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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November
1926)
"Promoting all that is best in Scottish
Nationalism and all that is best in Scotland."
Content of the Flag in the Wind Web Site is the copyright of the Scots
Independent Newspaper.
[
Issue 409 - 4th April 2008] |
Compiled by Peter D Wright |
Lots of great information to
read and enjoy under our
Features Section:
Scots
Language | Scottish Food |
Dates in History |
Scot Wit and lots more
DATES IN
HISTORY
4 April
1609
The various clans forming Clan Chatton met at a house called Termit on Petty
Ridge to renew their confederation of mutual support first created in 1397
after the Battle of the North Inch. ‘The Bond of Union’ was witnessed by the
Inverness provost, the burgh clerk and the Petty minister. Clan Chatton
which included MacPhersons, Macintoshes and MacGillvrays were loyal
supporters of the Stewarts. The ‘Bond of Union’ was renewed in 1664 and
extended to include the Farquharsons for the first time.
 4
April 2007
Fifteen Royal Navy sailors and marines, including Marine Danny Masterton
from Muirkirk, were released by the Iranian Government after 13 days in
captivity. They were seized on the grounds that their boat had entered
Iranian waters.
5 April
1296
John Balliol, King of Scots, formally renounced his homage to King Edward I
of England.
6 April
2002
Outstanding Rugby Union television commentator Hawick’s Bill McLaren, the
‘Voice of Rugby’, made his last Six Nation’s commentary – Wales v Scotland
from the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, which Scotland won 27-22. His official
retirement after 50 years broadcasting followed coverage of the Melrose
sevens and Wales’ June tour to South Africa.
7 April
1996
Gay Rights activists attacked Cardinal Thomas Winning after he compared
homosexuality to a physical handicap.
 8
April 2005
Edinburgh’s Alex Arthur regained the vacant British superfeatherweight title
and Commonwealth belt when he knocked out Craig Docherty, Glasgow, in the 9th
round. In the biggest all-Scots contest in 32 years (Buchanan v Watt 1973),
Alex Arthur won a Lonsdale Belt outright.
9 April
1992
The Conservatives, under Prime Minister John Major, won a fourth successive
term in office at Westminster when they triumphed at the General Election –
but with a greatly reduced majority of 21. In Scotland Labour won 49 seats
(39%), Conservatives 11 seats 925.6%), Scottish National Party 3 seats
(21.5) and Liberal Democrats 9 seats (13.1).
10 April
1664
Andrew Honyman was consecrated as Bishop of Orkney: he succeeded Bishop
Sydserf.
10 April
2007
St Andrews
University
was awarded £449,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a new museum.
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 we celebrate the Declaration of Scottish Independence
sealed by the Scottish nobility at Arbroath Abbey on 6 April 1320
with two quotations from leading Scottish historians – Professor Ted
Cowan and James Halliday. The Declaration marked the emergence of
Scotland as the first nation state in Europe in the modern sense and
led to what Iain MacWhirter in his splendid article in the Sunday
Herald as ‘the democratic soul of Scotland’. He rightly pointed out
the success over the past ten months of the minority Scottish
National Party Scottish Government in carrying out so many social
and economic achievements. For once a political journalist and
broadcaster told it how it is and booted the Unionist carping into
touch!
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John
Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir of Enfield (1875-1940)
Romance
is a revolt against the despotism of facts.
(Sir Walter
Scott 1932)
Professor
Edward (Ted) J Cowan
This [The
Declaration of Scottish Independence 6 April 1320] is the first
articulation of the idea that a king is elected by his subjects and if
he steps out of line he can be deposed by them. It appeals to universal
values. It appeals to the freedom and dignity of the individual but it
also appeals to the freedom and dignity of the nation.
(Backing moves
to gain Arbroath Abbey World Heritage Status 9 February 2008)
James
Halliday
The
Scottish church had been steadfastly nationalist all through the years
since 1286. Bishops Wishart and Lamberton were proven patriots, but
others too deserve to be remembered. Churchmen were after all, the
literate class in medieval society, and Scottish churchmen had
undertaken the task of expounding and justifying the Scottish case for
independence. In 1320, meeting at Arbroath Abbey, the leaders of the
community of Scotland put their seals to a document prepared, almost
certainly, by Bernard de Linton, abbot and civil servant, which yet
again, but more fully now than ever before, spelled out Scotland’s claim
to identity and independence.
