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CONTENTS
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Electric Scotland News
Electric Scotland Community
The Flag in the Wind
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
Traditions of Perth
Robert Burns Lives!
Places of Interest about Girvan
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town
The State of Turkey
William and Louisa Anderson (New Book)
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Electric Scotland News
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This week I've added a new page translation tool from Microsoft which is in the footer of each page. Where you select a different language it will not only translate the page but will keep translating pages automatically as you move around the site.
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Interesting time for Scots and Canadians as we're both having general elections right now with the results being available next week.
From what I can see the SNP are set fair to win the election but if they do by how many seats? In the last election they were just 1 seat ahead of the opposition and thus formed a minority government.
In Canada a sudden and unexpected run by the NDP look as if they might actually force the Liberal party into 3rd place. What this might mean for the Conservative party is uncertain.
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And then we have the Royal wedding on Friday with an expected 2 billion people expected to watch from around the world. I note in Canada that CTV plans to start their broadcast at 3am EST. Then we have CNN in America due to start at 4am EST. I wonder how many people have arranged to be off ill on Friday <grin>
http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/
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I got in a couple of documents from the Scottish Democratic Alliance (SDA) which lays out their vision for Scotland. They are not running in this election as they are saving their fire for when Scotland wins Independence. That said they certainly have some interesting views which are well worth a read. They even question whether we should even have political parties and suggest that everyone should stand for their own community and represent their views rather that a party political view. Now that's interesting. You can read more about this at http://www.electricscotland.org/show...ement#post4776
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And on a personal note I might add that I have now completed my home renovations with the final bit being done as I write this. I am very happy to have completed this and so now time to sit back and enjoy it. That should of course mean I can get back to foccusing on the site as it's been several weeks work getting it all done. It's quite amazing the number of wee things you notice as the work progresses.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's New" section in our site menu and at http://www.electricscotland.com/rss/whatsnew.php
Electric Scotland Community
---------------------------
Steve tells me he is hoping to finish some major renovation work in the next couple of weeks after which he'll be focusing on the Community. I hope this means we'll start to see a lot of new things appearing that we've planned for a while now.
Mind when you go into the community just click on "New Posts" to see what's new since your last visit.
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org but of course if you are reading this you're already in it :-)
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
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This weeks issue is now available compiled by Jim Lynch in which he reveals the latest opinion polls for next weeks election showing the SNP continuing to gain ground.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
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And of the Border Raids, Forays and Conflicts by John Parker Lawson (1839). This is a new publication we're starting on which is in 3 volumes. We intend to post up 2 or 3 stories each week until complete.
This week we've added...
The Battle of Falkirk - 1298
You can read this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
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By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we're on Volume 2 with...
Chapter. XXXII - The Kyles of Bute
How to leave Tarbert. — The lona. — A Herring-laden Steamer. — Tarbert Quay. — Street Slaughtering.-— Caliban. — East Tarbert Loch. — Loch Fyne. — Aird Lament. — Last View of Cantire. — Rough Water. — Entrance to the Kyles. — Calais and the Kyles. — Scenery and Sea Sickness. —Fonnation of the K yles. — A Lochy Labirinth. — Travellers' Opinions as to the Kyles. — Pennant. —
Lord Teignmouth. —Miss Sinclair — Gushing Raptures. — Macculloch. — A Fairylike Sea. — Sir George Head. — Passage of the Kyles. — Rothesay. — The Poet Prince. — The tragical story of the first Duke of Rothesay. — My Lord Bute reads my Lady a Lesson. — Toward Point. — The Firth of Clyde.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glencreggan/
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
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A Series of Anecdotal Biographies chiefly of Scotchmen, Mostly by James Paterson and Edited by James Maidment (1885)
This week we have added...
William Cumming, Esq.
Sir William Honyman, Bart., of Armadale
The Rev. John Walker, Professor of Natural History
Captain James Burnet, the last Captain of the City Guard
The Duc D'Angouleme, in Edinburgh
Golf, the Royal Scottish Game
Alexander M'Kellar, the Cock o the Green
An interesting account of Golf, the Royal Scottish Game, which starts...
The game of Golf (or Scotice, Goff)—of which the scene represented in Kay's print affords some idea—is a pastime, although not entirely unknown in England, more peculiar to Scotland, and has long been a favourite with the citizens of Edinburgh. In the Teutonic, or German, kolbe signifies a club; and, in Holland, the same word, pronounced kolf, describes a game—of which the Dutch are very fond—in some respects akin to the Scottish pastime of golf.
