DATES IN
HISTORY
30 March 1992
The United Nations voted to impose sanctions on Libya for failing to hand
over two Lockerbie bombing suspects.
30 March 2006
The Highland Council announced that Scotland’s first purpose-built Gaelic
school (Inverness) would be part of a £134 million deal for 11 new schools
to be constructed in the Highlands.
31
March 2006
One of Scotland’s wealthiest men Irvine Laidlaw, Lord Laidlaw, was revealed
as one of the secret lenders to the British Conservative Party. His loan of
£3.5 million was among £15,950,000 from 12 individuals and one company.
Pressure to reveal the names resulted from the ‘cash for honours’ row over
secret loans to the British Labour Party.
1 April 1571
After a siege lasting a year Dumbarton Castle was taken in a daring action
by Captain Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill on behalf of James VI, King of
Scots. Only Edinburgh Castle was left in the hands of supporters of the
deposed Mary, Queen of Scots.
1 April 2006
Second Division Champions-elect Gretna FC became the first third-tier club
to reach the Scottish Cup final with a 3-0 defeat of Dundee at Hampden Park
in front of a crowd of 14,179. A third-tier was instituted in season
1975/1976.
3
April 1995
The High Court in Edinburgh banned the BBC from screening a Panorama
interview with Prime Minister
John Major in
Scotland in the run-up to the local elections after protests from the Labour
Party and the Liberal Democrats.
4 April 1661
Death of Sir Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, ‘Auld Crookit-Back’,
leader of the Scottish Army of the Covenant, at Balgonie Castle, Fife. He
was captured by Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Dunbar and imprisoned in
the Tower of London, Due to his previous service in the Swedish army, rising
to Field Marshal in 1638, the Queen of Sweden interceded and won his parole.
See Dates in History in our
Features Section
SCOTTISH QUOTATIONS
I like to have quotations ready for every occasions - they
give one's ideas so pat and save one the trouble of finding
expression adequate to one's feeling.
Robert Burns
We continue our new Feature in this section of the
Flag - Scottish Quotations - statements in prose and verse which reflect
all aspects of Scottish life and outlook from the 1st century to the present day.
New
quotes added every week. The
quotations are not restricted to native Scots but include observations
from abroad which help us, in the words of our National Bard, Robert
Burns, "To see oursels as others see us"
|
This
week we return to the subject of drink with very contrasting
attitudes
being struck by the poets, Robert Burns and Robert Tannahill,
and the man often described as ‘the worst poet in the world’,
William McGonagall.
The comedian Billy Connolly draws attention to the massive change in
Scottish drinking habits – finishing the night with a ‘traditional’
curry! |
Robert Burns
(1759-1796)
Here’s a
bottle and an honest friend
What wad ye wish for mair man?
Wha kens, before his life may end,
What his share may be o’ care, man?
(A Bottle and
a Friend)
William
(Billy) Connolly
The
rituals of drink have always fascinated me. The way curry has become a
sort of traditional Scottish food after a night of drinking.
(Gullible’s
Travels 1982)
William
McGonagall (1830-1902)
Oh, thou
demon Drink, thou fell destroyer;
Thou curse of society, and its greatest annoyer.
What hast thou done to society, let me think?
I answer thou has caused the most of ills, thou demon Drink.
Thou
causeth the mother to neglect her child,
Also the father to act as he werer wild,
So that he neglects his loving wife and family dear,
By spending his earnings foolishly on whisky, rum, and beer.
(The Demon
Drink)
Flagnote:
Some sources give the date of William McGonagall’s birth as 1825. Although
born in Edinburgh of Irish parentage, he is traditionally associated with
Dundee.
Robert
Tannahill (1774-1810)
Whyles
dullness stands for modest merit,
And impudence for manly spirit;
To ken what worth each does inherit,
Just to try the bottle;
Send round the glass, and dinna spare it,
Ye’ll see their mettle.
Oh, would
the gods but grant my wish,
My constant prayer would be for this:
That love sincere, with health and peace,
My lot they’d clink in,
With now and then the social joys
O’ friendly drinkin’.
(On
Invocation)
See
Scottish Quotations in our Features Section
THE BLUE
TOON SONG BOOK
A selection of popular Scottish songs compiled by Anne Fowler and
published by Peterhead branch of the Scottish National Party in
September 2000.
