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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Clan Rattray
This year, we are excited to announce the formation of the Rattray Clan Association of the United States and Canada!
Our mission is to connect Rattrays in the US and Canada through events and social media as well as to provide education about both Rattray and Scottish history and traditions.
As a developing association, we intend to benefit members in many ways, including building friendships, knowledge, and memories. Through membership, you will become familiar with the people who make this association special. We value our heritage and view our Rattray Clan as extended family. We sincerely hope those in the US and Canada choose to be involved in 2023 and beyond.
We are currently in the planning phase and are working on or have completed the following items:
Mission (complete)
Society Charter and By-Laws (in process)
Rattray Clan Association Logo
(name and logo are complete and have a Trademark; Hinshaw Attorneys at Law)
Website
(in process and to be complete by February or before; Baldwin Wallace University Hive Design Group)
Member benefits and cost (in process)
Event(s)
(Association event(s) TBA in 2023)
Also, we will be recruiting officers later (TBA 2023).
You are welcome to email the President and Executive Chairman (Dawn R. Owen-Young) to indicate that you would like to be included on emails regarding our development and website activation at:
dawnowenyoung@gmail.com
We appreciate our current team and their continued dedication and look forward with enthusiasm toward the future! Please stay tuned at rattrayclanassociation.com!
Best to you all,
Dawn R. Owen-Young, President and Executive Chairman
Hailey Householder, Co-Chairman
Keith Rattray, Association Liaison Officer
--------
46.2% of UK residents described themselves as Christian, down from 59.3% in the last census in 2011.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
A voluntary union with no exit?
The UK is a voluntary union but the Scottish parliament cannot call an independence referendum without Westminster’s approval.
Read more at:
https://sceptical.scot/2022/11/a-vol...-with-no-exit/
Canada's lettuce problem
What a $15 bag of romaine says about our food system. Crop failure in California is wake-up cal
Read more at:
https://financialpost.com/commoditie...ettuce-problem
The dad deficit
The fact that boys are falling behind is both well documented and frustratingly overlooked. Instead of villyfying maleness itself, we should be asking why girls are doing so much better and one crucial factor is the adbsence of male role models, both in schools and, even more significantly, in the home.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/british-boys-are-fal...d-to-help-them
Ukraine war: Chornobaivka airbase, symbol of Russian defeat
From the start of the war, a military airfield and village just outside Kherson city achieved legendary status in Ukraine. Captured by Russian forces within days of Russia's full-scale invasion in February, Chornobaivka was then repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian forces. It became one of the most important battlefields of the war.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63754797
What the Scottish Government wants your kids to learn about sex and relationships
RECENTLY I attended an event in Glasgow titled Education not Indoctrination. It had been organised by Hands Up (Scotland), a group of parents, teachers and university lecturers concerned about the quality of education in Scottish schools. For me, as a former teacher, it was an eye-opener.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2022/11/wh...relationships/
Conrad Black: Setting the record straight for an unabashed Trump-hater
In the Toronto Star, Andrew Cohen, presumably inadvertently, exposed for readers a glimpse of the incurable pathology of Trump-hate
Read more at:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/con...ed-trump-hater
Media
By Hamish Mackay in the Scottish Review
Read more at:
https://www.scottishreview.net//HamishMackay639a.html
The trust crisis facing women leaders
Trust in women leaders is falling even as their numbers in high-ranking positions are rising. Why?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article...-women-leaders
Ian Blackford resigns as SNP Westminster leader after 5 years in role
The MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber informed members of the nationalist group in London about his decision earlier today.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...nster-28628414
New Royal Navy frigate leaves Glasgow shipyard
The Royal Navy's newest frigate, HMS Glasgow, has taken its first trip down the River Clyde.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...-west-63813076
Canada: Ambassador tells EU that deforestation rules burdensome
Canada's ambassador to the European Union has voiced concern with proposed EU rules to curb deforestation.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63736486
Lt.-Gen. (retd) Maisonneuve: Clearing the air about my anti-woke speech before I'm completely cancelled
I have faith that we can fix what ails Canada with leadership, service, unity and courage
Read more at:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/cle...tely-cancelled
Electric Canadian
Fruits of Ontario
Printed by the Ontario Department of Agriculture 1906 (pdf)
You can read this report at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...sofontario.pdf
Alternative Schools in British Columbia, 1960-1975
By Harley Steven Rothstein (1999) (pdf)
You can read this report at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...stein1999a.pdf
Community Heritage Context Study - Kootenay Lake
Electoral Area D (2008) (pdf)
You can read this study at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist.../rdck2008a.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 27th day of November 2022 - Advent 1
By The Rev. Nola Crewe
You can listen to this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...-2022-advent-1
The Bridge
A Story of the Great Lakes by M. L. C. Pickthall (1922) (pdf)
You can read this novel at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...00pickiala.pdf
Electric Scotland
Beth's Video Talks
November 30th 2022 - Maps, etc.
