It's your Electric Scotland newsletter meaning
the weekend is nearly here :-)
You can view what's new this week on Electric Scotland at
http://www.electricscotland.com/update.html and you can unsubscribe to
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See our Calendar of Scottish Events around the world at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/calendar_help.htm
CONTENTS
-----------------
Electric Scotland News
Micro Button Advertisers - Great Scot International Inc. Special Offer.
The Flag in the Wind
Burkes Landed Gentry Scottish Volume
The Scottish Nation
The Celtic Monthly
Memoirs of Peter Henry Bruce, Esq
History of the Burgh of Dumfries
A Group of Scottish Women
The Southern States of America
History of the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne
MacGregor / Taylor Family of South Carolina
Stone Mountain Highland Games 2006
Children's Story by Laura Lagana
Dark Lochnagar, Picures from David Hunter
Poems
A History of the Barony of Cowdenknowes
Bits of Electric Scotland - Suggested Tours of Scotland
ELECTRIC SCOTLAND
-----------------
Well I did a 13 hour drive from South Carolina on Sunday and arrived back in
Canada just past midnight. My thanks to Beth Gay of the Family Tree and her
extended family for looking after me. I hope you enjoyed some of the
pictures I managed to post up but if you didn't get to see them check out
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/america/southcarolina/index.htm
My time on the Internet in South Carolina was through the local Internet
cafe in Walhalla and my thanks to them for providing excellent access as
well as good coffee and snacks :-) The problem I have while away is that I
just use the internal notebook mouse and keyboard and the mouse has a habit
of doing things it shouldn't and also I'm not that fast a typer on the
internal keyboard. This all meant that things often took 3 times longer than
they do when I'm in my office using a normal keyboard and mouse.
I didn't get as much done in Kentucky as I'd hoped but one thing I did
manage was to arrange to synchronize a backup for the web site to a new
128Gb USB Hard Disk that I purchased. One thing that might amuse you is that
when I was doing the first synchronise it went great but having just tried
one again here in Chatham I was horrified to see it was going to download
just over a Gigabyte of data! I finally figured out that when I do an update
of the site that includes changing any of the borders then it has to write
each htm file to disk meaning that all my .htm files then need to be backed
up! [groan].
We've also managed to move the entire ElectricScotland domains over to the
new server and already I notice a great increase in speed. When doing a site
update it used to take around 40 minutes to publish and now it just takes
around 12 minutes so a lot of time saved.
We had terrible problems trying to migrate PHP and MySQL over to the latest
versions and after 3 days we decided to revert back to the older versions.
We noted many comments on the web about problems moving to these new
versions so we'll now wait until they become more stable. This meant things
we wanted to do didn't get done.
We did manage to get the new version of the Postcard program up and running
although I am currently experiencing some problems on the admin side and am
awaiting an email from support to try and fix these. The main reasons for
moving to this new version were to sort out problems with the old version
where I was unable to add more cards. The other main reason was that this
new version lets you send quick cards meaning that you no longer need to go
through all the various options. They are now under a "click here for more
options" link.
There are quite a few problems with this program from an admin standpoint so
I might bite the bullet and try another program but will give it a week or
so to see if they can fix the problems.
While in Kentucky Steve and I had some serious discussions on what we'd like
to do with the site and what new features to add. There are a few things we
still need to sort out before moving to new features but now have an
interesting plan which we hope will develop over the next few months which
you will enjoy.
We did implement an RSS feed and have now resumed adding news items to it. I
think I mentioned in a previous newsletter than IE 7.0 has a built in reader
for those headlines. There are many free and commercial readers out there
but one that I found rather good can be obtained from
http://www.rssreader.com/
One thing I noted about this type of reader is that you can archive news
items so that if you get a touch swamped by them you can simply delete the
ones you don't want and just leave the ones you do want to read when you get
the time. Perhaps there is another reader out there than would allow you to
move items to an archive for later reading and so if you know of such a
reader do let me know.
I got in some long videos from TV Scots but just not sure if I want to make
these available as they are very large. One is over 300Mb. I guess if you
have broadband access these files are not a problem but I guess would be
impossible for dial-up users. Do let me know if you'd be interested in
seeing these. Quite a few are 30 - 60 minutes in length.
I did manage to pick up that encyclopedia on the Southern States of America
and intend to start on the first 3 volumes which gives the general
historical background to each of the States. I have some more detail on this
below.
