Scotiana » Scotland

Hunting Down Scottish Greenknowe Tower’s Ghosts…

MAJA — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:49:43 +0000

Mairiuna, as a continuity to your post on Greenknowe Tower, let’s put together a video, mixing the recording that Jean-Claude did of the sound produced when opening the iron gate (the yett) and the pictures we took while investigating this beautiful ruined tower in Berwickshire.

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Although local folk tales, as you mentioned, said this place is the most haunted place in the area, we could not find in our respective libraries and archives, nor on the Internet, any further documentation relating to this fact. If anyone has some information to that effect, we would be very grateful to know about it, as it does intrigue us much.

Being both fascinated by Scottish ghost stories and other mysterious legends of the Highlands and Islands, we despair in not finding more facts and feats relating to the haunting tales of Greenknowe Tower.

While researching the web, we did stumble upon Lucy M. Boston’s novels: The Children of Green Knowe, but they don’t seem to relate to the Scottish Greenknowe Tower.

Green Knowe means “green hill”, so it could be anywhere in the world!

Still took time to learn more about this attractive children’s classic series and can tell you they will soon find a place on our bookshelves. As an insight, here’s a reader comment:

The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston 2006

A ghost story for children, the novel revolves around Toseland (Tolly) Oldknow who goes to live with his great-Grandmother in the ancestral family home, Green Knowe, that has been known as Green Noah for centuries. Tolly and his Grandmother see ghosts of their ancestors, primarily three siblings -an earlier Toseland (Toby), Andrew, and Linette- who lived during the reign of Charles II and died in the Great Plague. There was a curse placed upon a large (green) topiary of Noah in the garden by a witch, the resulting tree demon affecting the Oldknow males and the topiary is left to become overgrown ever since, and another supernatural element in the protective stone St Christopher who becomes animated.

The novel is supernaturally evocative; the reader is caught up in the magic and its charm was not lost on me as an adult. The more ominous, frightening, tension was less effective now but that is only to be expected. The writing is beautifully depictive, the descriptions poetic, and I found this line wonderfully expressive:

He heard no thunder. It was even unnaturally quiet. Perhaps it only seemed unnatural because he himself was brimming with excitement. He heard the weir pounding at the end of the garden. It only made the quietness quieter. It was rather like a heart that is only heard when it beats too loud.”

Read more => http://paperbackreader2.blogspot.com/2009/06/children-of-green-knowe.html

In another search engine result, a descriptive text on the Manor of Hemingford Grey indicates it became famous with Lucy M. Boston’s series of children’s books, so we guess that answers our question about which residence influenced the author!

“The house was recreated and made famous as the house of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston in her series of children’s books, now regarded as classics. Her son Peter’s illustrations depict many of the things in the house and garden. The attic contains toys used by the fictional children of the past; thus visitors get the feeling of ‘walking into the books’.

She wrote about family belongings in the house and her son Peter Boston illustrated the books, drawing many of these as well as the house and garden.

In the winter, as well as writing, Lucy Boston made many exquisite patchworks, most of which are on display. Rarely can such an important collection be seen in the house in which the exhibits were made.

This moated house is surrounded by four acres of garden renowned for its collection of over 200 old roses and a collection of irises containing many famous Dykes medal winners, most of them dating from the 1950s. There are hidden corners in the garden so visitors find themselves coming to unexpected parts which are unanticipated from the first impression gained by looking down into it from the public footpath along the towpath beside the river Great Ouse. With its large herbaceous borders of mainly scented plants the garden gives the feeling of being a cottage garden full of favourite plants in a rather formal setting of lawns with topiary coronation shapes and chess pieces in their black and white planted squares.

Read more => http://www.greenknowe.co.uk/history.html

Lucy M Boston - The Green Knowe Children's Book Series

Product Description

(….) L.M. Boston’s thrilling and chilling tales of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside, have been entertaining readers for half a century. There are three children: Toby, who rides the majestic horse Feste; his mischievous little sister, Linnet; and their brother, Alexander, who plays the flute. The children warmly welcome Tolly to Green Knowe… even though they’ve been dead for centuries. But that’s how everything is at Green Knowe. The ancient manor hides as many stories as it does dusty old rooms. And the master of the house is great-grandmother Oldknow, whose storytelling mizes present and past with the oldest magic in the world.

