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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 1^st 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"    

 
Dr Winifred (Winnie) M Ewing

The very name Culloden stands for sadness beyond words. It ended lives, hopes, ambitions and a way of life,

(2007)

James Halliday

For the Highlanders who had followed him [Prince Charles Edward Stewart], the suffering did not end with the deaths under the guns at Culloden, or at the hands of the punishment squads of Cumberland the Butcher. The whole Highland way of life was now to perish, as Parliament in London devised laws which would ensure that the events of 1745-46 could never happen again. A Disarming Act legally stripped the clans of their weapons, and bagpipes and Highland dress were banned for good measure. The clansmen, who had provided the chiefs with a military capacity were no longer soldiers in waiting, or at least not on behalf of their chiefs. The Tenures Abolition Act destroyed the bond of military service between chief and clansman, and the Heritable Jurisdictions Act took from the chiefs virtually sovereign powers over their tenants. The Highlands would now be subject to the same laws and procedures as all other parts of the British state.

(Changing Scotland – Scotland: A Concise History 1990)

Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

There was wind, there was rain, there was fire on their faces,
When the clans broke the bayonets and died on the guns,
And ‘tis Honour that watches the desolate places
Where they sleep through the change of the snows and the suns.

Where the graves of Clan Chatton are clustered together,
Where Macgillivray died by the Well of the Dead,
We stooped to the moorland and plucked the pale heather
That bloom where the hope of the Stuart was sped.

And a whisper awoke on the wilderness, sighing,
Like the voice of the heroes who battled in vain,
‘Not for Tearach alone the red claymores was plying,
But to bring back the old life that comes not again.’

(Culloden)

Gordon Menzies

A cold wind blows and nothing grows
   The heather sways bluid red.
The Stuart Prince tae France has flown
   And a’ his lads are dead, dead
   And a’ his lads are dead.

(Culloden)

Lord George Murray

My life, my fortune, my expectations, the happiness of my wife and children are all at stake (and the chances are against me), and yet my duty to king and country, outweighs everything.

(1745)

Flagnote:  Was out in both the 15 and 19 Jacobite Ridings and after a few years fighting abroad he was pardoned and returned to Scotland in the late 1720s. In spite of many reservations he joined Prince Charles Edward Stewart in Perth during the 45 Rising. His relationship with the Prince was always fragile, In spite of the comment by Fitzroy Maclean that Lord George was “the military genius of the 45”, the Prince listened to others!. He proved his military skill at Prestonpans, the retreat from Derby and Clifton, and the last major Jacobite victory at Falkirk, Murray didn’t want to fight at Culloden, but the  right wing, under his command, was the only section to leave the field in reasonably good order and he proceeded to Ruthven. On receiving the order to disband he went to France and died in exile in 1760.

John Roy Stuart, Iain Ruadh Stiubhart (1700-1752)

The Lord’s my targe, I will be stout,
With dirk and trusty blade,
Though Cambells come in flocks about
I will not be afraid. 

The Lord’s the same as heretofore,
He’s always good to me;
Though red-coats come a thousand more,
Afraid I will not be.

(The Lord’s My Targe – parody of David’s Twenty-Third Psalm )

Flagnote: A celebrated Gaelic poet Colonel John Roy Stuart was born at Knock of Kincardine in Badenoch in 1700 and served in both the British and French armies before offering his service to Charles Edward Stewart. After the Battle of Prestonpans he was ordered to raise a regiment in Edinburgh. Recruitment was not easy and to make up the numbers Lord George Murray transferred 50 Strathban  men from the Atholl Brigade to the Edinburgh Regiment. The 200 strong regiment fought in the front line at Culloden and afterwards marched with their Colonel to the rendezvous at Ruthven He was sent to France with news of the Jacobite defeat by Prince Charles.

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)
 

SWEET AFTON
 

Flow gently, sweet Afton! amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

Thou stockdove whose echo resounds thro' the glen,
Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,
Thou green-crested lapwing thy screaming forbear,
I charge you, disturb not my slumbering Fair.

How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,
Far mark'd with the courses of clear, winding rills;
There daily I wander as noon rises high,
My flocks and my Mary's sweet cot in my eye.

How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below,
Where, wild in the woodlands, the primroses blow;
There oft, as mild Ev'ning weeps over the lea,
The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.

Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,
And winds by the cot where my Mary resides;
How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave,
As, gathering sweet flowerets, she stems thy clear wave.

Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

See the SING A SANG AT LEAST in our features section

SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS  

One battle which continues to haunt the Scottish soul after 260 years is the Hanoverian defeat of the Jacobites at Drummossie Moor on 16 April 1746. This was not a straight-forward battle between Scotland and England but a civil war between relations – the ruling Hanoverians on one side and the deposed Stewarts on the other. The Jacobite Cause and their demise at the Battle of Culloden has been romanticised over the years – the Bonnie Prince as against his Butcher cousin Cumberland has produced countless arguments and books. The Highlands, in particular, paid a terrible price for ‘The Year of the Prince’.

 Thousands of visitors from all over the world take time every year to visit the site of the battle which is looked after by the National Trust for Scotland. The numbers alone would have merited a new visitor centre but recent archaeological and historical research carried out by the Trust revealed that the now- previous visitor centre stood on the third Hanoverian line. As the Trust is determined to restore the battlefield to as close as it was on that fateful day 260 years ago, a new centre was the answer. In one of the largest projects carried out by the Trust some £9 million was spent on building a new visitor and exhibition centre  which was opened to the public on 20 December 2007, a few months later than planned but just before the end of the 2007 Highland Year of Culture. The official opening by Scott Hay, aged 11, and six-year-old Philip Nicol, whose forebears fought in the battle, was carried out on 16 April 2008, the 260^th anniversary of the battle. Prior to the official opening a piper played for one hour – the time the battle lasted. The new centre has already proved to be very popular and the Trust have strived to allow the whole Culloden story to be told, shorn of any romantic notions, in an innovative and interactive way to appeal to visitors of all ages.

At the end of the battle, it is said that Lord Elcho shouted at the defeated Prince Charles as he left the field – “Run you damn’d Italian coward” reminding us that the ill-fated Prince was born in Rome. In memory of the Prince’s birthplace this week’s recipe is an Italian one which has become very popular in Scotland.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients:  2 tbsp olive oil or sun-dried tomato oil from the jar; 6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped; 2 large onions, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 1kg/2¼lb lean minced beef; 2 large glasses of red wine; 2x400g cans chopped tomatoes; 1x290g jar antipasti marinated mushrooms, drained ; 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped; 1 tsp dried thyme or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped; drizzle balsamic vinegar; 12-14 sun-dried tomato halves, in oil; salt and freshly ground black pepper; a good handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces; 800g-1kg/1¾-2¼lb dried spaghetti; lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Method:  1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry the bacon until golden over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, frying until softened. Increase the heat and add the minced beef. Fry it until it has browned, breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine and boil until it has reduced in volume by about a third. Reduce the temperature and stir in the tomatoes, drained mushrooms, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and balsamic vinegar.
2. Either blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in a small blender with a little of the oil to loosen, or just finely chop before adding to the pan. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer the Bolognese sauce over a gentle heat for 1-1½ hours until it's rich and thickened, stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, stir in the basil and add any extra seasoning if necessary.
3. Remove from the heat to 'settle' while you cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water (for the time stated on the packet). Drain and divide between warmed plates. Scatter a little parmesan over the spaghetti before adding a good ladleful of the Bolognese sauce, finishing with a scattering of more cheese and a twist of black pepper.

Serves 6-8