Discover, explore Scotland’s wild places • Wild places and animals on film • Evocative audio journeys • Inspiring photography, artwork and gifts Find us just off the A9 and train line at Atholl Road, Pitlochry, PH16 5AN
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Come and connect with your essential wildness
www.thewildspace.org The John Muir Trust is a Scottish charitable company limited by guarantee. Scottish Charity No: SC002061, Company No: SC081620. Registered office: Tower House, Station Road, Pitlochry PH16 5AN
NEW FOR WINTER WORDS 2016:
Hot Supper Buffets
Fri & Sat from 5pm – 7pm (no need to book in advance!)
Example menu: Starters:
Root Vegetable Soup (V) Chicken Liver Parfait
Mains:
Hearty Game Casserole Cod & Salmon Fish Pie
Mushroom Stroganoff (v)
Desserts:
Lemon Posset with Homemade Shortbread
Strawberry Cheesecake 2 course: £15.95 3 course: £18.95
Spectacular views combined with fresh local produce and excellent service from our attentive staff ensure dining here will always be a special experience. The Festival Restaurant and Café Bar is open all day, seven days a week and provides tasty, fresh and wholesome food with daily specials, all at reasonable prices.
Welcome!
The 2016 Winter Words programme contains a diverse and delicious line-up of great minds and great writers – it’s the perfect way to linger in the last days of Winter (and celebrate the first signs of Spring) amidst the spectacular wintry landscape of Highland Perthshire! As always, a number of themes weave their way through this year’s celebration of the written and the spoken word: the eagle-eyed will quickly discover strands concerned with wildlife and wild spaces, Scottish history and culture, the arts and media, and rural life running throughout the programme of events. From Bake Off to Bannockburn, Gregor ‘Rab C. Nesbitt’ Fisher to The Fish Ladder and the Banff Film Festival to That Guy Fae The Corries Ronnie Browne (not to mention the Loch Ness Monster!), there’s a vast range of stimulating and entertaining activity to explore at this year’s Winter Words. The unique Fearie Tales writing competition (with free Fearie Tales readings in the River Room) returns again this year, as do the ever-present Book Fair, a 3 day Creative Writing course and the very popular Poetry Please! sessions.
“where Scotland's Literary year gets into gear” The Scotsman
Pitlochry Festival Theatre is a Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in Scotland Number SC029243 at the below address. Scottish Charity Number SC013055 Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Port-na-craig, Pitlochry, PH16 5DR | Administration: 01796 484600 | Fax: 01796 484616 | Box Office: 01796 484626 | Email: boxoffice@ PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com | Website: www.PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Now in its twelfth year, Winter Words remains the place “where Scotland’s Literary year gets into gear” (The Scotsman). So book your tickets today!
Scotland’s Most Welcoming Theatre, 2015
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
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Tickets and Book Fair Ways to Book!
Phone: 01796 484626 Online: www.PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com In Person: at the Theatre Box Office Email: boxoffice@PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Book Fair!
From 10.00am - 6.00pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The Winter Words bookstall is organised by Yeadon’s Booksellers, who will be selling signed books by guest authors throughout the Festival. Yeadon’s have two shops in Elgin and Banchory, both of which are beautifully decorated and stocked with carefully chosen, eclectic selections of books. Well worth a visit (or three!), their staff are all professional booksellers, dedicated, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, who will also be around throughout the day to help and advise. Order (or reserve) a book today! You can now order or reserve any book by a Winter Words author in advance of their event. Simply go to www.yeadons. co.uk and complete an order/reservation form. You can also make a dedication! Books will be charged at full retail price plus postage and packing (10% of retail price UK) and you won’t be charged until dispatch. You can also save on postage by picking up your book at our Bookstall which is open throughout the Festival.
Pitlochry Station Bookshop The unique Pitlochry Station Bookshop will be running a second-hand and new bookstall in the theatre foyer throughout the Festival. The Station Bookshop sells a wide range of donated books to raise money for many different charities. Bestsellers, children’s classics and interesting antiquary gems are waiting to be enjoyed – and not just by train travellers!
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Concessions:
• Friends/Supporters Cardholders | Groups (8+) : 10% off tickets • Disabled Badge Holders: 20% off tickets • Students | U18s | Registered Unemployed : 50% off tickets
Only Friends/Supporter Cardholders concessions apply to Literary Lunches. All ticket prices and concessions are subject to availability.
Transaction Fees apply to advertised ticket prices. If paying by card, the Transaction Fee is 25p for Debit Cards and £1.50 for Credit Cards. If booking via our website, the Transaction Fee is £1.50. There is no Transaction Fee for paying with cash at the Box Office. Please note: Event and ticketing information is correct at time of going to print. The programme of events may alter, so please do check online or at the Box Office. We reserve the right to make changes to the programme, ticket prices and seating plans.
