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Scotsman
3 days ago
- Science
- Scotsman
Should Scotland do more to celebrate its distinctive UFO history?
Robert Taylor, who is said to have encountered a spaceship in woods near Livingston | Contributed From world-famous cases to the Falkirk Triangle, items linked to this bizarre history risk being lost forever Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In 1979, an alleged alien encounter in woods near Livingston sparked a police investigation and made headlines around the world. Robert Taylor, a 61-year-old forestry worker, was left in a state of shock after apparently encountering a large "dome-shaped" craft in a clearing in Dechmont Woods. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He later told officers two spiked spheres had rolled towards him, and he was aware of a strong smell of burning and being grabbed on either side of his legs before passing out. Robert Taylor, who is said to have encountered a spaceship in woods near Livingston | Contributed The case has since become the stuff of legend, not least because of the police involvement. Mr Taylor, a teetotal churchgoer and war hero, was also seen as an honest witness. He died in 2007. It is undoubtedly the most famous alleged alien encounter in Scotland, but far from the only one. Dr Gavin Miller, an academic at Glasgow University who has researched the cultural history of UFOs in Scotland, believes more should be done to preserve and celebrate this bizarre history. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The UFO phenomenon has been "remade and reinvented" over the decades, he said. Scotland was initially slow to catch on - some early press coverage was dismissive of what it considered to be American mass hysteria - but this attitude gradually shifted. In the 1950s, reports were influenced by Cold War anxiety. In November 1957, around the time of the Sputnik spacecraft launches, a group of tattie howkers, or potato pickers, were supposedly pursued by a flying saucer - more likely a weather balloon - while returning from Musselburgh to Edinburgh in a lorry. An "occult version" of the UFO phenomenon flourished in the 1960s and 70s, Dr Miller said, involving "contactees" who claimed to have communicated with entities or aliens. But a more hard-nosed, investigative approach also emerged, led by groups who were interested in gathering evidence through interviews and physical traces. They seized on Mr Taylor's story. "They all descend upon his house and his home," said Dr Miller, who is giving a talk on Scotland's history with UFOs as part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's festival of knowledge in September. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "They quiz him and they interview him and they take photographs and they write up reports. And there's even an official British UFO Research Association report on that encounter. They go to extraordinary lengths. "They have soil samples tested. He said there was a mysterious smell that made him pass out, so they get examples of gasses and put them under his nose to see if he can identify it, but he can't, and all the rest of it. "That gave a lot of energy and impetus to Scottish UFO research groups. They start to spring up around this and after this." An artist's impression of the Dechmont Woods incident | Contributed In the 1990s, the small town of Bonnybridge became an unlikely hotspot. The so-called Falkirk Triangle attracted international press coverage, and some enterprising locals sensed an opportunity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Whatever really happened in Bonnybridge and Falkirk in the 1990s, the locals, in particular Councillor [Billy] Buchanan, who's still with us, were clearly aware of the tourism potential, or the economic potential as they saw it, of having a town associated with UFOs,' Dr Miller said. He has been working with Bonnybridge library to preserve some of this unique history. "There's endless stuff - national, international - and you also see just how much TV coverage and radio coverage they were getting,' he said. 'It really was enormous at the time." The popularity of The X-Files, first aired in 1993, no doubt helped. Other alleged incidents attracted press attention. In August 1992, Garry Wood, a 33-year-old ambulance technician from Edinburgh, and 25-year-old Colin Wright were supposedly abducted by aliens while driving on the A70 near the Harperrig reservoir in West Lothian. Billy Boyd was later attached to a mooted movie adaptation of the sensational tale. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But Dechmont Woods remains perhaps the most enduring mystery. "I think the great thing about the Robert Taylor incident is that it is so baffling,' Dr Miller said. "There is an enormous list of possible explanations, but every possible explanation brings its own problems." Mr Taylor's ripped trousers were taken by the police for forensic examination and later passed into the possession of UFO investigators. 