At what period this amusement came to be practised in Scotland is not precisely known ; but, from the circumstance of foot-ball being prohibited by a statute in 1424, in which no mention is made of golf, while it is specially noticed in a later enactment, 1457, the presumption is, that the game was unknown at the former period ; and consequently that its introduction must have been about the middle of the fifteenth century.
The prohibitory laws against foot-ball and golf were enacted that these pastimes might not interfere with the practice of archery, the bow being then an instrument of war, in the use of which the Scots sometimes fatally experienced the superiority of their English neighbours. But a change having been effected by the invention of gunpowder, archery was no longer of national importance as a military exercise—the laws for its encouragement fell into desuetude—and the people were permitted again to indulge, without restraint, in the popular recreations.
Golf was a favourite amusement of the citizeus of Perth during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; so much so, that the younger portion of the community could not withstand its fascination even on the Sabbath-day. In the kirk-session records is an entry (2nd January, 1604) in which the "visitors report, that good order was keeped the last Sabbath, except that they found some young boys playing at the gowf in the North Inch in the time of preaching, afternoon, who were warned then by the officiars to compear before the session this day." They accordingly appeared, and the ringleader, Robert Robertson, was sentenced "to pay ane merk to the poor," and ordained, with his companions, "to compear the next Sabbath, into the place of public repentance, in presence of the whole congregation."
You can read the rest of this entry at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol243.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
Traditions of Perth
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Containing Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants during the last century by George Penny (1836)
We've now added Pages 317 to 335 and we're now onto the Appendix with the Origin of the Skinners and Glovers.
You can get to these pages at the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/
Robert Burns Lives!
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By Frank Shaw
Robert Burns – His Life, Illness and Death: 18th Century Medicine in Scotland By Thorne Winter, MD.
It is always an honor to introduce to our readers someone I have known for many years, especially when that person is a fellow member of the renowned Burns Club of Atlanta. More importantly, it is special when that person is loved and respected by all club members as is our writer today. Recently he spoke to members and guests at our Burns Club, and when I asked to share his talk with our readers, he graciously consented.
Dr. Thorne S. Winter, III of Atlanta, Georgia, sent to Duke University and graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School. His post medical school training included Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, the National Cancer Institute, and Emory Medical School in Atlanta. He was in the private practice of internal medicine and cardiology for 40 years and currently serves as medical director of the internal medicine division of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta. Thorne is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland. He is a member of the American Osler Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. And, he is a past president of the Burns Club of Atlanta.
I remember how excited Thorne was a few years ago when on behalf of the club I invited Dr. David Shi, President of Furman University, to speak at one of our monthly Burns Club meetings. The Burns cottage was packed to hear Dr. Shi speak. Several members had Furman connections but Thorne’s stand out. His mother, Lanche Friend Attaway Winter, graduated from Greenville Women’s College, which officially merged with Furman University in 1937. His son, Thorne Winter, IV married a Furman classmate, Sandra McAlaster, and both are graduates of the university. Thorne’s granddaughter, Melissa Mabry, if my memory does not fail me, was a freshman the year Dr. Shi spoke, and she has since graduated as well. Dr. Shi gave a brilliant speech that night on John Witherspoon, the famous minister from Scotland who not only signed the Declaration of Independence but also the Articles of Confederation while President of the College of New Jersey which later became Princeton University. Why so much Furman University information? Well, I graduated from Furman back in the dark ages and I do not mind giving the school a plug every time I have an opportunity. Furman today is still one of the most beautiful campuses in America and the academic record there is just as impressive.
It is a joy to welcome Dr. Winter to the pages of Robert Burns Lives!. I want to thank my friend Bill Tucker, editor of the excellent monthly Burns Club of Atlanta newsletter, for his assistance in providing the speech and accompanying photo of Thorne which first appeared in the April issue. It is one I look forward to receiving each month. In addition, I do not thank my son Scott enough for the help he gives me with articles for this website. When I bump into a computer problem that I cannot solve, I usually send it to him and ask him to put it in a Word document and email it back to me - and he does it every time!. Thanks, son. You’ll never know how much your assistance means to me in this labor of love on behalf of Robert Burns and his friends. (FRS: 4.27.11)
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives118.htm
All of the Robert Burns articles can be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rank/burns.htm
Places of Interest about Girvan
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By Rev. R. Lawson (1892).
We put up this week...
Straiton
Barr
In Carrick
The Castles of Carrick
Our Old Carrick Ministers
Carrick's Share at Bothwell Bridge
Our Martyrs' Tombstones
Peden in Carrick
The account of The Castles of Carrick starts...
