. I’m sure you know where I was last week Mairiuna ;-). You’ve guessed! That’s right, in the Redpath Hall of Montreal’s oldest university, the McGill University, toting my own box in which I’ve managed to haul almost fifty books on mainly Scottish related subjects. Wow…you can imagine how happy I was of finding these fascinating books. 🙂 This gathering … Continue reading →
Back to Doon Hill again and to Reverend Kirk. His strange story is leading us further than we had thought first. Not that I want to write a thesis about it, I’m not qualified to do so in any case, but we can try to make things a little clearer, on a bibliographical level at least. I wonder what our … Continue reading →
Mairiuna, imagine receiving an enveloppe in the mail on which you would find postage stamps depicting Dragons, Unicorns, Pixies, Giants, Mermaids and Fairies ??!!! It could happen for real you know, because Great Britain recently issued a collection of six stamps, depicting “Mythical Creatures” found in British folklore. These stamps were created exclusively for Royal Mail by Dave McKean, one … Continue reading →
Breakfast one hour later this morning since we’ve just changed to winter time in France. Changing times also, it seems ! Imagine my surprise when, on turning on the radio, I heard that the first “Dragon Week” has opened this week-end in Ploermel. Where is that, you may ask yourself. Not at all in China as you might have thought … Continue reading →
Mairiuna, I did made some research about the inscriptions showing on the grave of the most famous resident of the city of Aberfoyle, native clergyman Robert Kirk, born in 1644, who mysteriously disappeared in 1692. He was considered a very eccentric man as he believed in the existence of a world inhabited by faeries, goblins and other mysterious creatures. To … Continue reading →
“Do you believe in Fairies”? That’s a good question Janice and, indeed, isn’t that the title of one of our posts? What I’m sure of anyway is that many people do, and not only children, I can tell you! Take a look at the photos we’ve taken on Doon Hill. Aren’t they a most touching expression of folk beliefs in … Continue reading →
Mairiuna, upon reading your last post it brought back to memory the visit we did to Reverend Kirk’s Fairyland site Doon Hill, near the small town of Aberfoyle, gateway to the beautiful Trossach region in Perthshire. Aberfoyle is only 30 miles away by road of Glasgow and as such, there is no reason one should not stop by to contemplate … Continue reading →
Hey Janice, did I tell you I had received The Lore of Scotland, by Jennifer Westwood and Sophia Kingshill? Remember, I had mentioned it in my last post. You know, I have always been very interested in myths and legends and so I’m looking forward to reading it. When I was a little girl, I used to come back from … Continue reading →
From a vision to reality… One hundred and seventy-five years ago, on the 20th December, 1825, in the hall of Anderson’s College, the principal citizens of Glasgow heard the President of the College, Doctor Ure, conclude his address with the confident prophecy that “the time is not far distant when chariots winged with fire shall be seen flying over metallic … Continue reading →
The 11th Wigtown Book Festival has just closed its doors. So, once more they did it ! And if the feast is over the music can still be heard ! The 2008 Wigtown Book Festival won the Thistle Award for Best Regional Event and Festival but there is no doubt that the 2009 edition will have been as successful as … Continue reading →
As Mairiuna and myself are keen sherlockian memorabilia seekers, we could not resist bidding on a quiz-type blotter advertising the SIMCA 1000, a small French car quite popular back in the 1960-70’s. Translation: ” In the Gleendark castle, Herlock Sholmès and his loyal Ratson are tracking the SIMCA 1000. Find it before them and go see it at a SIMCA car … Continue reading →
Hidden walled gardens of enormous size or strange shape, swaying semi-tropical plants on windy seasides, ferry journeys to secret plant paradises, packed woodlands of towering Himalayan treasures, sculptured stones carved with arcane riddles, vast expanses of aristocratic estates and small town gardens filled with tiny alpine treasures. These are just a few examples of the surprises and delights in store … Continue reading →
Mairiuna, here’s an important element for our Scottish studies: Dr Sally Rush, senior lecturer from the History of Art department at Glasgow’s University has found a link between the Nine Worthies and the medallion-shaped Oak profiles adorning the Scottish Stirling Castle King’s Presence Chamber! Dr Rush has dug deep into arts, crafts, fashions, politics and iconography of Renaissance Europe to … Continue reading →
A good festival should be an encounter: with ideas, people, cultures and the landscape. It should look outwards but rejoice at the best of what’s local. Adrian Turpin . Festival Director For those who, like us, cannot attend the Wigtown Book Festival this year, we invite you to browse the program, which, in itself, delivers much information on all the … Continue reading →
The tents began to go up. There was a specially large pavillion, so big that the tree that grew in the field was right inside it, and stood proudly near one end, at the head of the chief table. Lanterns were hung on all its branches. More promising still (to the hobbits’ mind) : an enormous open-air kitchen was erected … Continue reading →