I also acquired a years worth of issues of the weekly Scots-Canadian
newspaper starting from November 13, 1890. There are a few pages missing but
I think this will be an interesting read. I will however need to photograph
these issues so will be setting up a method to get decent clear photographs.
Due to the size of the newspaper I will need to do these around 1600 pixels
in width but as the newspaper is setup for four columns this should be easy
enough to read. I will play around with the size of each page to find the
optimal size versus clarity. Just out of interest I have provided the first
page for you to get a flavour of what this newspaper offers at
http://www.electricscotland.com/historyy/scotscan/scots_candaian.jpg
I have also acquired the book "Standard Settings of Pipe Music of The
Seaforth Highlanders" which contains a lot of music scores. It seems to have
lost a couple of pages but none the less looks to be a great resource for
folk playing the bagpipes. I'll be scanning these in as images and plan to
get these up shortly. After that I'll be returning to do the 6th and final
volume of the Scots Minstrelsie. I figure with both these publications on
the site they should be a great resource for musicians.
I added an additional advertising block in the footer of the site for
Amazon.com. Essentially this attempts to offer you products based on your
browsing habits and the page you are visiting so I thought this might be of
interest and have added that to the footer of the page.
And finally... just as I was about to upload this newsletter we had a hard
disk crash [sigh]. So we've restored from the weekly backup and then I had
to upload my local backup which fortunately I had done last night so nothing
will be lost although it will likely take some time to complete the upload.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out
the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's
New" section at the link at the top of this newsletter and pick up poems and
stories sent into us during the week from Donna, Margo, Stan, John and
others.
Micro Button Advertisers
------------------------------------
Great Scot International Inc.
http://www.greatscotshop.com/
A great special offer!
Salar Smokehouse is situated on the shore of Loch Carnan on the north east
coast of South Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides off the north west
coast of Scotland. From here we look out of our windows over the boats
bobbing at their moorings in the loch, northwards we see up to the hills of
North Uist and to the east, over the sea (the Minch), we can see the
mountains of Skye, the Cuillins and MacLeod's Tables. It is an ever-changing
scene, full of interest - sky, sometimes clouds, sea, sometimes crashing
waves, birds, seals and occasionally even otters.
The business was started in 1983 as a small salmon farm by Jane and Eric
Twelves. With only 2 cages, they looked after the fish in their spare time.
The business grew and diversified and Jane started making the Flaky Smoked
Salmon, but just on a very small scale at home. Some was given to friends
and relatives for Christmas presents and some was sold locally. Eventually,
encouraged by everyone's enthusiasm, Salar Smokehouse was set up and Flaky
Smoked Salmon was launched at the BBC Good Food Show in 1997.
Over the years Salar Flaky Smoked Salmon has been showered with awards and
has been praised by both Claire Macdonald of Macdonald ("utterly delicious")
and Clarissa Dickson Wright ("the best I have tasted"). Nick Nairn lists
Salar Smokehouse has one of his favorite suppliers and selected it for the
Gourmet Britain Banquet in Shanghai hosted by Tony Blair.
The classic way of serving Flaky Smoked Salmon is with salad - as an elegant
starter for a special meal, as a main course or for a picnic.
To order Flaky Smoked Salmon in the USA visit
http://www.thescottishgrocer.com/scottishsmokedsalmon.html
Also.. if you enter the code albannach in the shopping cart you will get a
15% discount.
I might add I've already placed my order and the code works fine! :-)
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
------------------------------------
This weeks edition is by Allison Hunter. I noted with interest her comments
on the return of the Arithmetic O Grade exam. When I was in school I got one
of those and have always felt that this is an excellent option as many
pupils might not be good at maths but can do well in Arithmetic which is
really much more useful on a day to day basis.
Peter reminds us... On Thursday 30 November 2006 Scots, at home and abroad,
will once again celebrate our Patron Saint’s Day – St Andrew’s Day. One of
the most obvious signs of our Patron Saint that you can see every day of the
year is the St Andrew’s Cross, also known as The Salrire, which is
Scotland’s National Flag. Thanks to The Scottish Flag Trust our National
Flag flies every day, and night, in the village near the site which
tradition gives as the birth of The Saltire. Tradition has it that the flag,
the white saltire on a blue background, the oldest flag in Europe and the
Commonwealth, originated in a battle fought in East Lothian in 832AD.