CARRICK is as famous for its old ruined keeps as the Border itself. Within the bounds of its nine parishes, there are at present the vestiges of not fewer than twenty-nine castles, each at least 200 years old, and some of them much older. Several of these are still inhabited, though considerably modernised, but the most are mere roofless ruins, clad in ivy, and tottering to their fall.
Before castles of stone and lime were built among us, our forefathers contented themselves with camps or forts, usually placed on the summit of round hills, and called Duns by them. These Duns were defended by a ditch, and a mound of earth surmounted by a stout palisade of wood. There are many of these British Forts in our midst, but the largest and most complete is at Dinvin, close by the highway leading from Girvan to Colmonell, and about four miles from the former. It is oval in shape, with double ditches running round it.
The oldest of the castles of Carrick are Turnberry and Loch Doon, and these date back probably as far as the year 1200. At that time, strongholds consisted of a Tower, enclosed .by a fortified wall and moat. Across this moat was a drawbridge, and in the wall a portcullis. The groove of the portcullis may still be seen at Turnberry, as well as the ditch or moat.
You can read the rest of this chapter at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../chapter27.htm
You can read the other chapters at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rvan/index.htm
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
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Added another poem, Tribute to the Late James Ritchie, which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger07.htm
The other poems can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger.htm
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town
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By John Howard Whitehouse (1905)
Have now added more chapters which now completes this book.
Chapter XII. A Schedule of Buildings of Historic Interest
Chapter XIII. The Guarding of National Features of a Town's Environment
Chapter XIV. Education: Some methods of Advance
Appendix: A Selected Bibliography of Works on Social Questions
Chapter XIII. The Guarding of National Features of a Town's Environment is an interesting commentary and I give you that chapter entire...
FROM the historic buildings of Dunfermline, which have been considered in the last chapter, it is natural to turn to those natural beauties of hill and sea and moorland which are within easy reach of the town, for these no less than the civic treasures are threatened with destruction or injury.
The chief and most beautiful walks from the city are those leading to and along the banks of the Forth. These are assets for the town's health and enjoyment which can hardly be overrated, and which become more precious as each year the town itself becomes more crowded, its environs more extensive. Yet, at the present moment, a particularly gross piece of vandalism is being committed upon the shores of the Firth of Forth.
The North British Railway Company succeeded some time ago in obtaining Parliamentary powers for the construction of a railway from Dunfermline to Kincardine. The work is now well advanced, and it is possible to realise at what a cost a wholly unnecessary railway is to be constructed. Running from Dunfermline to the west, the line strikes the coast at Torryburn, four miles from Dunfermline, and thence proceeds along the foreshore to Kincardine, a distance of five miles. To carry the railway from Torryburn to Kincardine a huge embankment is being erected along a part of the coast which was previously under water at high tide. The result of this is, that the view of the Firth of Forth is blotted out from the sight of all the houses and villages between the two places in question, and instead of the glorious ever-varying view of the Firth waters, glistening sometimes as though studded with opals, and at others changing to the wine-dark sea of Homer—a view, too, which once delighted the heart of Turner—the people and visitors to this district have now to be content with a view of a high embankment, crowned at frequent intervals with smoke and steam.
I am not entering any protest against railways or legitimate railway extension, but against a very flagrant misdeed by which the nation itself sustains a great wrong. For to the north of the coast route chosen for this railway there is a second and raised beach which runs behind the various villages and towns on the coast, and which would have been an entirely suitable line for the railway to have taken. It is understood that the original plans for the railway showed this route, and that it was abandoned through the opposition of vested interest.
How can such deeds be prevented in the future? Only by the unsleeping vigilance of the public. At present such schemes as the one mentioned get through Parliament without notice or criticism. Our hope must lie in the education of public opinion and the growth of the spirit of civic responsibility. When this spirit exists in an adequate degree, it will be strong enough to protect the natural beauty of the earth—the common heritage of all men—no less than the memorials in stone of the great days and the great souls of other ages.
The other chapters can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ne/townndx.htm
The State of Turkey
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By C N Conder, from the Scottish Review of 1896.
I always wanted to know a bit more about Turkey and came across an article in the Scottish Review about the country so thought I'd add it to the site. It starts...
THE critical condition of the Turkish Empire in Asia may render interesting a short account of the various mixed populations—Moslem, Christian, and Jewish—which are mingled together, in Asia Minor, Syria, and Arabia, under Turkish rule, and of the changes slowly occurring during the last forty years in their relative position. The Armenians especially attract notice for the moment, but the discontent of subject population is not confined to that unfortunate race, or indeed to Christians only.
