Faclan

We went to a couple of excellent talks at the arts centre tonight. They are part of the Faclan (book festival) that is running locally this week. The first talk was on the origin and occurrence of Gaelic place-names in the landscape. A fascinating excursion into the history, geology, and topographic derivation of some common Scottish place-names. The second (this photograph) was on 1913: the world before the great war. This shows author Charles Emmerson (left) discussing issues with David Green about the similarities, differences, and surprises found in pre-war society as compared with today. A very articulate presentation.