|
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 419 - 13th June 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
GREETINGS FROM INVERNESS
Due to
attending the Fife Council Civic Reception for East Fife’s success in
winning the Third Division Championship, Peter and Marilyn Wright are now,
belatedly, in Inverness. They will be visiting the new £9 million National
Trust for Scotland centre at Culloden and a report on the visit will appear
in a future Flag.
DATES IN
HISTORY
 13
June 1559
A confrontation at Cupar Muir between French troops and those of the Lords
of the Congregation was avoided. Negotiations by John, 5th Lord
Lindsay, on behalf of the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, averted hostilities
and led to a truce.
13 June 1766
Two
soldiers and a civilian who had been found guilty at the Circuit Court in
Aberdeen of carrying off meal from a shop during a riot in Banff and
sentenced to be whipped and banished to the plantations for life were
rescued by a mob. They attacked the Aberdeen Hangman and guard with clubs
and stones. Walter Annesley and John Blair, of the Sixth Regiment of Foot,
and Alexander Robb of Banff were spirited away. The magistrates offered a
reward for information leading to the arrest of one or more of the escapees
but to no avail.
14 June 2007
War
veterans in Scotland laid a wreath at the Scottish National War Memorial in
Edinburgh and attended a special service at St Giles to mark the 25th
anniversary of the end of the Falklands Conflict. Arbroath-based 45 Commando
and 2nd Battalion of the Scots Guards were heavily involved in
the war, losing 15 service personnel.
 15
June 1563
Birth of George Heriot, ‘Jingling Geordie’, jeweller, goldsmith, benefactor
and ‘banker’ to James VI, King of Scots, in Edinburgh. On his death he
bequeathed £23,625 for the foundation of George Heriot’s Hospital/School in
Edinburgh for educating the sons of impoverised burgesses.
16 June 1855
Death of Rev Robert Scott, ballad collector, in his manse at Glenbuchat,
Aberdeenshire. He left all his possessions to his surviving daughter
Elizabeth, including four bundles of ballad transcripts, which in 2007 were
published for the first time under the title ‘The Glenbuchat Ballads’.
17 June 1314
English army under King Edward II of England entered Scotland en route for
Stirling in order to relieve English garrison holding Stirling Castle.
17 June 1940
The undefended Clyde-built Lancastria carrying 8,000 troops evacuated from
France was bombed and sank off north-west France by the Luftwaffe with some
4,000 casualties. A D-notice prohibited newspapers and the BBC from
reporting the loss. The 16,000-tonne cruise ship built by William Breadmore
& Co was commandeered by the Government on the outbreak of World War Two.
 18
June 2007
First Minister Alex Salmond addressed the Northern Ireland Assembly in
Belfast and the Scottish and Irish administrations signed a statement of
support to work together to try and secure better deals from Westminster on
tourism, higher education, transport and a cut in corporation tax.
19 June 1746
Hanoverian troops searched St Kilda, in vain, after rumours that Prince
Charles Edward Stewart was hiding there. The remote islanders knew
nothing about the '45 Jacobite Rising apart from the Laird of MacLeod had
recently been at war.
19 June 1917
The House of Commons voted by a margin of 330 to give votes to women over
30.
19 June 2004
Scott Harrison in one of his best displays stopped American-Armenian William
Abelyan in the third round at the Braehead Arena to retain his WBO world
featherweight title. He equalled Jim Watt’s record of most world title wins
by a Scot.
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"
|
This
week we reach the 650 mark of Scottish Quotations from 647 sources,
with a variety of quotations from Scots in the entertainment
business. The actor Dougray Scott should really wear his kilt more
often as he certainly didn’t look too comfortable when I saw him
wear the tartan a few years ago at Markinch Highland Games and it
was only raining that day!
|
Robert Carlyle
The Stone
is about being pro-Scottish. It’s not about moaning, complaining or
crying about the fact that Edward stole the Stone a few hundred years
ago [1296]. It’s more about what it means to the Scottish psyche.
(On his new
film ‘Stone of Destiny’ – Scotland on Sunday 8 June 2008)
Craig Ferguson
I’m more
comfortable here in America than I was in England. America is a natural
place for a person from Scotland. Culturally, it didn’t feel like that
much of a leap for me. It just kind of works for me. But for better or
worse I’ll always be Scottish. Perhaps I would never have exceeded my
expectations if I had been born somewhere else.
(Scotland on
Sunday 3 February 2008)
Dougray Scott
Kilts
aren’t the most comfortable thing to wear if the wind’s blowing.
(February
2008)
Elaine C Smith
Some
English MPs want rid of the so-called Scottish mafia in the cabinet
because English people will respond better to English MPs running
things. How racist is that? We Jocks are just too much to take, eh?