The Armenians are the only Aryan race ruled by the Sultan with the exception of the scattered Greek population found in the cities of Syria, and forming a strong factor in the West of Asia Minor. Herodotus informs us that the Armenians of his day were Phrygian colonists, and the Phrygians belonged to the European family of the Aryans, and entered Asia Minor from the West. The Armenian language is one of the most interesting of early Aryan tongues, being most nearly connected with the Slav languages. It has become somewhat corrupted by the introduction of Turkish and even of Arabic words, but it is substantially Aryan in grammar and in vocabulary, and its words often throw light on the origin of terms which would otherwise remain doubtful. Even the term Arya, which has so variously been explained, is perhaps best connected with the Armenian Ayr for a man. The two great streams of migration which brought the Aryans into Asia Minor appear to have followed the northern route from the West, and the southern route from the East. In the ninth century B. C., the Medes had advanced from near the Caucasus to the shores of Lake Van, superseding an earlier Mongol population in Matiene; and in the Persian period the Lycian language is more nearly akin to the Iranian tongues than to the European, though strongly influenced already by Greek. The early Phrygian inscriptions appear on the other hand to belong to the European family of Aryan speech. In our own time the Armenians represent the northern immigrants, while the very corrupt Georgian language, traceable back to the Middle Ages, is also Aryan but more probably of Medic origin. The Armenian has however borrowed from the Georgian, and the Georgian from the Armenian.
You can read the rest of this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...les/turkey.htm
William and Louisa Anderson
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A record of their Life and Work in Jamaica and Old Calabar by William Markwick (1897)
A new book we're starting and the Preface starts...
The materials for the record of the life and work of William Anderson were widely scattered, and had to be gathered by degrees. For most periods the material has been copious. The greatest difficulty I experienced was in regard to the collection of material for the "Jamaica Period," as the periodicals of the Scottish Missionary Society were scarce. So far as I am aware, this is the first time that the life of a missionary to Jamaica, who began as catechist and teacher, pursued his theological studies there, was licensed and ordained as pastor of a congregation which he was instrumental in forming, has been written.
The autobiographical reminiscences of his early days are not a mere reprint of the papers that appeared in the United Presbyterian Magazine during 1890, but are taken from Mr. Anderson's MS. Autobiography and MS. Journal; and these and the letters and journals from Jamaica show him in unconscious training for his great work in Old Calabar.
The "Calabar Period" contains, not only a record of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's work, but also the annals of Duke Town. In these pages it will be possible to trace the social changes that have taken place during the last fifty years—the decline of the power of the "king" and the chiefs, and of the authority of the Egbo institution, on the one hand; and, on the other, the growth of Consular jurisdiction, culminating in the establishment of the British Protectorate, which has its headquarters at Duke Town. The relations of the missionary and the trading communities are touched on. The Consular staff is now another factor. It is desirable that the relations of these three chief European factors that make for the welfare or otherwise of Calabar should be friendly —that they should understand one another's aims, and should co-operate as far as possible for common ends, as was done at certain crises in Mr. Anderson's time. In spite of "the talk of the Coast," which is too often reproduced as reliable fact in books of travel, there is, I think, a growing understanding of one another among the various classes, when a missionary wins the respect of all as Mr. Beedie did, and criticism of one another is more discriminating and therefore useful.
You can read the rest of this and the few chapters we already have up at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rson/index.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
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We now have the May 2011 issue available.
Beth tells us that Norra the wonder cat got her invitation to William and Kate's wedding but seems Beth's invitation got lost in the post! <grin>
As usual a great read and in her Editors article she talks about honesty and keeping your word which should be a lesson for us all.
You can read this issue at http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft
And finally...
Having Mother Over To Dinner
Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Brian's mother couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brian's roommate, Jennifer, was. Brian's Mum had long been suspicious of the platonic relationship between Brian and Jennifer, and this had only made her more curious.
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Jennifer than met the eye.
Reading his mum's thoughts, Brian volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just room-mates.'
About a week later, Jennifer came to Brian saying, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?'
Brian said, 'Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be sure. So he sat down and wrote:
Dear Mum,
I'm not saying that you 'did' take the gravy ladle from the house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love, Brian
Several days later, Brian received an email back from his mother that read:
Dear Son,
I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Jennifer, I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.
