Tweet
Electric Scotland News
Former Treasury advisor Warwick Lightfoot argues that joining the EU made little difference to the UK economy and equally leaving it in 2021 has done little harm. The main reason is that EU competencies applied to only a minor part of the UK economy.
The dull truth is that the big brouhaha over Brexit and the economy was always exaggerated. Much of the argument about UK membership of the EU was dressed up in economic clothes and economic rationale, because the protagonists favouring remaining in the EU, were uncomfortable with engaging with the principal political and federal purposes of the project. This was a feature of the debates when Britain entered the EEC. The central problem of British membership was that it was reluctant and transactional. The principal benefit of being out of the EU is that the UK has the freedom to pursue a course of action, decide it is a mistake and then do the opposite without an external legal constraint. The great advantage of being out of the EU is that it clarifies responsibility for policy. The public can interrogate policy and identify the minister and public body that is responsible for it. The EU made both the making of policy, and attribution of responsibility for policy, opaque. Today policy makers have discretion, freedom and responsibility. Moreover, while they may be able to run, they cannot hide from accountability.
--------
Phillip Plevey, who we've followed in building his own Tower House up Aberdeen way, has published a book entitled: "Scottish Castles and Fortified Tower Houses Then & Now". You can read more about this book and purchase a copy in paperback or Kindle editions at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...wer-Houses.htm
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
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 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.
Here is what caught my eye this week...
Tulsi Gabbard Rips Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney on 'Baseless Smear' of Treason
The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing at noon ET on Feb. 9, 2023
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/7jckFGPfqO0?si=8lReQ6URRKUgMtVe
The decoy ploy to save Scotland's elusive capercaillie
In Scotland, an unusual new plan is being used to tempt predators away from the eggs and chicks of the critically endangered capercaillie. Will it be enough to save this magnificent bird?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...tish-highlands
Joanna Lumley urges Keir Starmer to meet WW2 veteran over pensions scandal
Dame Joanna Lumley has called on the Prime Minister to meet with a 99-year-old World War II veteran who is campaigning for the UK's 'frozen' pensions policy to be scrapped.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...s-keir-starmer
Elon Musk Drops Bombshell on Keir Starmer on Live TV
A video looking at the current situation in the UK
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/ZS7vZsl-YDA?si=XMlXb1-ivAZ9YL3F
On Wealth Up we will go through Elon Musk, Tesla, and Spacex news.
Interesting video about trust in the news media industry.
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/MPOccuHs3NM?si=SskG8HEeNhKZMnwH
2024 farm profits are down but will 2025 be better? Plus more on London farmer protests
The financials for 2024 are in and are below expectations but how is 2025 shaping up plus more info on the 19th November farmer protests in London.
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/oOR4hbosb6I?si=tkfcJ58KHpD8zqfP
Scots’ Charitable Society Audio History
This content was created specifically for the use of the Scots’ Charitable Society,
You can learn more at:
https://scots-charitable.org/history/
Tesco row shows Sundays are still sacred on Hebridean islands
Islanders on Lewis spend their Sundays in a way the rest of Scotland - and the UK - have not seen in decades.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxrylv2xj1o
Conrad Black: Trump turns the tide
The earthshaking election in the United States last week signals a general change of course in the West
Read more at:
https://archive.is/JKNisWe must not be a spectator at this carnage
We must not be a spectator at this carnage
Today, more than 365 million Christians around the world face appalling persecution and discrimination. This dire situation led to religious freedom becoming a Foreign Office priority. Yet it doesn't seem to be particularly important to Keir Starmer. The Government must show leadership on this pressing issue before it is too late.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/britain-must-not-be-...t-this-carnage
James David Vance - Who is he really?
