An Invitation to The Lit
The 113th season of Colinton Literary Society will commence 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
2025
15 Oct: The Antonine Wall, Scotland’s Roman Frontier presented by David Breeze.
22 Oct: The Scots in Russia: Kath Hay explores the historical connections between Scotland and Russia and tells us about architects, artists and creative characters who became key contributors to life and society in Russia for hundreds of years
29 Oct: The Disappearance of the Ninth Legion – Fact and Fiction. John Reid revisits what we think we know about the mysterious movements of the Ninth Hispana
05 Nov: Humanoids No longer – Just Sci-Fi: Stewart Miller, CEO of The National Robotarium, outlines the latest advances in humanoid robots
12 Nov: Lenin: Ian Gardiner will tell the story of this towering, yet sinister, revolutionary figure
19 Nov: Geopoetics in Colinton: Patrick Corbett will show the connections between geology and poetry in the Colinton area
26 Nov: The Vikings in Greenland: Andrew Dugmore explains why Greenland’s Vikings vanished
03 Dec: Buffet Supper with musical entertainment provided by the wonderful Glencairn Ensemble
2026 – info to follow
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