These Mps wouldn’t dare say stuff like this about blacks and Asians so
why is it OK to say it about Scots.
(Sunday Mail
June 2008)
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)
JAMIE, COME TRY ME
chorus:
Jamie, come try me,
Jamie, come try me!
If thou would win my love,
Jamie, come try me!
If thou should ask my love,
Could I deny thee ?
If thou would win my love,
Jamie, come try me!
chorus
If thou should kiss me, love,
Wha could espy thee ?
If thou wad be my love,
Jamie, come try me!
chorus
Flagnote:
Words to an old air written by Robert Burns for Johnson’s Museum in
1789. Do try and hear Jean Redpath’s haunting version of this song.
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
STANE'S AWA
Norman MacCaig
(Tune: The Deil's awa wi the Exciseman)
A chiel cam doun tae London toun
An nicked awa wi the Stane, man,
A lassie cried oot, "I'll gie ye a haun,
Fir it's ill tae dae it alane, man."
A chiel's awa, a cheil's awa,
A
chiel's awa wi the Stane, man.
A
lad an a lass made His Worship an ass,
An nicked awa wi the Stane, man.
They hadna pulleys, they hadna raips,
Faur less a muckle great crane, man -
Yet naebody kennt, nae Bobby cried oot,
"Here, whit the Hell are ye daen, man?"
( &c )
They had nae lorry tae carry it hame,
Nae steamer or airyplane, man,
For - here's a baur - in a wee Ford caur
They nicked awa wi the Stane, man: ( &c )
There's spies in Biggar and spies in Perth,
In Bo'ness an Dunblane, man,
They're speirin but an they're speirin ben,
But Scotland's haudin it's ain, man: ( &c )
The Dean was fleggit, he glunched and gulped,
An
blubbered wi micht an main, man,
But the Lion is rampin in Scotland again,
An he'll shairpen his teeth on the Stane, man: ( &c )
An if ye say, "Whit's aw the steer?
Ye're actin like a wean, man" -
Ye'll mind a hauflin Davy killt
Goliath wi a Stane, man. ( &c )
Footnote - Although he never publicly
claimed the song as his composition, there is little doubt that the
Edinburgh poet Norman MacCaig wrote The Stanes's Awa. Shortly before his
death Norman MacCaig was presented with the Oliver Brown Award by
the Scots Independent.
A new film on
the retrieval of the Stone by Ian Hamilton and student companions in 1950 –
‘Stone of Destiny’ – will be premiered at the Edinburgh International Film
Festival on 21 June 2008. Visit
www.edfilmfestival.org.uk for full details. The film features
‘Stardust’s’ rising new star Charlie Cox as Ian Hamilton and veteran star
Robert Carlyle as the lawyer John MacCormick, founder of the National Party
of Scotland in 1928. The film is due to go on general release later in the
year.
SCOTTISH FOOD, TRADITIONS
AND CUSTOMS
 The
organiser’s of the 15th Scottish Traditional Boat Festival in
Portsoy have revived an old Scottish fishing tradition and banned whistling
in the run-up to the festival which runs from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June
2008. Last year the event fell foul of bad weather which the organisers hope
to avoid in 2008. Their tongue-in-cheek suggestion arises from the old
superstition that if you whistled at sea or near the sea, you were mocking
the Devil and he might retaliate by sending gale-force winds. The festival,
which is run by volunteers largely from the town’s 1,800 population hope
that the ‘whistling-ban’ will ensure that the 20,000 visitors to the event
will be blessed with good weather. The event features music, dance and food
as well as boating demonstrations. The theme for 2008 is ‘Salmon Cobles and
Silver Darlings’ which reflects that in its commercial heyday Portsoy
handled both salmon and herring. Visit
www.stbf.bizland.com/2008/ for full details.
Other nautical
superstitions dating back for centuries include a suspicion of all things
left-handed with seafarers encouraged to lead with their right foot when
stepping off their boat. Rats leaving a ship was said to be a sign of
trouble to come, but the presence of a black cat was seen as a good omen for
sailors. Pigs, rabbits, salmon, meeting the minister were all included in
Scottish fishing superstitions in past centuries. When at sea words such as
minister, kirk, swine, salmon, trout, dog and certain family names were
never said. Substitute words were used eg the minister was called ‘the man
wi the bleck quyte’.
 This
column is not superstitious in the least but fingers-crossed for good
weather for the Portsoy festival – and the recipe contains one of the banned
fishing words – salmon!
Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon
Ingredients: 1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti pasta; 1 clove
garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon
salt, plus more for
seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for
seasoning; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon; 1/4 cup
chopped fresh basil leaves; 3 tablespoons capers; 1 lemon, zested; 2
tablespoons lemon juice; 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
 Method:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a
boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to
the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and
transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and
pepper. Toss to combine.
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over
medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the
fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side,
depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the salmon from the pan.
Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the
spaghetti mixture and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow
bowls. Place 1/2 cup spinach in each bowl. Top with 1/4 of the pasta. Top
each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately.
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)
jimp: shorter; close fitting; short;
slender; neat
perjink: nicety; fastidious person;
fastidious; precise; prim
staun: stand; last; afford; goods stall
No bein fit to write in Greek,
I wrote in Lallans,
Dear to my heart as the peat reek,
Auld as Tantallon.
COMPLETE POEM
The Pechs
Click here to listen to
this in Real Audio read by Marilyn P Wright
 "LONG ago there were
people in this country called the Pechs; short wee men they were, wi’
red hair, and long arms, and feet sae braid, that when it rained they
could turn them up owre their heads, and then they served for
umbrellas. The Pechs were great builders; they built a’ the auld
castles in the kintry; and do ye ken the way they built them?—I’ll
tell ye. They stood all in a row from the quarry to the place where
they were building, and ilk ane handed forward the stanes to his
neebor, till the hale was biggit. The Pechs were also a great people
for ale, which they brewed frae heather; sae, ye ken, it bood (was
bound) to be an extraornar cheap kind of drink; for heather, I’se
warrant, was as plenty then as it’s now. This art o’ theirs was muckle
sought after by the other folk that lived in the kintry; but they
never would let out the secret, but handed it down frae father to son
among themselves, wi’ strict injunctions frae ane to another never to
let onybody ken about it.
"At last the Pechs had
great wars, and mony o’ them were killed, and indeed they soon came to
be a mere handfu’ o’ people, and were like to perish aft’ the face o’
the earth. Still they held fast by their secret of the heather yill,
determined that their enemies should never wring it frae them. Weel,
it came at last to a great battle between them and the Scots, in which
they clean lost the day, and were killed a’ to tway, a father and a
son. And sae the king o’ the Scots had these men brought before him,
that he might try to frighten them into telling him the secret. He
plainly told them that, if they would not disclose it peaceably, he
must torture them till they should confess, and therefore it would be
better for them to yield in time. ‘Weel,’ says the auld man to the
king, ‘I see it is of no use to resist. But there is ae condition ye
maun agree to before ye learn the secret.’ ‘And what is that?’ said
the king. ‘Will ye promise to fulfil it, if it be na anything against
your ain interests?’ said the man. ‘Yes,’ said the king, ‘I will and
do promise so.’ Then said the Pech ‘You must know that I wish for my
son’s death, though I dinna like to take his life myself.
My son ye maun kill,
Before I will you tell
How we brew the yill
Frae the heather bell!’
The king was dootless
greatly astonished at sic a request; but, as he had promised, he
caused the lad to be immediately put to death. When the auld man saw
his son was dead, he started up wi’ a great stend,’ and cried, ‘Now,
do wi’ me as you like. My son ye might have forced, for he was but a
weak youth; but me you never can force.
And though you may me
kill,
I will not you tell
How we brew the yill
Frae the heather bell!’
"The king was now mair
astonished than before, but it was at his being sae far outwitted by a
mere wild man. Hooever, he saw it was needless to kill the Pech, and
that his greatest punishment might now be his being allowed to live.
So he was taken away as a prisoner, and he lived for mony a year after
that, till he became a very, very auld man, baith bedrid and blind.
Maist folk had forgotten there was sic a man in life; but ae night,
some young men being in the house where he was, and making great
boasts about their feats o’ strength, he leaned owre the bed and said
he would like to feel ane o’ their wrists, that he might compare it wi’
the arms of men wha had lived in former times. And they, for sport,
held out a thick gaud o’ em’ to him to feel. He just snappit it in
tway wi’ his fingers as ye wad do a pipe stapple. ‘It’s a bit gey
gristle,’ he said; ‘but naething to the shackle-banes o’ my days.’
That was the last o’ the Pechs."
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
Mind Yir Breeks!
The crafter had to go to the market on the day
when the AI man was due.
"Nou" said the crafter to his wife "Fan the AI
mannie comes tak him tae the byre, pint oot the cou, and be sure that he gets
a basin a hate watter, an soap an a too'el an oniethin else he neids."
When the man from the AI arrived the crafter's
wife did exactly as she was told, adding as she left the byre: "An thare's a
nail ahin the door far ye kin hing yir breeks."
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
|
