
Lunchtime Talks
We are pleased to announce the programme for this year’s Lunchtime Talks which will be delivered via Zoom. Talks are free for 3Ls members and £3 for non members.
Booking should be made in the same way as classes. Before you enrol, make sure that you add your 3Ls Membership number to your profile on MyCLL https://mycll.strath.ac.uk/ so that your membership is recognised and the discount can be applied. Please contact learn-cll@strath.ac.uk or lllassoc@strath.ac.uk if you need to be reminded of your membership number. The Zoom Link for the talk will be sent to you the day before the event.

Logan Botanic Garden Plant Exploration in Northern Vietnam
Tuesday 18 October 2022
Logan Botanic Garden is a garden with a growing national and international reputation.
The illustrated talk will cover what going on a plant expedition really is like, the cultures, food plants, landscapes, dangers, the people, challenges and of course the rewards.
Speaker: Richard Baines
Curator at Logan Botanic Garden
1000 Years of coal mining in Scotland
Thursday 17 November 2022
This presentation looks at the evolution of coal mining in Scotland from the 11th C until the miners’ strike of the 1980s. It contrasts the mechanisation era of the NCB with the primitive working and living conditions which predated it. For several centuries mining was carried out by entire families living in close knit communities often geographically separate from the rest of the population. This inevitably led to them evolving slightly “different” to other workers. From 11th C monks, through 16th C serfs, to the aristocrats of the 20th C trade union movement, before extinction by the dawning of the Millenium, the tale of Scottish coal mining is both complex and fascinating.
Speaker: Jimmy Reid
3Ls History Club Secretary


Old Glasgow Through the Lens
Tuesday 6 December 2022
Douglas will show a selection of images of Glasgow taken by his firm which was founded by his great great grandfather Thomas Annan in 1855. The photographic journey will take us to the 1868 old closes, the 1901 International Exhibition and maybe even a wee trip “doon the water”.
Speaker: Douglas Annan, Photographic Archivist T & R Annan & Sons Ltd
What about the women?
Tuesday 17 January 2023
Women have always been around 50% of the population, but only occupy about 0.5% of recorded history (Bettany Hughes). Why is this? And does it matter? This talk will consider these questions with specific reference to Glasgow and how it commemorates women (or doesn’t). For example, of twelve statues in George Square, only one is of a woman – the ubiquitous Queen Victoria – and there are just three other statues to women in the city. However, statues are not the only type of memorial, so the talk will also describe more unusual forms, such as trees, murals and paving stones, and tell the stories of the women behind them.
Speaker: Anabel Marsh, Glasgow Women’s Library Guide & author of the Glasgow Gallivanter Blog


Scotland & the Belgian Refugees from the First World War
Wednesday 22 February 2023
During the First World War, around 250,000 Belgians became refugees in the UK. The case of neutral Belgium being invaded by Germany in August 1914 caused a surge of solidarity to welcome these 'poor little Belgians' onto British soil for the duration of the conflict. Most of these refugees were then sent back at the end of the war in 1918, and their story was quickly forgotten. This presentation aims to share elements of the history of this exile and how the refugees were welcomed and treated during their stay, particularly in Glasgow and surrounding areas where approximately 8,000 of these refugees lived.
Speaker: Caroline Verdier, Lecturer
School of Humanities, Strathclyde University