HELLO Autumn

A series of talks held at Helensburgh Community Hub – Non members welcome, with a £3 donation appreciated.

2025-2026 Season

1 October Jim Glazzard: Tested in the fire: Exploring the world of Viking Age Silver workers through Experimental Archaeology
5 November Andy Jepson: Stobs Camp-Art and Creativity in a Barbed-Wire World.
3 December John Reid: The Romans in Scotland and the loss of the IXth Legion
4 February Dugie McInnes: Lumps, Bumps and Fairy Tales
4 March Edie Stewart: Once our hills were ringing: challenging notions of wildness in the contemporary and post medieval shieling landscape
1 April Joanna Richie: The Discovery of Anachronism through Archaeology

All concerts start at 7pm and last about an hour. Entry is free although there is a retiring collection to help pay for the series.

21 September 2025 – Lea Shaw (Mezzo-soprano) with Derek Clark (piano)
19 October 2025 – Mackintosh Ensemble present ‘Life Cycles’
26 October 2025 – 60th Anniversary Season Opening concert – Helensburgh Hymnfest
30 November 2025 – Anthony Moffat (Violin) with Derek Clark (piano) ‘ Vive la France!’
21 December 2025 – 7.30pm – ‘Come and Sing’ Christmas Concert
25 January 2026 – Mozart – Gran Partita K.361 (Serenade for 13 wind instruments)
22 February 2026 – Jamie MacDougall (tenor) 60 years in Song
15 March 2026 – Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’
29 March 2026 – Lomond School
26 April 2026 – Music for friends – Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor
31 May 2026 – Sean Nelis – Requiem
28 June 2026 – Kilted tenors

The Cove & Kilcreggan Literary Society has speakers invited to give talks on a wide range of social, scientific and cultural topics. Our season runs from October through to March. The talks start at 8.00pm every other Monday evening. There is a Christmas Party and our season ends with an AGM plus Quiz in March. Each talk is followed by a prize draw plus tea and biscuits and a great chance to catch up with other members. Only £20 for the whole season, guests are welcome at £3 per evening. Tea and biscuits plus the popular raffle. Contact: cklitsoc@mail.com

Monday 2nd March, Ian Johnston is very prominent in the field of shipbuilding history. He will talk on Photography and the Photographers of John Brown’s Shipyard from the 1880s Onwards.
Monday 16th March, Nick Beevers will present Where Fresh meets Salt, a talk with a nautical flavour, followed by our AGM.

Join Helensburgh Music Society for their seasonal programme of events, held at Helensburgh & Lomond Civic Centre:

Programme for the 2025/26 concert season
Sunday October 12th 2025 Maxwell String Quartet https://helensburghmusicsociety.org.uk/node/39
Saturday November 29th 2025 Lauren Zhang piano https://helensburghmusicsociety.org.uk/node/41
Sunday January 18th 2026 Chloé Piano Trio supported by The Tunnell Trust https://helensburghmusicsociety.org.uk/node/40
**Saturday February 7th 2026 Scottish Opera’s Opera Highlights Venue: Victoria Halls for this concert only, £20 for an adult ticket and £6 for under 26s https://helensburghmusicsociety.org.uk/node/42
Sunday March 22nd 2026 ADlibitum violin / accordian https://helensburghmusicsociety.org.uk/node/43

Single tickets: online (preferred) or card/cash on the door: Adults £15, Students £5, under 18s £1
Season ticket for 5 Concerts £50 Book online at https://helensburghmusicsociety.org.uk/booking

Helensburgh Music Society presents a series of 5 concerts each year, between October and March, in the form of performances by Professional Ensembles or Solo Recitals. Our concerts, in the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre on Clyde Street, Helensburgh, are open to everyone. An evening out listening to beautiful music, and a chance to meet friends over an interval drink. Ticket prices are low, especially the season ticket. We encourage performers to talk to the audiences, introducing both themselves and the pieces of music they are playing, expanding on the programme notes so adding to the accessibility of the music. Each year the programme we present, features a variety of performers and instrumental combinations. We also include repertoire ranging from early music to established classical works as well as modern compositions and Jazz. Performers include Scottish based musicians as well as international musicians and ensembles, all of the very highest calibre. It is also an important aim of HMS to offer opportunities to outstanding young artists, especially those based in Scotland.

Talks take place in the Marriage Room at Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre on East Clyde Street at 7:00 PM. The programme meetings are free to attend. Those who come along will be invited to make a modest donation.

25 September 2025 7pm – Stewart Noble: John Logie Baird
29 October 2025 – Bill Kean: Photography and the Fiddle. Bill is a regular contributor to the Scotsman Calendar, and was a music teacher.
26 November 2025 – Annual General Meeting; followed by John Urquhart: The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs.
28 January 2026 – Anne Urquhart: The Maid of The Loch and Loch Lomond Steamers.
25 February 2026 – Stewart Cunningham and Robert Ryan: The early 20th century photography of Helensburgh man Robert Thorburn.
25 March 2026 – Julian Hill: Rocks Round Helensburgh along the Highland Boundary.