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Friday 12th
10.00am – 11.00am | £7.50
David Taylor
The Wild Black Region
2.45pm – 4.15pm | £12.50
11.30am – 12.30pm | £8.50
Getting Started In Historical Fiction: A Writing Workshop
Fallen Glory
Emma Darwin
4.00pm – 5.00pm | £9.50
James Crawford
1.00pm – 2.15pm | £23.50
Marian Pallister and Jim Miller
Anna Levin
Malachy Tallack and Gavin Francis
1.00pm – 2.15pm | £23.50
6.30pm – 7.30pm | £9.50
Addicted To Adventure
The News Is Read
Scotland – A History From Earliest Times
8.00pm – 9.15pm | £14.50
4.30pm - 5.30pm | £8.50
11.30am – 12.30pm | £7.50 Otters: Return To The River
Bob Shepton
2.30pm – 3.30pm | £8.50
David Spaven
The Railway Atlas Of Scotland
4.00pm – 5.00pm | £8.50
Rosemary Goring Dacre’s War
6.30pm – 7.30pm | £9.50
Ben Stewart
Don’t Trust, Don’t Fear, Don’t Beg
8.00pm – 9.15pm | £12.50
Ronnie Browne
That Guy Fae The Corries
9.30pm – 10.30pm | Free
Fearie Tales
Adventures in Body and Mind
Charlotte Green
Gregor Fisher and Melanie Reid
The Boy From Nowhere
9.30pm – 10.30pm | Free
Fearie Tales
Sunday 14th
10.00am – 11.00am | £7.50
Alan McKirdy Set In Stone
11.30am – 12.30pm | £7.50
Donald S. Murray
The Guga Hunters, Herring
1.00pm – 2.15pm | £23.50
James MacDonald Lockhart
Saturday 13th
10.00am – 11.00am | £7.50
Ajay Close
A Petrol Scented Spring
11.30am – 12.30pm | £7.50
Emma Darwin
Creative Darwins: The DarwinWedgwood Clan in Science and the Arts
1.00pm – 2.15pm | £23.50
Katharine Norbury
Raptor: A Journey Through Birds
2.30pm – 3.30pm | £10.00
Tam Dalyell
A Fractured Union –The Crisis That Could Break Britain
4.30pm – 6.00pm | £12.50
The Campbells of Canna in Words and Music TUES 16TH – THUR 18TH WRITING COURSE
The Fish Ladder
10.30am – 4.30pm | £130
1.15pm – 1.45pm | Free
3 day Writing Course
POETRY PLEASE
2.30pm – 3.30pm | £8.50
Gareth Williams
A Monstrous Commotion
Write On, Right On!
Friday 19th
10.00am – 11.00am | £7.50
Murdo Fraser The Rivals
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Cruachan and The Dam Builders
3.00pm - 4.00pm | £8.50
Alistair Moffat
Jim Hunter Set Adrift
7.00pm – 8.15pm | £12.50
Frances Quinn
Quinntessential Baking
9.00pm – 10.00pm | Free
Fearie Tales
Saturday 20th
10.00am – 11.00am | £7.50
Magnus Linklater Little Sparta
11.30am – 12.30pm | £7.50
Marilyn Brown
Scotland’s Lost Gardens
1.00pm – 2.15pm | £23.50
Susan Campbell
Ronnie – A Dog Owners Guide
1.15pm – 1.45pm | Free
Poetry Please
2.30pm – 3.30pm | £10.00
Jason Lewis
To The Brink (The Expedition Trilogy)
4.00pm – 5.00pm | £8.50
Gregor Ewing Bruce, Meg & Me
7.00pm – 10.00pm £15.00 and £13.50
Banff Mountain Film Festival
9.30pm – 10.30pm | Free
Fearie Tales
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Friday 12th
10.00am – 11.00am
David Taylor
The Wild Black Region £7.50
Author and historian, David Taylor kicks off Winter Words in fine style with the fascinating story of Badenoch, a region long forgotten in Scottish history. Situated in the heart of the Highlands and with its own distinct historic and geographic identity, Badenoch was in the throes of dramatic change in the post-Culloden decades of the 18th century. His ground-breaking study reveals some radical differences from trends across the rest of the Highlands. Foremost was the role of the indigenous entrepreneurial tacksmen in driving the rapidly growing commercial economy as cattle graziers, drovers and agricultural improvers, inevitably provoking confrontation with the absentee and ostentatious Dukes of Gordon. Meanwhile, the common people still operated within a subsistence farming economy heavily dependent on a surprisingly 04
sophisticated use of their mountain environment.
wildlife photographer, Laurie Campbell.
Economic forces, social ambition and post-Culloden legislation collided; creating pressures between the old clan hierarchy as Duke, tacksman and clansman forged their individual and often irreconcilable –destinies in a rapidly changing world.
For more than two decades, Laurie and Anna documented these lithe, elusive predators on the River Tweed and its tributaries in Berwickshire. The resulting photographs and text create an intimate portrait of their riverside lives through the seasons and years.
David Taylor’s storytelling style brings this era to life, together with unique images. An unmissable opportunity to learn more about this little known piece of Scottish history.
This book is a celebration of the return of the otter to our rivers and freshwater wetlands after a drastic decline in the last century.
11.30am – 12.30pm
Anna Levin
Otters: Return To The River £7.50
Anna joins us to discuss her recent book, Otters: Return To The River, published in collaboration with leading
Anna will bring Laurie’s photographs to life with stories of these stunning creatures.
“Stunning…a unique
insight into these elusive animals”
BBC Wildlife Magazine Anna will also appear at Wild Space at 2.30pm. See inside back cover for full details.
Anna Levin
1.00pm – 2.15pm LITERARY LUNCH
Bob Shepton
trapped in ice, and climbs mountains accessible only from iceberg-strewn water and with only sketchy maps available.
Railways on the history of Britain’s rail network - this beautiful atlas reveals the rich diversity of Scotland’s railway network.
Bob Shepton, winner of the 2013 Yachtsman of the Year Award, is an oldschool adventurer, and this compelling book is in the spirit of sailing mountaineer HW Tilman, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, climber Sir Chris Bonington and yachtsman Robin KnoxJohnston, all of whom have been either friends of Bob or an inspiration for his own exploits.
David’s talk will feature some of the 181 topographical and railway maps featured in his atlas, illustrating the story of the country’s railways from the early nineteenth century to the present day, revealing the impact of Scotland’s distinctive geography on the pattern of railway development over a period of nearly 200 years.
