DATES IN
HISTORY
15
February 2007
The UK Atomic Energy Authority was fined £140,000 for dumping radioactive
material in Caithness between 1963 and 1984.
16 February
1885
Birth of Will Fyfe, music hall character comedian, in Dundee. Best
remembered for his playing of a Glasgow drunk singing ‘I Belong to Glasgow’,
he also had successful appearances in the USA and acted in films such as
‘Owd Bob’ and ‘The Brothers’.
17 February
1993
Aberdeen FC’s Alex McLeish played his final international for Scotland and
gained his 77th cap in a 3-0 win over Malta (World Cup Qualifier)
played at Ibrox. He started his managerial career the following season as
player-manager at Motherwell.
18
February 1369
Burgesses and merchants were banned from leaving Scotland without the
express permission of the king or chamberlain.
18 February
2007
Andrew Murray successfully defended his SAD Open Title in San Jose,
California, defeating Ivo Kariovic, Croatia, in the final. His elder brother
James Murray and his American partner Eric Butoroc won the doubles final,
The Murrays became the first brothers to win the singles and doubles titles
at the same event since Emilio and Javier Sanchez at Kitzbuhel in 1989.
19 February
1995
Second Division Stenhousemuir shocked Aberdeen in the fourth round of the
Scottish Cup with a 2-0 victory at Ochilview Part-time player Dairy farmer
Tommy Steele did the damage with his two goals for ‘The Warriors’ to set up
a quarter-final clash with Hibernian. A 4-0 home loss to Hibernian ended
their cup run.
20
February 2007
The RNLI announced that lifeboat crews in Scotland had launched their boats
a record 1,049 times in 2006. Broughty Ferry was the busiest Scottish
station, with its two lifeboats launching 79 times and helping rescue 25
people, the runner up was Kinghorn with 54 launches and 28 people rescued. A
fifth of all call-outs involved sailing boats and 17 per cent related to
people in the sea.
21 February
1826
Death of John Kay, noted caricaturist, engraver and miniature painter, in
his 84th year at 227 High Street, Edinburgh.
21 February
2007
Presiding Officer George Reid reported that the final cost of the Scottish
Parliament building was £414.4 million, slightly under the final estimate of
£430 million. Parliamentary authorities were still pursuing legal action
over the main chamber roof strut which became detached in 2006, forcing MSPs
to relocate.
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
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"
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This week’s quotations come from three Scots Independent Oliver
Brown Award winners – Norman MacCaig, Paul Henderson Scott and the
very first winner in 1983 Tom Weir – and two great Scots from the
past – Sir Walter Scott and John Muir. Tom Weir makes the point that
Scotland has the resources and the peoples to be an Independent
Nation. These five Scots of great ability prove that we are more
than capable of having the people.
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Norman MacCaig (1910-1996)
Hear my
words carefully.
Some are spoken
not by me, but
by a man in my position.
(A Man in
My Position 1969)
John
Muir (1838-1914)
The
clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
Paul
Henderson Scott
Most
people prefer self-government to external control and prefer to follow
their own inclinations than accept conformity imposed from the outside.
(The Power
of Books, PEN Lecture at the Edinburgh Book Festival August 1999)
Sir Walter
Scott (1771-1832)
National diversity between different countries is but an instance of
that general variety which nature seems to have adopted through all her
works.
(Letters of
Malachi Malagrowther 1826)
Thomas
(Tom) Weir (1914-2006)
Having
had the good fortune to have spent decades travelling the Borders,
Highlands and Islands at all heights and seasons, I am in the position,
I think, to make comparisons with other countries. The only thing I am
disappointed in is that we don’t run our own affairs as does Norway. We
have the resources, and history shows we have the people. England has
its own problems for its fifty million or so to contend with. With only
five million Scots we can manage ours, and I think the same goes for
Wales. I hope I shall live long enough to see it happen, and another age
of enlightenment dawn.
(Weir’s
World – An Autobiography of Sorts 1994)
See
Scottish Quotations in our Features Section
SONGS
OF ROBERT BURNS
A collection of some of the best known songs by Scotland's greatest
songwriter and National Bard, Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Up wi, the carls o' Dysart,
And the lads o' Buckhaven,
And the kimmers o' Largo,
And the lasses o' Leven.
Chorus :
Hey, ca' thro', ca' thro',
For we hae mickle ado ;
Hey, ca' thro', ca' thro',
For we hae mickle ado.
We hae tales to tell,
And we hae sangs to sing ;
We hae pennies to spend,
And we hae pints to bring.
We'll live a' our days,
And them that comes behin',
Let them do the like ;
And spend the gear they win.
Flagnote: This Burns' song might have been
inspired by the tune 'Carls o Dysart.' The song was first seen in print
in Johnson's volume, and tradition has supplied another excellent verse
as follows -
Ne'er break your heart for love ;
Just turn the boat about ;
There's as gude fish i' the sea
As ever yet cam out.
See the SONGS OF ROBERT
BURNS in our features section
SING
A SANG AT LEAST
(compiled by Peter D Wright)
"That I for poor auld
Scotland's sake
Some useful plan or book could make
Or sing a sang at least ........"
- Robert Burns
BOGIE’S
BONNIE BELLE
Traditional
Ae Whitsun day in Huntly toun, it's there I did agree,
Wi Bogie head o Carnie a six months for tae fee;
Tae drive his twa best horses, likewise his cairt and ploo,
An tae dae awthing aboot fairm wark that richt weel I can do.
Nou Bogie had a dochter wha's name was Isabel;
The flower o her nation, there's nane her could excel.