You can watch this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Essay on Curling and Artificial Pond Making
By J. Cairnie, Largs (1833) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00cairgoog.pdf
Prehistoric Britain
By Robert Munro, M.A., M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E. (1923) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ricbritain.pdf
My own story
Or, Autobiography of a Child by Mary Howitt (1844) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...01howigoog.pdf
The Journal of the Textile Institute
Volume XXIII 1932 (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...xxiii-1932.pdf
St. Clair of the Isles
Or, Outlaws of Barra, A Scottish Tradition, by Elizabeth Helme, 4 volumes in 1 (1825) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...Outlaws_of.pdf
Transactions of the Buchan Club
(Buchan Field Club) 1908 - 1913 Volume X
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...eld_Club10.pdf
The Scottish Pulpit
Came across this series from the State Library of Pennsylvania and thought they'd be of interest to anyone interested in the Scottish Church as they come from 1845 in a series of 5 volumes. Have added volume 2 to the site and will add the others each week for the next 3 weeks.
You can read this 2nd volume at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/scottish-pulpit.htm
Memories of the Manse
Glimpses of Scottish Life and Character by Anne Breadalbane (1895) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...nseg00macl.pdf
Story
The “Caledonian Band” of Volunteers
The Caledonian Band were “the first Volunteers in the Empire.” Such is the statement made by Hon. Archibald Fraser (1756-1815), the youngest son of the notorious Lord Lovat and the brother of the Hon. Simon Fraser (1726-82), who raised the 78th and 71st Highlanders in 1757 and 1775. Writing to Lord Liverpool in 1869. Archibald says (P.R.O.; H.O. 50: 59):-
“Your memorialist begs pardon and blushes at being called to mention aught as to what may seem to point to himself, because it is well known that in conjunction with Lord Graham in the House of Commons, the grace and favour of His Majesty and Parliament was solicited and procured for the restoration of their garb to Highland men as the reward of their loyalty. The Caledonian Band, immediately kilted, were the first Volunteers in the Empire and gave rise to many other corps.”
The facts of the case for which I am indebted to Mr Andrew Ross, “Ross Herald,” the greatest authority on the Scots army, are these. Fraser succeeded his half-brother Simon in the Parliamentary representation of the County of Inverness, on March 28, 1782. On June 17, 1782 he seconded the motion of the Marquis ot Graham (afterwards 3rd Duke of Montrose) in the House of Commons for leave to bring in a bill to repeal that part of the Act (19 Geo. H. cap. 39) of 1746, which prohibited the wearingof the Highland dress. This bill received the royal assent July 1, 1782.
The Scots, however, had been disappointed some time before in the rejection (June 10, 1782) in the House of Commons of the Marquis of Graham’s bill to establish a Militia in Scotland. How then was the country to be defended? Four plans were proposed, and the formation of Defensive Boards, of which the Caledonian band was to be the forerunner, was one of them.
The “Scots Magazine” of September, 1782 (p. 501) tells us that on Thursday, September 5, “there was a meeting of several noblemen and gentlemen at Edinburgh to consider of a plan for raising a volunteer corps of ten companies, to serve without pay (until called out on actual service), on Lord Shelbourne’s plan. They are to be clothed in the Highland dress, and called the Caledonian Band. The meeting agreed to associate immediately, and appointed the following officers, viz.—
Colonel—The Marquis of Graham.