Addicted To Adventure
Turn to page 24 to discover the full (delicious!) lunch menu.
lunch and a glass of wine
2.30pm – 3.30pm
£23.50 | includes a 2 course Bob is an ordained minister in the Church of England in his late 70s, but spends most of his time sailing into the Arctic and making first ascents of inaccessible mountains. No tea parties for this vicar! Addicted To Adventure begins with the disastrous fire that destroyed Bob’s yacht whilst ice-bound in Greenland, before traveling back in time to his childhood spent in Malaysia. It then charts his move to England (after his father was shot!), boarding school, the Royal Marines, and the church. We then follow Bob as he sails around the world with a group of schoolboys, is dismasted off the Falklands,
David Spaven The Railway Atlas Of Scotland - Two Hundred Years of History in Maps £8.50
Researched and written by David Spaven - who co-wrote the best-selling Mapping The
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
His unique map selection will be supported by an informative commentary of key cartographic, geographic and historical features. This event (and sumptuous atlas) will appeal not just to railway enthusiasts and those who appreciate the beauty of maps, but also to readers fascinated by the role of railways in Scotland’s modern developments.
David Spaven 01
Friday 12th
4.00pm – 5.00pm
Rosemary Goring Dacre’s War
Chaired by Alan Taylor.
£8.50
Dacre’s War is a story of personal and political vengeance. Ten years after the battle of Flodden, Adam Crozier, head of his clan and of an increasingly powerful alliance of Borderers, learns for sure that it was Lord Thomas Dacre - now the most powerful man in the north of England - who ordered his father’s murder. He determines to take his revenge. As a fighting man, Crozier would like nothing better than to bring Dacre down face to face but his wife Louise advises him that
he must use more subtle methods. So he sets out to engineer Dacre’s downfall by turning the machinery of the English court against him. A vivid and fast-moving tale of political intrigue and heartache, Dacre’s War is set against the backdrop of the Scottish and English borders, a land where there is never any chance of peace. Rosemary Goring studied social and economic history at the University of St. Andrews and has been the literary editor of Scotland on Sunday, the Herald, and the Sunday Herald. Author of After Flodden, Rosemary will read from this much anticipated sequel and discuss, with fellow journalist Alan Taylor, how history and literature collide and how she develops vivid characters to create her novels.
The plan was to attach a Greenpeace pod to Gazprom’s platform and launch a peaceful protest against oil being pumped from the icy waters of the Arctic. However, armed Russian commandos flooded the deck of the Arctic Sunrise and 30 Greenpeace members began their prison ordeal at the hands of Putin’s regime. With exclusive access to the activists during their incarceration together, accessing extensive hours of interviews with Russian sources, Greenpeace campaigners and high-profile supporters, Ben Stewart - a veteran Greenpeace activist and former Guardian Student Journalist of the Year - sets out their dramatic and inspiring story and the ensuing emotional campaign to bring the protesters home.
6.30pm – 7.30pm
Ben Stewart Don’t Trust, Don’t Fear, Don’t Beg £9.50
Rosemary Goring
You’ll hear ‘Ne ver ne boysya ne prosi’ uttered in Russian jails. It means “you shouldn’t trust because life here will always disappoint you, don’t fear because whatever you’re scared of, you are powerless to prevent it. And don’t beg because nobody ever begged their way out of a Russian prison cell”. 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Ronnie Browne 8.00pm – 9.15pm
9.30pm – 10.30pm
That Guy Fae The Corries
Free Event in River Room
Ronnie Browne £12.50
With his musical partner, Roy Williamson, Ronnie Browne became a national figure as one half of popular Scottish folk duo, The Corries. In his evocative autobiography, Ronnie describes his childhood and reveals what it was like to grow up in 1950s and 60s, when Britain was firmly in the grip of austerity. Ronnie also charts his long musical career, which includes Scotland’s unofficial national anthem, Flower of Scotland, as well as the death of Roy Williamson and the following years as a solo artist. Through all this time Ronnie has also been a much sought after painter and portraitist. Join us for a fascinating evening in the company of this gifted raconteur as Ronnie shares some of the funny and extraordinary tales from his colourful life. Ronnie will be in conversation with Winter Words Festival Programmer Bob McDevitt who is incredibly knowledgeable and respected in the publishing industry as well as being both an actor and performer. 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Fearie Tales Time to check there’s no one in your shadow as we settle down for a spook-tacular evening of the supernatural and macabre with the first in a series of Fearie Tales. Feast your ears on a selection of original tales penned especially for Winter Words brought to life by familiar faces from the PFT stage. Hear of bizarre encounters, unwelcome apparitions and listen out for half-heard footsteps on the mezzanine floor. . . these truly terrifying stories of the paranormal will have you on the edge of your seat; beware of those shadows outside your window in the dead of night . . . 07
Saturday 13th 10.00am – 11.00am
Ajay Close A Petrol Scented Spring £7.50
The day after her wedding, Donella Ferguson Watson wakes up shackled to a man haunted by the past. The lonely days become weeks, months, years. Her husband Hugh, a prison doctor, will offer no explanation for their sexless marriage. She comes to suspect the answer lies with a hunger-striking suffragette who was force fed and held in solitary confinement. But what really happened between Hugh and his prisoner patient? A Petrol Scented Spring is a riveting novel of repression, jealousy and love, and the struggle for women’s emancipation. Author, playwright and journalist Ajay Close returns
Ajay Close
to Winter Words with her latest novel, a real life story from Perthshire.