About the Author

Lucy Maria Boston (1892-1990) purchased a ramshackle manor house near Cambridge, England, in 1935, which over a period of two years she lovingly restored. It is the house that inspired her, at the age of sixty-two, to take pen in hand and create the beloved Green Knowe chronicles. L.M. Boston said she wrote her books to please herself–but the pleasure of her stories extends to all who read them.

Ref: Amazon.com

Talk soon,

Janice

A Sneak Peek of Aboyne’s Highland Games in the Aberdeenshire Region of Scotland

MAJA — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:47:17 +0000

Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland - © Aberdeenshire Council 2009

While touring Scotland’s beautiful Aberdeenshire region, we heard that the Aboyne Highland Games Annual event was taking place, so Mairiuna, Jean-Claude and myself, traveled to nearby Aboyne city to experience our first Scottish Highland Games!

Aboyne Highland Games, Aberdeenshire (Source: Google map)

The abolition of the powers of the chiefs which followed the defeat of Culloden and the accompanying banning of all things Highland put an end to such gatherings, but at the beginning of the nineteenth century when the proscription of the tartan and the bagpipes had been lifted, and the nation, thanks to Sir Walter Scott, was beginning to take a keen interest in all things Highland, the gatherings were revived, and since then have spread in every place where there are descendants of the Clans.

Walter Scott - Portrait

The sports which accompany such gatherings still show their links with the past, in the competitions for dancing and bagpipe music, in the granite balls which are used for putting the stone, and in the wooden shafts of the hammer which replace the flexible steel handles, though the conventional head of the blacksmith’s long-handled hammer has been replaced by a metal ball.

Readers of Waverley will recall Sir Walter’s account of such a gathering and of the impromptu athletic competitions that followed the military exercises. Such competitions must have taken place on the Aboyne Green when Mar’s Highland army camped there after
marching down from Braemar where they had raised the standard in 1715.

Source: http://www.aboynegames.com

Aboyne-Highland-Games-Aberdeenshire © Scotiana 2007

Wonderful Piping Bands, Heavy Events (throwing shot, discus or wire hammer, caber toss), Light Events, Highland Dancing (what a cardio work-out!) and Fiddle are all great competitions that takes place in this perfect venue for family fun.

On this side of the ocean, during the Glengarry Highland Games, in Maxville, Ontario, Canada, Josée Morneau took the 3rd place on the professional podium and she also won the 2007 Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games Women’s Open Event.

Josée Morneau, Winnipeg, Man., Canada, Womens Division

“Ce que j’aime des jeux écossais, c’est que les épreuves sont toujours les mêmes et que les poids des roches et des marteaux sont égaux d’une compétition à l’autre, indique-t-elle. Je peux alors m’entraîner et tenter de battre mes records personnels. C’est une motivation supplémentaire. “

The Caber

This is the most well known and popular of the heavyweight Scottish events. The competitor must “pick” (pick up) the caber, run, and toss it so it lands straight out from him/her at a 12 o’clock position. The caber is tossed for accuracy, not distance. The judge must “call it” just as the caber hits the ground. A side judge will sometimes be used to determine if the caber rotated through 90 degrees – if not – it’s a “Fifer” and not counted. The Caber can be any size, and can range between 18′-26′, and weigh from (approximately) 100 lbs. – 150 lbs. Size is important, but so is the athlete’s style.The athlete gets three attempts in this and all the heavyweight events.

Wow….I’m impressed!..aren’t you?

Judges at Aboyne Highland Games, Scotland © Scotiana 2007

You might ask yourself: do we have to be Scottish to compete in the Games?

The answer is no. You can join the field if you feel like it and start mastering the arts.

Talk soon!

Janice

Art Nouveau Peacock on Princes Square Shopping Center in Buchanan Street, Glasgow

MAJA — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:04:51 +0000

At the end of the nineteenth century, Art Nouveau transformed towns and countryside around the world. Even though its style had gained popularity from just the last ten years or so, Art Nouveau permeated many arts & crafts: jewellery, book design, glasswork, textiles, wrought iron, and architecture, to name just a few, with its high Victorian design and craftwork.

