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The first Open Meeting of the month is on Friday, 9th January when the Society welcomes a group of members of Stirling and District Camera Club. The Camera Club was formed about 40 years ago and within the club the Audio-Visual group was formed about 20 years ago. Mr John Paton, Convenor of the AV group, with other members, will give a presentation entitled “Images and Sound in Harmony” which is a sequence of digital images with sound accompaniment on a range of subjects including Scottish Landscapes and visits to Europe. We can be sure of an evening of high quality entertainment.

The second Open Meeting on Friday, 23rd January is the annual joint meeting with Perth Mountaineering Club. Please note the change of speaker. Mr Ray Lee’s talk is entitled “High above the Urubamba-Over the Passes to Machu Picchu”. Born and brought up in Londonderry Ray spent most of his climbing and walking days in the Donegal hills with the North West Mountaineering Club. In 1977 Ray moved to Scotland, joined Perth Mountaineering Club, raised a family and completed his Munros in 1999. Ray has climbed and walked abroad in the Pyrenees, the Picos de Europa, the Dolomites and the Spanish Sierra Nevada. He has walked in Yosemite, California and in the Rocky Mountains. His last trip was to Peru, the subject of his talk.

Dr Miles Oglethorpe is the guest speaker at the Archaeological and Historical Section’s meeting on Wednesday, 14th January. Dr Oglethorpe studied Geography at Glasgow University and continued his research studies at Strathclyde. Having worked for some years with the Royal Commission (RCAMMS) in Edinburgh he transferred to Historic Scotland about two years ago and is now Head of the Industrial Archaeology Survey. His talk is entitled “The History of Hard Ceramics or Scotland’s History down the Drain!” He will deal with the rougher but necessary end of ceramics-drains, sewers and water supplies.

The Ornithological Section’s meeting on Wednesday, 21st January welcomes Professor Russell Coope who entitles his talk “Polecats”. A research Fellowship at Birmingham University resulted in Professor Coope, palaeontologist and naturalist becoming the founder and main exponent of the study of Pleistocene insect and other fauna. He publishes in the Journal of Quaternary Science. Now living in Highland Perthshire and an active member of the SWT, he researches native animal species-polecats, weasels, ferrets and also others whose numbers are decreasing for various reasons. Polecat numbers decreased when rabbits were their main food, were affected by myxomatosis. Nowadays such animals may be victims of road kill. Professor Coope has an interesting collection of skins of such animals which he will display during his talk.

Mr Norman McNab of Killearn visits the Photographic Section on Wednesday, 21st January to present “Mountain Photography in Scotland”. Mr McNab is a member of Argyle and Bute Camera Club and also a member of the Scottish Photographic Circle. Since his retirement he has had more time to devote to photographic activities. A lover of mountains one of his eccentric activities is to pitch a tent for an overnight stay at a mountain summit, obtaining fine sunset and sunrise shots. He explains his talk as Scotland’s sub-arctic landscapes from mountain tops and will give a digital slide show, also displaying colour and black-and-white prints of spectacular mountain panoramas.

Mr Jim Cook, Dundee is guest speaker at the Botanical Section’s meeting on Wednesday, 14th January. Having studied Botany and graduated from St. Andrews University Jim now lectures at Dundee University. He has wide-ranging botanical interests and takes as his subject “Plant Evolution”.

The Perthshire Society of Natural Science held its annual Children’s Lecture in Perth Museum and Art Gallery on Monday, 15th December. Pupils from Abernyte Primary, Alyth Primary, Craigclowan Preparatory and Kinnoull Primary and the prize winners of the annual Charles Macintosh Memorial Essay Competition 2008 attended the event.

The President of the Society, Mrs Mary Cairncross, introduced the speaker, Mr Alan Stewart, Wildlife and Environmental Crime Officer, Tayside Police who was appointed in 1993 to the part-time post but since 1997 has worked full time in the post. He spoke to his audience about his work preventing wildlife crime or catching the perpetrators. He gave instances of birds being shot, the work of poachers, the collection of birds’ eggs and illegal trapping. There was also accidental, unintentional damage to wildlife, plastic bags, etc lying about in the countryside.

Proof is required of wildlife crime if there is a court case and Mr Stewart liaises with other wildlife crime officers in Scotland and in some cases with European police. The pupils enjoyed a Fun Quiz to conclude.

During the afternoon Mr Stewart presented their awards to the prize winners of the Charles Macintosh Memorial Essay Competition 2008.The subject of the competition was “A Nature Diary for Four Weeks” and entrants were encouraged to note the habitats of flora and fauna, seasonal changes and weather patterns in an area of their choice. Prize winners were from Abernyte Primary, Alyth Primary and Craigclowan Preparatory.

A vote of thanks was given to Mr Alan Stewart by the President of the Society.

Visit to Markinch and Falkland - July 2008

On Saturday, 5th July members of the Society travelled to Markinch where Mr Bruce Manson of the recently formed Markinch Heritage Group gave a guided tour. Beginning at Markinch Primary School with mention of the Victorian and 20th Century suburbs members were led back in time through the Georgian buildings of the early 19th Century. Mr Manson pointed out architectural features-the crow stepped gables and skewputts at the roofs of several houses. Markinch has an interesting collection of the latter. They are cylindrical with cable or rope carved into the stone. One was carved with leaves and berries.

In early times the site of Markinch was a marshy peat bog surrounding a high dry area. We followed our guide uphill to Markinch Church standing prominent above the town. The Church was a plain rectangular building with a fine square Norman tower and a conical spire added in 1807.The site may well date back to pre-historic times. The early church was dedicated to St. Drosten, a missionary of the 6th Century. In the 11th Century the Bishop of St Andrews granted land at Markinch to a group of Culdee monks. Later it was granted to Augustinian monks and in 1243 the church was re-dedicated to St John the Baptist. The Norman tower of Markinch Church is one of finest in Scotland.
A very interesting feature was pointed out on one of the stones of the church-a group of deep narrow scores .These had been made by early archers sharpening their arrows for archery practice. The Bow Butts lay quite a distance away at the foot of the hill.

Below the church nestled the oldest houses in Markinch where stagecoaches stopped on route to Edinburgh in pre-Railway times. When the Railway boom of the 1840s arrived the railway workers at Markinch found track-laying difficult because of the spongy peat bog. Large quantities of trees were felled to form "rafts" on which the lines were laid.

Whisky-blending and paper making became two of the main industries of Markinch. In 1983 the Haig firm transferred its blending plant to Leven. In the 1830s the water supply to the mills was irregular due to drought, frost or flooding and a canal was formed from Loch Leven with lades to supply the individual mills. Most of the 19th Century mills are now gone. The paper mills of Tulles Russell are the last main users of Leven water.

Our tour ended on the hill of Dalginch, the site of the cemetery. Dalginch is suggested by E.J.G Mackay in 1897 as the capital of Fife in early times where justice was administered and courts held. As a centre of power and administration of justice in the 12th Century it is likely to have had connections with the Earls of Fife.

By the 17th Century, during the reign of Charles II, a burgh charter was secured in 1673 and Markinch became a Burgh of Barony.

After lunch we journeyed to Falkland where a visit to the House of Falkland had been arranged. The house is interesting, fascinating in parts and very unusual. Designed by William Burns in 1839-1844 for Margaret and Onesiphorus Tyndall Bruce it has fine Jacobean ceilings, wood panelling and a magnificent, wide, carved oak staircase. William Burn was a foremost Victorian house architect and the new house is said to have cost £30,000.When first married Margaret and Onesiphorus lived in Nuthill House.