THE WILD
MOUNTAIN THYME
Francis McPeake
O the summer time is coming
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the purple heather
Will you go, lassie go?
Chorus:
And we’ll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go. Lassie go?
I will build my love a tower
By yon clear crystal fountain
And on it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain
Will you go, lassie go?
If my true love she was gone
I would surely find no other
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go, lassie go?
Flagnote: You would rarely go to a folk club in the early 60s without hearing this
lovely song from the pen of Irishman Francis McPeake. Not a traditional
song but one which has very much entered the tradition. Sometimes known
as ‘Wiil you go, Lassie go’ it has echoes of Paisley’s Robert
Tannahill’s (1774-1810)song ‘The Braes o’ Balquidder’.
See the
THE BLUE TOON SONG BOOK in our
Features section
SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS
AND CUSTOMS
The date of Pasch ( Easter ) is that of
the Jewish Passover, which, in turn, coincides with the great pagan
festival that celebrated the Spring Equinox - thus Easter is the
season of renewal in nature. In pagan times, offerings were made to
the Goddess of Spring. The Scandinavians called her Frigga; the
Saxons, Eastre or Ostara, whence the English name Easter. In Scots,
however, Easter is called Pasch or Pesse, a derivative of the Hebrew
pesach, passover, and in Gaelic,Caisg.
Like the Passover, Easter was a lunar date
- that of the first Sunday after the full moon, following the Spring
Equinox, hence the old Scots rhyme -
First comes Candlemass,
Syne the new mune;
The neist Tyseday aifter that
Is aye Fester Een.
That mune oot
An the neist mune fou,
The neist mune aifter that
Is aye Pasch true.
The custom of baking cakes in honour of
their gods and goddesses was widespread among the pagan peoples; the
Egyptians made a cake marked with a cross in honour of the Moon; and
in Greece and Rome bread similarly marked was used in the worship of
Diana, the round bun representing the full moon and the four quarters.
After the introduction of Christianity, the cross became a Christian
symbol and the Hot Cross Bun became a feature of Good Friday -
this year 14 April. In Scotland the Hot Cross Bun is usually more
highly spiced than the English variety and has a kenspeckle cross of
pastry on the glossy brown surface. Marilyn's recipe makes twelve Hot
Cross Buns in readiness for Good Friday.
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
1/2 level teasp sugar: 5 tablesp lukewarm water: 3 level teasp
dried yeast: 1 lb strong plain flour: 1 level teasp salt: 1 level
teasp mixed spice: 1/2 level teasp cinnamon: 1/2 level teasp nutmeg: 2
oz butter: 2 level tablesp castor sugar: 4 oz mixed dried fruit: 2 oz
chopped mixed peel: 5 fl oz lukewarm milk: 1 large egg, beaten: a
little extra milk: 2 oz shortcrust pastry: Glaze - 2 tablesp milk: 2
level tablesp sugar.
Method: Dissolve sugar in the water, sprinkle
yeast on top. Leave in a warm place until frothy, about 20 minutes.
Sift flour, salt and spices. Rub in fat lightly. Stir in castor sugar,
fruit and peel. Hollow the centre. Pour milk, egg and yeat liquid into
hollow. Mix to soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and
no longer stickie, about 10 minutes. Cover and put in a
warm place until double in size - about 2 hours. Turn on to floured
surface, knead until smooth. Cut into 12. Knead each piece into a
smooth ball, place on greased baking sheet, cover and leave until
almost double in size. Preheat a hot oven ( 220 deg C, 425 deg F, Gas
7 ), centre shelf. Roll pastry
out thinly, cut into narrow strips 2 to 3 in long. Brush buns with
milk, place pastry crosses on top. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until they
sound hollow when tapped on base. Dissolve sugar in milk, boil 1
minute. Brush hot buns with glaze. Cool. Eat and enjoy on Good Friday.
See our
Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs in our Features section
A KIST O
FERLIES
A Keek at the Guid Scots
Tung
By Peter & Marilyn Wright
(Note: All words underlined in
this section are RealAudio links)
As I was walking all alane
I heard twa corbies making a mane:
The tane unto the tither did say
"Whar sall we gang and dine the
day?"
"In behint you auld fail dyke.
I wot there lies a new slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there
But his hawk, his hound, and his lay fair.
Gordon
Wright’s Scottish Photo
Library