“A fascinating insight into one of the most
compelling stories in the history of the women’s suffrage movement.” The Times
11.30am – 12.30pm
Emma Darwin
Creative Darwins: The Darwin-Wedgwood Clan in Science and the Arts £7.50
Emma Darwin is a writer and the great-greatgranddaughter of Charles and Emma Darwin. She both teaches and mentors writers. As part of her work on creativity, Emma has explored her own family tree, to further understand the way that creative thinking works across all disciplines. In conversation with Bob McDevitt, Emma will talk about writing, teaching, failing to write, and being upstaged by your own ancestors – her extended famous family includes not only world-renowned scientists and potters, but also visual artists, engineers, poets, writers and composers!
Her debut novel, The Mathematics of Love, was shortlisted for, among other prizes, the Commonwealth Writers’ Best First Book award, and the Daily Mail described her second novel, A Secret Alchemy, as “powerful and utterly convincing”. Her first non-fiction project, Get Started in Writing Historical Fiction, is published in March. Emma will also lead a workshop at 2.45pm today. See page 10 for details.
1.00pm – 2.15pm LITERARY LUNCH
Katharine Norbury
The Fish Ladder
£23.50 | includes a 2 course lunch and a glass of wine
Katharine Norbury was abandoned as a baby in a Liverpool convent. Raised by loving adoptive parents, she grew into a wanderer, drawn by the beauty of the British countryside. One Summer, following the miscarriage of a muchlonged-for child, Katharine sets out - accompanied by her nine-year-old daughter, Evie - with the idea of following a river from the sea to its source. But what begins as a diversion from grief soon evolves into a journey to the source of life itself, when a chance circumstance forces
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
2.30pm – 3.30pm
Gareth Williams A Monstrous Commotion £8.50
Katharine Norbury
Telegraph Best Book Of The Year 2015 Longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2015 Katharine to the door of the woman who gave her up all those years ago. Combining travelogue (including Pitlochry!), memoir, exquisite nature writing, fragments of poetry and tales from Celtic mythology, The Fish Ladder has a rare emotional resonance. A portrait of motherhood, of a literary marriage and a hymn to the adoptive family, this captivating story of self-discovery is, most of all, an exploration of the extraordinary majesty of the natural world. Imbued with a keen and joyful intelligence, this original and life-affirming book is set to become a classic of its genre. Join us for a poignant, mouth-watering literary lunch event. Turn to page 24 to discover what’s on the menu. Will it be fish?!
1.15pm – 1.45pm
POETRY PLEASE
Free Event in Foyer No one can tell me, Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from, Where the wind goes. A.A.Milne
Be transported back in time as we celebrate childhood in our free poetry reading event. Our Festival Readers (familiar faces from the PFT stage) will share the delights of A.A. Milne, R.L. Stevenson and Roald Dahl. If you have a favourite you would like to hear, just let us know by dropping a note into the Box Office before lunchtime on this Saturday.
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
The Loch Ness Monster: a creature that should have died out with the dinosaurs or a legend built on hoaxes and wishful thinking? Drawing extensively on new material, Professor Gareth Williams takes a wholly original look at what really happened in Loch Ness. A Monstrous Commotion tells the story as never before: a gripping saga populated by colourful characters that do extraordinary things in pursuit of one of evolution’s wildest cards. Meticulously researched and dazzlingly written, this book will appeal to anyone fascinated by nature and its mysteries, and to everyone who enjoys a beautifully crafted detective story with a strong cast of heroes and villains, plenty of twists and an unexpected ending . . . 09
Saturday 13th 2.45pm – 4.15pm
Emma Darwin
Getting Started In Historical Fiction: A Writing Workshop Capacity 16, £12.50
How do you bring your story alive when you have to look everything up?
In this practical, 1.5 hour long workshop (bring writing things!), Emma will be exploring ways of imagining, researching and writing stories set in the past. You should leave with new ideas, techniques and inspiration for your future writing about the past. Emma Darwin is a writer and the great-greatgranddaughter of Charles and Emma Darwin. She both teaches and mentors writers. See page 08 for full details of her earlier event.
4.00pm – 5.00pm
Malachy Charlotte Tallack and Green News Is Read Gavin Francis The £9.50 Adventures in Body and Mind £9.50
Two exciting Scottish writers come together to discuss adventure and travels in mind and body. Malachy Tallack’s novel Sixty Degrees North explores his own story, beginning and ending in Shetland and the places that share Shetland’s latitude. Malachy focuses on the natural environments of these parallels, and the ways people have interacted with those landscapes. He also explores themes of wildness and community, isolation and engagement, exile and memory. In Adventures In Human Being, travel writer and GP Gavin Francis, draws us into a closer acquaintance with the organism we inhabit. Gavin unpacks everything from the secret workings of the brain to the unique engineering of the foot, revealing the physical reality of what it means to be human in a way that is both informative and profound. Malachy and Gavin will be joined in conversation with literary agent Jenny Brown.
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6.30pm – 7.30pm
For twenty-seven years Charlotte Green was one of the most iconic newsreaders on Radio 4. Her voice was heard by millions of listeners. Charlotte joined the BBC in 1978 and became one of the regular readers on the Today programme, where her voice delivered the right degree of gravitas in the midst of momentous occasions and terrible tragedies. She covered everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the 7/7 London bombings in 2005. After leaving Radio 4 in 2013, Charlotte joined Classic FM, where she now presents a popular arts programme, Charlotte Green’s Culture Club. Charlotte will be talking about her highly entertaining and touching autobiography, The News Is Read, a must-have for anyone wanting to spend time in the company of this warm and wonderfully modest woman whose writing is as engaging as her voice.
