We are delighted to once again celebrate Christmas at the Signet Library with the Choir of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral. This year's concert will take place on Wednesday 11 December at 6.00 pm.
With much loved music from across the centuries and different parts of the world, this concert is a wonderful occasion to entertain family, friends, and colleagues in the run up to the festivities. Put the date in your diary and look out for the booking details which will be circulated soon.
The modern WS Society supports legal careers and well-being. We aim to enrich life both inside the legal world and in outside interests, such as history, literature, arts, and culture. This is what it means to belong to a lawyers’ institution where law, history and culture converge.
We therefore encourage all members — from student to employment to retired — to join our Special Interest Group (SIG) initiative.
Each SIG takes the form of a regular meeting covering a specific interest, whether a legal or industry specialism, or a subject outside the law. Simply register via the links below for any meeting you would like to attend. An enthusiastic member will take responsibility for organising discussion and meeting dates. Most meetings will be by Zoom.
For more information, see here. You can register via the links below.
Lead: Sarah Brown WS
First meeting: Thursday 14 November, 12.30 – 13.30
Location: Zoom (click here to register).
Lead: Caroline Docherty WS
First meeting: Tuesday 19 November, 17.30 – 19.00
First book: Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris
Location: Zoom (click here to register).
Lead: James Hamilton
First meeting: Wednesday 27 November, 17.30 – 18.30
Topic: The initial discussion will focus on shaping the Group’s initial direction and activities, but to get the historic ball rolling there will also be a short presentation of items from the Society‘s collection of Jacobite material and memorabilia. Some of this will be familiar to some members – the officer’s commission signed by Bonnie Prince Charlie, for instance – but much of it has never been shown in public before, including ballads, proclamations, prints, pamphlets, letters, engravings and unique manuscript material.
Location: Zoom (click here to register).
Lead: Valerie Paterson WS
First meeting: Tuesday 3 December, 17.30 – 18.15
Location: Zoom (click here to register).
If you have any questions about the SIGs, please email Sarah Leask.
The Watt Trust (charity number SC016856) was set up in 1983, in memory of Rob Watt and his wife, Barbara. Rob Watt, a distinguished Fettesian, was Rector of the Edinburgh Academy between 1951 and 1962.
The purpose of the Trust is to give financial help to past and present members of both the Edinburgh Academy and Fettes, to enable them to advance their education or professional training beyond the point at which public funds or university scholarships are available, or when private or family sources alone are not quite adequate for the purpose.
For more information on the Trust, please visit its website here.
If you are interested in becoming a trustee, please contact Sophie Mills WS (smills@wssociety.co.uk).
Everyone at The WS Society is deeply saddened to learn of the death of former Clerk to the Society Andrew Kerr MBE WS on 19 September 2024. We send our sincere condolences to Andrew's family.
The Society will publish a tribute to Andrew on its website and in the forthcoming edition of Signet magazine.
We recently asked our members to share their views on our proposed Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and what topics and themes would interest them. Thank you to those who took the time to complete the questionnaire.
We intend to launch our first SIGs next month.
In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or ideas around SIGs, please contact Sarah Leask at sleask@wssociety.co.uk.