The peacock being the most spread Art Nouveau pattern, a great example is the one adorning the Princes Square building facade on Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow.

In 1985, Hugh Martin & Partners were commissioned to renovate the Princes Square building. They had several meetings with Alan Dawson to create the Princes’ building decorative art program consisting of gates, balustrades, the famous “Peacock” and other associated decorative ironwork.

They had some doubts about the delivery dates promised by Alan Dawson, for such an extensive project would require much time. They were also sceptic that it would all fit inside the budget, but Alan Dawson was confident that he could accomplish the task within deadline and budget.

Following a partnership with the Workington firm Shepley Engineering, he teamed with traditional artist-blacksmiths. They started the program in 1987 and in 1990, in time and within budget, the main exterior peacock was added to the Buchanan Street facade, in part as a contribution to the City of Culture Festival in Glasgow that year.

The Princes Square’s peacock is a magnificent piece of metal art and deserves we take some time to know more about its features.

Located on the top of the facade, the peacock’s sculpture is made in coloured hand-forged wrought iron and steel, extending to its colossal dimensions of 10m high and 20m wide. It comes out from the iron ring which is located in the center of the attic balustrade.

Its tail, outspreading in the air are tipped with bronze aluminium rods making it an eye-catching sculpture and definitely a dominant landmark of the Buchanan Street’s south section.

Peacock - Princes Square Galleries by night - Photo by gordonjc (Flickr)

The use of a consistent pattern of imagery throughout, as well as a candid dependence on Art Nouveau precedents in the style, enables the scheme to be read as a visually and conceptually unified whole.

Public Sculpture of Glasgow by Raymond Mckenzie

Glasgow is notable as being one of the few British cities to have resisted artistic centralization based in London. Only in Glasgow were there significant local workshops, often family-based, training dynasties of native sculptors. Public Sculpture of Glasgow includes work by some of the most influential British and continental sculptors during the last 200 years including John Flaxman, John Gibson, J.H. Foley and Carlo Marochetti. Ray McKenzie has in this volume for the first time demonstrated the importance of Glasgow’s architectural sculpture and explained its function with a wealth superbly arranged and carefully marshaled detail.

I cannot write about Art Nouveau without mentioning the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh!

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

He was an architect-designer and has put Glasgow on the map with the formation of the Glasgow School of Art, along with other local artists around the turn of the century. His work can be seen around the city in the shape of many historical buildings, and his designs and architectural works are still a source of inspiration for many modern designs of today.

During our last trip to Scotland, we visited some of Mackintosh’s heritage sites : The Hill House, Glasgow School of Art ( founded in 1845 which makes it one of the oldest creative institutions in the UK ), The Willow Tearooms, The Mackintosh House ( Hunterian Art Gallery), The Queen’s Cross church and Mairiuna and I are eager to write several posts about them.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was more than just an architect. He was also an outstanding international artist and designer, so stay tuned for more!

Enjoy the read and leave a comment below to share your thoughts.

Talk soon.

Janice

The Willow Tearoom, 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

MAJA — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:31:51 +0000

If it is pouring with rain, as is often the case in Scotland, and if you are not lost in the midst of nowhere in a most desolate and remote place of the Scottish countryside with only a thermos of black coffee to cheer you up, it would be unthinkable not to be able to find a castle, a museum, a pub or a tearoom to shelter in and spend your time in a most agreeable way. Beware of the closing time, however, for many places close as soon as five in the afternoon. We’ve been had several times!

That day, in Glasgow, “il pleuvait des hallebardes” or, as we would also say in France “il tombait des cordes” which means in English, that “it was raining cats and dogs”, a favourite expression of mine which I had no problem to remember at school! I wonder what is its origin. We could ask Iain and Margaret. I’d be much surprised if our dear Scottish friends would not have a very interesting and learned answer to that funny question…

Glasgow Scotiana modified Google map

We had been walking for a while under the rain in the very busy shopping thoroughfare of Glasgow which is composed of Argyll Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street …

…when we fell upon the very colourful and stylish Mackintosh sign standing in front of a bright and luxury window. On the ground floor there was a jewellery, Henderson’s it read, and on the first floor a tearoom. Guess what! We had arrived at 217 Sauchiehall Street, a number which has become as famous in Glasgow, though more tangible, as 221 b Baker Street in London.

