Last month, more than 80 people from across the world came together at the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness for the 260th episode – and first ever live – Learn with Lorna.
What began as an online resource for home schooling parents during lockdown has grown into something far more meaningful: a global learning community built on connection, collaboration, and curiosity.
Reaching 260 episodes is a significant achievement but this gathering in Inverness was about more than numbers – it was about people. Bringing together participants from different backgrounds and countries created an energy that is difficult to replicate online. For many attendees, the event was the first opportunity to meet in person after engaging virtually. That shift – from screen to room – reinforced the sense that Learn with Lorna is not just a series, but a community.
We hear from Lorna herself, as she reflects on that very special day….
“My work as Community Engagement Officer for the Highland Archive Service is fundamentally about connecting people to the collections we care for. As these archival collections span nearly 800 years, multiple formats, and countless subjects there is a limitless number of ways this can be done and I spend much of my working life in schools, working with college and university students, giving talks and tours to community groups, and working in partnership with everyone from NHS Highland and HMP Inverness to Scottish Canals. Every individual and every group bring their own experience to the documents, and I come away from most encounters having not only taught but learned.
In April 2020, forced to work from home on partial furlough by the first Covid lockdown, my fear was that the work we had done in raising awareness of the service, and encouraging people to engage with our collections would come to an abrupt standstill. We had no idea how long the pandemic would last or what the world would look like afterwards.
Going live in lockdown
Learn with Lorna was born in that moment of uncertainty. Initially selecting 14 subjects which I thought might help parents who were homeschooling – WWII, Victorians, Jacobites, etc – I set about writing a set of short talks. A colleague and I created a page on our website with supporting material for parents to look at and I went live on Facebook with the first episode at 11am on Thursday 2nd April 2020. This episode looked at the subject of diaries, encouraging people to keep their own diary during the momentous events of that year.
Learn with Lorna took off in a way we could never have predicted. As well as parents and children, we soon began to receive messages from tour guides revising content, families planning holidays, and individuals everywhere from Portree to Pakistan who were interested in the history of the Highlands and the subject of archives. What began as a temporary stopgap to ensure we didn’t lose engagement quickly became one of our most thriving offerings with thousands tuning in each week.
Seven years and 260 episodes later
Learn with Lorna has now entered its seventh year with 260 episodes available to watch back on YouTube covering everything from Victorian school life and historic mental health care to tales of specific communities from Thurso to Nairn. The unexpected growth of the series has presented some challenges and although I still write and present every episode myself, I have become more reliant on support from colleagues from across the service to provide me with some of the content and give me hugely useful research notes. I’m indebted to them for their ongoing commitment to the series.
Recognition and connection
There are so many stories I could share about Learn with Lorna, its impact, and its challenges; I have been recognised everywhere from the doctor’s surgery in Nairn to the Highland Games in Waipu, New Zealand; people have heard my voice somewhere in a crowd and have searched me out to come and tell me how much a specific episode touched them; viewers from New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, and elsewhere have travelled to our centres after viewing episodes which have provided them with information or ideas to pursue; the series won an award for innovation in the 2021 High Life Highland staff and volunteer awards and is now used as part of recommended reading at the University of the Highlands and Islands’ public history module. The list goes on and I never cease to be amazed at just how many people in the Highlands and much further afield (around 645,000 to date) have connected to it in some way.
While the series is generally streamed live on Facebook and subsequently uploaded to YouTube, the 260th episode took a different format inspired by a loyal viewer who’s watched every episode either from her home in Australia or from wherever else in the world she’s been on holiday. Jen Wilson contacted us to say she was coming to Scotland and would be delighted if we could do ‘something’. This evolved into a fully-booked event which comprised a Learn with Lorna talk, tea and cakes, behind-the-scenes tours of the Highland Archive Centre, and the chance to see extensive displays of material from all four Highland Archive Service centres.
Powerful connections
When booking people were invited to comment on their connection to the series, and the stories shared were powerful:
“What started as part of my research/day job has become a highlight of my day. The stories she tells from the archive are often so personal and comforting. It creates an important sense of connection to such a special place.”
“I've just been listening to today's Learn with Lorna which was about my aunt, Katharine Young, and based on the papers I donated. I wanted to thank Lorna and her colleague who catalogued the papers for their warmth and respect. As a family, we have really appreciated your talk which has helped our generation introduce her properly to our children and grandchildren.”
When writing the talk for the in-person episode, under the title ‘Treasures of the Highland Archive Service’ my aim was to highlight the diversity of the collections we care for and to illustrate that we all find treasure in different places – what has an impact on one person may not on another. I did also manage to achieve two of my continual aims – to make people cry through an emotional connection to the documents and to make people laugh for the same reason!
Showcasing the Highland Archive Service
The day was a great success. For me, the highlight was bringing so many of our team together from the four archive centres and putting on a fantastic showcase of the material we care for. Feedback from the event showed that people really valued the opportunity to come together as a community, were touched by the talk, and really enjoyed being able to see such a broad range of material on display.
I was delighted by a subsequent Facebook post written by an attendee which highlighted the close working relationships in our team and the care we have for the collections:
“What was interesting to see, not just in Lorna’s talk but in the way the team at the Highland Archive Service worked together, is that they wanted people to explore the archive for their own reasons. Each member of staff seems to have their own personal favourite collection. The respect between the staff was clearly evident, fostering an environment where users of the archive are encouraged to ask their own questions and find their own treasure.”
Press coverage of the 260th episode event was extensive, with interviews on BBC Scotland, BBC Alba, Radio Scotland and Radio nan Gaidheal and it’s clear from subsequent interactions at other events that this has brought Learn with Lorna to entirely new audiences, for which I am incredibly grateful.
Catch up
Learn with Lorna is now on a break for the summer but will return on Thursday 3rd September at 11am with an episode entitled Travel Tales. In the meantime, all previous episodes can be viewed online.