He is clearly a man to watch - but for some reason, no-one is watching.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2024/11/jd...-is-he-really/
Snow and ice alert across Scotland as Storm Bert to bring 70mph winds
A fresh Met Office weather warning covers the whole of Scotland.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/met-off...ng-60mph-winds
Electric Canadian
The Letters of Veritas
Re-published from the Montreal Herald; containing a succinct narrative of the Military Administration of Sir George Prevost during his command in the Canadas whereas it will appear manifest, that the merit of preserving them from conquest, belong not to him (July 1815) (pdf)
You can read this account at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...itas00rich.pdf
The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment Newsletter Association
April 2024 Edition (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/forc...2024_April.pdf
Nova Britannia
Or, British North America, its extent and future, a lecture by Alexander Morris, A.M., Advocate, Author of a prize essay on Canada (1858) (pdf)
You can read this lecture at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...aorb00morr.pdf
Thoughts on Emigration and on the Canadas as an opening for it
By Charles Shirreff (1831) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...igra00shir.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 17th day of November 2024 - Time
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...mber-2024-time
The Beaver Magazine
Added Volume 3 No. 4 (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...ary%201923.pdf
Electric Scotland
Donald MacDonald
A story from LuRose Williams
You can read about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...-macdonald.htm
The Anglo-Scottish Cattle Company Ltd.
Lord Lovat, Chairman (pdf)
You can read about this company at:
https://electricscotland.com/agricul...tlecompany.pdf
Scottish Soldiers in Russia
Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries and the Russo-Scottish connection by Matthew Glozier
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...rsinrussia.pdf
Rollo in Scotland
By Jacob Abbott (1855) (pdf)
You can read this story at:
https://electricscotland.com/travel/...00abborich.pdf
The Scottish Communicant's Manual
Containing the Scottish Liturgy with Devotions by W. Perry, D.D., Dean of Edinburgh (1930) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/perry_manual1930.pdf
The Complete Assistant
For the Landed Proprietor, Estate and House Agent, Land-Steward, Proctor, Architect, Surveyor, Builder, Auctioneer, Appraiser, Upholsterer, Cabinet-Maker, &c., &c., &c. (1824) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...ns59571375.pdf
On Some Japanese Legends
By G. W. Goodwin, Esq. Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan, on the 17th March, 1875 (pdf)
You can read this talk at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...sele00good.pdf
Observations on the Management of the Poor in Scotland
And its effects on the health of the great towns by William Pulteney Alison, M.D., F.B.S.E. (1840) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00alisgoog.pdf
Eighteenth-Century Scotland
The Newsletter of the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society Number 1 Spring 1987 (pdf)
You can read their first issue at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...y-Scotland.pdf
New Year's Morning, in Edinburgh
And Auld Handsel Monday in the Country, two poems in the Scottish Dialect, by the Author of The Shepherd's Wedding (1792) (pdf)
You can read these at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...herds_1792.pdf
The Mull of Kintyre Hand-Line Fishery
By Angus Martin (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/thomson...inefishery.pdf
Memoirs of an Eighteenth Century Footman John Macdonald
Travels (1745-1779) with an Introduction by John Beresford, Editor of “The Diary of a Country Parson” (1927) (pdf)
I found this fascinating and read the complete book and you can also at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...ee0000unse.pdf
Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland MDLXXVII - MDCIII
By David Moysie, M.D., from early manuscripts (1830) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...airs00bann.pdf
Manual of the Law in Scotland
By John Hill Burton, Advocate, The Law of Private Rights and Obligations (second edition) (1843) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...awscotland.pdf
John Kennedy and the Development of Evangelicalism in the Scottish Highlands, 1843-1900
By Alasdair J. Macleod, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh, 2018 (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/Macleod2019.pdf
Celebrating Archaeology in Scotland 2023
A copy of this magazine in pdf format which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...-6-2023-30.pdf
Introduction to Dendrochronology
A pdf copy of this introduction which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...chronology.pdf
Scottish Restaurants
Added a video of Anstruther Fish and Chips restaurants which you can watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/food/sc...estaurants.htm where you'll also find other videos.
Scottish Castles and Fortified Tower Houses Then & Now
by Phillip Plevey who we've followed in building his own Tower House up Aberdeen way.
You can learn more and purchase a copy at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...wer-Houses.htm
Sunday
An article taken from the 1862 edition of Good Words, by the Rev. Norman MacLeod (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/macleod/sunday.pdf
Good Words 1862
Edited by Norman MacLeod (pdf)
Have added this edition to our collection and you can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...azine_1862.pdf
Story
THE DANCES OF THE HIGHLANDERS
By Norman Hay Forbes.