Love Mum
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend and enjoy the Royal wedding.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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Electric Scotland News
Electric Scotland Community
The Flag in the Wind
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
Traditions of Perth
Robert Burns Lives!
Places of Interest about Girvan
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town
The State of Turkey
William and Louisa Anderson (New Book)
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Electric Scotland News
----------------------
This week I've added a new page translation tool from Microsoft which is in the footer of each page. Where you select a different language it will not only translate the page but will keep translating pages automatically as you move around the site.
-----
Interesting time for Scots and Canadians as we're both having general elections right now with the results being available next week.
From what I can see the SNP are set fair to win the election but if they do by how many seats? In the last election they were just 1 seat ahead of the opposition and thus formed a minority government.
In Canada a sudden and unexpected run by the NDP look as if they might actually force the Liberal party into 3rd place. What this might mean for the Conservative party is uncertain.
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And then we have the Royal wedding on Friday with an expected 2 billion people expected to watch from around the world. I note in Canada that CTV plans to start their broadcast at 3am EST. Then we have CNN in America due to start at 4am EST. I wonder how many people have arranged to be off ill on Friday <grin>
http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/
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I got in a couple of documents from the Scottish Democratic Alliance (SDA) which lays out their vision for Scotland. They are not running in this election as they are saving their fire for when Scotland wins Independence. That said they certainly have some interesting views which are well worth a read. They even question whether we should even have political parties and suggest that everyone should stand for their own community and represent their views rather that a party political view. Now that's interesting. You can read more about this at http://www.electricscotland.org/show...ement#post4776
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And on a personal note I might add that I have now completed my home renovations with the final bit being done as I write this. I am very happy to have completed this and so now time to sit back and enjoy it. That should of course mean I can get back to foccusing on the site as it's been several weeks work getting it all done. It's quite amazing the number of wee things you notice as the work progresses.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's New" section in our site menu and at http://www.electricscotland.com/rss/whatsnew.php
Electric Scotland Community
---------------------------
Steve tells me he is hoping to finish some major renovation work in the next couple of weeks after which he'll be focusing on the Community. I hope this means we'll start to see a lot of new things appearing that we've planned for a while now.
Mind when you go into the community just click on "New Posts" to see what's new since your last visit.
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org but of course if you are reading this you're already in it :-)
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks issue is now available compiled by Jim Lynch in which he reveals the latest opinion polls for next weeks election showing the SNP continuing to gain ground.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
----------------------------------------
And of the Border Raids, Forays and Conflicts by John Parker Lawson (1839). This is a new publication we're starting on which is in 3 volumes. We intend to post up 2 or 3 stories each week until complete.
This week we've added...
The Battle of Falkirk - 1298
You can read this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
------------------------------------------
By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we're on Volume 2 with...
Chapter. XXXII - The Kyles of Bute
How to leave Tarbert. — The lona. — A Herring-laden Steamer. — Tarbert Quay. — Street Slaughtering.-— Caliban. — East Tarbert Loch. — Loch Fyne. — Aird Lament. — Last View of Cantire. — Rough Water. — Entrance to the Kyles. — Calais and the Kyles. — Scenery and Sea Sickness. —Fonnation of the K yles. — A Lochy Labirinth. — Travellers' Opinions as to the Kyles. — Pennant. —
Lord Teignmouth. —Miss Sinclair — Gushing Raptures. — Macculloch. — A Fairylike Sea. — Sir George Head. — Passage of the Kyles. — Rothesay. — The Poet Prince. — The tragical story of the first Duke of Rothesay. — My Lord Bute reads my Lady a Lesson. — Toward Point. — The Firth of Clyde.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glencreggan/
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
-------------------------
A Series of Anecdotal Biographies chiefly of Scotchmen, Mostly by James Paterson and Edited by James Maidment (1885)
This week we have added...
William Cumming, Esq.
Sir William Honyman, Bart., of Armadale
The Rev. John Walker, Professor of Natural History
Captain James Burnet, the last Captain of the City Guard
The Duc D'Angouleme, in Edinburgh
Golf, the Royal Scottish Game
Alexander M'Kellar, the Cock o the Green
An interesting account of Golf, the Royal Scottish Game, which starts...
The game of Golf (or Scotice, Goff)—of which the scene represented in Kay's print affords some idea—is a pastime, although not entirely unknown in England, more peculiar to Scotland, and has long been a favourite with the citizens of Edinburgh. In the Teutonic, or German, kolbe signifies a club; and, in Holland, the same word, pronounced kolf, describes a game—of which the Dutch are very fond—in some respects akin to the Scottish pastime of golf.
