Wednesday Highlight Talks

Every Wednesday the team at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and volunteers hold a Highlight Talk exploring the life and works of Robert Burns!

About Wednesday Highlight Talks

	20th November 2019 4th December 2019 11th December 2019
	3pm
	Robert Burns Birthplace Museum Murdochs Loan Alloway, Ayr KA7 4PQ
	This is a free event
	Call 01292443700

3pm start in the Robertson Room within the museum building.
These are free events and there is no need to book.

16th October: Burns and Sedition
Alan McKelvie will discuss the sedition laws brought in by William Pitt and Robert Dundas in the eighteenth century and their impact and consequences all with reference to Robert Burns. At the conclusion of his talk there will be an opportunity for questions and answers.

23rd October: The Farm As An Economic Unit At The Time of Burns
Alison Wilson addresses the details of daily work on farms in Scotland at the time of Robert Burns, and the functioning of the farm as an economic unit, in the wider context of the development of agriculture in Scotland at the same time.

30th October: Wumin O Worth
Parris Joyce, Learning Officer at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, discusses the women connected to Burns and take a guided tour of the Museum to convey just how much of the collection relates to these women.

6th November: Adam Smith: Favourite Philosopher Of Robert Burns
Having read a borrowed copy of ‘The Wealth of Nations’ Robert Burns wrote: ‘that extraordinary man... I could not have given any mere man, half the credit for half the intelligence Mr Smith discovers in his book.’ When he was a lad Burns saw the smuggling going on in Kirkoswald, as a farmer he and his family suffered hardships resulting from the collapse of the Ayr Bank, and then as a customs officer he had to deal with the effects of mercantilism. Adam Smith wrote about these events and became Robert’s favourite philosopher. Denis Rattenbury explains.

13th November: Wee Blethers: A Selection of Poetry And Prose In Scots
In Wee Blethers Tracy Harvey, Scots Scriever at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, selects poetry including, if not exclusively, poems written by her and prose in the Scots language to recite and discuss. This recital will illustrate the strength, power, versatility and breadth of the Scots language and connect with free workshops for writing in the Scots language organised by Tracy and being held at 1pm on Saturdays 19th October, 9th and 16th November and 14th December.

20th November: Whit's Yer Pleasure: Wan Singer Wan Sang
In Whit's Yer Pleasure: Wan Singer Wan Sang John Hutcheson returns to the Highlight Talks with a performance introducing and singing some of his favourite songs with guitar accompaniment all to entertain and makes us think about the music, lyrics and song writers.

4th December: Sex, Drugs And Scandal In Victorian Scotland
We are all aware of Robert Burns's many love affairs and the frequent scandals that resulted. None of his passionate and scandalous amours took him within the shadow of the gallows. However sixty years after Burns's last love affair, just thirty miles north of Alloway, another young Scot embarked on a passionate love affair that featured forbidden sex, drugs and scandal that would be the talk of the entire country for decades. In Scotland's 1857 "Murder Trial Of The Century" 22 year old Miss Madeleine Hamilton Smith finally stepped out of the shadows of the gallows - just! In this talks Andy Hughes tells Madeleine's story.

11th December: On Keir Hardie
In this talk Stanley Sarsfield talks about the life and work of Keir Hardie. From the humblest beginnings in a Lanarkshire mining village Keir Hardie(1856-1915) became one of the leading figures of his time. A champion of the poor and unemployed, a leading advocate of votes for women, staunchly anti-war and the founder of a major political party.

Additional Dates: 04 December 2019, 11 December 2019

While we take every opportunity to ensure the details for Wednesday Highlight Talks are accurate, we always advise that you contact the event organiser before setting out for the event to avoid disapointment.

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