Lieut.-Col.—The Earl of Buchan.
Major—-Alexander Donaldson, late of the 42nd Regiment.
Captains—
Lord. MacDonald (Grenadiers).
David Stuart, Esq.
Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
The Hon. Mr Fraser of Lovat.
Mr William Morrison, writer.
Robert Dundas, Esq., advocate.
Neil Ferguson, Esq., advocate.
Donald Maclauchlan, Esq., of Maclauchlan.
James Grant, Esq., of Corriemonie.
-------- M'Kenzie, Esq., advocate.
The field officers and four first-named captains have accepted. Mr John Wright, engineer. Dr Gregory Grant, physician, The Rev. Jof. R. Macgregor, minister of the Gaelic Chapel, Edinburgh, chaplain. The lieutenants and ensigns are afterwards to be chosen by the privates from among themselves. The officers names are to be transmitted to Lord Shelbourne for His Majesty’s approbation, with a request of arms and accoutrements. Near 300 have already given in their names to serve in the corps.”
The “Edinburgh Evening Courant” of Saturday, September 7, 1782, gives an account of the meeting in Edinburgh of several noblemen and gentlemen to consider a plan.
The narrative is the same as in the “Scots Magazine” down to the last words “to serve in the corps.” The “Courant” continues:—“It is hoped this laudable and patriotic example will be followed by the principal counties and towns in Scotland; which will supersede the necessity of raising a militia, which, upon the large scale lately proposed, must prove highly oppressive to this part of the United Kingdom. Besides this regiment now about to be associated, Edinburgh and Leith have on foot eaoh a well-disciplined Defensive Band cloathed and armed at their own expense.”
The proposal did not meet Lord Shelbourne’s view, and the business seems to have ended. Hugo Arnot in his history of Edinburgh, 1788, makes no mention of the Caledonian Band.
J. M. Bulloch
END
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Clan Rattray
This year, we are excited to announce the formation of the Rattray Clan Association of the United States and Canada!
Our mission is to connect Rattrays in the US and Canada through events and social media as well as to provide education about both Rattray and Scottish history and traditions.
As a developing association, we intend to benefit members in many ways, including building friendships, knowledge, and memories. Through membership, you will become familiar with the people who make this association special. We value our heritage and view our Rattray Clan as extended family. We sincerely hope those in the US and Canada choose to be involved in 2023 and beyond.
We are currently in the planning phase and are working on or have completed the following items:
Mission (complete)
Society Charter and By-Laws (in process)
Rattray Clan Association Logo
(name and logo are complete and have a Trademark; Hinshaw Attorneys at Law)
Website
(in process and to be complete by February or before; Baldwin Wallace University Hive Design Group)
Member benefits and cost (in process)
Event(s)
(Association event(s) TBA in 2023)
Also, we will be recruiting officers later (TBA 2023).
You are welcome to email the President and Executive Chairman (Dawn R. Owen-Young) to indicate that you would like to be included on emails regarding our development and website activation at:
dawnowenyoung@gmail.com
We appreciate our current team and their continued dedication and look forward with enthusiasm toward the future! Please stay tuned at rattrayclanassociation.com!
Best to you all,
Dawn R. Owen-Young, President and Executive Chairman
Hailey Householder, Co-Chairman
Keith Rattray, Association Liaison Officer
--------
46.2% of UK residents described themselves as Christian, down from 59.3% in the last census in 2011.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
A voluntary union with no exit?
The UK is a voluntary union but the Scottish parliament cannot call an independence referendum without Westminster’s approval.