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
8.00pm – 9.15pm
Gregor Fisher and Melanie Reid The Boy From Nowhere £14.50
Gregor Fisher is one of our most popular actors and his portrayal of the hilarious and yet oddly affecting, Rab C. Nesbitt has earned him a place in TV history. He joins us at Winter Words to discuss his memoir The Boy From Nowhere, which gives a remarkable insight into this talented actor’s life. Growing up in the Glasgow suburbs, Gregor was 14 when he asked where he was christened and was told that he was adopted. But it wasn’t quite that simple. And so began an unfolding of truths, half-truths and polite cover-ups from his various families. In 2014 Gregor approached Times columnist Melanie Reid to help him tell his story. Together they travelled through the mining villages of central Scotland to uncover the mystery of his birth and early life. What emerged was a story of secrets, deception, tragic accidents and early death, coldness and rejection from the very people who should have cherished him most, but a welcome from the most unexpected of quarters. Join us for what promises to be a funny, fascinating and moving evening in the company of one of Scotland’s much loved, BAFTA winning actors. Gregor and Melanie will be in conversation with literary agent Jenny Brown. 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Take this rare opportunity to ask questions of this
legend of Scottish stage and screen.
9.30pm – 10.30pm
Fearie Tales Free Event in River Room
Join us – we dare you! - for another instalment of spine-tingling supernatural Fearie Tales. If there’s a chill in the air, and a bump in the night, don’t worry - there’s plenty of other, like-minded bravehearts venturing out after dark! Cosy up in the Theatre and enjoy hearing winning tales with a wee dram or two . . . 11
Sunday 14th
10.00am – 11.00am
Alan McKirdy Set In Stone £7.50
The land that was to become Scotland has travelled across the globe over the last 3,000 million years – from close to the South Pole to its current position. During these travels, there were many continental collisions, creating mountain belts as high as the present-day Himalayas. The Highlands of Scotland were formed in this way. Our climate too has changed dramatically over the last 3 billion years, slowly heating up from the deep freeze of the Ice Age. And within a relatively short time – in geological terms - we will plunge back into another ice age. Alan McKirdy, who has worked with Scottish Natural Heritage, will talk about his incredible lavishly illustrated guide which takes
Alan McKirdy 01
us on an amazing geological journey beneath the soil we live on, explaining why the mountains came to be there and why the landscape looks the way it does. Packed with fascinating insights and accompanying images, Alan will journey to the centre of the Scottish earth and back again before 11am! Alan will also appear at Wild Space at 2.00pm. See the inside back cover for full details.
11.30am – 12.30pm
Donald S. Murray
The Guga Hunters and Herring £7.50
Donald S Murray is quickly becoming one of the most celebrated writers about Scottish culture and history and we’re delighted to welcome him to Winter Words to discuss two of his books.
In The Guga Hunters, Donald reveals the story of the men who voyage to Sulasgeir to catch and harvest the Guga birds that nest on the two hundred feet high cliffs that circle the island. He paints a portrait of the men’s way of life, showing both the humour and dangers of their exploits. He’ll also be discussing his latest work, Herring, which details the surprising history of the men who have fished around coastlines, often working together in co-operation as well as in conflict. Women feature too, as they worked to gut and salt the catch when the annual harvest had taken place, as well as knitting the garments fishermen wore to protect them from the ocean’s chill. Blending together politics, science, history, religious and commercial life, Donald contemplates, too, the possibility of restoring the silver darlings of legend to these shores.
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
1.00pm – 2.15pm LITERARY LUNCH
Tam Dalyell is a much-loved, straight-talking former Labour MP, perhaps best remembered for the West Lothian Question he posed in 1977 over the role of nonEnglish MPs in Westminster. It’s a question that still haunts the political class today and it lies at the heart of a typically-forthright new book, which he discusses with author, lawyer and Chairman of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Colin Liddell.
James MacDonald Lockhart
Raptor: A Journey Through Birds
£23.50 | includes a 2 course lunch and a glass of wine
Of all the birds of the British Isles, the raptor reigns supreme, sparking the imagination like no other. James Macdonald Lockhart’s book Raptor: A Journey Through Birds is a magnificent hymn to these beautiful animals which explores all fifteen breeding birds of prey on these shores – from the hen harrier swimming over the land in the dregs of a May gale on Orkney, to the ghostly sparrowhawk displaying in the fields around his home in Warwickshire. Come and hear James talk about this magnificent book that will change how we think of our own skies. A stunning debut in the tradition of Robert Macfarlane and Helen Macdonald. Turn to page 24 to discover full menu details.
2.30pm –3.30pm
Tam Dalyell
A Fractured Union – The Crisis That Could Break Britain £10.00
Veteran Labour MP, Father of the House and Scotland’s longest serving politician, Tam Dalyell’s new book offers a personal reflection and revelation as to why the UK is on the brink of the most serious constitutional crisis in its history. In the wake of the conclusive no vote in the referendum, the SNP took almost every seat in Scotland in the 2015 general election. In his book, Tam offers some advice and insights as well as suggestions for ways forward which will inform debate as the UK moves into a new political era.
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Tam Dalyell 13
Sunday 14th
4.30pm – 6.00pm
Ray Perman, Hugh Cheape and Fiona Mackenzie
The Campbells of Canna in Words and Music £12.50
Margaret Fay Shaw
For 60 years the remarkable partnership of John Lorne Campbell and his wife Margaret Fay Shaw fought for the rights of the inhabitants of the West Highlands and Islands and sought to preserve their vanishing Gaelic culture of song and story. Together they farmed the island of Canna for 40 years before giving it to the National Trust for Scotland to preserve for the nation.
Fiona Mackenzie
Now, 20 years after the death of John Campbell, three people who know the life and work of the couple will tell their story in words, pictures and song. Ray Perman, biographer of John in his book The Man Who Gave Away His Island, will describe how this misfit couple from different sides of the Atlantic came together on the remote island of South Uist. Hugh Cheape, Gaelic scholar and editor of many of the couple’s books, will describe their life on Canna and invaluable work in collecting songs and stories. Fiona Mackenzie, Mod Gold Medallist and archivist at Canna House will sing some of the songs they collected and preserved.