We immediately felt like going into this very inviting secular temple to share a hot cup of tea and taste some of the specialities offered there but drenched as we were, with our dripping parkas and dirty walking shoes, we hardly dared to enter this mythical place.

Tea and scones source : wikipedia

In the very welcoming Scottish B&Bs, hotels and restaurants, tearooms, pubs and other places, we had very often been given the opportunity to taste and appreciate the delicious and inimitable local pastries, in the form of scones, pancakes and various other delicacies generally served with an abundance of butter, jam or cream and we are always quite eager to renew the experience each time a new occasion occurs, especially when it’s wintry and rainy outside. Soon, indeed, we’ll open a page on Scotiana in which we intend to introduce Scottish specialities and even try to give recipes… tested recipes…

Menu card design for Miss Cranston's Cafes at the 1911 Glasgow International exhibition Source Wikipedia

We finally entered Sauchiehall Willow Tearoom but so limited was our time that day and so long was the queue of people waiting to be served that we finally decided to come back another day. We didn’t, but no need to say how the three of us are eager to sit down at one of the little tables in the very relaxing atmosphere of this marvellously decorated tearoom.

But The Willow Tearooms of Glasgow, for there are several ones, have an old story to tell. Its main characters happen to be a lady and a whole team of genial Glaswegian artists… but I will tell you more about all that in my next post …
In the meantime enjoy our photos to try and get the sense of this unique place in Glasgow which has repeatedly won awards of excellence.

A bientôt. Mairiuna.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh frieze

A Colorful Video Tour of Buchanan Street, Glasgow’s Main Shopping Avenue

MAJA — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:30:51 +0000

Escalator leading up to Princes Square Galleries, Buchanan Street

Hey Mairiuna, before we hop unto Princes Square’s inviting blue escalator leading up to it’s animated galleries, let’s stroll a bit longer on Buchanan street, the most popular and well known shopping street of Glasgow.

I was so impressed by the urban design that I would happily spend more time in this premier pedestrian thoroughfare housing more than 125 shops & venues.

You can find anything and everything on this street from a variety of shops fit for all budgets to museums, restaurants and bookshops.

There’s even a stamp shop! We were past opening hours last time around, but since we are both fond of topical stamp collecting, I’ve listed the Buchanan Street Stamps as a store to explore on our next trip to Glasgow. It’s on the west side, between Nelson Mandela Place and Bath Street.

There’s much to be seen and done on Buchanan Street. Watch this video to get a feel of it. Enjoy!

Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre, Europe’s Largest Glass Building!

MAJA — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:34:23 +0000

Oh yes! Mairiuna, it was quite a fun ride we took aboard Glasgow’s Clockwork Orange subway train. Remember this photograph I took of you both just before we escalated down to the ticket booth?

At the ticket booth, we had a good laugh when the ticket officer, after we told him that you and Jean-Claude came from France and myself from Québec, tells us that the most famous Canadian he knew of was William Shatner. He must of noticed the perplexity in my eyes as I was trying to figure out who was William Shatner. “Don’t you know Captain Kirk, young lady?” My gosh.. for sure I knew Captain Kirk from the Star Trek series, much better than William Shatner!

Upon walking out of the St Enoch Station, we decided to visit the St Enoch Centre. To fully understand its social impact on Glasgow’s shopping frenzy, let’s go back into time for a sentence or two.

In 1783, St Enoch Square was the meet up place of grazing sheeps and since that day the square has grown into one of Glasgow’s finest landmarks.

Places of Interest - Glasgow Submay Maps

The St Enoch Train Station opened its rails to the public in 1876 and was honored to have Queen Victoria arrive in Glasgow through its station on August 22,1888 for her visit to the International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park.

Following the demolition in 1977 of St Enoch Station, which was situated near the opposite end of Queen Street, the high-level station is now the only vaulted railway station left in Scotland.

Today, on the site of the demolished St-Enoch station, in Glasgow’s busy city centre, the St-Enoch Shopping Centre, inaugurated in 1989, is one of the favorite family shopping destinations. Popular store brands and modern food court makes it the perfect place to shop for specialized crafts and precious gifts.

