2014-2015
Illustrated Public Talks
motivational stories of adventure
expertise on vital current issues
inspirational insights into people, places & planet
27 inspiring speakers • 90 fascinating talks • 13 locations
Doug Allan - The Changing Poles
Doug Allan spent seven years
in Antarctica as a research diver,
scientist and photographer for the
British Antarctic Survey, before
changing direction to full-time filming
in 1983. He is a documentary filmmaker and photographer, best known
for his work in cold, remote places on
BBC wildlife and expedition series.
Dave Binns tells the story
of leading a small group into the
Shaksgam Valley (Xinjiang, China),
to the northern bases of K2 and the
Gasherbrum peaks, camping at Eric
Shipton’s Suget Jangal camp.
Laurie Campbell
is one of
Scotland’s leading natural history
and landscape photographers. Over
30 years, he has built up a picture
library of more than 120,000 images,
and his award-winning photographs
regularly feature in magazines, books
and exhibitions.
Fred Daniels
backpacked
3,500 miles across China from Beijing
to the Gobi Desert, exploring the
ancient history and landscapes of the
Gansu province. Following the Great
Wall and the Silk Road, he and his wife
visited the stunning Danxia landform
of the Tibetan Plateau.
Doug Allan - The Changing Poles
Prof Roger Crofts describes Tracy Edwards won
how, despite the popular view that
Iceland is the land of ice and fire,
water is its main commodity and
the source of many ‘environment vs
development’ disputes.
open
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international fame as skipper of the
first all-female crew to sail around
the world, in the 1989-90 Whitbread
Round the World Race. Following
her ground-breaking success with
Maiden, Tracy set out to consolidate
her position as one of the world’s
top sailors, and has since broken
numerous world records.
Dave Binns - To Chogori with Camels
Nick Hancock
spent a recordbreaking 45 days on the remote isle
of Rockall in the North Atlantic,
on an expedition described by Bear
Grylls as “an ambitious, exciting and
wonderfully mad project”. Nick lived
alone on Rockall, in a home-made
survival pod on a small ledge, more
than 15 hours and 230 miles from the
Outer Hebrides.
Laurie Campbell - Wild Harris
Leo Houlding
Leo Houlding - The Last Great Climb
is a worldleading climber, adventurer and
explorer, whose unique style and
mischievous smile are legendary. In
January 2013, he successfully led
his team up the first ascent of the
remarkable mile-long north-eastern
ridge of Ulvetanna, a 4,500ft cliff
in Antarctica. Leo’s inspiring talk
is illustrated with breath-taking
photography and jaw-dropping video
clips shot by the multi award-winning
Alastair Lee.
Fred Daniels - Following the Silk Road
Tracy Edwards - Life on the Ocean Wave
RSGS: helping to make the connections between people, places & the planet
Afternoon talks (Edinburgh & Glasgow only) start at 2.15pm.
All other talks start at 7.30pm. * indicates a different venue
Aberdeen • MacRobert Building, University of Aberdeen, King’s College, Aberdeen, AB24 5UA - talk
marked * is at New King’s, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3EB
29 Sep 14
3 Nov 14
* 1 Dec 14
5 Jan 15
2 Feb 15
2 Mar 15
Stephen Venables
George McGavin
Børge Ousland
Doug Allan
James Raffan
Jeremy Hunter
Enchanted Island: In Shackleton’s Steps Across South Georgia
Tales from Television: Bringing the Animal World to Your Front Room
Against All Odds: Adventures in Polar Exploration
The Changing Poles
Circling the Midnight Sun
Arirang: The North Korean Propaganda Art Phenomenon
Ayr • Council Chambers, Ayr Town Hall, New Bridge Street, Ayr, KA7 1JX - talk marked * is at
Belmont Academy, 8 Nursery Road, Ayr, KA7 3SN
24 Sep 14 Laurie Campbell
29 Oct 14 Craig Mathieson
26 Nov 14 Ian Macartney
28 Jan 15 Fred Daniels
* 25 Feb 15 Iain Stewart
25 Mar 15 Roger Crofts
Wild Harris
Some Like It Cold…
Scottish Tales from New Zealand
Following the Silk Road in the Gansu Province of China
Planet Oil: A History of Addiction
Iceland: A Land of Water and Battles
Borders • Heriot Watt University, Scottish Borders Campus, Netherdale, Galashiels, TD1 3HF
23 Sep 14
28 Oct 14
25 Nov 14
27 Jan 15
24 Feb 15
24 Mar 15
Laurie Campbell
Craig Mathieson
Dave Binns
Fred Daniels
Iain Stewart
Michael Smith
Wild Harris
Some Like It Cold…