A fantastic evening packed with music, words and song. 14
John Lorne Campbell
Tuesday 16th to Thursday 18th February
10.30am – 4.30pm each day
Write On, Right On! 3 Day Writing Course £130 (max 12)
including lunches and refreshments each day.
This exciting three day course, with writer and teacher Zoe Venditozzi, is ideal for aspiring writers who would like to develop their skills further. The course will help you to create compelling and complex characters, develop a coherent plot and focus on honing your individual voice as a writer.
There will be writing exercises, break-out sessions and discussions. There will be a close look at editing skills and the opportunity to learn how best to pitch your work to agents and publishers. The role and opportunities of digital self-publishing in today’s marketplace will also be discussed. A one-to-one tutorial will be offered with Zoe on work in progress or to explore new ideas. Participants will be asked to submit an example of their writing (up to two A4 pages in length) in advance, together with (if applicable) a brief synopsis of any novels or stories participants are working on and to email these items to annie.hibberd@pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com Zoe Venditozzi is the author of Anywhere’s Better Than Here and is currently working on another novel and a collection of short stories. She obtained an M.Litt in Creative Writing from the University of Dundee and has several short stories and poems published in various magazines and collections.
SPECIAL OFFER!
Participants in the Write On, Right On! Workshop will have the chance to enjoy the best of the rest of the festival and attend any 5 daytime events for free (excludes lunches and final evening events), plus Emma Darwin’s Historical Fiction Workshop (Sat 13 Feb 2.45pm) for half price! Please reserve your free places at the time of booking this course. 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Writing Competition 2016
This unique competition receives more and more submissions every year, both from would be authors and more established writers. The format is simple. You write a Fearie Tale and send it to us. We then choose three or four entries to be read aloud in the cosy atmosphere of the Theatre’s River Room on Friday and Saturday evenings throughout Winter Words. Every Fearie Tale must be an entirely new story, written especially for Winter Words and not previously published in any form. Each entry should be a minimum of 2,250 words up to a maximum length of 3,250 words. Entries must be received at Pitlochry Festival Theatre by 12.00 noon on Saturday 31 January, 2016. Full competition details are available on PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
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Friday 19th
10.00am – 11.00am
Murdo Fraser The Rivals £7.50
James Crawford died at the hands of the executioner.
Local MSP and author, Murdo Fraser appears at Winter Words to read from his latest book and to discuss a bloody and dramatic period in Scottish history. Murdo examines the struggles, marches and skirmishes of the Scottish Civil War, and especially the two men at the heart of the battles. James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose and Archibald Campbell, 8th Marquis of Argyll appear, at first, to have much in common: both came from ancient and powerful families; both were originally Covenanters; both considered themselves loyal subjects of Charles I, and then Charles II, who in turn betrayed each of them. Both subsequently 16
But it is their differences, Montrose: the brilliant military tactician, bold, brave, but rash, and Campbell: altogether a more opaque figure, cautious and difficult to read, that Scottish history remembers. A vivid and thrilling event which brings these men and history to life.
11.30am – 12.30pm
James Crawford Fallen Glory £8.50
James Crawford uncovers the biographies of 20 of the world’s most fascinating lost or ruined buildings, from the Tower of Babel to the Twin Towers.
From the banks of the Nile and the cloud forests of Peru, to the great cities of Jerusalem, Paris, Rome and London, Crawford demonstrates how buildings can live and die, enjoy kings, gods and visionaries who build and support them as well as enemies who call for their destruction; inhabited by landmark characters through history from Caesar to Hitler, Gilgamesh to Catherine the Great – their Halls filled with drama and intrigue. This grand, globe-trotting architectural history guides us through these vanished monuments and examines what the ruins of the past can reveal about ourselves and our futures.
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
1.00pm – 2.15pm LITERARY LUNCH
Marian Pallister and Jim Miller
Cruachan and The Dam Builders
£23.50 | includes a 2 course lunch and a glass of wine
Join us for two fascinating stories of how Scotland reinvents and innovates, time after time, from two brilliant contemporary voices. In her book Cruachan, award-winning journalist Marian Pallister tells the story of the invasion of the 3,000 men who hollowed out Argyll’s noblest and highest mountain as part of a massive hydroelectric project which could have annihilated the local community. Instead, the people of Loch Awe embraced the project and emerged the winners. Fifty years on, an integrated community still lives under the Hollow Mountain, and the cry cruachan! now signifies a Scottish success story. The Dam Builders: Power From The Glens is a beautifully written book by Caithness born author James Miller. It’s a vivid account of the extreme physical labour involved in building dams, set against and in beautiful landscapes. Containing eye-witness stories from many of the workers on the dams of Scotland including dambuilders, engineers, tunnel tigers and linemen, this is the story of those who made the electrification of the Highlands a reality. See page 24 for full mouth-watering lunch menu details!
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
3.00pm - 4.00pm
Alistair Moffat
Scotland – A History From Earliest Times £8.50
Join Alistair Moffat, one of the country’s greatest historians as he discusses his new book Scotland: A History From Earliest Times. From the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, historian and author Alistair Moffat explores the history of the Scottish nation. As well as focusing on key moments in the nation’s history such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Jacobite Risings, Alistair also examines other less well documented episodes in history. From prehistoric timber halls to inventions and literature, Alistair reveals the drama of battle, change, loss and invention interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk, the men and women who defined a nation. A wonderful speaker, Alistair returns to Winter Words bringing this journey through Scottish history to life. 17
Friday 19th
4.30pm – 5.30pm
Jim Hunter Set Adrift £8.50
In his stirring new book, Set Adrift, James Hunter has researched the Sutherland clearances - one of the most extraordinary times in Scottish history, when landowners and landlords deliberately depopulated large swathes of the country - in fascinating detail. His diligent research reveals a story about how ordinary people organised resistance, remaining steadfast in their refusal to accept their landlords’ plans.