'They've been called the Turin Shroud of Scottish ufology,' Dr Miller said. 'It's this kind of relic. The trousers get exhibited, there's psychic readings, they are shown around, they're passed around.' The trousers are still in the possession of Scottish UFO investigator Malcolm Robinson. In February this year, it was reported he had offered them to the National Museum of Scotland, which turned them down. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "There is perhaps a moral there about Scottish museums and collections and what they do or don't want, and what they think is respectable and what they should be having, and what parts of history they record,' Dr Miller said. "I think it's a bit of a pity that we don't have a more positive attitude to collecting and preserving this heritage. "There's an archive in Sweden, Archives for the Unexplained, and they're collecting stuff from all over the world, and I think our UFO heritage is going there, to be honest. It's not being preserved nationally." There have been high-profile UFO sightings elsewhere in the UK, of course, and Dr Miller does not believe Scotland in itself is a particular hotspot. But it does have its own distinctive history, he argued, and one which plays into wider narratives such as deindustrialisation. "That's a distinctive story, I think, in Scotland because the Bonnybridge hotspot was so obviously, in some ways, about deindustrialisation,' he said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "The heavy industry and manufacturing industry have collapsed, the town was in industrial decline, there was quite a lot of unemployment. And so whatever was really going on in the skies, if it could be regenerated as a UFO hotspot, that would do something for the local economy." A Dechmont Woods UFO trail was launched in 2018. But Dr Miller said more could be done to preserve and promote items relating to Scotland's UFO history. "We don't have to naively endorse them, but if we don't get hold of this stuff and collect and preserve and promote it, it will be lost,' he said. 'I think that's the problem - it will be lost. Somebody will have all this stuff and it will just go in bin bags and it will be in a skip."
STV News
17-07-2025
- Science
- STV News
Festival of knowledge to come to Scottish capital
A series of talks and workshops on health, the creative arts and video games will be held during a festival on knowledge in September. A myriad of issues – including personal data, the use of Scots language, future cities and a range of other social topics – will be discussed during the Royal Society of Edinburgh's (RSE) Curious Festival of Knowledge. Held from September 6-14, one of the free festival's highlights is a talk on Scotland's colonial past, led by PhD student Ash Charlton, who was recently a project researcher with the University of Edinburgh's anatomical museum. The talk, titled Taken, studied, displayed: readdressing the University of Edinburgh's African skull collections – will explore a recent project to research and improve documentation of the museum's skull collections as a basis for future repatriation requests. Ms Charlton said: 'This event will share the stories of the individuals whose skulls are in the collection, where they came from and how they became part of the museum's collection. 'Unfortunately, very little is known about most of these individuals through historic erasure and lack of documentation, although through this talk I will discuss some of the few cases we know more about. 'Conversely a lot more is known about the 'donors' who presented these human remains to the university. Medical students, doctors, religious missionaries, geologists and botanists were all responsible for contributing to the growing anatomy collections.' Also featuring at the festival is Play for Good, a video game exhibition on how they can help with health, wellbeing and social inclusion. Event organiser Dr Andrew Reid, of Abertay University and member of the Young Academy of Scotland, said: 'Simply put, designing games for good means thinking about how games can provide a positive outcome to various social or cultural environments. 'We've got a couple of projects here that are showing games to promote physical activity by using your body as an input, all the way through to exploring mental health as a topic. 