I also note with interest the long story added this week, A Fight With Death
by Ian MacLaren. Marilyn Wright has recorded this in real audio format so
you can listen to it as well as read it.
You can read this weeks issue, see the pictures and listen to the Scots
language at
http://www.scotsindependent.org
MSP Linda Fabiani has sent in her weekly diary for period ending 21st
November which you can read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/fabiani/061121.htm
You can read her past entries at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/fabiani/
Burkes Landed Gentry Scottish Volume
---------------------------------------------------------
For more than 170 years, Burke's Landed Gentry has been an invaluable
genealogical guide to notable families and their histories throughout the
British Isles. With the 19th Edition the volumes have been published
regionally, and this, the first volume - Burke's Landed Gentry The Kingdom
in Scotland, was published in the second half of 2001. It is some 1,500
pages in length, complete with the fully updated lineages of 650 Scottish
families and the biographies of over 850 of Scotland's leading individuals
and is now from 2006 is available as an ebook for the first time.
Please note.
Please read the copyright statement included within the download file. The
ebook is for your personal use only.
The download has an approximate file size of 18 Mega Bytes.
You will need a PDF / Adobe Acrobat Reader and software that can managed zip
files to access the ebook.
The book comes in PDF format and costs £19 to download for personal use at
http://www.burkes-peerage-books.com/product_info.php?products_id=36
The Scottish Nation
----------------------------
My thanks to Lora for transcribing these volumes for us.
Now onto the D's and added this week are Dinwoodie, Dirleton, Dischington,
Dobie, Doig, Don and Donald.
Shorter entries this week but here is the Donald entry for you to read
here...
DONALD, the name of several kings of early Scottish history. The first four
reigned before the Picts and Scots were united under Kenneth MacAlpin in
843. Donald the fourth, who succeeded in 632, was drowned in Loch Tay,
Perthshire, having been there, it is said, “at fishing with his servants for
pastime.” [Old Chron. of Scotland, p. 55.]
Donald V., sometimes called Donald I., succeeded his brother Kenneth in 860.
The ancient laws of the kingdom were revised and confirmed under his
authority, and according to Pinkerton (Enquiry, vol. ii. p. 178), the Gaël
or Dalriads obtained a confirmation of the old laws assigned them by Ed.
Fin. [Chr. Pict.] The Norwegians having invaded the kingdom Donald fought
and defeated them; but is said at last to have fallen by their hands at
Forres in 904.
DONALD, King of Scotland, commonly called Donald Bane, the son of Duncan,
and brother of Malcolm Canmore, before usurping the throne was styled
maormor or earl of Gowrie, and had large possessions in that district, as on
the baptism of his nephew Alexander he conferred on him the lands of Liff
and Invergowrie. [Balfour’s Annals, vol. i. p. 6.] On the usurpation of the
throne by Macbeth, while his elder brother Malcolm fled into Cumberland,
Donald took refuge in the Isles, where he seems to have ingratiated himself
so well with the people and with the Celtic portion of the inhabitants of
Scotland, that after the death of his brother Malcolm Canmore, in 1093, with
their assistance he was enabled to take possession of the throne, to the
exclusion of the children of the latter. He was, however, dethroned in 1094,
by Duncan the Second, the elder son of the late king, by Ingiobiorge, widow
of Earl Thorfinn, (see ALEXANDER I.,) but Duncan was himself treacherously
slain in 1095, by Malpedir, thane of Moern or Garmoran, a district in
northern Inverness-shire. The other children of Malcolm by his second wife,
Edgar, Alexander, and David, had, meanwhile, found refuge in England, under
the protection of their maternal uncle, Edgar Atheling, when Duncan being
removed, Donald Bane returned from his exile and re-ascended the throne,
which he was permitted to fill but for a short time, as in the same year an
army, composed of English, Anglo-Saxons and Anglo Normans, (many of whom had
been expelled by Donald Bane from the country,) led by Edgar Atheling, and
accompanied by the young princes his nephews, invaded Scotland, and the
usurper Donald, being deserted by those who had twice enabled him to become
king, was made prisoner, his eyes put out, and he was consigned for the rest
of his life to a dungeon. This took place in 1098, with Edgar, fourth son of
Malcolm by the second marriage, succeeded to the throne. Donald Bane’s son,
Madach by name, was earl of Athol in the reign of David the First. He
married Margaret daughter of Haco earl of Orkney. Henry the grandson of
Madach died in the reign of Alexander the Second, without issue male, and
with him Donald Bane’s descendants in the male line failed.
