​Colinton Literary Society 
 
The Rev. D. Norman Maclean founded Colinton Parish Church Literary Society (the ‘Lit’) in October 1903 with three Members of the congregation.  They met in a wood and corrugated building in Dreghorn Loan, known as the Old Tin Hall.  For more than 100 years the Lit programmes have covered both literary topics and those of general interest across the entire community from whom our membership is drawn.
     The Lit has hosted many eminent academics, authors, artists and musicians. In 1911, Sir Ernest Shackleton gave a lecture entitled ‘Furthest South’  and in 2011, Ian Rankin let us into his secrets of crime writing.  Our annual programme is based on suggestions made by the Members themselves and proposals for future talks may be handed in to the Secretary at any time.
     Our meetings are held in the Dreghorn Loan Hall on Wednesdays between October and March, from 7.30pm when refreshments are served, to the end of the talk at 9.00pm. If you have visitors staying with you, don’t hesitate to bring them along.  Membership is currently £10.00 for the entire season with a visitor charge of £3.00 per meeting. Tea, coffee and biscuits or a glass of wine are served from 7.30 pm.
     The 2020-2021 session of The Lit is due to re-commence this coming October but due to the ongoing situation, at this stage, we are unsure of the exact date of our first gathering.  We will let you know.
The Lit Programme 2020-2021                   
​will include the following talks and presentations:

  • The Scottish Enlightenment. Prof. David Purdie
  • Slavery in Scotland. Alan McLean, QC
  • The Archaeological Sites of Guatemala, Belize and the Mexican States. David and Selda Dow
  • Cleopatra. Margaret Williams  
  • Bach, a Great Composer. Sam Orr
  • Preacher of the Pacific. Kathy Crawford Hay
  • Transformation of the Colinton Tunnel.      Chris Rutterford and Mike Scott
  • A University education - is it worth it?            Sir Paul Grice
  • First Gulf War “Gasmasks and Lipstick”            Margaret Collingwood
  • Buffet supper and musical entertainment

There are other talks and guest speakers lined up for the coming session and the full programme will be published in due course.