Prehistoric Pots to Modern Mansions: Archaeology in the National Trust for Scotland

Our next speaker on Thursday 22 November will be Derek Alexander, Head of Archaeology, NTS. It will be held in the Lecture Room of the Paisley Museum and Art Galleries. The talk will commence at 7.30 pm. Visitors are welcome at a cost of £3.00.

We thank Derek for providing the following information:

Biog. Derek Alexander grew up in Paisley and Neilston. He studied prehistoric archaeology at Edinburgh University from 1986-1990. He then worked for the University's commercial field unit CFA. He joined the NTS in 2000 as the West Region Archaeologist and was made Head of Archaeological Services in 2011. He manages a small team of in house archaeologists who provide advice on the protection and promotion of the properties in the Trust's care. He has always had an interest in the archaeology of Renfrewshire and in 2011 published a book on the history and archaeology of the county.

In his talk he will focus on recent examples of archaeological work from across the Trust from Culzean Castle to Culloden battlefield from Fingals Cave to Glencoe.

Tam O'Shanter

Our next talk is on 8 February 2018 at 7.30 in the Lecture Room of Paisley museum. The speaker is Jim Thomson on Tam O'Shanter. The talk will explain the origins of the poem, how the poem fits in terms of social history, who the characters were and a light hearted exploration with the audience of the lost language the poem contains.

Non-members welcome at a cost of £3.00

The speaker has provided the following biography.

A native of East Ayrshire he joined the Police in 1973.  He served in a variety of roles in uniform and CID rising through the ranks to Superintendent where he held the posts of Head of Operational Policing at South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire.  He has obtained several professional qualifications and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.  He retired from the police in February 2004.

On retirement he started a management and HR consultancy company.

Away from work his main pastime relates to the life and works of Robert Burns.  He is Past President of New Cumnock Burns Club, Past President of Kilmarnock Howff Burns Club and an Honorary President of Greenock Burns Club.   He is also Past President of the Ayrshire Association of Burns Clubs, a member of the Robert Burns Guild of Speakers and is a Past President of the Robert Burns World Federation.  In 2010 he published the book In and Out of Tam o’ Shanter, The Story of a Tale which examines and explains that great epic poem.

the non-medical use of drugs, a vicious indulgence, or common human behaviour?

Our next talk will take place on 25 January 2018 at 7.30 pm in the lecture hall at Paisley Museum. non-members welcome, entrance fee £3.00.

The speaker will be Dr Iain McPhee from the UWS, Paisley.

Summary of the talk

Iain introduces the subject of the use of drugs from a historical position.  He presents data about the consequences of drug taking, and the consequences of criminalising and medicalising human behaviour.

Iain provides an often humorous and irreverent position on how medicine, the police, academics and the public stereotype drugs and drugs users.

In this discussion Iain provides evidence to answer the question is taking drugs a normal part of human experience or a vicious indulgence that results in degradation and death?

Iain provides some answers to the use of drug in ceremonial religious practice, giving an alternative view of drug use in history.  In the presentation Iain will reveal:

¡  The true story of father Christmas

¡  Why reindeers with red noses are important in the story of Rudolph

¡  Why people actually do eat ‘yellow snow’…

The following is a brief extract from his biography:

Iain has worked within the addiction field since 1991, working in a variety of drug services and therapeutic institutions and with a range of drug users.

He completed an honours degree in Psychology and sociology in 1995.

A Master’s degree in 2003 and in 2012 Iain completed his PhD at University of Stirling.

Iain is currently working as a full time Senior Lecturer at UWS in the School of media culture and society. 

Since 2000 he taught on the postgraduate Alcohol and Drugs Studies.

His research interests include exploring the experiences of non-treatment seeking drug takers.  Iain currently supervises 5 PhD students.  2 to completion most recently.

He has written 2 books and 25 peer reviewed academic papers.  He has delivered over 40 peer reviewed conference papers in Europe on his specialist subjects of drug and alcohol addiction.

Chinese Imperial Court Costume: A Journey through the Imperial Wardrobe

Our next meeting will take place on Thursday 11 January 2018 in the Lecture Theatre at Paisley Museum. Our speaker will be David Rosier. Please note that this meeting will commence at 2 pm.

