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Edinburgh and south east Scotland
Much of the story of the Edinburgh branch is covered in other chapters. It remains the biggest branch of the STGA and has long organised a busy programme of winter events for members over many years.
For example, the winter programme of 1979-80 reveals visits to the Borders, South Queensferry, Perthshire and the National Library of Scotland as well as four lectures and an annual dinner on November 2, 1979.
Three Edinburgh branch members found themselves in the press and on TV in 1990 when guide Ian MacDonald dressed up as butcher John Lawson Johnston and colleagues Gillian Charlton-Meyrick and Catherine Ward as two waifs to illustrate the link between Edinburgh and the invention of Bovril.
Bovril started out as Johnston’s Fluid Beef, a mid-Victorian form of liquid central heating created by Johnston who had a shop at 180 Canongate, Edinburgh. Johnston originally hailed from Roslin but it is said that when he failed to get his new product patented in Edinburgh he decided to emigrate to Canada. There he perfected his beef extract beverage which was given the name Bovril and its instant success soon made Johnston a millionaire. He returned to Britain and enjoyed his wealth, hiring Lillie Langtry’s yacht and, on another occasion, Inveraray Castle for a family holiday which included his own brood of thirteen!
As a result of an article written by STGA course lecturer Dr John Barclay, and extra information from Miss Sanderson, Johnston’s great-niece, who heard an interview with BBG Annette Drummond Young on Radio Scotland, Scottish Tourist Guides were able to re-enact the Canongate ‘Bovril’ scene for the press and STV in order to publicise the Science Walks in the Edinburgh Science Festival.
The Edinburgh branch also offered Medical Walks to coincide with the Edinburgh Science Festival. Margaret Butcher researched the material which was then made available to a group of volunteer guides who prepared a Medical Walk which included the guides taking visitors to places associated with Edinburgh’s medical heritage such as the Old Royal Infirmary site in Infirmary Street. This also resulted in TV and press coverage.
The branch also offered Literature Walks for a time which required special research and training for members.
Every year in the late 90’s and early 2000’s the branch organised trips to the Scottish Islands – Orkney; Shetland; Outer Hebrides (Lewis, Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra); Skye and Raasay; the Inner Hebrides (Gigha, Islay, Jura, Mull and Iona). These trips were organised initially by STGA training manger Ros Newlands and Wilma Kelloe and later by Karen McCormick. Guiding was shared by participants; Dr Con Gillen contributed Geology and on the islands local Blue and Green Badge guides did the guiding. All guides gave their services free of charge and coaching was provided at a reduced rate. Under Mary Kemp Clarke’s chairmanship, the Edinburgh branch, still relying on paper newsletters rather than emailed versions, had a competition to name its newsletter to re-start it after a few years in the doldrums.
The winning title was 'Capital Quips' and this newsletter began to be produced regularly and effectively. With emails becoming the norm, the cost of producing these newsletters went down considerably, but for a long while, it stubbornly had members who only wanted their news in paper format.
Capital Quips ran until 2014 and included reports of the many talks, guided walks and visits organised for members.
It also featured articles on subjects ranging from the History of Newhaven to a six-day CPD trip to the Outer Hebrides. The Editor until 2005 was Nicky Sanderson and then Kirsten Griew took the reins for the next nine years.
The November 2005 edition included a report on one of the regular meetings between the Edinburgh branch and Historic Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle staff.
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