Winter talks at Falconer Museum
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A MUCH-loved local community building facing permanent closure is hosting a series of winter talks.
Chairman of the Friends of the Falconer Museum, Dr John Barrett, hopes the historic lectures from invited guests will encourage a re-think on the 150-year-old hall's future - it is not scheduled to be re-opened by Moray Council in the Spring due to budget cuts.
He said: "We remain chipper in the face of impending doom and we are hopeful that councillors, who say they will be heartbroken by permanent closure of the museum, may yet see sense and avoid broken hearts, staff redundancy, and the final abandonment of heritage by keeping it open.
"Meanwhile, we are going ahead with another season of winter talks and again we are aiming high, recruiting big-noise academic speakers."
Before Christmas the Friends hosted Professor Vijay Saithe from Pune, India, an expert on Hugh Falconer and Indian Palaeontology.
Dr Barrett added: "Mr Falconer is more honoured in India where he is known as 'the father of Indian palaeontology' than in his native land where the council wants to shut the museum he so generously founded!"
The programme for the rest of the season comprises: Tuesday, January 28 - Dr Barrett on 'The Making of the Moray Burghs'; Monday, February 3 - Professor Roger Jeffrey and Frederica Voigt on 'Hugh Falconer in India'; Tuesday, February 11 - Dr Matthew Knight of National Museums Scotland on 'The Bronze Age'.
Mr Barrett said: "In March we will host a joint talk with the Varris Club and we are negotiating with Dr Amy Woolvin for a talk on the Glenlivet partnership project.
"We are going right up to the wire of threatened closure at the end of March with campaigning and events!"