Watch this short video to grasp the beauty of the largest glass structure in Europe!

Want to know more about who was St-Enoch? Listen to the superb accent of historian David Ross in this lively short video in which he uncovers the saint who gives her name to this area of Glasgow.

Enjoy and talk soon!
Janice

What does the Canadian Pacific Railway and Scottish Glencoe Lochan Trail have in common?

MAJA — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:07:22 +0000

Donald Alexander Smith - Lord Strathcona

The answer is: Donald Alexander Smith!

Born in 1820, in the small town of Forres in Scotland, he emigrated to Canada at the age of 18 and is known to most Canadians as Lord Strathcona.

Driving the last spike at Craigellachie, 1885

He made his fortune building railroads and consequently, played a leading role in railway development in Canada. In 1880 he was one of the organizers of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was chosen in 1885 to drive the last spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia.

Craigellachie is Gaelic for “the rock of alarm.” Instead of alarm, that spike built a nation. A plaque marks the spot where Canada was connected coast to coast.

At the 100th Anniversary of Lord Strathcona Regiment ceremony, the General Governor of Canada wore the jewel “pin” which was manufactured from the last spike.

A regiment bears his name and made itself famous in the Boer war: the Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) for which Canada Post issued a stamp on remembrance day, November 11th, 2000 to commemorate Canada’s most illustrous military regiment.

He also became Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company and High Commissioner for Canada before the end of the 19th Century.

Indian Feathers

His wife, Isabella, was born and brought up near Hudson Bay. When they both left to live in Scotland, Lord Strathcona acquired the Glencoe Estate.

It is said that Isabella was so homesick, that to ease her illness, he recreated, on the estate, a typical canadian forest environment in order for her to feel like “at home”.

Isabella, whose grandmother was a Native American, longed for the waters and forests of her Canadian home. However, she never took to her new country and the couple returned to Canada.

The lochan, in the grounds of what was once the Glencoe estate, built by Lord Strathcona, is now an attractive area of parkland dominated by the the distinctive Pap of Glencoe. When the wind drops, the surface of the water stills and reflects the surrounding hills and woods. Glencoe House is now a hospital.

Take a look at the beautiful scenery one can view while walking around Lochan Loch along the Lochan Trail.

Donald Alexander Smith is a hero of a true “rags to riches” story, Scottish style…

In a description of Strathcona’s native town of Forres, for example, we are told about the luckenbooth pins, shaped like a pair of interlocked hearts and given as love tokens. Strathcona bought one of these for his wife in 1865 [p. 124] and she wore it for the rest of her life, as we can see in the photograph facing page 193.

So that what first appears as a bit of local colour later becomes a symbol of a long and loving marriage. Similarly, accounts of Strathcona’s physical clumsiness culminate in the description of the single most famous act of his life—the driving of the last spike.

This should be known perhaps as the second spike, as his first attempt mangled the spike so badly that it had to be discarded. (The bent spike was to be covered with diamonds and presented to his wife as yet another love token.)

Strathcona dressed appropriately, whether for the bush or the board room, because he was a man who respected conventions. Yet he knew there were times when conventions could be respected too much. How else could he have lived for over 40 years with a woman to whom he was married in every way that counted, except legally? (What with one thing and another, the couple did not undergo a legal ceremony of marriage until they were grandparents in their seventies.)

Isabella Hardisty (1825-1913) was described by Strathcona as his “stay and comforter throughout a long life.” [p. 492] A woman of much intelligence and self-confidence, qualities she seems to have inherited from her maternal grandmother, a woman of the country known as Jeanny Sutherland, she yet did one stupid thing in her life. This was to take up with the hot-tempered and abusive James Grant. She had the courage to leave him and, along with their small son, Jamesie, seek the protection of young Mr Smith.

Soon afterwards, Isabella conceived her only child by Donald, a daughter named Maggie. As McDonald’s describes Lady Strathcona’s death at their home in Grosvenor Square, with her husband at her side holding her hand, she looks back to their beginnings in North West River: “She had seduced him and made him love her and he had never stopped doing so.” [p. 492] Bold words, but they carry conviction. Donald Smith is not likely to have made the first move towards a woman in distress.

http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/43/lordstrathcona.shtml

Canadian Yesterdays by Edgar A Collard

So much more to say..it calls for another post. Stay tuned !