Non-members welcome entrance fee £3.00

A synopsis of the talk is  below with a brief biography of the speaker:

Chinese Imperial Court Costume and Accessories (1644-1911)

‘A Journey through the Imperial Wardrobe’

This lecture provides an insight into mandated  Court Costume, plus dress accessories, that would have been worn  by men and women on formal and semi-formal occasions (Regulated Court Costume) whilst at Court or positioned within Central or Provincial Government during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Initial consideration will be given to the history, nature, structure and iconography of formal, mandated, Court Costume, plus Insignia of Rank, worn by the Imperial Clan plus Civil and Military Officials.

The focus will then move to a review of the full scope of the Emperor’s Wardrobe from State Robes, and regalia, through to informal wear

In contrast, consideration will be given to robes, and dress accessories, worn on an informal basis, or for special family occasions, by members of the Court either in their official capacity or in their private lives.

The lecture will include an insight into the highly decorative costume worn by high ranking Chinese Ladies

David Rosier is a Chartered Insurer, and Fellow of the Assurance Medical             Society, by profession with a specialization in medical risk assessment.

He has spent in excess of 25 years focusing on business in Asia, and China in particular, and for 14 years he and his family lived in Hong Kong.

During the years in Hong Kong David, and his wife Wendy, created a collection of in excess of 500 Imperial Qing Dynasty, and related items, of costume and dress accessories.

He is a past committee member of the Hong Kong Textile Society.

Since returning to UK David has lectured extensively on Chinese Court Costume of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) plus the history, culture and arts of this period.  Groups visited have been as diverse as The National Trust, Textile Guilds, Confucius Institutes, Art Fund and Oriental focused societies, university departments and museums.

David is an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) and lectures regularly around the UK and in Europe. In addition, David has undertaken lecture tours to New Zealand and Australia and leads tours to China that focus on Imperial Art and Culture.

Robert Tannahill and Alexander Wilson

Our next meeting will be held in the lecture hall at Paisley Museum on Thursday 23rd November. Please note this is an afternoon meeting at 2 pm. Visitors are welcome - cost £3.00

The speaker is Claire Casey who will be looking at the history of both Tannahill and Wilson and there influence.

Claire can be found on Twitter as @CCaseyWriter as well as Facebook.

This will be the last meeting before the winter break.

Paisley Museum Re-Imagined

Our next talk on the above subject is on Thursday 9 November at 7.30 in Paisley Museum.

This should be of interest to anyone wishing to know what the proposed re-design of the museum will look like.

Our speaker is Kirsty Devine and she has supplied the following information

Kirsty Devine is Project Director for Paisley Museum Re-Imagined and leads the team to redevelop the Museum over the next five years. She has over 20 years’ experience of working in the heritage and cultural sectors in Scotland, the UK and internationally. She has worked on 10 capital projects ranging in value from £5m to £270m. Her experience predominantly relates to museum projects such as The Riverside Museum, The Burrell Collection, The Royal Alberta Museum, Canada and The D-Day Museum, Portsmouth but also includes historic buildings such as The Citizens Theatre and Durham Cathedral. As the Riverside Museum Project Senior Curator she worked on the project from inception to opening and was responsible for the delivery of all research, content and interpretative elements. Riverside won the European Museum of the Year 2012 and received £21.6m, which was the largest ever HLF grant awarded in Scotland. She has also worked with museums in North America and China and in 2013 curated the exhibition A Tale of Two Cities, in partnership between Historic Environment Scotland and Nanjing Museum, China. This was the first co-curated temporary exhibition in China and it subsequently won the Arts & Business International Award 2014.

Non-members are welcome with the cost being £3.00.

Next meeting 26 October 2017

Our next speaker will be Tiffany Boyle of Mother Tongue Curating and her subject will be:

Scottish Landscapes in the Work of African-American Painter Robert S. Duncanson (1821-72), and his Photographic Portrait By William Notman.

More details will follow.

The meeting will be held in Paisley Museum at 7.30 pm.

Visitors are welcome to attend and the entrance fee is £3.00. If you wish to join the Institution, then this will be deducted from your membership fee.

Tiffany can be found on Twitter: @MTcurating, Instagram: MTCurating, Facebook: MotherTongueCurating  and at www.mothertonguecurating.com.