An Invitation to The Lit
The 113th season of Colinton Literary Society commenced on 15th October 2025. Meetings and events take place each Wednesday evening, ending in March 2026. The meetings are held in the Dreghorn Loan Hall, Colinton EH13 0DE. Tea, coffee and wine are served from 7:30pm then the talk or event commences at 8pm. The evening finishes at around 9pm.
Membership costs just £15 for the full programme of 16 meetings, or £3 per meeting for visitors. New members of all ages are assured of a warm welcome.
Our programme covers both literary topics and those of general interest which should be attractive across the entire community from which our membership is drawn. Proposals for future talks may be handed in to the Programme Co-ordinator at any time. Talks and events for the 2025-2026 season are listed below.
Our Programme
The programme for 2025 ended with the Christmas Buffet Supper on 3rd December. Talks and Events for 2026 commence on 14th January and will end on 4th March
14 Jan Winter Worlds: Donald Smith explains why fairy tales still work their magic and lighten the darkness.
21 Jan Thomas Hardy in Context: David Dow and the Dovecot Singers explore the world in which Thomas Hardy lived and wrote
28 Jan Holyrood Elections 2025: What might we expect from the next Scottish Parliament? Sir Paul Grice reflects on the current Parliament and looks ahead to the next one. What could the possible outcomes mean for Scotland and the UK, if the Reform Party send MSPs to Holyrood for the first time?
04 Feb The Queen’s Funeral: Tim Purves tells the story of the most important British funeral this century
11 Feb The Burrell Collection – Renaissance of a Museum: Duncan Dornan describes the riches to be found in Glasgow’s Burrell Collection
18 Feb French Royalty and Scotland: Odile Hughson talks about the famous French Royal connections with Scotland
25 Feb The Vanishing Earth: Jamie Crawford discusses the content of his latest book
04 Mar AGM / Harvie’s Dyke – The People, their Liberty and the Banks of the Clyde: After a brief AGM, Prof. Christopher Whatley will tell the remarkable story of one of the country’s earliest right-of-way campaigns
History of the Colinton Literary Society
The Rev. D. Norman Maclean founded Colinton Parish Church Literary Society (the ‘Lit’) in October 1903 with three Members of the congregation.
They met in a wood and corrugated building in Dreghorn Loan, known as the Old Tin Hall. For more than 100 years the Lit programmes have covered both literary topics and those of general interest across the entire community from whom our membership is drawn.
The name of the Society was changed to Colinton Literary Society in 2024 when the Parish of Colinton united with the Parish of Juniper Green. Colinton Literary Society remains an official church organisation in the new parish of Edinburgh Pentlands Parish.
The Lit has hosted many eminent academics, authors, artists and musicians at its events. In 1911, Sir Ernest Shackleton gave a lecture entitled ‘Furthest South’ and in 2011, author Ian Rankin let us into his secrets of crime writing and now, in our 2023-2024 season, experts in the fields of history, music, politics and art will enthrall us again.
The Committee
Honorary President
The Minister, Edinburgh Pentlands Parish Church
Secretary: Sally Fischbacher – Email »
Hon. Accounts Examiner:A W Murray
Treasurer: Ann Dinnie
Programme Coordinator: Colin Fischbacher – Email »
Committee Members: Kay Dalley, Katie Davidson, Vasily Demyanov, Kath Hay, Bob Mylchrees, Lorraine Veitch-Rutherford
Website
We are currently developing our own website which can be found at colintonlit.org.uk
General Contact email
You can contact us directly at mail@colintonlit.org.uk