Talk soon,

Janice

Scotiana Wishes You A Very Merry Christmas !

MAJA — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:37:37 +0000

During this festive season, it is definitely a time to be jolly, and to let adults become kids again but more importantly, it is a time to show our appreciation to the people around us, and share our blessings with the less fortunate.

May the bells of Happiness ring merrily for you at Christmas

and throughout the coming year!

Scotiana's team: Janice, Mairiuna and Jean-Claude

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuous support.

We don’t have gifts under a big Christmas tree, but would like to share this video about Christmas for you to enjoy!

Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr! ( Merry Christmas! in Gaelic

Hilary McNally goes in search of Christmas past and discovers how times have changed in Scotland over the years.

As Christmas lights twinkle in every window and shops overflow with frantic festive shoppers it may seem hard to believe that Christmas is a relatively new addition to the Scottish calendar.

But as recently as the 1960s it was just another day for many people as Scotland continued a tradition dating from the 16th century of officially ignoring Christmas Day.

Workers were often required to turn up at the office as normal and any festivities had to wait until New Year’s Day, the main holiday of the year.

A look at marriage records from the 1940s and 50s show a surprising number of weddings on Hogmanay simply because the following day was the only day off a working couple could expect.

“It sounds paradoxical but the reason Christmas wasn’t celebrated in Scotland was a religious one,” explains Dr Alan MacDonald, a lecturer in Scottish History at the University of Dundee.

“There was a fundamentalist view of Christianity which came in with the Reformation in 1560 and that was if something wasn’t in the Bible then it should not be celebrated.

“The only holy day that was kept was Sunday. Because Christmas day did not fall on a Sunday except by chance it was not celebrated. Easter was the same.

“In the early part of the 20th century it wasn’t even a school holiday. And there was still a postal delivery on Christmas Day, unless it was a Sunday, until the 1960s.”

Individuals did, of course, continue to celebrate Christmas in their own way with their own families but despite December 25 being officially declared a bank holiday as early as 1871 it took almost another century to begin to rival the New Year holiday.

Christmas Carnival Ferris Wheel - Princes Street - Edinburgh (Photo by emozart on Photobucket)

“The celebration of Christmas was a gradual thing,” says Dr MacDonald. “The change came about due to a softening of religious views although there are still churches in Scotland that don’t take any notice of Christmas.

“We have gradually fallen in line with the rest of the UK. The impact of the media is another consideration. It is interesting because it seems Scotland did not get its Christmas from England. One example is the use of the name Santa Claus rather than the English Father Christmas but whether that influence is from Europe or the USA is hard to say.”

The European influence also plays a part in explaining the original adoption of January 1st as a major holiday.

“New Year’s Day in Scotland in terms of calendar was March 25 until 1600,” explains Dr MacDonald.

“When January 1st was adopted in 1600 it brought Scotland into line with the rest of Europe but not with England which didn’t change until the 18th century.

“This was quite typical of the time. Scotland had been at war with England for so long that it tended to avoid doing what England was doing. In fact at the time that the New Year changed, the proclamation made some reference to all “other civilized nations” having the same date thereby implying that England was not a civilized nation.”

Although it was considered more sensible to start the New Year at the beginning of the month rather than in the middle the new date was also more religiously acceptable to Reformation Scotland than March 25 with its Catholic associations.

“March 25 was lady day,” says Dr MacDonald. “It is nine months before the 25th of December so it was believed to be the day Christ was conceived and therefore the start of his life. It was the theoretical date of conception.”

January 1 also provided a festival very close in time to Christmas and the winter solstice and offered an alternative celebration.

“40 years after Scotland dropped Christmas it changed the New Year and that is why the New Year was celebrated so much. It provided a focus and pulled people away from celebrating Christmas and Yule.”

Now though it would seem that Scotland is making up for lost time and its four Christmasless centuries by putting December 25 very firmly back on the holiday agenda.

Of course this doesn’t mean any weakening of support for New Year. Why have one wonderful holiday when you can have two!

