The Tumbling Lassie committee are delighted to welcome you to an evening talk with Richard Blake, on the life of John Grant, who was the Chief Justice of Jamaica from 1783 to 1790. John Grant was born in Invernesshire. He travelled as a young teenager to Nova Scotia, and then on to Jamaica. His manuscript records of legal decisions form the earliest set of Caribbean case reports.

John Grant was one of the famous Grants of Kilgraston. Richard Blake's recently published book, Sugar, Slaves and High Society (“such a well-researched and impressively written book” (Scottish Local History)) tells the story of the Grants, originally from Strathspey, who benefitted from significant wealth repatriated from Jamaica to Scotland in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Grants were a fascinating family, who included a President of the Royal Academy of Arts, one of the earliest professional sculptresses, and “the best fighting man in the world” (George MacDonald Fraser).

Part of the Grant family’s legacy is to be found in Edinburgh: Sir Francis’s paintings in the National Galleries of Scotland; Mary’s sculptured reredos in St Mary’s Cathedral; and street names in the Grange--- Kilgraston Road, Strathearn Road and Hope Terrace.

Tickets to this event are now available here:  Sugar, Slaves and High Society: an evening with Richard Blake Tickets, Thu, May 9, 2024 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite

About Richard Blake

Richard Blake studied Law at Edinburgh University and, many years later, was awarded a MSc from Dundee University. A WS, he was a partner in Condies and, subsequently, Consultant with Thorntons Law, both in Perth. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Past President of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club, which is the oldest Natural History Society in the United Kingdom. July 2023 saw the publication of a fascinating new historical study touching on the relationship between Scotland and slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in the form of Richard Blake's Sugar, Slaves and High Society - The Grants of Kilgraston, 1750-1860 - recently featured on the BBC News website and in The Scotsman.  A beautifully and extensively illustrated book based on new archival research, it lays bare the hidden links between the fortunes of privileged and wealthy Scots in the Georgian and Victorian period and the terrible fates of slaves on plantations in the West Indes. In a gesture of great generosity, and to bring modern good out of ancient evil, Richard is donating a portion of the proceeds of sales of his book to the Tumbling Lassie appeal. The book can be purchased direct from the publisher at https://buskinbooks.co.uk The book can also be obtained via Amazon

The Tumbling Lassie Ball returns: join us for a Snow Ball! 

Join us as the Tumbling Lassie Ball 2024 - the largest anti-trafficking fundraising event in Scotland - returns on Saturday 16 November 2024. This year's theme is the Snow Ball! Prepare for a winter wonderland, as the Ball returns to the magical surrounds of Prestonfield House, Edinburgh.

Tickets are £95 per person, to include cocktail drinks reception, three course dinner with wine, dancing and live entertainment. All proceeds go towards our two charities - International Justice Mission (IJM) and SOHTIS (Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland).

Tickets can be bought via Eventbrite or by cheque, by writing to tumblinglassie@gmail.com with your name and contact details, together with number of tickets required.