You can read the other entries at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/index.htm
The Celtic Monthly
---------------------------
A magazine for Highlanders
Added the January 1903 issue which contains...
Alexander Murray, The Clan Fraser, Some remarks on Clan Tartans, The ending
of a clan feud, The Martial Music of the Clans, The eight men of Moidart,
MacLeans of Dochgarroch, A balad of Yule, The Distinctions of the Ossianic
Poems, Brigadier MacKintosh of Borlum, Life in the Highlands in the olden
times, Folklore of Sutherland, The MacLeans of Crossapol, Clan MacMillan
Society, Our musical page.
This issue can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/celtic/january1903.htm
You can see the issues to date at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/celtic/index.htm
Memoirs of Peter Henry Bruce, Esq
----------------------------------------------------
A Military Officer, in the services of Prussia, Russia and Great Britain
(1783)
Have now got up the final book 12 of this publication which contains...
The treatment of two privateers and their owners. - Letter from Lieutenant
Moone. - Letter from a friend. - Letter from lieutenant Dromgole. - Division
of the quick silver. - The captain applies again to the assembly to bring
the materials. - The Assembly withdraw the governors salary. - Letter from
lieutenant Moone. - Another from Charlestown. - Letter from governor Glen. -
Produce of the Bahama Islands, and the adjacent sea. - Observations on St.
Salvador and the Bimini islands. - The inhabitants of Providence. -
Description of Fort Nassau. - Cost of both forts. - The captain leave
Providence. - Arrives at Charlestown. - A visit from a Cherokee kings.
Captain Frankland's rich prize. - A short description of Carolina. - The
captain sails for England. - Arrives at London.
You can read this book at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/phbruce/page475.htm
You can read this publication at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/phbruce/index.htm
History of the Burgh of Dumfries
----------------------------------------------
Got up three more chapters from this book. The previous chapters can be read
at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/historyndx.htm
Now up to Chapter 58 and here is how that chapter starts...
TWELVE or thirteen vessels were all that the port of Dumfries could boast of
in 1790. Three of these traded in foreign wines, or in timber and hides from
the Baltic; the others being employed as coasters, exporting grain and
potatoes, and bringing back lime, coal, and merchant goods. Forty years
before that time, Dr. Burnside tells us, "there was a considerable tobacco
trade carried on from Dumfries. At an average of four years, 1,250 hogsheads
were annually imported. It is alleged, however, that the exportation was
considerably greater; and that, in consequence of some unhappy mistakes of
this kind, the trade was discouraged. It has since entirely failed."
The first link in the railway chain by which Dumfries is now united to the
great centres of business throughout the country, was formed by the opening
of the Glasgow and South-Western Company's line from the Burgh to Gretna, on
the 22nd of August, 1848: others were supplied when the whole of that
railway was completed to Glasgow, in September, 1850, when the
Castle-Douglas and Dumfries railway was opened, in November, 1859, and when
the Burgh was brought within the range of the Caledonian line by the opening
of a branch to Lockerbie, in September, 1863. These various railways have
done much to develop the trade of the Burgh and the district; but, as
already noticed, they have seriously reduced the traffic of the port.
In 1831, the Commissioners of Tonnage had a revenue of nearly £1,100; in
1844, just before the rival mode of transit began to take effect, the
revenue had risen to £1,212; but even then the trust was heavily indebted to
the Bank of Scotland - the expenditure including payments for debt and
interest to the extent of £1,356, and there being a deficit on the year of
£144.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/history58.htm
The whole book can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/dumfries/historyndx.htm
A Group of Scottish Women
-----------------------------------------
by Harry Graham (1908).
Our thanks to Julie for transcribing this for us.
We now have more chapters up and here how this chapter on Lady Louisa Stuart
(1757 - 1851) starts...
