Here’s the frog-adorned image which appeared on Google on 29 February 2012. It marked the 220th birth anniversary of Gioachino Rossini, one of the greatest composers of the 19th century who has often been called “the Italian Mozart”. He was born only three months after Mozart’s death, on the leap day of a bissextile year. . The funny … Continue reading →
These nice google images which regularly celebrate great men or women, be they writers, artists, philosophers, scientists, economists, politicians, humanitarians, always trigger my curiosity and I often click on them to know what man or woman is hiding behind… On Tuesday, 7 February 2012, when I clicked on the Victorian style image you can see above, I discovered it … Continue reading →
As you all know by now, I’m a long time fan of anything and everything related to Unicorns, be it in literature or in any other form or shape. So when Sir James George Frazer’s book titled The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, landed on my doorstep, I was more than enthusiast about its cover design which … Continue reading →
Bonjour! Hello again from Scotland, Marie-Agnès, Janice and Jean-Claude! We both wish you – and all of Scotiana’s readers – bon courage and many happy times in the year ahead, which promises to be quite a difficult one. 🙂 As we write, the garden snowdrops are in full bloom, yet winter is not over. There’s a very welcome ‘stretch’ to … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, I’m always looking forward to receiving The Scots Magazine. Its covers are generally gorgeous and its wee size allows me to take it with me in the tram. Indeed, so deeply immersed I often get in my reading that I soon forget where I’m going to… last time I missed two stations 😉 What I like most … Continue reading →
Just stumbled upon this article about the 2011 British Wildlife Photography Award and being a photography lover, I’m very excited to share it with you. Especially that it reports that the overall winner is Scottish Photographer Richard Shucksmith, who lives on the beautiful Shetland Islands! The winners in twelve categories of the 2011 British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPAs) have … Continue reading →
Pourquoi les dessinateurs dessinent-ils des chats ? Parce qu’ils les aiment. (Le Monde 2012-01-10) Hi everybody ! A few days ago, Iain and Margaret sent us this message from Scotland : You probably know that the cartoonist Ronald Searle (whose death was announced today) is believed to have found the inspiration for his dreadful St. Trinian’s schoolgirls – … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, BONNE ANNEE A TOUS !!! We’re just coming back from Sologne where we spent the New Year holidays not far from Aubigny-sur-Nère and a few kilometers from two of the most famous châteaux de la Loire: Chambord and Cheverny. Cheverny is the castle which served as a model to the Belgian comic book creator Hergé for … Continue reading →
Wishing You A Great 2012! Hogmanay is the Scots word for the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. Its official date is the 31st of December. However this is normally only the start of a celebration which lasts through the night until the morning of the 1st or, in many cases, the 2nd of January. There are … Continue reading →
. May the bells of Happiness ring merrily for you at Christmas. Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr! ( Merry Christmas! in Gaelic) http://youtu.be/43kAP7GNlbE Festive Greetings From everyone at Scotiana, we wish you and yours a happy holiday and a healthy and prosperous new year. We are honored to have you as loyal readers and truly look forward to blogging along with you … Continue reading →
Joyeux Noël à tous !!! Santa Claus will very soon be at our doorstep or should I say up on the roof, ready to drop precious little presents into our chimney, ‘wee surprises’ as Iain and Margaret would say ;-). Why not read or re-read some good Scottish Christmas stories while waiting for him? 😉 Storytelling has always … Continue reading →
Here fond affection rears its sculpted stone… (from John Henry Alexander’s epitaph – Glasgow Necropolis) “CEMETERIES ARE FOR THE LIVING. Sure, the dead are the permanent residents and the living merely visitors but the Necropolis and every other burying ground in the world were imagined, designed and built for the benefit of other living people. Time, as … Continue reading →
. On this beautiful sunshined day, while reading away stories from Celtic Life – 25th Anniversary Special Edition which compiles the “Best of the Best” articles published in the last quarter century, a title grabbed my fullest attention: Child Slaves From Scotland; A Story rarely told . !!?? Written back in 2001 by Douglas MacGowan, it’s an … Continue reading →
Bonjour Janice, Marie-Agnès et Jean-Claude – Hello again from Scotland! 🙂 Marie-Agnès and Jean-Claude, do you still have a subscription to The Scots Magazine, the famous journal first published in 1739? We don’t have one ourselves, but were interested to find that the October 2011 issue contained a number of features on music in Scotland. Amongst them was a … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, Can you remember the Scottish link binding together the three picturesque villas you can see below? Fortunately, these villas have survived the wave of destruction which, in the name of renovation (and profit), has deprived Arcachon of some of its most beautiful “Arcachonnaises”, as these 19th century architectural jewels are locally called. I’m going to … Continue reading →