At what period this amusement came to be practised in Scotland is not precisely known ; but, from the circumstance of foot-ball being prohibited by a statute in 1424, in which no mention is made of golf, while it is specially noticed in a later enactment, 1457, the presumption is, that the game was unknown at the former period ; and consequently that its introduction must have been about the middle of the fifteenth century.
The prohibitory laws against foot-ball and golf were enacted that these pastimes might not interfere with the practice of archery, the bow being then an instrument of war, in the use of which the Scots sometimes fatally experienced the superiority of their English neighbours. But a change having been effected by the invention of gunpowder, archery was no longer of national importance as a military exercise—the laws for its encouragement fell into desuetude—and the people were permitted again to indulge, without restraint, in the popular recreations.
Golf was a favourite amusement of the citizeus of Perth during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; so much so, that the younger portion of the community could not withstand its fascination even on the Sabbath-day. In the kirk-session records is an entry (2nd January, 1604) in which the "visitors report, that good order was keeped the last Sabbath, except that they found some young boys playing at the gowf in the North Inch in the time of preaching, afternoon, who were warned then by the officiars to compear before the session this day." They accordingly appeared, and the ringleader, Robert Robertson, was sentenced "to pay ane merk to the poor," and ordained, with his companions, "to compear the next Sabbath, into the place of public repentance, in presence of the whole congregation."
You can read the rest of this entry at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol243.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
Traditions of Perth
-------------------
Containing Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants during the last century by George Penny (1836)
We've now added Pages 317 to 335 and we're now onto the Appendix with the Origin of the Skinners and Glovers.
You can get to these pages at the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/
Robert Burns Lives!
-------------------
By Frank Shaw
Robert Burns – His Life, Illness and Death: 18th Century Medicine in Scotland By Thorne Winter, MD.
It is always an honor to introduce to our readers someone I have known for many years, especially when that person is a fellow member of the renowned Burns Club of Atlanta. More importantly, it is special when that person is loved and respected by all club members as is our writer today. Recently he spoke to members and guests at our Burns Club, and when I asked to share his talk with our readers, he graciously consented.
Dr. Thorne S. Winter, III of Atlanta, Georgia, sent to Duke University and graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School. His post medical school training included Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, the National Cancer Institute, and Emory Medical School in Atlanta. He was in the private practice of internal medicine and cardiology for 40 years and currently serves as medical director of the internal medicine division of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta. Thorne is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland. He is a member of the American Osler Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. And, he is a past president of the Burns Club of Atlanta.
I remember how excited Thorne was a few years ago when on behalf of the club I invited Dr. David Shi, President of Furman University, to speak at one of our monthly Burns Club meetings. The Burns cottage was packed to hear Dr. Shi speak. Several members had Furman connections but Thorne’s stand out. His mother, Lanche Friend Attaway Winter, graduated from Greenville Women’s College, which officially merged with Furman University in 1937. His son, Thorne Winter, IV married a Furman classmate, Sandra McAlaster, and both are graduates of the university. Thorne’s granddaughter, Melissa Mabry, if my memory does not fail me, was a freshman the year Dr. Shi spoke, and she has since graduated as well. Dr. Shi gave a brilliant speech that night on John Witherspoon, the famous minister from Scotland who not only signed the Declaration of Independence but also the Articles of Confederation while President of the College of New Jersey which later became Princeton University. Why so much Furman University information? Well, I graduated from Furman back in the dark ages and I do not mind giving the school a plug every time I have an opportunity. Furman today is still one of the most beautiful campuses in America and the academic record there is just as impressive.
It is a joy to welcome Dr. Winter to the pages of Robert Burns Lives!. I want to thank my friend Bill Tucker, editor of the excellent monthly Burns Club of Atlanta newsletter, for his assistance in providing the speech and accompanying photo of Thorne which first appeared in the April issue. It is one I look forward to receiving each month. In addition, I do not thank my son Scott enough for the help he gives me with articles for this website. When I bump into a computer problem that I cannot solve, I usually send it to him and ask him to put it in a Word document and email it back to me - and he does it every time!. Thanks, son. You’ll never know how much your assistance means to me in this labor of love on behalf of Robert Burns and his friends. (FRS: 4.27.11)
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives118.htm
All of the Robert Burns articles can be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rank/burns.htm
Places of Interest about Girvan
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By Rev. R. Lawson (1892).
We put up this week...
Straiton
Barr
In Carrick
The Castles of Carrick
Our Old Carrick Ministers
Carrick's Share at Bothwell Bridge
Our Martyrs' Tombstones
Peden in Carrick
The account of The Castles of Carrick starts...