'These are generally spaces that are quite difficult to deal with in any given context, but within games we create a safe space to explore some very challenging issues and very challenging conversations.' While many of the Curious events are held within the RSE, this year's programme also features an interactive walking tour around Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard. Led by Daria Tuhtar, the tour will explore the unique and intricate language of symbols and metaphors that many of the monuments in Greyfriars are decorated with, and how people's attitudes towards death have changed with the passage of time. The tour will uncover how ideas of death, immortality and resurrection coalesce in one of the most striking locations that Edinburgh boasts. Royal Society of Edinburgh general secretary professor Jo Shaw said: 'Today we announce the programme of the RSE's Curious festival. 'Curious is an opportunity to throw open the door to the RSE, Scotland's National Academy. We're bringing together some of Scotland's leading thinkers, covering a broad range of topics – from video games to UFOs – and starting important conversations around big ideas. 'Everyone is welcome, and you don't need any prior knowledge to take part and learn something new. Most importantly, every event is free. Just bring yourself and your curiosity.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The National
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Edinburgh set to host 100+ free events in festival of knowledge
A myriad of issues – including personal data, the use of Scots language, future cities and a range of other social topics – will be discussed during the Royal Society of Edinburgh 's (RSE) Curious Festival of Knowledge. A SERIES of talks and workshops on health, the creative arts and video games will be held during a festival on knowledge in September. Held from September 6-14, one of the free festival's highlights is a talk on Scotland's colonial past, led by PhD student Ash Charlton, who was recently a project researcher with the University of Edinburgh's anatomical museum. The talk, titled Taken, studied, displayed: readdressing the University of Edinburgh's African skull collections – will explore a recent project to research and improve documentation of the museum's skull collections as a basis for future repatriation requests. READ MORE: Scots Language Centre plunged into crisis as board resigns over payments row Charlton said: 'This event will share the stories of the individuals whose skulls are in the collection, where they came from and how they became part of the museum's collection. 'Unfortunately, very little is known about most of these individuals through historic erasure and lack of documentation, although through this talk I will discuss some of the few cases we know more about. 'Conversely a lot more is known about the 'donors' who presented these human remains to the university. Medical students, doctors, religious missionaries, geologists and botanists were all responsible for contributing to the growing anatomy collections.' Play for Good: Video game exhibition Also featuring at the festival is Play for Good, a video game exhibition on how they can help with health, wellbeing and social inclusion. Event organiser Dr Andrew Reid, of Abertay University and member of the Young Academy of Scotland, said: 'Simply put, designing games for good means thinking about how games can provide a positive outcome to various social or cultural environments. 'We've got a couple of projects here that are showing games to promote physical activity by using your body as an input, all the way through to exploring mental health as a topic. 'These are generally spaces that are quite difficult to deal with in any given context, but within games we create a safe space to explore some very challenging issues and very challenging conversations.' Walking tour around Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard While many of the Curious events are held within the RSE, this year's programme also features an interactive walking tour around Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard. Led by Daria Tuhtar, the tour will explore the unique and intricate language of symbols and metaphors that many of the monuments in Greyfriars are decorated with, and how people's attitudes towards death have changed with the passage of time. The tour will uncover how ideas of death, immortality and resurrection coalesce in one of the most striking locations that Edinburgh boasts. Royal Society of Edinburgh general secretary professor Jo Shaw said: 'Today we announce the programme of the RSE's Curious festival. 'Curious is an opportunity to throw open the door to the RSE, Scotland's National Academy. We're bringing together some of Scotland's leading thinkers, covering a broad range of topics – from video games to UFOs – and starting important conversations around big ideas. 'Everyone is welcome, and you don't need any prior knowledge to take part and learn something new. Most importantly, every event is free. Just bring yourself and your curiosity.'