“Friendship, esteem, and fair regard,
And praise, the poet’s best reward!” –
These were the gifts bestowed by the lovely Matilda upon her faithful
Wilfred in Sir Walter Scott’s poem of Rokeby. The author himself had
probably a wider experience of popular applause and appreciation than the
majority of mankind. In nothing surely was he more blessed than in those
friendships which played so agreeable a part in his life. From early days,
when he was rapidly winning his laurels in the field of letters, to later
years when he struggled so gallantly with an overwhelming burden of debt and
misfortune, Scott could always find courage and comfort in the unswerving
loyalty of a large circle of devoted friends. Of Sir Walter’s literary
friendships none is perhaps of greater interest than the intimacy which the
novelist had formed with Lady Louisa Stuart before he reached the age of
five-and-twenty, and which was only terminated by his death in 1832.
Scott was well accustomed to the adulation of his women friends; indeed, he
may at times have found it somewhat tedious. But an appreciation of his
talents founded upon a knowledge of literature so intimate and extensive as
that of Lady Louisa could not fail to prove agreeable to him. That he set
high store by it is clear from the fact that he made a practice of
submitting much of his work to the discriminating eye of one whom he
described as the “best critic” of his acquaintance.
Lady Louisa Stuart was born on August 12, 1757. She was one of a large
family of five boys and six girls, the children of John, Earl of Bute, Prime
Minister to George III. Lord Bute was a statesman whose unpopularity with
the English public is notorious. It arose from a number of causes. In the
first place he had been the constant and almost the sole companion of King
George before that monarch ascended the throne; and the lot of a court
favourite in those days might occasionally be a pleasant but was never a
popular one. To Lord Bute the Heir-Apparent made a practice of unbosoming
his inmost thoughts in the course of those long walks which they were in the
habit of taking together. The two friends would ride daily side by side in
the Park. They spent much time in an intimate companionship which could
hardly fail to arouse the jealousy of those who were favoured with somewhat
less of the royal society. Then, too, the fact of his being a Scotsman
exposed Lord Bute to the hatred of the majority of the English people, at a
time when the rebellion of 1745 was still fresh in the popular memory. He
was the possessor of a very handsome person, of which advantage, we are
told, he was not insensible. His enemies even went so far as to assert that
he spent many hours every day in contemplating the symmetry of his own legs
in the looking-glass. He might no doubt have employed his time more
profitably, but the study of one’s figure – especially if it be a fine and
shapely one – is a failing hardly sufficient in itself to deserve the odium
of the populace. But the Prime Minister indulged in other habits which were
more calculated to evoke the harsh criticism of the world. He enjoyed a
higher place in the affection of the Princess-Dowager of Wales then a purely
Platonic friendship commanded or strict propriety permitted. His clandestine
nocturnal visits to Carlton House were the subject of general comment, and
provoked the famous mot of the future Duchess of Kingston, at that time Maid
of Honour to the princess, who replied, when reproached for some
irregularity of conduct, “Votre Altesse Royale sait que chaqu’un a son But!”
[Memoirs of Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, p.321.]
And you can read the rest of this entry at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/women/scottish_women_chapter18.htm
The other chapters can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/women/scottish_women_ndx.htm
The Southern States of America
----------------------------------------------
Published in 1909.
Have made a start at what is a 12 volume publication although I currently
intend only doing the first 3 volumes to give a history of the Southern
States of America. As is said in the first volume...
THREE volumes in this series have been devoted to the history of the states
told separately. The writing of the history of each state has been assigned
to several writers, men who are recognized in their respective states as
authorities on periods which they treat. The desire has been to have a
somewhat encyclopaedic account but not a dry chronological statement of
facts. The result, therefore, is that the essays in these three volumes show
much individuality and represent many view-points.
In these volumes will be found a treatment of fifteen states, the eleven
states which organized the "Confederate States of America," the three border
states of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri and the state of West Virginia
which was carved out of Virginia during the War of Secession.
The order of arrangement of the histories of the states in these volumes is
as follows:
I. Virginia and the states formed from her original territory : Maryland,
Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
II. Georgia and the states formed from its original territory: Alabama and
Mississippi.
III. Florida, which, though it contains the oldest town in the United
States, is not treated in its historical order since it did not become a
part of the United States till 1819, but is placed after the Georgia group
on account of its proximity.
IV. The states west of the Mississippi River in the order of their admission
to the Union.
A list of the governors of the states and other matter will be found at the
end of Volume III.
J. A. C. C.
I now have a longer preface and the first Introductary account up which can
be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/america/south/index.htm
History of the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to the society for letting us publish this book.
We are now up to Chapter 8 and here is how that starts...