Read more at:
https://sceptical.scot/2022/11/a-vol...-with-no-exit/
Canada's lettuce problem
What a $15 bag of romaine says about our food system. Crop failure in California is wake-up cal
Read more at:
https://financialpost.com/commoditie...ettuce-problem
The dad deficit
The fact that boys are falling behind is both well documented and frustratingly overlooked. Instead of villyfying maleness itself, we should be asking why girls are doing so much better and one crucial factor is the adbsence of male role models, both in schools and, even more significantly, in the home.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/british-boys-are-fal...d-to-help-them
Ukraine war: Chornobaivka airbase, symbol of Russian defeat
From the start of the war, a military airfield and village just outside Kherson city achieved legendary status in Ukraine. Captured by Russian forces within days of Russia's full-scale invasion in February, Chornobaivka was then repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian forces. It became one of the most important battlefields of the war.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63754797
What the Scottish Government wants your kids to learn about sex and relationships
RECENTLY I attended an event in Glasgow titled Education not Indoctrination. It had been organised by Hands Up (Scotland), a group of parents, teachers and university lecturers concerned about the quality of education in Scottish schools. For me, as a former teacher, it was an eye-opener.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2022/11/wh...relationships/
Conrad Black: Setting the record straight for an unabashed Trump-hater
In the Toronto Star, Andrew Cohen, presumably inadvertently, exposed for readers a glimpse of the incurable pathology of Trump-hate
Read more at:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/con...ed-trump-hater
Media
By Hamish Mackay in the Scottish Review
Read more at:
https://www.scottishreview.net//HamishMackay639a.html
The trust crisis facing women leaders
Trust in women leaders is falling even as their numbers in high-ranking positions are rising. Why?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article...-women-leaders
Ian Blackford resigns as SNP Westminster leader after 5 years in role
The MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber informed members of the nationalist group in London about his decision earlier today.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...nster-28628414
New Royal Navy frigate leaves Glasgow shipyard
The Royal Navy's newest frigate, HMS Glasgow, has taken its first trip down the River Clyde.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...-west-63813076
Canada: Ambassador tells EU that deforestation rules burdensome
Canada's ambassador to the European Union has voiced concern with proposed EU rules to curb deforestation.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63736486
Lt.-Gen. (retd) Maisonneuve: Clearing the air about my anti-woke speech before I'm completely cancelled
I have faith that we can fix what ails Canada with leadership, service, unity and courage
Read more at:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/cle...tely-cancelled
Electric Canadian
Fruits of Ontario
Printed by the Ontario Department of Agriculture 1906 (pdf)
You can read this report at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...sofontario.pdf
Alternative Schools in British Columbia, 1960-1975
By Harley Steven Rothstein (1999) (pdf)
You can read this report at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...stein1999a.pdf
Community Heritage Context Study - Kootenay Lake
Electoral Area D (2008) (pdf)
You can read this study at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist.../rdck2008a.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 27th day of November 2022 - Advent 1
By The Rev. Nola Crewe
You can listen to this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...-2022-advent-1
The Bridge
A Story of the Great Lakes by M. L. C. Pickthall (1922) (pdf)
You can read this novel at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...00pickiala.pdf
Electric Scotland
Beth's Video Talks
November 30th 2022 - Maps, etc.
You can watch this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Essay on Curling and Artificial Pond Making
By J. Cairnie, Largs (1833) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00cairgoog.pdf
Prehistoric Britain
By Robert Munro, M.A., M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E. (1923) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ricbritain.pdf
My own story
Or, Autobiography of a Child by Mary Howitt (1844) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...01howigoog.pdf
The Journal of the Textile Institute
Volume XXIII 1932 (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...xxiii-1932.pdf
St. Clair of the Isles
Or, Outlaws of Barra, A Scottish Tradition, by Elizabeth Helme, 4 volumes in 1 (1825) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...Outlaws_of.pdf
Transactions of the Buchan Club
(Buchan Field Club) 1908 - 1913 Volume X
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...eld_Club10.pdf
The Scottish Pulpit
Came across this series from the State Library of Pennsylvania and thought they'd be of interest to anyone interested in the Scottish Church as they come from 1845 in a series of 5 volumes. Have added volume 2 to the site and will add the others each week for the next 3 weeks.