To Chogori with Camels: A Trek to the North Side of K2
Following the Silk Road in the Gansu Province of China
Planet Oil: A History of Addiction
Ernest Shackleton: The Man and the Myth
Dumfries • Easterbrook Hall, The Crichton, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TA
22 Sep 14
27 Oct 14
24 Nov 14
26 Jan 15
23 Feb 15
23 Mar 15
Laurie Campbell
Craig Mathieson
Dave Binns
Fred Daniels
Iain Stewart
Michael Smith
Wild Harris
Some Like It Cold…
To Chogori with Camels: A Trek to the North Side of K2
Following the Silk Road in the Gansu Province of China
Planet Oil: A History of Addiction
Ernest Shackleton: The Man and the Myth
Dundee • Tower Extension, University of Dundee, Perth Road, Dundee, DD1 4HN
30 Sep 14
4 Nov 14
2 Dec 14
6 Jan 15
3 Feb 15
3 Mar 15
Stephen Venables
George McGavin
Børge Ousland
Doug Allan
James Raffan
Jeremy Hunter
Enchanted Island: In Shackleton’s Steps Across South Georgia
Tales from Television: Bringing the Animal World to Your Front Room
Against All Odds: Adventures in Polar Exploration
The Changing Poles
Circling the Midnight Sun
Arirang: The North Korean Propaganda Art Phenomenon
Dunfermline • Carnegie Hall, East Port, Dunfermline, KY12 7JA - talk marked * is in St Andrew’s
Erskine Church of Scotland Centre, Robertson Road, Dunfermline, KY12 0BF
1 Oct 14
* 5 Nov 14
* 3 Dec 14
7 Jan 15
4 Feb 15
4 Mar 15
Stephen Venables
George McGavin
Børge Ousland
Doug Allan
James Raffan
Jeremy Hunter
Enchanted Island: In Shackleton’s Steps Across South Georgia
Tales from Television: Bringing the Animal World to Your Front Room
Against All Odds: Adventures in Polar Exploration
The Changing Poles
Circling the Midnight Sun
Arirang: The North Korean Propaganda Art Phenomenon
Edinburgh afternoon • Appleton Tower, 11 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9LE
17 Sep 14
15 Oct 14
19 Nov 14
21 Jan 15
18 Feb 15
18 Mar 15
Rod Macdonald
Robert Rogerson
Tracy Edwards
Tori James
Fred Pearce
Sarah Moss
Shipwrecks of Truk Lagoon
Bring It On: Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
Highs and Lows of Life on the Ocean Wave
Beeline Britain
Alien Species: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland
Edinburgh evening • Appleton Tower, 11 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9LE - talk marked * is at Old
Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG
2 Oct 14
6 Nov 14
* 4 Dec 14
8 Jan 15
5 Feb 15
5 Mar 15
Stephen Venables
George McGavin
Børge Ousland
Doug Allan
James Raffan
Jeremy Hunter
Enchanted Island: In Shackleton’s Steps Across South Georgia
Tales from Television: Bringing the Animal World to Your Front Room
Against All Odds: Adventures in Polar Exploration
The Changing Poles
Circling the Midnight Sun
Arirang: The North Korean Propaganda Art Phenomenon
Details are correct at the time of going to print (August 2014) but may be subject to change.
Please see www.rsgs.org or our social media for the latest information.
Deborah Long - Conserving Medicinal Plants of Nepal
Jeremy Hunter
has spent 35
years witnessing and photographing
some remarkable sights around the
world. An avid adventurer, he ventured to
North Korea specifically to photograph
Arirang, a mass celebration of the life of
the great leader Kim II-Sung, and the life
of North Koreans today.
Tori James is a multi-talented
individual with a passion for exploration
and extreme adventure. She is the first
Welsh woman to summit Mount Everest,
and has cycled the length of New
Zealand. In 2014, she joined the Beeline
Britain team to complete the first ever
straight-line journey from Land’s End to
John O’Groats.
Jason Lewis
was the first person
to pedal east-west across the Atlantic
Ocean, to
rollerblade solo Jason Lewis - Expedition 360
across the USA,
and to pedal
across the
Pacific Ocean,
all part of
circumnavigating
the world by
human power.
Expedition 360’s
objectives were
to promote environmentally-friendly
travel, world citizenship between
cultures, and awareness of climate
change among young people.
Dr Deborah Long FRSGS
recently spent two months in Nepal,
researching medicinal plants. Without
these plants, many of Nepal’s
communities would have no access to
health care. This knowledge and these
connections bring a different view of the
world: what really is valuable and how
can local communities maintain their
access to those valuable resources?