WHATEVER the Presidential influence during 1906-10, extensive the fact is
that the Society's affairs, if not so extensive as in Gibb's time, continued
to flourish. The Caledonian Choir and the Caledonian Brass Band were still
high in popular favour; concerts, smoke socials, etc., were held frequently;
contests at bowls, draughts, and rifle-shooting were often arranged; and at
least twice a year members heard stimulating speeches from distinguished
guests.
When Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael became Governor of Victoria in 1908 he
promptly accepted the Society's invitation to serve as Patron, and he made a
bright speech at the St. Andrew's Dinner soon afterwards. Other guest
speakers on other occasions were Mr Andrew Fisher (then Leader of the
Federal Opposition and later Prime Minister), Sir John Madden (who gave a
stirring account of a tour he had made in Scotland), that eloquent
Presbyterian minister the Rev. Andrew Gillison (afterwards killed at
Gallipoli), Melbourne's Lord Mayor of the day (Colonel Burston ) and the
State's most brilliant Director of Education, Frank Tate.
Note what "Lauchie Lang Lugs", a breezy contributor to The Scot, had to say
about one such gathering:
It was a thing tae dream aboot. The attendance was guid; the speeches were
guid; the singin' and recitin' were guid; the haggis was guid; the drinks
were guid; the pipin' was guid; the britherly feelin' was guid; Lord
Rosebery's letter was guid.. .
Maybe Lauchie would have recorded other "guid" things but for the fact that
the Editor stopped him with, "Guid gracious, Lauchie, that will be enough!"
Anyway, it is clear that the St. Andrew's Dinner of 1908 was a very bright
party.
Other Scottish societies continued to prosper during the same period. In the
metropolitan area the youthful Prahran and Richmond societies were faring
exceptionally well, Richmond for example having already built up a choir, an
orchestra, and a pipe band, and having received from the new Governor (Sir
T. Gibson Carmichael) a handsome Scottish Flag. Country societies, too, were
flourishing, notably those of the Western District, with the emphasis on
Colac, perhaps, through the patriotism and generosity of the Chief, Andrew
Chirnside.
At the same time, new Scottish bodies were bobbing up in all directions.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/australia/melbourne8.htm
You can read this book at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/australia/melbourne.htm
MacGregor / Taylor Family of South Carolina
----------------------------------------------------------------
While in South Carolina I met Barbara H. Smith, a MacGregor descendant, who
is well into genealogy and as a result she produced a couple of large
volumes of her research. She kindly let me photograph those and now have
them up on the site. Contained within all the photographs are some
interesting wee accounts so you may enjoy browsing this.
You can read these pages at
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/minibios/mc/macgregor_taylor.htm
Stone Mountain Highland Games 2006
--------------------------------------------------------
I was sent in some pictures from this event by Cheryl Meyne-MacMillan for
which many thanks. You can see these pictures at
http://www.electricscotland.com/gatherings/stone/stone2006.htm
Children's Story
----------------------
Laura Lagana sent me in a children's story "My Best Friend" which you can
read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/lagana11.htm
Dark Lochnagar
-----------------------
David Hunter sent me in some pictures of Dark Lochnagar and he also included
a couple of audio files where he talks about his experience on walking this
route. You can see this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/pictures/hunter/set8.htm
Poems
----------
Kenneth Shaw sent in a poem, Lockerbie at
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/shaw/shaw16.htm
Bard of Banff has sent in two poems, "Scotland - New Beginings" at
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/banff/scotland2.htm
And "Now" at
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/banff/scotland3.htm
John sent in a doggerel, "A Freenly Biel Aside Yer Hoose" at
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/doggerel190.htm
A History of the Barony of Cowdenknowes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Est. 1634
The Anglo-Scottish border runs from Berwick-on-Tweed in the east to the
Solway Firth. Until the eighteenth century this was an area of virtually
continuous strife which only began to decline in the seventeenth century
with the Union of the Crowns in 1603. By the sixteenth century the border
was divided into six administrative districts, three on the Scottish side
and three on the English side. Each district of March, as it was known, was
administered by a Warden whose function was to defend the border during
wartime and to maintain law and order during peacetime. The latter function
required cross-border cooperation with the Warden there to counter the
Reivers who raided across the border and violated the peace treaties.
Cowdenknowes seems to have been just within the Scottish East March.