RSGS Members and students are entitled to free entry, some tickets may be available on the door for cash only – all subject to availability. Part of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Inspiring People talks programme. 7.30pm Victoria Halls Helensburgh

Andrew Barr: How to Map a Country 25th September, 2025 at 7:30pm
Writer and artist Andrew Redmond Barr presents The Atlas of Scotland, a creative project that uses hand drawn maps and illustrations to tell Scotland’s story, inviting us to reconnect with where we came from. The Atlas explores in detail how Scotland was made, its history, culture and its long standing as one of the ancient kingdoms of Europe. Taking you far beyond Scotland, it also delves into old European trade routes of Scottish merchants, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition and much more.
https://www.rsgs.org/Event/andrew-barr-how-to-map-a-country-helensburgh

Louis Hall: Horseback in the Ligurian Alps 23rd October, 2025 at 7:30pm
Louis Hall is a writer, rider and explorer from Fife. In 2022 he and his Arabian horse, Sasha, set off from Siena, Italy heading West. What was intended to be a charity journey to the Atlantic Ocean, destination Cape Finisterre, became the challenge of a lifetime with the crossing of the Ligurian Alps as the defining moment of this ambitious trek to ‘the end of the land.’ Battling snowstorms, injury, untamed trails, wolves and freezing cold the journey pushed Louis and his horse to their limits. Louis shares this story in his debut book In Green, an awe-inspiring tale of adventure, grit and the deep bond between man, horse, and nature.
https://www.rsgs.org/Event/louis-hall-horseback-in-the-ligurian-alps-helensburgh

Luisa Hendry: The Geology of Scotland 27th November, 2025 at 7:30pm
Scotland offers some incredible landscapes, where the rocks reveal a complicated geological history; you can walk along a beach over lovely banded pink, grey and dark grey rocks that are up to three billion years old. Geologist Luisa spends her time sharing this world in an understandable way through social media platforms and her geology tour company. Her passion, enthusiasm and commitment to inspiring the next generation of engineers and geologists has had a significant impact within the geotechnical industry, and across wider communities.
https://www.rsgs.org/Event/luisa-hendry-the-geology-of-scotland-helensburgh

Booking not yet open:
January 29, Vicky Allan and Jackie Kemp – rivers,
February 26 John Goodlad – salt roads.
March 26 Jack Capener – experiences living with the last Inca.

All concerts start at 7pm and last about an hour. Entry is free although there is a retiring collection to help pay for the series.

21 September 2025 – Lea Shaw (Mezzo-soprano) with Derek Clark (piano)
19 October 2025 – Mackintosh Ensemble present ‘Life Cycles’
26 October 2025 – 60th Anniversary Season Opening concert – Helensburgh Hymnfest
30 November 2025 – Anthony Moffat (Violin) with Derek Clark (piano) ‘ Vive la France!’
21 December 2025 – 7.30pm – ‘Come and Sing’ Christmas Concert
25 January 2026 – Mozart – Gran Partita K.361 (Serenade for 13 wind instruments)
22 February 2026 – Jamie MacDougall (tenor) 60 years in Song
15 March 2026 – Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’
29 March 2026 – Lomond School
26 April 2026 – Music for friends – Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor
31 May 2026 – Sean Nelis – Requiem
28 June 2026 – Kilted tenors

A series of talks held at Helensburgh Community Hub – Non members welcome, with a £3 donation appreciated.

2025-2026 Season

1 October Jim Glazzard: Tested in the fire: Exploring the world of Viking Age Silver workers through Experimental Archaeology
5 November Andy Jepson: Stobs Camp-Art and Creativity in a Barbed-Wire World.
3 December John Reid: The Romans in Scotland and the loss of the IXth Legion
4 February Dugie McInnes: Lumps, Bumps and Fairy Tales
4 March Edie Stewart: Once our hills were ringing: challenging notions of wildness in the contemporary and post medieval shieling landscape
1 April Joanna Richie: The Discovery of Anachronism through Archaeology

All concerts start at 7pm and last about an hour. Entry is free although there is a retiring collection to help pay for the series.

21 September 2025 – Lea Shaw (Mezzo-soprano) with Derek Clark (piano)
19 October 2025 – Mackintosh Ensemble present ‘Life Cycles’
26 October 2025 – 60th Anniversary Season Opening concert – Helensburgh Hymnfest
30 November 2025 – Anthony Moffat (Violin) with Derek Clark (piano) ‘ Vive la France!’
21 December 2025 – 7.30pm – ‘Come and Sing’ Christmas Concert
25 January 2026 – Mozart – Gran Partita K.361 (Serenade for 13 wind instruments)
22 February 2026 – Jamie MacDougall (tenor) 60 years in Song
15 March 2026 – Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’
29 March 2026 – Lomond School
26 April 2026 – Music for friends – Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor
31 May 2026 – Sean Nelis – Requiem
28 June 2026 – Kilted tenors