Events

THE Helensburgh area had two legal distilleries — and many illicit stills.

John Ashworth OBE, retired chief executive of the Chivas Brothers group, told the Helensburgh Heritage Trust meeting in Helensburgh Tennis Club on Wednesday evening that one distillery was at Altdonaig, Rhu, and the other behind the Victoria Hall in the burgh.

THE history of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was described in an illustrated talk given to Helensburgh Heritage Trust's final open meeting of 2011 by Joyce Steele on Wednesday November 30.

Mrs Steele, who lives in Garelochhead with her husband Colonel Bobby Steele, is the curator and manager of the regiment's museum in the King's Old Building at Stirling Castle.

HELENSBURGH Heritage Trust organised a very successful visit for members and friends to Dumfries House and Aiket Castle on Wednesday June 8 2011.

As promised when Charlotte Rostek Davis (pictured) spoke to the Trust, the special visit was arranged to see the historic Dumfries House, near Cumnock, now reopened by HRH The Prince of Wales, Great Steward of Scotland, after a major refurbishment.

"Surely this is a spelling mistake?" That was the reaction of many people when they saw the title of the talk which Simon Green of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland gave to Helensburgh Heritage Trust on Wednesday January 25. However, it was no mistake!

The baffling title was "The Bute-ifying of Scotland". The solution to the conundrum came in the subtitle to the talk, which was "The Architectural and Archaeological Patronage of the 3rd and 4th Marquesses of Bute". And what a patronage it was.

HELENSBURGH Heritage Trust's 2011-12 winter session of talks started on September 28 with a thought-provoking presentation from Michael Davis, the Trust's first and only honorary life member.

Although his subject was 'Castle Restorations', the talk covered a much broader field. This became apparent from his very first slide which was entitled 'A Restoration Tragedy', and which contained further wording in the style of a Victorian melodrama in three acts and with a prologue!

HELENSBURGH Heritage Trust now has its first ever honorary life member.

The board of the Trust agreed to confer this honour when they heard that Mike Davis, reference librarian at Helensburgh Library in West King Street, was taking early retirement.