The Homes (pronounced and sometimes spelled as Humes) of Cowdenknowes in
Lauderdale were descended from the first Lord Home and were one of the
greater Borders laird families. Mungo Home, heir of his father John Home of
Ersiltoun, Whitrig and Crailing, had Sasine of Ersiltoun, Brotherstanes and
Whitrig. In 1493, and in 1494, he also had Smailholm. On 4 March 1506 he had
a charter from King James IV of the lands and barony of Ersiltoune with the
dominical lands called ‘Coldaneknollis’ with fortalice and manor thereon,
which the king added to the barony of Ersiltoune. In 1507, he married
Elizabeth Stewart, illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Buchan. Their eldest
son was John. Later, as Sir John Home of Cowdenknowes, he became embroiled
in the feud between the Kerrs and the Scotts. This feud arose when James V,
attempting to escape from the supervision of the Earl of Angus, enlisted the
Scotts of Buccleuch. They, with 600 men from Liddesdale and Annandale,
attacked the royal train near Melrose. Their attempt to liberate the king
failed and Kerr of Cessford was killed during the attack. Twenty-six years
later, in 1552, the Kerrs had their revenge when a group of Kerr supporters
waylaid Scott of Buccleuch in the High Street of Edinburgh. He was then
killed by Sir John Home of Cowdenknowes.
You can read the rest of this account at
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/families/cowdenknowes.htm
Bits of Electric Scotland
-----------------------------------
This week I'm covering the page "Suggested Tours of Scotland" at
http://www.electricscotland.com/travel/tours/index.htm
Essentially this is a page where we have posted up visitors accounts of
their holidays in Scotland often with photographs. The index page shows...
Dunalastair Hotel
This is where I stayed for a couple of weeks and did lots of day tours using
the hotel as a base.
Healing Highlands
Terry Cochran's tour of Scotland.
Mary's 7 day tour of Scotland
Mary waited 38 years to come to Scotland and here she tells you about her
experience.
The 1 week Tour by Sandy Campbell
This is Sandy's favourite 1 week tour of Scotland which he hands out to
everyone :-)
Jeanette Simpson's 19 day tour of Scotland
Jeanette wanted to attend her Clan gathering in Scotland so decided to tack
on a 14 day holiday to the front and here she tells you all about it.
The Craig Family trip to Scotland
Charles and his family relate their trip to Scotland using rail as a means
of getting around.
Two short days in Scotland by Katie Erickson
Katie was doing the Norweigen fiords but got a chance to get 2 days in
Scotland.
Stan's Adventures in Scotland 1996
Here is a link to Stan's web site where he tells of his 2 week adventure in
Scotland.
Walking holidays
Here is where we point you to pages where you can read about walking
holidays from single day excursions to longer walks of several days.
Cycling - The Lochearnhead Tale
This is a great tale of a cycle ride to Lochearnhead.
Kathryn's Scottish Holiday
Finding the fairies and gnomes and sprites.
Icelandic Air Tour
This is the tour done by Joe Dunn and his wife as a result of winning two
free tickets to Scotland from the US in our Icelandic Air/Electric Scotland
competition run in 2000.
A Modern Orkney Saga
A holiday in Orkney.
A Scottish Excursion
A tour of Scotland by Dennis Fowler
A Scenic trip to the Top of Scotland
Article by Rob Wilkinson
A weekend in Scotland
Article by Graham McLelland
Going Home
A story of Charlotte's visit to Scotland in March 2003.
A Travelogue
An article by Linda Evans
A Cairngorm Diary
by James Nicoll Kerr Henderson, 24th - 29th July, 1932
A Scottish Trip
Part 1
Part 2
by Jim R. Walker and Heather R. Nicholson
Tour of Glencoe
By Margo Fallis
Loch Lomond
By Margo Fallis
A Magical Visit – Loch mo Naire at midnight
By Ian Neal
Forsyth Clan Tour 2003 Report
By Deanna Forsythe
Tour of Scotland
By Michael and Stefanie Knedlik, Seligenstadt, Germany in 1997
Highland Tour
By William Keddie
Jam Side Down
Traveling the West Highland Way by William Kerr
Trip to Bonny Scotland
By Cheryl Meyne-MacMillan / MacMillan Books, Inc.
And so by exploring some of these tours you may well get some ideas about
taking a holiday in Scotland :-)
http://www.electricscotland.com/travel/tours/index.htm
And that's all for now and I hope you all have a great thanksgiving weekend
:-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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