplands of Scotland. Easily missed in the rush to get to the Highlands, the Southern Uplands is a very attractive and sometimes desolate area with a natural history all of its own. Dan is fortunate enough to manage Grey Mare's Tail which is a huge area of land owned by NTS, the centre of which is a famous waterfall, the Grey Mare's Tail. Tonight he will talk to us about the problems involved in managing the property and in particular its natural history. A fully illustrated talk

Tuesday 16th February 2010 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m

"Tales from the Burning Bush".
Janet Soskice.

Janet is a local academic and has recently written a book about this subject. It concerns the history of two spinsters from Scotland who settled in Cambridge and assisted with the founding of Westminster College (about which another speaker has spoken to us previously.) A fellow of Jesus College, she teaches philosophical theology and comes originally from Canada. She will explain how two maiden ladies from Ayrshire, rich and eccentric, in 1892 made a priceless find in the Sinai Desert. They were both over fifty and reinvented themselves as world class scholars of Arabic manuscripts.

Saturday 27th February 2010 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m.

"The Greening of Scotland".
Robin Harper MSP.

Robin is a prominent member of the Scottish Government and a member of the Green Party. He will explain to us the way the Green agenda has affected Scotland since it went into an alliance with SNP. It has taken three years to agree a date with Robin - well done Jim Stewart. 7.30 for 8 p.m. with "special" refreshments.

Thursday 18th March 2010 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m.

"Titian saved for Scotland".
Professor Peter Humfrey.

Peter Humfrey is a professor at St. Andrews University teaching art in Renaissance Italy. He is the author of many books on fine art. He was heavily involved in saving Titian's "Diana and Actean". It is now permanently housed at the National Gallery of Scotland. A tale of intrigue and surprise with lots of illustrations.

Thursday 15th April 2010 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m.

"Palladio and Scotland".
Professor Deborah Howard

Professor Howard is a professor of architectural history at St. Johns College, Cambridge. Her particular interest is the Italian Renaissance and its architecture. She lived in Edinburgh from 1980 to 1991 when she became very interested in Scottish architecture. This will be a fully illustrated talk showing the influence on Scottish architecture both domestic and public, of the famous Italian architect Palladio.

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