Source: http://www.santasearch.org The Largest Elf-Edited Christmas Resource on the Internet.

On the banks of Loch Katrine with Rob Roy MacGregor

MAJA — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:52:54 +0000

Loch Katrine Scotiana.com 2007

Once more, history, legend and landscape happen to be intricately mixed in our discovery of Scotland, each element contributing in its own way to enhance our sense of place there. We’ve made several incursions into the Trossachs during our different tours in the country and in 2007 we drove along Loch Katrine up to its end, discovering on our way breathtaking landscapes on a very sunny day. On the shore of this beautiful loch, we found a blue board giving us information about the history of the place.

Scotiana.com 2007

It read :

Children of the Mist

Loch Katrine was made famous by the exploits of real-life Rob Roy MacGregor, whom Sir Walter Scott romanticised as his Highland hero.

For hundreds of years this land belonged to MacGregors, the Children of the Mist. Rob Roy MacGregor – clan leader, dispossessed landowner, cattle trader and rustler – was born nearby in Glen Gyle, at the head of the Loch.

Tradition has it that Rob Roy MacGregor sought to revenge the cruel attack on his wife and the loss of his home at Craigrostan at the hands of the Duke of Montrose’s men.

He stole rent collected by the Duke’s evil factor and kinsman, Graham of Killearn, and carried him off to the island, now known as Factor’s Island. Rob forced the factor to write to the Duke demanding compensation for burning Craigrostan, but he let him go unharmed. Killing the factor would only have added to Rob’s problems!

So, we were driving on Rob Roy’s territory ! What better guide to visit the country than the Scottish Robin Hood! But let us try to know more about our invisible fellow traveller.

No doubt that Rob Roy is a venerated figure in Scotland ! Suffice it to say that crowds of visitors go to see his grave at Balquhidder and his birth place at Glen Gyle. Monuments have been erected here and there in the country and there are entire rooms dedicated to his memory in Scottish museums.

Rob Roy statue Peterculter Scotiana 2007

One day, while we were driving across the bridge of Culter Burn, at Peterculter, in Aberdeenshire, we suddenly noticed, in the distance, a very colourful statue standing out in the greenness of a dense vegetation, on the ledge of a cliff overhanging a roaring torrent. We immediately stopped the car to take photos! Could it be a statue of Rob Roy?

Rob Roy statue Peterculter Scotiana.com 2007

What we could see, with a close-up of our camera, was the painted statue of a strong man clad in highland dress and armed with a long sword and a round shield covered with brass studs. Judging by the spike sticking out of it that kind of shield must have been as offensive than defensive. After them!

MacGregor tartan (Vestiarium Scoticum) Source : Wikipedia

The vivid colours suggested that the statue had just been painted and though we’re not expert in the subject, the tartan worn by the statue appeared to be that of the MacGregor clan. Interestingly enough, I’ve seen other pictures of this statue since, and on them Rob Roy seems to be wearing different colours. But we know there can be many variations in the colours of a clan tartan. I’ve also learned that the Peter Culter statue of Rob Roy had been erected to commemorate his flight from Aberdeen in the early 18th century after he had visited some relatives of him to gain support for the Jacobite cause.

Frederick, Warne & Co edition

Much of what I’ve learned about Rob Roy, apart from the usual web sources and Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy, I’ve got it from this old beautiful edition of a book I have in my library and which was written by Francis Watt and Andrew Carter, two English reverends who had travelled all over Scotland. It’s good to begin with such attractive reading before immersing in more austere books of history.

Frederick Warne & Co edition Frontispice illustration

Picturesque Scotland illustration

Rob Roy’s real name was Robert MacGregor. He got his nickname when he was young, because of his red hair. When the name of MacGregor was outlawed, in 1694, he adopted his mother’s name of Campbell but finally he arranged to have the words “MacGregor despite them” engraved on his tombstone, in Balquhidder.

Rob Roy was born in 1671 at Glen Gyle. In 1693, he married Helen Mary of Comar, a member of the MacGregor clan, and first lived with his family at Portnellan, on the north side of Loch Katrine.

After a tumultuous life as an outlaw, he was finally rehabilitated and died peacefully in Balquhidder, in December 1734, at the age of 63.