CARRICK is as famous for its old ruined keeps as the Border itself. Within the bounds of its nine parishes, there are at present the vestiges of not fewer than twenty-nine castles, each at least 200 years old, and some of them much older. Several of these are still inhabited, though considerably modernised, but the most are mere roofless ruins, clad in ivy, and tottering to their fall.
Before castles of stone and lime were built among us, our forefathers contented themselves with camps or forts, usually placed on the summit of round hills, and called Duns by them. These Duns were defended by a ditch, and a mound of earth surmounted by a stout palisade of wood. There are many of these British Forts in our midst, but the largest and most complete is at Dinvin, close by the highway leading from Girvan to Colmonell, and about four miles from the former. It is oval in shape, with double ditches running round it.
The oldest of the castles of Carrick are Turnberry and Loch Doon, and these date back probably as far as the year 1200. At that time, strongholds consisted of a Tower, enclosed .by a fortified wall and moat. Across this moat was a drawbridge, and in the wall a portcullis. The groove of the portcullis may still be seen at Turnberry, as well as the ditch or moat.
You can read the rest of this chapter at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../chapter27.htm
You can read the other chapters at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rvan/index.htm
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
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Added another poem, Tribute to the Late James Ritchie, which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger07.htm
The other poems can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger.htm
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town
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By John Howard Whitehouse (1905)
Have now added more chapters which now completes this book.
Chapter XII. A Schedule of Buildings of Historic Interest
Chapter XIII. The Guarding of National Features of a Town's Environment
Chapter XIV. Education: Some methods of Advance
Appendix: A Selected Bibliography of Works on Social Questions
Chapter XIII. The Guarding of National Features of a Town's Environment is an interesting commentary and I give you that chapter entire...
FROM the historic buildings of Dunfermline, which have been considered in the last chapter, it is natural to turn to those natural beauties of hill and sea and moorland which are within easy reach of the town, for these no less than the civic treasures are threatened with destruction or injury.
The chief and most beautiful walks from the city are those leading to and along the banks of the Forth. These are assets for the town's health and enjoyment which can hardly be overrated, and which become more precious as each year the town itself becomes more crowded, its environs more extensive. Yet, at the present moment, a particularly gross piece of vandalism is being committed upon the shores of the Firth of Forth.
The North British Railway Company succeeded some time ago in obtaining Parliamentary powers for the construction of a railway from Dunfermline to Kincardine. The work is now well advanced, and it is possible to realise at what a cost a wholly unnecessary railway is to be constructed. Running from Dunfermline to the west, the line strikes the coast at Torryburn, four miles from Dunfermline, and thence proceeds along the foreshore to Kincardine, a distance of five miles. To carry the railway from Torryburn to Kincardine a huge embankment is being erected along a part of the coast which was previously under water at high tide. The result of this is, that the view of the Firth of Forth is blotted out from the sight of all the houses and villages between the two places in question, and instead of the glorious ever-varying view of the Firth waters, glistening sometimes as though studded with opals, and at others changing to the wine-dark sea of Homer—a view, too, which once delighted the heart of Turner—the people and visitors to this district have now to be content with a view of a high embankment, crowned at frequent intervals with smoke and steam.
I am not entering any protest against railways or legitimate railway extension, but against a very flagrant misdeed by which the nation itself sustains a great wrong. For to the north of the coast route chosen for this railway there is a second and raised beach which runs behind the various villages and towns on the coast, and which would have been an entirely suitable line for the railway to have taken. It is understood that the original plans for the railway showed this route, and that it was abandoned through the opposition of vested interest.
How can such deeds be prevented in the future? Only by the unsleeping vigilance of the public. At present such schemes as the one mentioned get through Parliament without notice or criticism. Our hope must lie in the education of public opinion and the growth of the spirit of civic responsibility. When this spirit exists in an adequate degree, it will be strong enough to protect the natural beauty of the earth—the common heritage of all men—no less than the memorials in stone of the great days and the great souls of other ages.
The other chapters can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ne/townndx.htm
The State of Turkey
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By C N Conder, from the Scottish Review of 1896.
I always wanted to know a bit more about Turkey and came across an article in the Scottish Review about the country so thought I'd add it to the site. It starts...
THE critical condition of the Turkish Empire in Asia may render interesting a short account of the various mixed populations—Moslem, Christian, and Jewish—which are mingled together, in Asia Minor, Syria, and Arabia, under Turkish rule, and of the changes slowly occurring during the last forty years in their relative position. The Armenians especially attract notice for the moment, but the discontent of subject population is not confined to that unfortunate race, or indeed to Christians only.
