The new season of Grange Association talks will begin on Tuesday 20 October 2026. This web page is to give you a heads-up of what to expect through the talks season – allowing you now to get the dates into your diaries.
The talks will all take place in St Catherine’s Argyle Church, 61-63 Grange Road on the third Tuesday of each month. From October 2026 to February 2027, the doors will open at 7.00pm, with tea and coffee being available from then until the talks begin at 7.30pm – lasting about an hour, including time for questions.
In March 2027, doors will open at 6.15pm, the Association’s AGM will follow at 7.00pm and the final talk of the season will follow that at about 7.45pm.
We have a fine and eclectic range of speakers and topics lined up for you, as follows:
20 October 2026: ‘The Scots Pine: the World’s Most Successful Tree’.
A Fellow of the Royal (Dick) College of Veterinary Sciences, Alan Walker, who is a well-known writer of popular science, will get the season off to a fascinating start by talking about our native species, the Scots Pine, its huge geographical distribution, its biological and commercial success and the impact which the species has had right across the globe.
17 November 2026: ‘Edinburgh Under Attack: the German Bombing Campaign on Edinburgh and Leith in World War II’.
Tom Wood, former Assistant Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police is a much-respected writer, and a regular columnist with The Scotsman newspaper. Tom will tell us about the now little-remembered bombing campaign that the Germans waged on our city from the start of the war in 1939 through to 1942.
15 December 2026: ‘The Scots in Russia’.
Kath Hay, who has previously given us a fascinating talk on the Honours of Scotland, will take a look at the courtiers, authors, architects and other creative characters from Scotland who became key contributors to life, art and society in Russia for hundreds of years. As she will argue, collaboration is more productive than aggression!
19 January 2027: ‘Climbing the World’s Highest Peaks’.
In another welcome return to the Association, James Ogilvie, a Chartered Forester, Trustee of several woodland charities and Chair of Walking Scotland will describe his adventures in scaling the seven highest mountains in the world including, of course, Everest. (The picture shows him on the South Col at 26,000 feet).
16 February 2027: ‘Saving Lives with Sewers’.
In this talk John Sawkins, Professor Emeritus at Heriot-Watt University will take us below Edinburgh’s streets as he tells us about the history of Edinburgh’s sewer system and the massive public health impact which it has had since its first construction.
16 March 2027: ‘The Extraordinary life of Chrystal Macmillan’
Helen Kay is an independent researcher of the women’s suffrage movement in Scotland. She will bring our season to a close by speaking to us about a woman who made an enormous impact on life throughout Britain in the early part of the twentieth century. Chrystal Macmillan was by turns a barrister and a leading and powerful campaigner for peace, justice and women’s equality. It is not by chance that she has a building named after her in Edinburgh’s George Square.
Please check out all previous Talks by clicking here.