Craig Mathieson
realised a
childhood dream when he skied to the
South Pole in 2004. Wanting to share
his experience, he trained a 16 year
old schoolboy who joined him on a
journey to the Geographic North Pole.
This life-changing trip motivated Craig
to replicate its success, by developing
the Polar Academy. In 2013, the RSGS
appointed Craig as its first Explorerin-Residence, boosting his efforts to
inspire a new generation of children.
Jeremy Hunter - Arirang
Ian Macartney
spent 13 years
cycling through six continents. In New
Zealand, he pedalled over 11,000
miles to virtually every community in
the two islands. With the backdrop
of spectacular landscapes he details
fascinating stories of Scots who made
a considerable mark in their new
homeland, celebrating successes as
well as stunning failures.
Rod Macdonald has been
diving for 30 years, hunting out
shipwrecks from as far apart as Scapa
Flow and Micronesia. Truk Lagoon,
in the central Pacific, has been
described as the largest graveyard of
ships in the world.
Dr George McGavin is
a TV presenter, author, explorer and
entomologist. His research has taken
him from the tropical forests of Papua
New Guinea to the caves of Thailand,
and from the jungles of Belize to the
savannas of Tanzania. His most recent
appearances on our screens were in
his BBC series Monkey Planet, and as
the One Show’s ‘bug man’!
Sarah Moss
is a novelist, travel
writer and academic, who has written
three novels as well as non-fiction.
Names for the Sea: Strangers
in Iceland is about the
time that she and her
young family spent living in
Reykjavik in 2009-10.
Børge Ousland
is described by National
Geographic Adventure
as arguably the most
accomplished polar
explorer alive. His first
expedition was across
Greenland in 1986, aged 26, since
when he has been to the North Pole
19 times. He was the first to ski alone
and unsupported to both the North
and South Poles, and he is the only
explorer to have crossed Antarctica
and the North Pole alone from coast
to coast.
Fred Pearce FRSGS
, author
and journalist for the New Scientist,
takes a rather heretical look at alien
species, from Japanese knotweed
along the banks of the River Clyde to
mining in waste tips.
Glasgow afternoon • Renfield St Stephens Church Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JP
2 Oct 14
6 Nov 14
4 Dec 14
8 Jan 15
5 Feb 15
5 Mar 15
Stephen Venables
Grant Young
Børge Ousland
Doug Allan
James Raffan
Jeremy Hunter
Enchanted Island: In Shackleton’s Steps Across South Georgia
Cycling Beside The Rhine
Against All Odds: Adventures in Polar Exploration
The Changing Poles
Circling the Midnight Sun
Arirang: The North Korean Propaganda Art Phenomenon
Glasgow evening • Boyd Orr Building, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QQ
15 Oct 14
19 Nov 14
10 Dec 14
21 Jan 15
18 Feb 15
18 Mar 15
Robert Rogerson
Tracy Edwards
Rod Macdonald
Tori James
Fred Pearce
Sarah Moss
Bring It On: Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
Highs and Lows of Life on the Ocean Wave
Shipwrecks of Truk Lagoon
Beeline Britain
Alien Species: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland
Helensburgh • Victoria Halls, Sinclair Street, Helensburgh, G84 8TU
25 Sep 14
30 Oct 14
27 Nov 14
29 Jan 15
26 Feb 15
26 Mar 15
Laurie Campbell
Craig Mathieson
Ian Macartney
Fred Daniels
Iain Stewart
Roger Crofts
Wild Harris
Some Like It Cold…
Scottish Tales from New Zealand
Following the Silk Road in the Gansu Province of China
Planet Oil: A History of Addiction
Iceland: A Land of Water and Battles
Inverness • The Highland Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX
6 Oct 14
10 Nov 14
8 Dec 14
12 Jan 15
9 Feb 15
9 Mar 15
Leo Houlding
Rebecca Stephens
Roger Crofts
Jason Lewis
Deborah Long
Piers Sellers The Last Great Climb
Shackleton: The Greatest Leader That Ever Came on God’s Earth
Iceland: A Land of Water and Battles
Expedition 360: Around the World by Human Power
Conserving Medicinal Plants of Nepal
Around the World in 80 Minutes
Kirkcaldy • School of Midwifery, University of Dundee Fife Campus, 5 Forth Ave, Kirkcaldy, KY2 5YS
15 Sep 14
13 Oct 14
17 Nov 14
19 Jan 15
16 Feb 15
16 Mar 15
Rod Macdonald
Ian Macartney
Tracy Edwards
Fred Daniels
Fred Pearce
Grant Young
Shipwrecks of Truk Lagoon
Scottish Tales from New Zealand
Highs and Lows of Life on the Ocean Wave
Following the Silk Road in the Gansu Province of China
