HISTORY
The Nomads Club was founded on February 27th, 1895, in Langside, Glasgow. Mr John Macfarlane invited eight gentlemen "to attend a meeting for the purpose of talking the matter over." Suggestions at that first meeting included "library nights for debates, essays, etc.; musical nights, songs and instrumentals; billiard handicaps, picnics, whist nights and excursions on Saturdays." A committee was formed and a few days later they recommended the club be named "The Nomads Club." This tradition of membership being strictly by invitation only is still observed today.
In its early days, the Nomads did not shy away from big topics. For example, in January 1909, the club debated "Are the Troubles of Ireland due to political mis-government, " while in December 1946, members addressed the topic, "that the difficulties of forming a United States of Europe are insurmountable."
Such debates were par for the course, but as one early 20th century member recalled "the underlying idea of this Club was not so much a search after knowledge rather than of opportunities for an exchange of opinions on matters current and topical and the development of confidence (and if you like, style) in giving expression to the opinions in a concise and convincing manner."
Over time, the Club evenings became a vehicle for members to present a paper on a subject allocated by the President at the beginning of the Nomadic year. For the most part religion and politics are, probably wisely, eschewed, but the pleasure of the evening lies in hearing the variety, depth and breadth of the papers.
The Nomads is both a forum for the delivery of a prepared, written, occasionally illustrated, presentation and, as a famous past President memorably described it, "a platform for honing the oral packaging of the speaker's sentiments."
A recent visitor described our unique style perfectly, when he wrote the following lines to the President: ""Winter sleet and a camel shivers by a railing in Bath Street, dreaming of a desert sirocco. Inside, a scimitar glints in the umbrella stand."
And if you like this, you'll like the Nomads.
How to describe the Nomads?
ABOUT US
Well, we are a convivial, welcoming bunch of people, covering many different walks of life, interests and tastes. This diversity makes for a unique experience: everyone attending a Nomads evening, whether a member or guest, invariably goes home having enjoyed a warm welcome, perhaps a glass of wine and, of course, an array of different talks on subjects that can cover almost anything under (and sometimes beyond) the sun, all underpinned by a gently nagging feeling that it might be worth experiencing it all again in a fortnight's time...
We meet on eight Monday evenings over the winter months, from October to March and also have both an informal (members only) dinner, in January, and a formal, black-tie dinner in March for members and guests. In addition, we have a small number of social events over the summer, as well as our "October Weekend," where Nomads are able to meet outside Glasgow and enjoy a variety of cultural, social and sporting activities.
Our meetings are held in the Glasgow Art Club on Bath Street, Glasgow. Members usually congregate in the bar some 30 minutes before beginning formal proceedings at 7.00 pm. After a brief welcome from the President, a (usually) humorous reading of the previous meeting's Minutes and the introduction of any invited guests, the chair for the evening introduces the evening's papers. There is time for about 10-15 minutes of questions and comments, before we head for home around 9.00 pm, suitably refreshed, socially stimulated and, hopefully, intellectually improved.
The 2026 Syllabus
9th-11th
Annual Outing - Kelso
October 12th
Nomads Presidential Address: President Bill Sutherland,
Chairman: Roddy McPherson
October 26th
What did the Romans do for us?
Chairman: Jim Mearns
Roads: Douglas MacEwan
Water Supply: Bill Leeming
The Arch: Robert Ferguson
November 9th
One hit wonders
Chairman: Artie Trezise
Titanic: Gordon Lennox
Jane Birkin: Mike Graham
Harper Lee: John Huntley
November 23rd
The said "It's impossible"
Chairman: Brendan Twohig
Space Flight: David Sifton
Electric Light: Alastair Blair
Splitting the atom: Charles Hughes
December 7th
Did Women exist before AI?
Chairman: Mike Riddell
Art: Keith Beard
Science: Ewen Mackie
Hidden Figures: Campbell Armour
January 11th
Informal Dinner
January 18th
Now you see it
Chairman: John Park
Telstar: Stephen Hagenbuch
Find the Lady: John McLeod
Trompe L'oeil: Peter Stokes
February 1st
Rabbie Burns
Chairman: Beau Pettinger
Farmer: John Malarkey
Poet: Angus Young
Womaniser: Laurie Perrett
February 15th
Conductors
Chairman: Robin Hopkins
Lightning: John Balding
Bus: Iain Talman
Orchestra: Alasdair Ronald
March 1st
Pub Quiz
March 15th
Formal Dinner
March 22nd
Business Meeting
PAPERS
It's up to you...
The evening's papers are the core of the Nomads Club. Each member is given a subject/topic by the President and then it's up to them how to tackle and present it. Traditionally, this was simply an oral presentation, eschewing visual or aural aids, but today, with the array of technology available, Nomads increasingly bring colour, animation and movement to their papers.
Each paper lasts between 15 and 20 minutes and at the end of the evening, after a summary by the chair for the night, the other Nomads have the opportunity to make observations or ask questions for the final 10 or 15 minutes of the evening.
Here, we offer the first of a sample of four papers by Nomads.
The first is on the subject of "Black Holes." In true Nomadic fashion, it begins with a history of Calcutta, before moving on to the infamous "Black Hole" there, then subsequently developing the theme into the arena of sports (beginning with the Calcutta Rugby Club and the creation of rugby's Calcutta Cup), before an extended discourse on the history of sporting trophies in general.
01
On the face of it, Mykonos is a somewhat dull topic. It's a Greek island. Yet in the hands of a skilled Nomad, it provided an extremely informative and amusing tour of both the island and its history, before venturing into the challenges of providing enough drinking water, alleged corruption by those companies which import bottle water, over-tourism and its implications for the supply of power during the peak summer months and, finally, a suggestion that Mull might be a better bet for a holiday!
02
The subject "Pie" offers Nomads an irresistible number of opportunities to go off at almost any tangent, but few, if any, expected it to lead to a discourse on the evils of some English public schools in the nineteenth century, centring on Charles Dickens, his exposure of William Shaw (the model for Wackford Squeers), a slavering mongrel dog and the iniquities of life for the poor in not just Dickens' time but our own.
03
Finally, here is a paper on a very different subject. This Nomad was given the subject of "Splitting Hairs," and rose to the challenge with aplomb. From the (slightly vulgar) origins of the phrase, through to how restaurant customers allocate their share of the bill, to the ability of lawyers (this paper being presented by one such) to be paid handsomely for splitting hairs, this has something for everyone!
04
AWARDS
In the 131 years of its existence the club has gathered up a number of awards gifted by this member or that. To be honest, in the main, we cannot recall the criteria for selecting "winners" each year. The Shilling (or possibly Schilling) Cup is awarded for something or other to do with golf, while the Bells of Hell (an obvious WW1 reference) is awarded to the most successful pseudologue in the game of Liar Dice.
The most recent award, created during the early part of 2020 lockdown, is the "Covid Cup" which is not a Cup but a mounted pair of un-cashable £5 Postal Orders. A triathlon of photography, creative prose and poetry are the challenges here. A key hope in creating the Covid Cup was that in 126 years our successors would have no idea why the award had been created but would keep giving it out for something or other. This may or may not come to pass since the Covid Cup itself appears lost.