Our first Honorary Life Member, Thora Bain, died on 22 September, at the age of 95. Thora was one of the greats – a mine of information on Orkney, with a keen interest in opening up questions about its history, and so many memories of people and events. Her obituary in The Scotsman summed up many features of her life. She will be remembered with warmest thoughts by many people in Orkney and elsewhere.
A science festival has a radical role in developing a creative climate for a region. Here is the story of how it began, and how Orkney was involved from an early stage in the concept.