In 1745, when the Duke of Cumberland was leaving Nairn to meet "Bonnie Prince Charlie” at Culloden, the clans Campbell, Munro, and Sutherland accompanied him. Observing the stalwart Highlanders carrying their pipes, he said to one of his officers—“What are these men going to do with such bundles of sticks? I can supply them with better implements of war.” “Your Royal Highness cannot do so,” the officer replied. “These are the bagpipes, the Highlanders’ music in peace and War; wanting these, all other implements are of no avail, and the Highlanders need not advance another step, for they will be of no service.” Without his weird bagpipe the Highlandman can neither dance nor chant those dreamy melodies of the romantic genius of the Celt. Dancing has ever been a favourite pastime with the dwellers north of the misty Grampians. It has enabled those high-souled mountaineers in far back days to give expression to feelings of sacred and festal joy, to the wild shout of victory, and to rouse the martial fervour of the Gaelic tribes in the day of battle. Their lives devoted to all manly exercises and feats of skill, their lithe bodies, agile, and enduring all hardships, have often enabled them to excel in the gentler “poetry of motion” called dancing. To-day we watch with admiration the stately step of a Highland piper, while the neat and nimble movements of the feet of a kilted laddie in the “Gillie Calum" or sword dance, cause a secret fascination to steal over his attentive circle of onlookers in a way that no other form of dancing is able to do.
The Exclusively Highland Dances.
The dances which are today considered exclusively Highland are the Sword Dance, the Reel, or “Hulaichan,” the Strathspey, and the Highland Fling. The “Foursome Reel” is not exclusively Highland, for it is also practised by the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland, and, moreover, resembles an ancient dance of the North American Indians. Of all these dances the “Gillie Calum,” or Sword Dance, somewhat Pyrrhic in character, takes undoubted precedence, both for grace and agility, being accompanied in the old times by a song recounting warlike deeds and heroic exploits, rousing thereby the children of the Gael to excellence in arms.
THE SWORD DANCE
can be performed in three ways. The first is the “grand dance,” used only on specially solemn occasions; the second is a test of skill and agility between two or more dancers; and the third or present day method is an exhibition of dancing by one person alone. This form of the dance is divided into nine distinct “figures,” there being several “sets” or varieties of the modern Sword Dance. First of all, the claymores, or Highland broadswords, are laid crosswise on the ground, and the dancer stands between the points facing the centre and in the position, namely the right heel against the ball of the left toe; he holds himself erect and perfectly free, so that he can always look down with ease at the centre of the crossed swords. In this first “figure” there are four bars, equal to eight beats; in the first bar you advance the right foot about six inches to the right in two beats of the music, next place the heel of the left foot against the ball of the right toe in one beat, slightly bending the right knee, then raise the right foot; now place the right foot down again in the same position in one beat, and half-a-bar is completed, to be followed by the left foot advancing instead of the right. In the second bar the same steps are repeated, first with’ the right foot leading, and then with the left; the third bar is exactly the same as the second; the dancer having completed this in twenty-four beats is ready for the fourth and final bar; the next eight beats are for the “setting step,” which is done by springing up from the first position, placing the heel of the left foot against the ball of the right toe; then by springing up and placing the right against the left; again repeating the left against the right, and lastly the right against the left, the time being repeated twice for this step. Perhaps the most graceful dance after the sword dance is
THE HIGHLAND FLING,
which must never be confounded with the skips and sprawls of the so-called Highland Schottische or Fling in the society ballroom. The Highland Fling should be executed very “neatly,” the dancer keeping to one spot all through, never raising one foot higher than the lower edge of the knee-cap of the opposite leg, as a rule letting the one foot mark the time for the other. In this dance there are eight figures, each having a “back step;” and another important point in the performance of this dance is the use of the arms in balancing the body, while the time of the dance should average sixteen bars in from twenty-four to twenty-eight seconds. Not unlike the Highland Fling in time and measure
IS THE STRATHSPEY
so called from the district whence it originated. In the beginning of this century it was called a “twasome” dance, because it was first danced by two persons; nowadays it is a “foursome,” usually two ladies and two gentlemen taking part. It is divided into two sections, the first or “reel” consisting of eight bars, and the second, or “setting step,” of eight bars. The ladies standing on the right lead off the dance after the introductory bowing to partners; in doing the “reel” part, in moving to the right, the right foot is advanced, followed closely by the left, then the left foot is brought down behind, and the right raised, then two hops, concluding with the same “setting step” as the Highland Fling. Lastly we have the Reel proper, world-famed, brisk, and lively dance, and allied to it is the “chief of Highland dances,”
THE REEL OF TULLOCH.