He was immortalised in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy, published in 1818. I’ve begun to read this book, all the more interested by the story that it begins in Bordeaux.

Walter Scott Rob Roy Folio edition 2001

Among several editions of the book which can be found in my library I’m particularly fond of the illustrated Folio 2001 edition.

For those who aren’t against a romanticized version of history I would mention the film by Michael Caton-Jones with Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange (2001).

Rob Roy Michael Caton-Jones 2001

Here’s an extract of the film.

And I will end this post by encouraging people who like walking to embark on one of the most interesting thematic trails organized in Scotland, the Rob Roy Way…

Have a good walk, virtual or not !

A bientôt. Mairiuna

Scottish Traditional Tales: Wilson’s Tales of The Borders and of Scotland

MAJA — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:35:00 +0000

John Mackay Wilson by James Sinclair

In the 19th century, it was not uncommon to see itinerant lecturers hopscotching across their countries. It was also a great opportunity for them to meet with people, mingle with them, and listen to local stories and folk tales.

Is it during his itinerant lectures that John Mackay Wilson got the idea of writing and compiling the Tales of the Borders ? I would not be surprised.

The No.1 in the series of the weekly magazine was published on November 8th, 1834 and contained two tales, The Vacant Chair and Tibby Fowler.

No.2 of the series followed with four tales: My Black Coat; or, The Breaking of the Bride’s China, Well Have Another, The Soldier’s Return, The Red Hall; or, Berwick in 1926.

The increasing popularity of the publication of The Tales of The Border had J.M.Wilson working at a pace that became before long overwhelming. He started drinking and the abuse of alcohol sadly brought him to his last day in 1835. He was aged 31 years old.

In total, Wilson published in the first series, 48 numbers, totalling 73 tales. After his death, his brother James continued the series, followed by Alexander Leighton, a Scottish medical doctor and puritan preacher and pamphleteer who died under torture by King Charles I , because he attacked the Anglican Church in one of his pamphlet.

Tales of The Borders and of Scotland-12 volumes-Edition Edinburgh : William P. Nimmo & Co.-1857

Many contributors participated in the writing of The Tales Of The Border:

Wilson's Tales of The Border - Ed 1857

Alexander Bethune

John Bethune

Alexander Campbell

Matthew Forster Conolly

Professor Thomas Gillespie

William Hethrington, D.D.

John Howell

Alexander Leighton

Walter Logan

James Maidment

Theodore Martin

Patrick Maxwell

Hugh Miller

David M. Moir , “Delta”

Alexander Peterkin

Oliver Richardson

John Francis Smith

R. G. Thomson

John Mackay Wilson

Re. W. G.

Anonymous

Wilson’s grave can be found in Tweedsmouth’s Churchyard. It is such in a bad state of conservation that a visitor wrote to the Berwick Advertiser to denounce this fact and hopefully have the population and/or the concerned authorities take action.

John Mackay Wilson's Grave - Tweedsmouth Churchyard

Concern voiced over state of famous writer’s grave
Berwick Advertiser 14 January 2009

This photograph shows the sorry state of the gravestone of one of Berwick’s most famous writers.It was sent to us by Roy Grout of West End Court, Tweedmouth, who wonders if someone would be able to restore it.

He said: “My friend, Agnes Patterson, and I recently visited Tweedmouth Churchyard and were sad to see how bad the gravestone of the late John Mackay Wilson had deteriorated. “It would be nice if there is someone out there who would be willing to restore the inscription. “After all, this is a man who became very well known, was born in Tweedmouth and is laid to rest there. “Perhaps a fund could be created which people could contribute to. It would be a shame if nothing is done.” (…)

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/scotnews09/sthscot09/090119-grave.html

Wilson's Tales of the Borders

Wilson's Tales of The Border - Frontispice

Wilson's Tales of The Border - Illustration "The Vacant Chair"

Wilson's Tale of The Borders-2 Volumes-Adam & Co-Felling-Gate Printing Works-Gateshead-on-Tyne-London

Remember the above photo Mairiuna? As mentioned in a previous post, I bought the above edition at The Book Shop in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town.

Can’t wait to go back ! And you ?