7.00pm – 8.15pm
Frances Quinn
Quinntessential Baking £12.50
Frances Quinn wowed the judges with her imaginative showstoppers and extraordinary baking skill to win The Great British Bake Off, 2013. Here is Quinntessential Baking: a treasure trove of inspirational ideas to bring a pinch of creativity and a teaspoon of wonder into your kitchen. Frances’ combination of ideas and ingredients will provide you with straightforward master recipes or ‘building blocks’, and explains how to apply a little magic to turn them into beautiful bakes. Read how she takes a basic flapjack recipe and creates honey bee bites, transforms shortbread into giant jammy dodgers; and turns chocolate sponge into hidden bulb cakes.
James also follows others who made remarkable journeys to North America, and on into the previously unfarmed Manitoba prairies where they settled, breaking ground on what has become the great city of Winnipeg.
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01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
9.00pm–10.00pm
Frances will be joined
Fearie Tales
Flora Shedden,
Claim your spot in the River Room for the penultimate session of eerie Fearie Tales – not for fearties!
by special guest
Free Event in River Room
Perthshire’s own
Great British Bake Off finalist 2015.
Flora Shedden
Hear original, spine-tingling stories especially written for the festival and selected to be brought to life by familiar faces from the Pitlochry stage. Be quick before our resident faceless ghoul steals your soul, er, we mean seat. . . balletLorent’s Snow White
Frances Quinn
© Dave Smith 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
For fans of fairytales, don’t forget to book tickets for balletLorent’s beautiful adaptation of Snow White which include scenarios especially written by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Fri 26 and Sat 27 February. 19
Saturday 20th 10.00am –11.00am
Magnus Linklater Little Sparta £7.50
Ian Hamilton Finlay’s garden in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh is widely regarded as one of the most significant gardens in Britain. In addition to being a spectacular example of garden design, it also features almost 300 artworks by Finlay and others, which form an integral part of the garden scheme. Magnus Linklater, Chairman of the Little Sparta Trust, reveals the story of its extraordinary creation, explores the underlying themes of the garden and introduces and explains the significance of the main elements and artworks in each part of the garden as well as looking at how it has matured and developed over the last 50 years. Join Magnus to hear the inspiring story of Little Sparta in what promises to be a fascinating morning in the company of the man who is best placed to share the vision and ethos of Ian Hamilton Finlay’s very special garden.
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11.30am – 12.30pm
Marilyn Brown
Scotland’s Lost Gardens £7.50
IV and James V, the royal and noble refuges of Mary Queen of Scots, and the King’s Knot, the garden masterpiece which lies below Stirling Castle, this history of lost gardens is inextricably linked to the wider history of the nation, from the spread of Christianity to the Reformation and the Union of the Crowns. In conversation with Perthshire author, Ann Lindsay.
Open April to November 2016
In her illustrated talk, the product of over thirty years of research, Marilyn Brown rediscovers the fascinating stories of Scotland’s vanished historic gardens. Drawing on varied, rare and newly available archive material, including the cartography of Timothy Pont, spy maps of Holyrood drawn for Henry VIII during the Rough Wooing, medieval charters, Renaissance poetry, the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer coupled with modern aerial photography, a remarkable picture emerges of centuries of lost landscapes. Starting with the monastic gardens of St Columba on the Isle of Iona in the sixth century, and encompassing the palace gardens of James
Explorers Garden
This is a wonderful six acre woodland Garden divided into areas representing different parts of the globe. Explorers offers visitors the chance to learn more about the Scottish Plant Hunters’ adventures and see the results of their efforts. Situated adjacent to Pitlochry Festival Theatre, enjoy fantastic views, exotic plants, specialist features, unique architecture and resident wildlife! www.explorersgarden.com
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
1.15pm – 1.45pm
Poetry Please
Free event in Foyer
Drop a copy of your favourite poem into Box Office before lunchtime on this Saturday, then grab a coffee or tea and snack, before settling down to enjoy a surprise selection of poetry being read aloud by our Festival readers.
1.00pm – 2.15pm LITERARY LUNCH
Susan Campbell
Ronnie – A Dog Owners Guide
£23.50 | includes a 2 course lunch and a glass of wine
A heart-warming story about how a dog, the power of positive thought and perseverance can completely change your life for the better. When Susan and Colin Campbell settled down to married life without children, they instinctively felt it was the right time for them to adopt a dog. Susan, a full-time Life Coach, demonstrates in her engaging book how the interconnection between her professional skills and knowledge and the lessons learned from caring for Ronnie, a rescue dog from the Dogs Trust, combined to produce a story of universal relevance. Emotional, uplifting and enlightening, Ronnie captures the special place that animals have in our lives and shows that it is never too late to change your life for the better. This book is the candid, funny and moving story of how one stress busting, four-legged intervention, with a very waggy tail, changed everything!
01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
Love Books?
Discover Scotland’s oldest lending library, a hidden treasure in rural Perthshire. Explore the books, the people and the story in this museum of literary and local history. Find us between Crieff and Auchterarder on the B8062.
Open 1 March – 31 October every year. Wed – Sat 10.00am – 12.45pm 2.00pm – 4.45pm
Sun 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Winter Programme of events – see our website.