Both are danced in conjunction with, but after, the Strathspey. The tune of the Reel is quicker, however, and in the Reel pure and simple the same number of bars are danced both‘in the “reel” and “setting” parts. In the Reel of Tulloch, after the first “reel” part, a series of “setting” to partners takes place as follows :— The couple “set” four bars, then, each grasping the other by the rear part of the arm with the right hand, turn to the left in two bars, then change hands, dancing two bars the reverse way, the gentlemen meet in the centre and set as before, the partners resting, and thus alternately to the end. The Strathspey and the Reel are the most popular of the Highland dances, and in a quaint volume entitled “Sketches Relative to the History and Theory, more especially to the Practice of Dancing,” published at Aberdeen in 1805, we find the principal steps of each dance plainly and clearly described.
END
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you. Also hope you get some good bargains on the Black Friday sales.
Alastair
Former Treasury advisor Warwick Lightfoot argues that joining the EU made little difference to the UK economy and equally leaving it in 2021 has done little harm. The main reason is that EU competencies applied to only a minor part of the UK economy.
The dull truth is that the big brouhaha over Brexit and the economy was always exaggerated. Much of the argument about UK membership of the EU was dressed up in economic clothes and economic rationale, because the protagonists favouring remaining in the EU, were uncomfortable with engaging with the principal political and federal purposes of the project. This was a feature of the debates when Britain entered the EEC. The central problem of British membership was that it was reluctant and transactional. The principal benefit of being out of the EU is that the UK has the freedom to pursue a course of action, decide it is a mistake and then do the opposite without an external legal constraint. The great advantage of being out of the EU is that it clarifies responsibility for policy. The public can interrogate policy and identify the minister and public body that is responsible for it. The EU made both the making of policy, and attribution of responsibility for policy, opaque. Today policy makers have discretion, freedom and responsibility. Moreover, while they may be able to run, they cannot hide from accountability.
--------
Phillip Plevey, who we've followed in building his own Tower House up Aberdeen way, has published a book entitled: "Scottish Castles and Fortified Tower Houses Then & Now". You can read more about this book and purchase a copy in paperback or Kindle editions at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...wer-Houses.htm
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
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 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.
Here is what caught my eye this week...
Tulsi Gabbard Rips Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney on 'Baseless Smear' of Treason
The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing at noon ET on Feb. 9, 2023
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/7jckFGPfqO0?si=8lReQ6URRKUgMtVe
The decoy ploy to save Scotland's elusive capercaillie
In Scotland, an unusual new plan is being used to tempt predators away from the eggs and chicks of the critically endangered capercaillie. Will it be enough to save this magnificent bird?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...tish-highlands
Joanna Lumley urges Keir Starmer to meet WW2 veteran over pensions scandal
Dame Joanna Lumley has called on the Prime Minister to meet with a 99-year-old World War II veteran who is campaigning for the UK's 'frozen' pensions policy to be scrapped.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...s-keir-starmer
Elon Musk Drops Bombshell on Keir Starmer on Live TV
A video looking at the current situation in the UK
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/ZS7vZsl-YDA?si=XMlXb1-ivAZ9YL3F
On Wealth Up we will go through Elon Musk, Tesla, and Spacex news.
Interesting video about trust in the news media industry.
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/MPOccuHs3NM?si=SskG8HEeNhKZMnwH
2024 farm profits are down but will 2025 be better? Plus more on London farmer protests
The financials for 2024 are in and are below expectations but how is 2025 shaping up plus more info on the 19th November farmer protests in London.
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/oOR4hbosb6I?si=tkfcJ58KHpD8zqfP
Scots’ Charitable Society Audio History
This content was created specifically for the use of the Scots’ Charitable Society,
You can learn more at:
https://scots-charitable.org/history/
Tesco row shows Sundays are still sacred on Hebridean islands
Islanders on Lewis spend their Sundays in a way the rest of Scotland - and the UK - have not seen in decades.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxrylv2xj1o
Conrad Black: Trump turns the tide
The earthshaking election in the United States last week signals a general change of course in the West
Read more at:
https://archive.is/JKNisWe must not be a spectator at this carnage
We must not be a spectator at this carnage
Today, more than 365 million Christians around the world face appalling persecution and discrimination. This dire situation led to religious freedom becoming a Foreign Office priority. Yet it doesn't seem to be particularly important to Keir Starmer. The Government must show leadership on this pressing issue before it is too late.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/britain-must-not-be-...t-this-carnage
James David Vance - Who is he really?