You can read this 2nd volume at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/scottish-pulpit.htm
Memories of the Manse
Glimpses of Scottish Life and Character by Anne Breadalbane (1895) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...nseg00macl.pdf
Story
The “Caledonian Band” of Volunteers
The Caledonian Band were “the first Volunteers in the Empire.” Such is the statement made by Hon. Archibald Fraser (1756-1815), the youngest son of the notorious Lord Lovat and the brother of the Hon. Simon Fraser (1726-82), who raised the 78th and 71st Highlanders in 1757 and 1775. Writing to Lord Liverpool in 1869. Archibald says (P.R.O.; H.O. 50: 59):-
“Your memorialist begs pardon and blushes at being called to mention aught as to what may seem to point to himself, because it is well known that in conjunction with Lord Graham in the House of Commons, the grace and favour of His Majesty and Parliament was solicited and procured for the restoration of their garb to Highland men as the reward of their loyalty. The Caledonian Band, immediately kilted, were the first Volunteers in the Empire and gave rise to many other corps.”
The facts of the case for which I am indebted to Mr Andrew Ross, “Ross Herald,” the greatest authority on the Scots army, are these. Fraser succeeded his half-brother Simon in the Parliamentary representation of the County of Inverness, on March 28, 1782. On June 17, 1782 he seconded the motion of the Marquis ot Graham (afterwards 3rd Duke of Montrose) in the House of Commons for leave to bring in a bill to repeal that part of the Act (19 Geo. H. cap. 39) of 1746, which prohibited the wearingof the Highland dress. This bill received the royal assent July 1, 1782.
The Scots, however, had been disappointed some time before in the rejection (June 10, 1782) in the House of Commons of the Marquis of Graham’s bill to establish a Militia in Scotland. How then was the country to be defended? Four plans were proposed, and the formation of Defensive Boards, of which the Caledonian band was to be the forerunner, was one of them.
The “Scots Magazine” of September, 1782 (p. 501) tells us that on Thursday, September 5, “there was a meeting of several noblemen and gentlemen at Edinburgh to consider of a plan for raising a volunteer corps of ten companies, to serve without pay (until called out on actual service), on Lord Shelbourne’s plan. They are to be clothed in the Highland dress, and called the Caledonian Band. The meeting agreed to associate immediately, and appointed the following officers, viz.—
Colonel—The Marquis of Graham.
Lieut.-Col.—The Earl of Buchan.
Major—-Alexander Donaldson, late of the 42nd Regiment.
Captains—
Lord. MacDonald (Grenadiers).
David Stuart, Esq.
Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
The Hon. Mr Fraser of Lovat.
Mr William Morrison, writer.
Robert Dundas, Esq., advocate.
Neil Ferguson, Esq., advocate.
Donald Maclauchlan, Esq., of Maclauchlan.
James Grant, Esq., of Corriemonie.
-------- M'Kenzie, Esq., advocate.
The field officers and four first-named captains have accepted. Mr John Wright, engineer. Dr Gregory Grant, physician, The Rev. Jof. R. Macgregor, minister of the Gaelic Chapel, Edinburgh, chaplain. The lieutenants and ensigns are afterwards to be chosen by the privates from among themselves. The officers names are to be transmitted to Lord Shelbourne for His Majesty’s approbation, with a request of arms and accoutrements. Near 300 have already given in their names to serve in the corps.”
The “Edinburgh Evening Courant” of Saturday, September 7, 1782, gives an account of the meeting in Edinburgh of several noblemen and gentlemen to consider a plan.
The narrative is the same as in the “Scots Magazine” down to the last words “to serve in the corps.” The “Courant” continues:—“It is hoped this laudable and patriotic example will be followed by the principal counties and towns in Scotland; which will supersede the necessity of raising a militia, which, upon the large scale lately proposed, must prove highly oppressive to this part of the United Kingdom. Besides this regiment now about to be associated, Edinburgh and Leith have on foot eaoh a well-disciplined Defensive Band cloathed and armed at their own expense.”
The proposal did not meet Lord Shelbourne’s view, and the business seems to have ended. Hugo Arnot in his history of Edinburgh, 1788, makes no mention of the Caledonian Band.
J. M. Bulloch
END
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair