Ken McGoogan, Harper Collins, First Edition 2010 . In reading Mairiuna’s very moving post “In Flanders Fields…Lest We Forget…“, a question came to my mind: when did John Alexander McCrae’s ancestors emigrated to Canada? Glancing through the bookshelves of my library, looking for a reference book that could answer this question, I stumbled upon Ken McGoogan’s book “How The Scots … Continue reading →
. Soon it will be Armistice Day marking the end of the terrible conflict in Europe when our soldiers bled with yours. Iain and Margaret Hi everybody, A WEE surprise from Iain and Margaret was waiting for us in the mailbox yesterday… a BIG wee surprise I must say 😉 and another one from Janice too! WOW! It’s so very … Continue reading →
Gotta tell you all today about an article that recently caught my attention. Written by John McEwen, it was featured in the Scotman’s ezine . The title “How the Scottish capital helped inspire a force of nature” triggered my curiosity as “Everything Scotland” is always of great interest. 😉 John McEwen starts his article by announcing the new publication of John … Continue reading →
Every year, it comes as a surprise. The leaves flare, for a time, to crimson and butter yellow, the air shifts, in the early morning, from te damp greens of late summer to soft graphites and an occasional miraculous quail grey. (John Burnside – A Lie About My Father) Hi everybody, Leaves fall in the garden and it’s getting … Continue reading →
Hi everybody! Without our last message from Iain and Margaret, it would certainly have escaped us that today was the anniversary of the death of Frédéric Chopin, nor would we have known that this genial composer owed so much to a Scottish lady who, in the last and painful years of his short life, looked after him … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna! I’m happy to learn, inside your latest article touring us around Arcachon’s ‘less known heights’, that old villas of the area had a Scottish link! Great discovery my friend 😉 . And I just love the black & white postcards you showcased, as they romantically travel us back into time … The following excerpt from your post caught … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, Summer is lingering this year, with October already here and temperatures still close to 30° Celsius. But we are not going to complain as we can take advantage of this nice weather to visit some places we try to avoid during the touristic season. We’ve spent hours following the sunny sandy paths which wind between … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, Today is September 21st, the first day of the autumn season though here, in the south of France, it looks like a summer day, warm and sunny! I wonder what is the weather like in Scotland now… Is it as beautiful as it was, 179 years ago, in that quiet and beautiful corner of the Scottish Borders … Continue reading →
Hi everybody! Hope this article finds you well and enjoying life. 🙂 We received a letter in reference with the restoration of Sir Walter Scott’s House in the Borders region of Scotland and thought it would be great to share its contents as it is a cause that is close to our heart. Samantha Hobrough is part of the … Continue reading →
Hi everybody, We don’t live in Edinburgh and, as the number of our visits there happen to be rather limited, our vision of this fascinating city owes much to our readings, each of them adding its little touch to the sense of place we got there and making us still more eager to go back to the beautiful Scottish … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna! First, let me tell you that I absolutely fell in love with Arnold Lobel’s illustration “Books to the Ceiling” that we can see inside your post: “First Steps in Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street… Very original rendering of a house full of books! As we are both great book lovers, no wonder this charming illustration depicting a … Continue reading →
Books to the ceiling, books to the sky. My piles of books are a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! (Arnold Lobel – Whiskers & Rhyme) Hi everybody! The little corner of my library devoted to Alexander McCall Smith’s books is beginning to become crowded. As I’ve mentioned in my last post, … Continue reading →
Hi everybody! With autumn already touching our gardens and woods with its warm colours, it may seem a little late to write a page about “summer reading” but isn’t it a good idea to make summer last a little longer. Indeed, the Indian Summer is still to come, isn’t it Janice? But before embarking on our ”summer … Continue reading →
. Bonjour, Marie-Agnès, Jean-Claude et Janice! Ca va? – How are you today? 🙂 . I wonder whether our readers have guessed that, as well as sending these occasional Letters from Scotland, Margaret and I correspond regularly with you by email? We write in English, Marie-Agnès and Jean-Claude in French, and Janice often alternates between the two languages. I enjoy … Continue reading →
… Hi Mairiuna! While checking my agenda this morning, I noticed a scribble indicating that today was Sir Walter Scott’s birthday! I said to myself that we could not let this day go by without honouring our favorite scottish writer . To celebrate his priceless legacy which had such a great impact on historical fiction and upon so many worldwide … Continue reading →