Scotland, they reminded Pope John, to whom the Declaration was
addressed, had been a kingdom when England was big enough for seven
kings. They had endured attack from King Edward who had taken advantage
of their misfortunes and had worked to destroy their freedom under guise
of friendship. Fate had given them as a leader and deliverer, King
Robert. Yet – and this is the remarkable passage – ‘if he should abandon
our cause…. We should make every endeavour to expel him as our enemy and
the subverter of his rights and ours, and choose another for our king’.
There are those who look for the origins of monarchy dependent upon
popular will, in the writing of seventeenth century English
philosophers. Very clearly the Scots had stumbled upon the concept of
conditional monarchy several centuries earlier.
Finally, in case Pope John or his cardinals thought the Scottish
resistance to English ambitions was merely a passing fad, de Linton
offered to his countrymen for their approval a pledge of determination
free of all ambiguity. ‘For so long as a hundred of us shall remain
alive we shall never accept subjection to the domination of the English.
For we fight not for glory, or riches or honour, but for freedom alone
which no good man will consent to lose but with his life.’
(Saving a
Nation –
Scotland
- A Concise History
1990)
Iain
MacWhirter
The SNP
[Scottish National Party] is not a party that has come from the left. It
doesn’t have the same memory of industrial politics. But somehow it has
managed to promote a political agenda closer to the social democratic
soul of Scotland than the party of the new plutocracy that calls itself
Labour. Thatcherite it ain’t.
(Sunday
herald 30 March 2008)
Jack Vettriano (born Jack Hogan)
I paint
myself because I am available and I am the cheapest model I know.
See
Scottish Quotations in our Features Section
S ONGS
OF ROBERT BURNS
A collection of some of the best known songs by Scotland's greatest
songwriter and National Bard, Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
A MAN’S A
MAN
Is there for honest poverty
That hings his head, and a' that?
The coward-slave, we pass him by,
We daur be poor for a' that!
For a' that, and a' that,
Our toils obscure, and a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that!
What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, and a' that;
Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine,
A Man's a Man for a' that.
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, and a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that!
Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, and stares, and a' that,
Though hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
His ribband, star and a' that;
The man of independent mind
He looks and laughs at a' that.
A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke and a' that;
But an honest man's abune his might
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, and a' that,
Their dignities, and a' that;
The pith o' sense and pride o' worth
Are higher rank than a' that!
Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a' that
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
May bear the gree, and a' that.
For a' that, and a' that,
It's comin yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that!
Flagnote:
Robert Burns wrote this song of International brotherhood in January 1795.
It was sung with gusto by Sheena Wellington at the official opening of the
reconvened Scottish Parliament on 1 July 1999.
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
THE
BONNIE SHIP THE DIAMOND
Traditional
The
Diamond is a ship, my lads, for the Davis Strait she's bound,
And the quay it is all garnished with bonnie lassies round.
Captain Thomson gives the order to sail the ocean wide,
Where the sun it never set, my lads, nor darkness dims the
sky.
So it's cheer up, my lads, let your hearts never fail,
While
the bonnie ship, The Diamond, goes a-fishing for the whale.
Along
the quay at Peterheid the lassies stand aroon',
Wi' their shawls all pu'ed aboot them and the saut tears rinnin'
doon.
Don't
you weep, my bonnie lass, though you be left behind,
For the rose will grow on Greenland's ice before we change our
mind.
Here's a health to The Resolution, likewise The Eliza Swan,
Here's a health to The Battler of Montrose and The Diamond, ship
of fame.
We wear the trousers o' the white and the jackets o' the blue,
When we return to Peterheid we'll hae sweethearts enoo.
It'll be a bricht both day and nicht when the Greenland lads come
hame,
Wi' a ship that's fu' o' oil, my lads, and money to our name;
We'll make the cradles for to rock and the blankets for to
tear,
And every lass in Peterheid sing "Hushabye, my dear".
Footnote: By 1820, Peterhead, The Blue Toun,
was the principal whaling port in Britain and by the end of the
century it also had Scotland's third largest herring fleet.