He is clearly a man to watch - but for some reason, no-one is watching.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2024/11/jd...-is-he-really/
Snow and ice alert across Scotland as Storm Bert to bring 70mph winds
A fresh Met Office weather warning covers the whole of Scotland.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/met-off...ng-60mph-winds
Electric Canadian
The Letters of Veritas
Re-published from the Montreal Herald; containing a succinct narrative of the Military Administration of Sir George Prevost during his command in the Canadas whereas it will appear manifest, that the merit of preserving them from conquest, belong not to him (July 1815) (pdf)
You can read this account at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...itas00rich.pdf
The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment Newsletter Association
April 2024 Edition (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/forc...2024_April.pdf
Nova Britannia
Or, British North America, its extent and future, a lecture by Alexander Morris, A.M., Advocate, Author of a prize essay on Canada (1858) (pdf)
You can read this lecture at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...aorb00morr.pdf
Thoughts on Emigration and on the Canadas as an opening for it
By Charles Shirreff (1831) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...igra00shir.pdf
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 17th day of November 2024 - Time
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...mber-2024-time
The Beaver Magazine
Added Volume 3 No. 4 (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...ary%201923.pdf
Electric Scotland
Donald MacDonald
A story from LuRose Williams
You can read about him at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...-macdonald.htm
The Anglo-Scottish Cattle Company Ltd.
Lord Lovat, Chairman (pdf)
You can read about this company at:
https://electricscotland.com/agricul...tlecompany.pdf
Scottish Soldiers in Russia
Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries and the Russo-Scottish connection by Matthew Glozier
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...rsinrussia.pdf
Rollo in Scotland
By Jacob Abbott (1855) (pdf)
You can read this story at:
https://electricscotland.com/travel/...00abborich.pdf
The Scottish Communicant's Manual
Containing the Scottish Liturgy with Devotions by W. Perry, D.D., Dean of Edinburgh (1930) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/perry_manual1930.pdf
The Complete Assistant
For the Landed Proprietor, Estate and House Agent, Land-Steward, Proctor, Architect, Surveyor, Builder, Auctioneer, Appraiser, Upholsterer, Cabinet-Maker, &c., &c., &c. (1824) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...ns59571375.pdf
On Some Japanese Legends
By G. W. Goodwin, Esq. Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan, on the 17th March, 1875 (pdf)
You can read this talk at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...sele00good.pdf
Observations on the Management of the Poor in Scotland
And its effects on the health of the great towns by William Pulteney Alison, M.D., F.B.S.E. (1840) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00alisgoog.pdf
Eighteenth-Century Scotland
The Newsletter of the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society Number 1 Spring 1987 (pdf)
You can read their first issue at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...y-Scotland.pdf
New Year's Morning, in Edinburgh
And Auld Handsel Monday in the Country, two poems in the Scottish Dialect, by the Author of The Shepherd's Wedding (1792) (pdf)
You can read these at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...herds_1792.pdf
The Mull of Kintyre Hand-Line Fishery
By Angus Martin (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/thomson...inefishery.pdf
Memoirs of an Eighteenth Century Footman John Macdonald
Travels (1745-1779) with an Introduction by John Beresford, Editor of “The Diary of a Country Parson” (1927) (pdf)
I found this fascinating and read the complete book and you can also at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...ee0000unse.pdf
Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland MDLXXVII - MDCIII
By David Moysie, M.D., from early manuscripts (1830) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...airs00bann.pdf
Manual of the Law in Scotland
By John Hill Burton, Advocate, The Law of Private Rights and Obligations (second edition) (1843) (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...awscotland.pdf
John Kennedy and the Development of Evangelicalism in the Scottish Highlands, 1843-1900
By Alasdair J. Macleod, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh, 2018 (pdf)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/Macleod2019.pdf
Celebrating Archaeology in Scotland 2023
A copy of this magazine in pdf format which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...-6-2023-30.pdf
Introduction to Dendrochronology
A pdf copy of this introduction which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...chronology.pdf
Scottish Restaurants
Added a video of Anstruther Fish and Chips restaurants which you can watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/food/sc...estaurants.htm where you'll also find other videos.
