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Popular Evening
James Patrick and his sister Jessie Findley gave a lecture to the EPS
Popular Evening, held on 26 January 1894 in front of a large audience in
Queen Street Hall.
The lecture 'Rambles through Fife with a Camera' was written by Jessie
Findlay, and read by James Patrick, illustrated with slides from 120 of
his negatives.
Mrs Findlay and Miss Snailum also sang songs illustrating Fife and its
fishing industry. |
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Fife
James Patrick spoke of the unfortunate folk who do not happen to have
been bought in the ancient Kingdom of Fife, and spoke of Fife's farming,
coal mining, linen manufacture and linoleum manufacture, potteries,
ironworks, breweries, net factories, bleachfields, paper mills,
shipbuilding yards and trawling stations.
He spoke of the Forth Rail Bridge (which had been opened in 1890)
"A wonderful structure whose mission is to un-Fife
the Fifer, to take from him the last shreds of his peculiarity, to make
him just like other people - to civilise him, in short". |
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Views
The rambles through Fife' went from the Forth Bridge to the East neuk
of Fife. The lecture included many verses of poem or song, with
slides and descriptions of the following places and more:
- Forth Bridge
- Castle of Rosyth
- Inverkeithing
- Inchcolm
- Ruins of Donibristle
- Aberdour Castle
- Otterston Loch
- The Bell Craig
- Burntisland
- Kinghorn
- Seafield Tower
- Kirkcaldy
- Balwearie Castle
- Raith Estate and Lake
- Doughty Mill
- Dunniker Den
- Dysart
- Red Rock Bay
- West Wemyss
- Wemyss Castle
- The Glass Cave
- The Court Cave
- East Wemyss
- Buckhaven
- The Hyne-head
- Leven
- Largo Bay
- Largo
- The Stannin' Stanes of Lundin
- Norrie's Law
- Elie
- Kincraig Point
- Newark Castle
- St Monan's Church
- St Monan's, Wreck
- Crail
- The East Neuk of Fife.
In discussing the Wemyss, James Patrick gave a description of carvings
in the caves - a subject that he had taken a particular interest in and
had photographed. He said:
"Celtic symbols are sculptured on the walls of nearly
all the caves at Wemyss, but are in best preservation at the one known as
'Doo Cave' from the fact that it has been fitted up as a pigeon-house.
It is not within the scope of this lecture to enter
futher into the fascinating and tantalising subject other than to say that
the real significance of these symbols is now unknown ......". |
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The lecture above was reproduced in Transactions of the
Edinburgh Photographic Society:
February 1894, pp.81-92; continued March 1894, pp.99-106 and April
1894, pp.113-116 |