See the
SING A SANG AT LEAST in our
features section
SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS
AND CUSTOMS
This week
sees the anniversary of one of the most important dates in Scottish history
– the sealing of the famous Declaration of Scottish Independence, popularly
called the Declaration of Arbroath, by the Scottish nobility, in the
presence of Robert I, King of Scots, at Arbroath Abbey on 6 April 1320. The
Declaration, written by Bernard de Linton, abbot and civil servant, has rung
down the centuries and inspired in its turn the American Declaration of
Independence. There are now moves to give the historic spot of Arbroath
Abbey World Heritage Status and this call has been backed by leading
Scottish historians such as Professor Ted Cowan (see Scottish Quotations).
Arbroath
Abbey was founded in 1178 for a group of Tironensian Benedictine monks from
Kelso Abbey by William the Lion, King of Scots, and was consecrated in 1197
with a dedication to the deceased Saint Thomas Becket, whom the king had met
at the English court. It was King William’s only personal foundation and he
was buried before the high alter of the church in 1214. The Abbey fell into
ruin after the Reformation and was raided for stones for buildings in
Arbroath. This continued until 1815 when steps were taken to preserve the
remaining ruins. The Abbey is cared for by Historic Scotland and is open to
the public throughout the year (entrance charge).
The douse
Royal Burgh of Arbroath is known world-wide for its delicacy and exclusive
product - Arbroath Smokies. This week’s delicacy is a novel and tasty way to
enjoy Arbroath’s famous dish.
Arbroath
Smokie Pancakes
Ingredients:
3 medium eggs; 225g plain flour, sifted; 350ml full fat milk; a little
butter; 300ml double cream; 3 Arbroath smokies
Method:
Make the pancake batter by placing the eggs, flour and milk in a food
processor and blending until smooth. Smear the butter in the pan and fry the
pancakes. Then slowly bring the cream to the boil, season and flake in the
smokies. Stir for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat then spoon the
mixture on to the pancakes, roll them up and enjoy!!
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)
cauf kintra: birth-place; native district
fyle: befoul; deface; make dirty
hert: heart
oo: wool
oo-mull: tweed mill
stirup-dram: parting drink
Steik ane's hert: Harden one's heart
He played the pipes in Aiberdeen
Fin I wis a bit loon,
An pipes an temper, weel-a-wat,
War aften oot o tune.
His favourite springs war "Monymus",
"The Braes o Tullimet",
He'd mairch to "Aden's Barren Rock"
Till reamin owre wi sweat.
frae 'The Piper o Aiberdeen' - George Abel
COMPLETE POEM
Auld Farrant
By J K
Annand
 My grannie's grannie
Was an auld-farrant sowl,
She liked to sup her tea
In a blue cheenie bowl,
She spreid her breid wi thoumie
(That's buttered wi her thoum)
When knifes were kept for Sundays
And tea taen ben the room.
She'd parritch for her brekfast,
At denner-time she'd kail,
Her tea was cheese and bannocks
And supper brose and yill.
My grannie says her grannie
Kent monie a tale and rhyme
That nou my grannie tells
To me at my bedtime.
I always like to veesit
My grannie at her hame
For if there werena grannies
Life wadna be the same.
Click
here to listen to this in Real Audio
See Scots Language in
our Features Section
for other poems, stories, songs, sayings, jokes and words in the Scots language
SCOT WIT
Enjoy a Scottish Joke every week and
listen to it as well
Dog Gone!
A young American oilman gets on the train at
Aberdeen and finds every seat taken except one on which is seated a small lap
dog belonging to a large middle-aged lady.
"Excuse me ma'am" he says politely " Would you
mind moving your little dog?"
He is totally ignored by the woman, not once but
three times she snootily disregards him. That is too much for the American who
suddenly opens the carriage window and throws the hapless dog outside.
There are a few seconds of stunned silence then an
Aberdonian sitting opposyte says "Ken is, you Yanks are funny. Ye drive on the
wrang side o thr road, ye ate wi yir fork i the wrang haun - an nou ye've
thrown the wrang bitch oot o the winda."
Click here to listen to this joke Read and listen to Jokes in our
Scot Wit section
Gordon & Carmen Wright
Second-hand, Fine & Rare
Scottish Books.
Regular
catalogues issued by email.
To subscribe, email us at:
Gordon.Wright11@btopenworld.com
 Gordon
Wright’s Scottish Photo
Library
Spanning forty-five years
and featuring a wide variety
of illustrations in colour
and black and white covering
all aspects of Scottish life
from Orkney to the Border
country. Thousands of
personality portraits.
Images for reproduction.
Prints for collectors.
Gordon.Wright11@btopenworld.com
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