It was agreed at our meeting of 21st November that the club will again run its ‘Christmas Post’ from 8th - 16th December, with the cost kept to 25p per card. Also the club’s Charity Coastal Path Walk will again take place - probably in September 2023. 

Following other business the speaker was club member Prof. Tony Lodge, who gave a most interesting talk on the origins of local place names.

This included a look at geographic divisions across what is now Scotland and of the various languages spoken - Latin, French, Pictic, Irish, Norse Irish and Cumbric English. It was interesting to learn just how long some place names have survived from these ancient times. Tony made the point that many of these names would originally have had a clear and specific meaning, but these meanings have become opaque with the passage of time and the change of language.

It was fascinating to realise how much some names reflect changes in the landscape: a loch now disappeared, marshland now drained and in productive use; a Roman signalling station long gone. Tony spoke particularly about ‘Kilgreen’ - a significant area of inhabited productive land close by Anstruther and mentioned in historical records. But it is an area that was completely lost to violent late 17th Century storms. All that now remains is a rocky shoreline.

We had examples of the dating of settlements. Those names containing ‘Pitt’ could be dated to 1st Century BC; ‘Bal’ to 8th Century AD and ‘Ton’ to the 13C AD.

Altogether an absorbing talk and, following questions, Allan Wood proposed a vote of thanks.