Happy Spooky Halloween Dear Friends! I know its an old-fashioned holiday that actually dates back many centuries, but nice to recall that Halloween actually originates from Scotland. Back then it was called Samhain, a Gaelic and Pagan commemoration of the end of the harvest season. The celebration is mentioned in Celtic literature over two thousand years ago. During Samhain, the … Continue reading →
Born on 17 October 1921, in Stromness, Orkney, George Mackay Brown, “The Bard of Orkney” would be a hundred years old today. We would like to join his many fans all over the world to celebrate this anniversary and pay homage to the great Scottish poet. As one of the leading Scottish poets and authors of the 20th century GMB … Continue reading →
Dear readers, Autumn is back with its gorgeous colours and shorter days. A good time for fireside reading and for me to go on with my promise to Sir Walter Scott to read all his books. A promise that seems to be well on its way though I still feel like the climber at the foot of the Himalayas ;-). … Continue reading →
Bonjour Marie-Agnes, Janice et Jean-Claude ! 🙂 Hello again from Scotland ! Is there, I wonder, any more romantic story in all of our country’s modern history than the tale of ‘The Stone’ – how at Christmas 1950 Ian Hamilton (b.1925) and some young friends removed Scotland’s Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey to bring it back home? What they … Continue reading →
Scottish Place Names in Quebec Hello Dear Friends, The maple trees will soon be vibrant with colors of red and golden-yellow and all their multiple combinations as we are now entering the autumn season. It brings back the beautiful memories of when MairiUna and Jean-Claude flew fom France in the fall of 2010 to meet me in Montreal. We then … Continue reading →
Today, 15 August 2021, is a keydate on the Scottish calendar. It is the 250th birthday of Sir Walter Scott, one of the most popular authors in Scotland and his popularity goes far beyond its frontiers. As one of his French admirers, I could not help writing a few lines on Scotiana today. How I would like to be in … Continue reading →
As soon as I received the last issue of The Scots Magazine (August 2021) I browsed through its pages to read the two articles devoted to Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) for his 250th birthday anniversary, on 15 August 2021. “How you can mark 250 years of Sir Walter Scott” … I read on the magazine’s cover. Personally, as I had … Continue reading →
Hello dearest friends, As you might know by now, I’m passionate of all things Scottish related! Therefore, in my ongoing quest of Quebec-Scottish links, I’m very happy, as a native Quebecer, to share a glimpse on the origin of a brave, courageous and thoughtful municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Canada named Inverness ( referring to Inverness, Scotland) which first … Continue reading →
On April 16th 2021, I decided (at last) to fulfill the promise we made a few years ago to Sir Walter Scott during one of our unforgettable visits at Abbotsford in the Scottish Borders…
Continue reading →Hello dear friends! I was tidying up some philatelic files and came across this beautiful booklet of ten (10) postage stamps depicting Scottish archeological sites, issued by Great Britain, for exclusive sale by Historic Scotland. I don’t remember at which property I bought same as there are over 300 properties in the care of Historic Scotland and I have visited … Continue reading →
“The only pleasure in redecorating or moving house comes from stumbling across books that I’d almost forgotten I owned.” John Burnside As we are going to move soon from our house in the South of Bordeaux to a new home situated in a lovely corner of Périgord Noir, I am making boxes and boxes of books and it made me … Continue reading →
New Glasgow While googling for the physical address of nearby retail store, I notice a name on Google’s map that captured my attention : New Glasgow. Could it be that a Canadian-Scottish link is near where I live? (I’m based in St-Jérôme, near Ste-Sophie, approximately 50 km north of Montreal, in the beautiful province of Québec, Canada. ) Well googly … Continue reading →
Robert Burns : Our Poet at Ellisland Farm, 1788-1791 .. . Bonjour Janice, Marie-Agnes et Jean-Claude. Hello again from Scotland ! 🙂 We do hope that you’re all keeping safe. Margaret and I were very happy, Marie-Agnes, to receive a message from you just a few days ago, saying how much you liked the Burns poem “in English” that … Continue reading →
Dear readers, dear friends and fans of Scotland, the whole team of Scotiana wishes you a very Happy New Year! May our Scottish adventures inspire you to travel and walk on the wonderful paths of La Belle Alba… Never more than in winter, does she wear her lovely name better… !!! HAPPY HOGMANAY !!! https://youtu.be/hAkadrmhhx0 Let me share … Continue reading →
Whether you live in Edinburgh, in Scotland, in France, Canada or everywhere in the world, We wish you all, dear readers, a merry, MERRY Christmas ! Un très très Joyeux Noël ! And believe me, one of the best places to spend Christmas is Scotland ! I can tell you that because one year ago we were there and … Continue reading →
