NEWS People • Places • Planet The RSGS will hold a joint event with the Royal Geographical Society in The Fratry, Carlisle Cathedral, on Friday 5th September. Rory Stewart, currently MP for Penrith and The Border and an RSGS Livingstone Medallist, will speak on Borderlands: a walk through the vanished Middleland of Great Britain, discussing the geography of the English-Scottish border in the light of the referendum on Scottish independence and some comparisons with Central Asia.
come to a talk
The talk will begin at 7pm, and will be followed by a wine and cheese reception. Tickets are £5 for 5thSeptember RSGS members and students, £10 for other adults. Please book by sending SAE, contact name, address and phone number, plus a cheque made payable to ‘RGS-IBG’, to Mrs Hokey Bennett-Jones, Scales Hall, Calthwaite, Penrith, CA11 9QG.
Andersonian Library Celebrations 2014 is the 50th anniversary of the granting of the royal charter of the University of Strathclyde. However, the university can trace its history much further back, to the foundation in 1796 of Anderson’s Institution by John Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University. Anderson’s legacy was the establishment of a new university – a place of education for all, regardless of gender or social class – from which the C19th Scottish scientist James Croll was later to benefit. The archive team at the Andersonian Library have launched a blog (stratharchives.tumblr.com) to celebrate the university’s rich history. Each week throughout the year, they will post an image of an item from the archives which helps to tell the university’s story from 1796 right up to the present day. RSGS members can also visit the Library itself to access the RSGS’s academic book collection, which has been held there for many years.
RSGS Dumfries Group Outing Bill Boone Thirty-three members of the RSGS Dumfries Group had a most interesting summer outing to Edinburgh. We took a coach to Dynamic Earth where we had an entertaining and informative talk from the Director, Professor Stuart Monro. We then toured the exhibition which we found fascinating, well laid out, and full of interesting facts. After lunch we saw a 360° film about Charles Darwin before the coach took us off to the small but wellstocked National Trust Malleny Garden at Balerno. It was a very enjoyable day.
20:20 Vision Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group, an organisation set up in 2009 in response to the Scottish Government’s climate change targets, launched an awareness and fundraising campaign at the end of May, with £200,000 of Scottish Government funding. The group has brought together Glasgow Caledonian University and SolarAid in a team which will help deliver Scotland Lights up Malawi, a project whose ultimate goal and vision is to contribute to the eradication of kerosene lamps, batteries and candles in Malawi by 2020. The campaign will last for 20 months and 20 days and will seek to raise £2,020,000 from all aspects of Scottish society, to deliver nearly 100,000 solar lights to the most disadvantaged communities in Malawi.
energy choices
Rory Stewart to give Borderlands talk in Carlisle
John C Bartholomew Schools Competition In a ceremony at Uddingston Grammar School in March, eight pupils received prizes in the John C Bartholomew Schools Competition, and a further 12 from the grammar school and its feeder primaries received certificates of merit. The presentation was made by Anne Mahon, Managing Editor, CollinsGeo (Harper Collins). We are extremely grateful to Harper Collins who have given generous support over many years to the Schools Competition. This year’s competition could not have taken place without the considerable assistance of Alison McGuigan FRSGS, Depute Head Teacher at Uddingston, and her leadership and contribution is gratefully acknowledged. The presentation was attended by Alan Colvill, RSGS Glasgow Group Chairman, and Jim Carson, former RSGS Education Committee Chairman.
Black Watch Museum Special 2-for-1 Offer for RSGS Members
special offer
Why not make a day of it in Perth, visiting the Black Watch Museum in the morning and the Fair Maid’s House after lunch? Uniforms, fine paintings, medals, photographs, diaries, weapons and military equipment, together with film and reminiscences, bring to life the proud military heritage of the Black Watch Castle and Museum. The collection contains significant items that have been gathered by the Regiment throughout its history, right up to the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Show your RSGS membership card at the Museum to recoup a special 2-for-1 deal on admission (normal prices are £7.50 Adults, £6.00 Concession, £3.50 Children). The Museum is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30am to 5:00pm, Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm.
Massive peat bog found in Congo A peatland the size of England has been discovered in Congo-Brazzaville. The discovery was made by a team from the University of Leeds, the Wildlife Conservation Society-Congo and Congo-Brazzaville’s Marien Ngouabi University. Congo-Brazzaville has a small population, with most inhabitants living in the south-west. The wetland stretches over 40-80,000 square miles, is seven layers deep, and could contain billions of tonnes of peat. The team included Scottish postgraduate student Greta Dargie, who graduated with a Masters in Geography from the University of Edinburgh in 2009. She was described by her supervisor, team leader Dr Simon Lewis, as “officially the world’s hardest PhD student – 18 days in the swamp with no respite”.