She had rosy cheeks and ruby lips and hair o darkish hue;
She was neat, complete and handsome, and comely for to view.
One day she went a-rambling and chose me for her guide,
Tae tak a pleasant walk wi her alang by Carnie side.
I slipped my airm aboot her waist an tae the ground did slide,
An it's there I had my first braw nicht wi the Belle o Bogieside
Ere twinty weeks haed passed and gane this lassie lost her bloom.
Her rosy cheeks grew pale and wan and she began tae swoon.
Ere forty weeks haed passed and gane this lass brocht forth a son,
And I was quickly sent for, tae see what could be done.
Aul Bogie heard the story and cried "I am undone.
Since ye've beguiled my dochter, my sorrows are begun."
I said "Aul man ye're fairly richt," and hung my heid wi shame,
"I'll mairry Belle the morn and gie the bairn my name."
But though I'd said I'd wed the lass, oh no that widna dee:
"Ye're nae a fittin match for Belle, nor she a match for ye."
He sent me packin doon the road, wi nae penny o my fee,
Sae aw ye lads o Huntly toun a lang fareweel tae ye.
But nou, she's mairried a tinkler chiel wha's name is Soutar John;
He hawks his pans an ladles aroon by Foggie Loan,
An maybe she's gotten a better match, aul Bogie canna tell,
But it's me wha's taen the maidenheid o Bogie's Bonnie Belle.
Footnote:
Perhaps the bonniest of all the Bothy Ballads and one of the most popular as
it still features in many reportoire of many singers.
See the
SING A SANG AT LEAST in our
features section
SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS
AND CUSTOMS
A
significant cash contribution has been made to boost the sport of
curling in south-west Scotland. Sportscotland this week announced
investment of more than £200,000 to improve facilities at Lockerbie Ice
Rink and SNP Sports Minister Stewart Maxwell said that “ it would
hopefully encourage more people to become physically active and, in
doing so, become healthier.” Lockerbie is the home rink of current
European curling champions David Murdoch and Euan Byers and the cash
injection is a reminder that Scotland gave ‘The Roaring Game’ to the
world. Curling started in Scotland in the 16th century,
at least, and the earliest stone dating back to 1511 is held in Stirling
at the Smith Institute. The outdoor game was obviously well established by
the 17th century as Dr Alex Penecuik ( 1652 - 1722 ) wrote - ' To curle on
ice, does greatly please' and our National Bard, Robert Burns, as a farmer
probably played the game, and certainly wrote knowledgeably about in his
poem ' Tam Samson's Elegy'.
And the
poet James Hogg, ‘The Ettrick Shepherd’ wrote of ‘The Roaring Game’ –
Of a’
the games that e’er I saw,
Man, callant, laddie, birkie, wean,
The dearest, far aboon them a’,
Was aye the witching channel stane. [curling stone]
Oh! For the channel-stane!
The fell good name the channel-stane!
There’s no a game that e’er I saw,
Can match auld Scotland’s channel-stane.
(The Channel Stane)
Since the first indoor game took place in
Glasgow in 1907 the outdoor game is now very infrequently played apart
from 'The Bonspiel' or 'Grand Match' traditionally played on the Lake of Monteith in Perthshire. But this only takes place in extremely severe
winters as the ice, for safety reasons, has to be 10 inches thick. The
Bonspiel has only been held 33 times in the last 150 years. The last
Bonspiel on 7 February 1979 attracted upwards of 10,000 players and
supporters for the traditional contest between teams from the North and
South of Scotland.
Scotland not only invented the game, wrote the rules, gave the game to the
world but also makes the best curling stones. The Gold Olympic success
should greatly increase interest in the game which in turn should benefit
the Scottish manufacturer of curling stones. Nearly all the curling stones
in the world are made from Scottish granite from Ailsa Craig - also known
as Paddy's Milestone - the famous rocky outcrop off the Ayrshire coast.
Curling began as a social event, with plenty drams to keep out the cold,
and it is still a social sport -
the
European Champions David Murdoch and Euan Byers both play for fun not
money. But indoors, or outdoors, the game is still played
in the cold! Our recipe this week -
‘Auld
Reekie’ Cock-a-Leekie Soup - is the splendid answer
to the chill of the Curling Rink.
This
variation of Cock-a-Leekie has the added bonus of having our National
Drink as an ingredient – a food and a drink which will stick to your
ribs!
‘Auld
Reekie’ Cock-a-Leekie Soup
Ingredients:
3 lb boiling chicken (giblets removed); 3 rashers streaky bacon; 1 lb shin
of beef; 2 lb leeks; 1 large onion; 5 fluid ounces Scotch Whisky; 4 pints
water; 1 level tablespoon dried tarragon; one teaspoon brown sugar; salt and
pepper; 8 pre-soaked prunes
Method:
Mix the Whisky, tarragon and sugar in the water. Chop up the bacon and place
the chicken, bacon and beef in a large bowl and pour over the Whisky
marinade. Leave to soak overnight. Place the chicken etc in a large soup
pot. Chop up the leeks (reserve one) and onion and add to pot. Salt and
pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for two hours, removing
any scum as required. Remove the chicken from the pot, remove skin and
bones. Chop the meat into small pieces and return to pot. Cut up the shin of
beef, if required. Add the prunes and the last chopped leek and simmer for
10 to 15 minutes. It will serve up to eight people. The prunes are optional
but traditional.
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)
If there's a sword-like sang
That can cut Scotland clear
O a' the warld beside
Rax me the hilt o't here.
For there's nae jewal till
Frae the rest o earth it's free,
Wi the starry separateness
I'd fain to Scotland gie....
Gordon
Wright’s Scottish Photo
Library