01764 652819
www.innerpeffraylibrary.co.uk
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Saturday 20th 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Jason Lewis
To The Brink (The Expedition Trilogy): True Story Of The First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of the Earth £10.00
Jason Lewis is an author, sustainability campaigner and explorer who holds the Guinness World Record as the first person to circumnavigate the Earth using only human power! Jason draws insights from his historic circumnavigation of the world using only human power: biking, hiking, and inline skating across five continents as well as kayaking, swimming, rowing, and pedalling across the oceans, to offer up choices we can all make to safeguard a healthy planet for future generations. This will be a fascinating event in which you’ll discover what a crocodile attack, a year at sea in a tiny boat, contracting blood poisoning and malaria, and getting hit by a car and left for dead with two broken legs teach all of us about global sustainability.
4.00pm – 5.00pm
Gregor Ewing Bruce, Meg & Me £8.50
Journey through one of Scotland’s wildest eras of history with Gregor and his four-legged friend Meg on their 1,000 mile walk, which took over nine weeks and saw the pair travel through Northern Ireland, Kintyre, Ardrossan and Ayr, Fort William, Inverurie and Dundee, literally following in Robert the Bruce’ s footsteps. Historical research can take many forms, but none more hands on (and ‘paws on’) than this epic journey made by Gregor Ewing and his collie Meg. In this dramatic and intriguing event, you’ll trace Bruce’s wanderings, battles and campaigns, culminating in his famous victory at Bannockburn.
Jason Lewis 22
Gregor makes a welcome return to Winter Words after his previous appearance recounting a similar story about their adventures following in the footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie. 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
© Soren Rickards
7.00pm – 10.00pm
Banff Mountain Film Festival
9.30pm-10.30pm
The world’s most prestigious mountain film festival is returning to Winter Words with a brand new selection of extraordinary short films from the world’s leading adventure film makers. Exhilarating and thought provoking, this is a must-see for anyone with a spirit of adventure!
It’s our final instalment of spooky Fearie Tales; gather round with family and friends to hear tales of shapeshifting demons and eerily desolate moors. . . you might be glad of the company on the way home!
£15.00 and £13.50
Be transported through the big screen to the world’s last great wild places and be inspired by thought-provoking pieces shot from the far flung corners of the globe, follow the expeditions of some of today’s most incredible adventurers, see amazing footage of adrenaline-packed action sports and thoughtprovoking pieces shot from around the globe.
Fearie Tales Free Event in River Room
From traversing razor thin ridgelines in Patagonia to the joy of deep Alaskan powder and riding horseback through America’s vanishing wilderness, this brand new series of short films is set to be a festival highlight. Don’t miss out, book early. 01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
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Literary Lunch Menus
Tasty 2 course lunches served with a glass of wine or soft drink
Fri 12th Feb
Sat 13th Feb
Addicted To Adventure
The Fish Ladder
Bob Shepton
Katharine Norbury
Sun 14th Feb
James Macdonald Lockhart
Fri 19th Feb
Marian Pallister and Jim Miller
Raptor: A Journey Through Birds Cruachan/ The Dam Builders
Sat 20th Feb
Susan Campbell
Ronnie – A Dog Owner’s Guide
Main
Beef Burgundy with a whole grain mustard mash and roasted carrots
Pan Fried Cod on a bed of basil mash with grilled vine tomatoes and a lemon beurre blanc
Grilled Chicken Supreme with grilled chorizo and basil pesto, vine tomatoes and new potatoes
Lamb Casserole with minted mash and a vegetable medley
Chicken Chasseur with sautéed potatoes and fondant carrots
Desserts Blueberry Cheesecake with pistachio ice cream
Raspberry Cheesecake with coconut ice-cream
Vanilla Panna Cotta with berry compÔte
Raspberry Meringues with fruit coulis
Lemon Posset with home made shortbread
Coffee or Tea and Shortbread
Coffee or Tea and Shortbread
Coffee or Tea and Shortbread
Coffee or Tea and Shortbread
Coffee or Tea and Shortbread
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01796 484626 • PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
John Muir Trust’s Wild Space
The John Muir Trust Wild Space visitor centre is located in the heart of Pitlochry. It showcases Scotland’s fantastic wild places and the role of conservation in keeping them wild.
During Winter Words, there is an exhibition plus two readings/events at the Wild Space visitor centre:
Anna Levin
Friday 12 Feb | 2.30pm
Finlay Wild’s Kaleidoscape: now showing at the Wild Space Gallery in Pitlochry
Highland artist, Finlay Wild’s latest solo exhibition captures his favourite wild places in bright and bold acrylic.
His paintings are almost all of Scottish mountains – his first love as a mountaineer and hill runner – which he depicts in stylised block colour using the characteristic energy and passion he draws on when running.
Sunday 14 Feb | 2.00pm
“I tend to race much better when I’m running in an area I feel strongly about. . . running also allows me to interact with wildness more freely, with no heavy boots or rucksack. Several times I’ve run over a rise and surprised a herd of deer. They’re gone quick as a flash, but for a few seconds it can feel almost like I’m running with them.” Finlay Wild
Price: £5.00 available from PFT’s Box Office
Sample Finlay’s unique ‘Kaleidoscape’ view of the hills at the Wild Space Gallery in Pitlochry this February.
Alan McKirdy,
Discover Wild Space today! Tower House, Station Road, Pitlochry PH16 5AN
SUMMER SEASON WHAT’S ON
201 6 MAY - OCTOBER
SCOTLAN D’S THEATRE IN THE HILLS
Carousel
Music by Richard Rodgers Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Thark
by Ben Travers adapted by Clive Francis
GamePlan by Alan Ayckbourn FlatSpin by Alan Ayckbourn
RolePlay by Alan Ayckbourn
This Happy Breed by Noël Coward Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Adapted for the stage by Stephen Jeffreys
Tickets now on sale!