It is impossible to read and weigh the facts in connection with the conviction of Oscar Slater in May, 1909, at the High Court in Edinburgh, without feeling deeply dissatisfied with the proceedings, and morally certain that justice was not done (Conan Doyle – ‘The Case of Oscar Slater’) . We were introduced to the Oscar Slater Case, … Continue reading →
Bonjour Janice, Marie-Agnès et Jean-Claude – Hello again from Scotland! 🙂 I think you once told me, Janice, that our posts on Oscar Slater were among the most-read here at Scotiana – some people, I’m sure, may find it almost impossible to believe that such a shocking story could be true! Quite understandable though, for the truth of the affair … Continue reading →
One of George Mackay Brown’s favourite words was marvellous. He used it about the weather, his friends, music, the Dounby Show, the landscape, and about his penn’orth of sweeties and The Hotspur comic for boys. He thought it an intense word, shorthand for the kind of state described by poets such as Dylan Thomas, Muir and Wordsworth. So here we … Continue reading →
Bonjour! Hello again from Scotland, Janice, Marie-Agnès and Jean-Claude! Margaret and I would like to begin this first ‘Letter’ of 2011 by sending you all our very best wishes for the New Year. Janice, we send particular greetings and our kindest thoughts to your dear Papa, Jean-Paul, who’s been quite unwell recently. It’s pleasing to hear, Janice, that our Oscar … Continue reading →
Bonjour Marie-Agnes, Janice et Jean-Claude! Hello again from Scotland! Please let me begin today, Marie-Agnes et Jean-Claude, by recalling that joyful, sunny day in late summer when Margaret and I met you for the first time, at Biarritz on the Atlantic coast. 🙂 From the deserted street on a quiet Sunday morning, you appeared as if by magic at the … Continue reading →
