Today,
15 September 2006, sees the 499th anniversary of the granting
of a patent by James IV, King of Scots, to Androw Myllar and Walter
Chepman authorising them to set up a printing press in Edinburgh – the
first in Scotland. The earliest known output from their press – ‘The
Complaint of the Black Knight – is dated 4 April 1508. The National
Library of Scotland and the Scottish Printing Archival Trust is jointly
promoting the 500th anniversary of this publication in 2008.
Please visit
www.500yearsofprinting.org for details of the preparation of many
events which will be held throughout Scotland to celebrate this historic
publication.
The printed word has
played a long history in Scotland with the establishment of many leading
publishers. Writers such as literary figures from the past Robert Burns,
Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson down to present day writers
such as William McIllvaney and Ian Rankin have provided us with a wealth
of reading material. Book reading continues to play a prominent part in
Scottish life with Book Festivals proving to very popular. The largest
such festival is the August Edinburgh Book Festival but the second
largest takes place in the much smaller burgh of Wigtown. Now in its 8th
year the Wigtown Festival takes place in Scotland’s officially
recognised National Book Town from Friday 22 September to Sunday 1
October 2006. Visit
www.wigtown-booktown.co.uk for full details of this popular
festival.
Wigtown was chosen in
1997 as Scotland’s National Book Town from a leet which included
Dalmellington, Dunblane, Gatehouse-of-Fleet, Moffat, Strathaven and the
winning town, Wigtown, a royal burgh from at least 1292 now houses some
thirty book related businesses with new and second-hand books galore.
Wigtown
was the county town of Wigtownshire which before local government
reorganisation formed the extreme south-west corner of Scotland with a
coastline of 120 miles. But this week’s recipe – Pot Roast of Lamb –
looks to the rural area of the county, which was most famous for dairy
farming, but like the all areas of Scotland had its share of sheep.
Pot Roast of Lamb
Ingredients: 2
lbs neck end lamb, trimmed and cut into bite sized chunks; 2 tbs olive
oil; 2 large onions, chopped; 1 clove of garlic, chopped; 1 tin of
tomatoes; 1 lb flour; 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary; 1 tin of haricot
beans; vegetable stock; salt and pepper
Method: Put half
the flour into a plastic bag with the salt and pepper, and add the lamb,
shaking until each piece is well coated. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil until
smoking, then add the lamb in small batches, making sure each piece has
been well browned. Remove the lamb, add more olive oil, then fry the
onions and garlic, add the rest of the flour, making sure it has
absorbed all the oil. Stir in the stock gradually, making sure the
mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Add the tomatoes and bring back to
a simmer, then add the lamb and haricot beans. Cook in a covered
casserole at 150 degrees for two to three hours. Serve with new potatoes
and peas