The Armenians are the only Aryan race ruled by the Sultan with the exception of the scattered Greek population found in the cities of Syria, and forming a strong factor in the West of Asia Minor. Herodotus informs us that the Armenians of his day were Phrygian colonists, and the Phrygians belonged to the European family of the Aryans, and entered Asia Minor from the West. The Armenian language is one of the most interesting of early Aryan tongues, being most nearly connected with the Slav languages. It has become somewhat corrupted by the introduction of Turkish and even of Arabic words, but it is substantially Aryan in grammar and in vocabulary, and its words often throw light on the origin of terms which would otherwise remain doubtful. Even the term Arya, which has so variously been explained, is perhaps best connected with the Armenian Ayr for a man. The two great streams of migration which brought the Aryans into Asia Minor appear to have followed the northern route from the West, and the southern route from the East. In the ninth century B. C., the Medes had advanced from near the Caucasus to the shores of Lake Van, superseding an earlier Mongol population in Matiene; and in the Persian period the Lycian language is more nearly akin to the Iranian tongues than to the European, though strongly influenced already by Greek. The early Phrygian inscriptions appear on the other hand to belong to the European family of Aryan speech. In our own time the Armenians represent the northern immigrants, while the very corrupt Georgian language, traceable back to the Middle Ages, is also Aryan but more probably of Medic origin. The Armenian has however borrowed from the Georgian, and the Georgian from the Armenian.
You can read the rest of this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...les/turkey.htm
William and Louisa Anderson
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A record of their Life and Work in Jamaica and Old Calabar by William Markwick (1897)
A new book we're starting and the Preface starts...
The materials for the record of the life and work of William Anderson were widely scattered, and had to be gathered by degrees. For most periods the material has been copious. The greatest difficulty I experienced was in regard to the collection of material for the "Jamaica Period," as the periodicals of the Scottish Missionary Society were scarce. So far as I am aware, this is the first time that the life of a missionary to Jamaica, who began as catechist and teacher, pursued his theological studies there, was licensed and ordained as pastor of a congregation which he was instrumental in forming, has been written.
The autobiographical reminiscences of his early days are not a mere reprint of the papers that appeared in the United Presbyterian Magazine during 1890, but are taken from Mr. Anderson's MS. Autobiography and MS. Journal; and these and the letters and journals from Jamaica show him in unconscious training for his great work in Old Calabar.
The "Calabar Period" contains, not only a record of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's work, but also the annals of Duke Town. In these pages it will be possible to trace the social changes that have taken place during the last fifty years—the decline of the power of the "king" and the chiefs, and of the authority of the Egbo institution, on the one hand; and, on the other, the growth of Consular jurisdiction, culminating in the establishment of the British Protectorate, which has its headquarters at Duke Town. The relations of the missionary and the trading communities are touched on. The Consular staff is now another factor. It is desirable that the relations of these three chief European factors that make for the welfare or otherwise of Calabar should be friendly —that they should understand one another's aims, and should co-operate as far as possible for common ends, as was done at certain crises in Mr. Anderson's time. In spite of "the talk of the Coast," which is too often reproduced as reliable fact in books of travel, there is, I think, a growing understanding of one another among the various classes, when a missionary wins the respect of all as Mr. Beedie did, and criticism of one another is more discriminating and therefore useful.
You can read the rest of this and the few chapters we already have up at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rson/index.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
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We now have the May 2011 issue available.
Beth tells us that Norra the wonder cat got her invitation to William and Kate's wedding but seems Beth's invitation got lost in the post! <grin>
As usual a great read and in her Editors article she talks about honesty and keeping your word which should be a lesson for us all.
You can read this issue at http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft
And finally...
Having Mother Over To Dinner
Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Brian's mother couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brian's roommate, Jennifer, was. Brian's Mum had long been suspicious of the platonic relationship between Brian and Jennifer, and this had only made her more curious.
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Jennifer than met the eye.
Reading his mum's thoughts, Brian volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just room-mates.'
About a week later, Jennifer came to Brian saying, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?'
Brian said, 'Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be sure. So he sat down and wrote:
Dear Mum,
I'm not saying that you 'did' take the gravy ladle from the house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love, Brian
Several days later, Brian received an email back from his mother that read:
Dear Son,
I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Jennifer, I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.
Love Mum
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend and enjoy the Royal wedding.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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