Alien Species: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Cycling Beside The Rhine
Perth • The Station Hotel, 1 Leonard Street, Perth, PH2 8HE
7 Oct 14
11 Nov 14
9 Dec 14
13 Jan 15
10 Feb 15
10 Mar 15
Leo Houlding
Rebecca Stephens
Nick Hancock
Jason Lewis
Deborah Long
Piers Sellers
The Last Great Climb
Shackleton: The Greatest Leader That Ever Came on God’s Earth
Rockall Solo
Expedition 360: Around the World by Human Power
Conserving Medicinal Plants of Nepal
Around the World in 80 Minutes
Stirling • Logie Lecture Theatre, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
8 Oct 14
Leo Houlding
12 Nov 14 Rebecca Stephens
The Last Great Climb
Shackleton: The Greatest Leader That Ever Came on God’s Earth
10 Dec 14 Nick Hancock
Rockall Solo
14 Jan 15 Jason Lewis
Expedition 360: Around the World by Human Power
11 Feb 15 Deborah Long
Conserving Medicinal Plants of Nepal
11 Mar 15 Piers Sellers Around the World in 80 Minutes
open to everyone • £8 for adults • free for RSGS members
Tori James - Beeline Britain
Fred Pearce - Alien Species
Piers Sellers - Around the World in 80 Minutes © NASA
Rod MacDonald - Shipwrecks of
Truk Lagoon
Craig Mathieson - Some Like It Cold…
James Raffan presents a
warm-hearted, engaging portrait
of the circumpolar world, and a
deeply affecting story of societies
and landscapes in the throes of
enormous change. Compelling and
utterly original, this adventure story
will transform the way we think about
northerners and the north.
Dr Robert Rogerson
has
worked for four years with partners
in Glasgow to help co-ordinate and
research the legacy from the 2014
Commonwealth Games. He has
written extensively on communities
in Scotland and globally, covering
local quality of life, sustainable
communities, and urban futures.
Piers Sellers is a British
ecologist and meteorologist who
became a naturalized US citizen in
order to become an astronaut with
NASA. He has taken part in three
shuttle missions, in 2002, 2006 and
2010, and has spent more than 550
hours in space, including more than
40 hours on spacewalks.
Michael Smith
George McGavin -Tales from Television
© BBC
recounts
the compelling story of Sir Ernest
Shackleton, one of history’s
outstanding explorers, whose epic
voyages of discovery to the Antarctic
a century ago required great feats of
courage, endurance and survival.
Rebecca Stephens, the
Prof Iain Stewart, TV
presenter and RSGS President, traces
the geological and technological
tipping points that transformed oil
from an unwanted waste product into
a substance on which our modern
world completely relies. Exploring the
past, present and future story of our
petroleum addiction, he asks if we
really are coming to the end of the
Hydrocarbon Age.
Robert Rogerson - Bring It On
Rebecca Stephens - Shackleton
Stephen Venables
followed
Shackleton’s route across South
Georgia with outstanding fellow
climbers, Conrad Anker and Reinhold
Messner. Retracing Shackleton’s steps,
seeing first-hand the wild landscape
he had crossed, the three modern
mountaineers were astounded at what
Shackleton had achieved in 1916.
Iain Stewart - Planet Oil
Grant Young
cycled 820 miles
from Amsterdam to The Rhine Falls
at Shaffhausen near the Swiss border.
Passing through Rotterdam, he picked
up the Bike Trail along the Rhine, and
followed this route through Holland
and Germany, in a trip to raise money
for the Ayrshire Hospice.
Børge Ousland - Against All Odds
!
s
U
n
i
Jo
James Raffan - Circling the Midnight Sun
first British woman to climb Everest
and the seven summits, has been to
Antarctica three times. On the third
occasion, she crossed the island of
South Georgia from King Haakon Bay
to Stromness Bay, the route taken by
Sir Ernest Shackleton on the last leg
of his legendary 1914-16 Endurance
expedition.
Printed by McAllister Litho Glasgow on FSC 130gsm silk using vegetable based inks
Ian Macartney - Scottish Tales
from New Zealand
Stephen Venables - Enchanted Island
Join the RSGS and get all these talks for free, plus quarterly editions of The Geographer!
GeTohegraphe
Summer
RSGS members support the educational work of the
Society and may attend any of the talks listed here
for free. If you are not already a member, please
consider joining and supporting our work.
The annual membership rates are:
• £60 Joint • £40 Single • £26 Student/SAGT
To join, see www.rsgs.org
or email [email protected]
or phone 01738 455050.
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