Daily Record
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Dive into Scotland's heritage and science as Festival of Knowledge comes to Edinburgh
A major Scottish festival that aims to spark conversations around some of the biggest questions facing society today returns from September 6 to 14. A major festival celebrating Scotland's heritage, culture and science will return this September with a packed programme of free talks, workshops and interactive events. Running from September 6 to 14, the Royal Society of Edinburgh's (RSE) Curious Festival of Knowledge aims to spark conversations around some of the biggest questions facing society today. Topics will range from Scotland's colonial past and the ethics of museum collections to the power of video games, the Scots language, future cities and personal data. Among this year's highlights is a talk titled Taken, studied, displayed: readdressing the University of Edinburgh's African skull collections, led by PhD student Ash Charlton. A former project researcher with the University of Edinburgh's anatomical museum, Charlton will explore how skulls from Africa became part of the institution's historic collection, and the challenges of addressing this complex legacy. 'This event will share the stories of the individuals whose skulls are in the collection, where they came from and how they became part of the museum's collection,' said Charlton. 'Unfortunately, very little is known about most of these individuals through historic erasure and lack of documentation, although through this talk I will discuss some of the few cases we know more about. 'Conversely a lot more is known about the 'donors' who presented these human remains to the university. Medical students, doctors, religious missionaries, geologists and botanists were all responsible for contributing to the growing anatomy collections.' The festival also looks to the future, with Play for Good, an exhibition on how video games can positively impact health, wellbeing and social inclusion. The event is organised by Dr Andrew Reid of Abertay University and a member of the Young Academy of Scotland. 'Simply put, designing games for good means thinking about how games can provide a positive outcome to various social or cultural environments,' said Dr Reid. 'We've got a couple of projects here that are showing games to promote physical activity by using your body as an input, all the way through to exploring mental health as a topic. 'These are generally spaces that are quite difficult to deal with in any given context, but within games we create a safe space to explore some very challenging issues and very challenging conversations.' Adding a historical and artistic dimension to the programme, an interactive walking tour through Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard will delve into the symbolism and metaphors etched into its monuments. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. Led by Daria Tuhtar, the tour will examine how changing attitudes toward death, immortality and resurrection are reflected in the gravestones. 'Curious is an opportunity to throw open the door to the RSE, Scotland's National Academy,' said Professor Jo Shaw, General Secretary of the RSE. 'We're bringing together some of Scotland's leading thinkers, covering a broad range of topics, from video games to UFOs, and starting important conversations around big ideas. 'Everyone is welcome, and you don't need any prior knowledge to take part and learn something new. Most importantly, every event is free. Just bring yourself and your curiosity.'
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Duke of Edinburgh becomes fellow of Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh has said it is a 'great honour' to be formally inducted into the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Edward was formally inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the charity, described as 'Scotland's National Academy' at a ceremony on Thursday. He was given the honour in recognition of his long-standing public service and commitment to creating opportunities for young people. The Duke is patron of more than 70 charities and organisations across the arts, sport and education, including Northern Ballet, the British Paralympic Association, the National Youth Theatre, and the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland. He also leads The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation, where he has served as chairman of trustees since 2015. The Duke, who was in Scotland during royal week, was inducted by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) president, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli. In his address to the RSE Fellows and members of the Young Academy of Scotland on Thursday, the Duke said: 'I thank the Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh for this great honour of inducting me into your society to join your ranks. 'I am proud to join and recognise this institution's rich history and its unwavering commitment to the advancement of knowledge for good, and it has been wonderful to learn about the breadth of this work today.' The RSE, which has more than 1,800 fellows, supports, and mobilises expertise from across academia, business, and public service for the benefit of Scotland and the wider world. Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli said: 'His Royal Highness has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the health and happiness of young people across such a wide range of areas of our society and latterly has taken on the leadership of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation. 'Today's celebration continues an unbroken and vital connection between Scotland's National Academy and the Royal Family, one which I am deeply proud to pay tribute to today.' After his own induction the Duke presented an RSE Royal Medal to Professor Peter Kennedy, Burton Chair of Neurology at the University of Glasgow. Edward is also Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation at the University of Glasgow. The Royal Medal is the RSE's highest recognition of achievement with only 52 having been presented since their inception in 2000. Professor Kennedy was awarded the medal for his contribution in distinguishing the major human brain cell types, paving the way to significant diseases and infections, as well as identification of a novel therapy for African trypanosomiasis, known as sleeping sickness. The Duke of Edinburgh said he is 'delighted' that the society has recognised the work of Prof Kennedy. He said: 'It is a great honour and privilege to be able to present him a RSE Royal Medal in recognition of his important work.'