Scottish Castles and Fortified Tower Houses Then & Now
by Phillip Plevey who we've followed in building his own Tower House up Aberdeen way.
You can learn more and purchase a copy at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...wer-Houses.htm
Sunday
An article taken from the 1862 edition of Good Words, by the Rev. Norman MacLeod (pdf)
You can read this article at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/macleod/sunday.pdf
Good Words 1862
Edited by Norman MacLeod (pdf)
Have added this edition to our collection and you can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...azine_1862.pdf
Story
THE DANCES OF THE HIGHLANDERS
By Norman Hay Forbes.
In 1745, when the Duke of Cumberland was leaving Nairn to meet "Bonnie Prince Charlie” at Culloden, the clans Campbell, Munro, and Sutherland accompanied him. Observing the stalwart Highlanders carrying their pipes, he said to one of his officers—“What are these men going to do with such bundles of sticks? I can supply them with better implements of war.” “Your Royal Highness cannot do so,” the officer replied. “These are the bagpipes, the Highlanders’ music in peace and War; wanting these, all other implements are of no avail, and the Highlanders need not advance another step, for they will be of no service.” Without his weird bagpipe the Highlandman can neither dance nor chant those dreamy melodies of the romantic genius of the Celt. Dancing has ever been a favourite pastime with the dwellers north of the misty Grampians. It has enabled those high-souled mountaineers in far back days to give expression to feelings of sacred and festal joy, to the wild shout of victory, and to rouse the martial fervour of the Gaelic tribes in the day of battle. Their lives devoted to all manly exercises and feats of skill, their lithe bodies, agile, and enduring all hardships, have often enabled them to excel in the gentler “poetry of motion” called dancing. To-day we watch with admiration the stately step of a Highland piper, while the neat and nimble movements of the feet of a kilted laddie in the “Gillie Calum" or sword dance, cause a secret fascination to steal over his attentive circle of onlookers in a way that no other form of dancing is able to do.
The Exclusively Highland Dances.
The dances which are today considered exclusively Highland are the Sword Dance, the Reel, or “Hulaichan,” the Strathspey, and the Highland Fling. The “Foursome Reel” is not exclusively Highland, for it is also practised by the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland, and, moreover, resembles an ancient dance of the North American Indians. Of all these dances the “Gillie Calum,” or Sword Dance, somewhat Pyrrhic in character, takes undoubted precedence, both for grace and agility, being accompanied in the old times by a song recounting warlike deeds and heroic exploits, rousing thereby the children of the Gael to excellence in arms.
THE SWORD DANCE
can be performed in three ways. The first is the “grand dance,” used only on specially solemn occasions; the second is a test of skill and agility between two or more dancers; and the third or present day method is an exhibition of dancing by one person alone. This form of the dance is divided into nine distinct “figures,” there being several “sets” or varieties of the modern Sword Dance. First of all, the claymores, or Highland broadswords, are laid crosswise on the ground, and the dancer stands between the points facing the centre and in the position, namely the right heel against the ball of the left toe; he holds himself erect and perfectly free, so that he can always look down with ease at the centre of the crossed swords. In this first “figure” there are four bars, equal to eight beats; in the first bar you advance the right foot about six inches to the right in two beats of the music, next place the heel of the left foot against the ball of the right toe in one beat, slightly bending the right knee, then raise the right foot; now place the right foot down again in the same position in one beat, and half-a-bar is completed, to be followed by the left foot advancing instead of the right. In the second bar the same steps are repeated, first with’ the right foot leading, and then with the left; the third bar is exactly the same as the second; the dancer having completed this in twenty-four beats is ready for the fourth and final bar; the next eight beats are for the “setting step,” which is done by springing up from the first position, placing the heel of the left foot against the ball of the right toe; then by springing up and placing the right against the left; again repeating the left against the right, and lastly the right against the left, the time being repeated twice for this step. Perhaps the most graceful dance after the sword dance is
THE HIGHLAND FLING,
which must never be confounded with the skips and sprawls of the so-called Highland Schottische or Fling in the society ballroom. The Highland Fling should be executed very “neatly,” the dancer keeping to one spot all through, never raising one foot higher than the lower edge of the knee-cap of the opposite leg, as a rule letting the one foot mark the time for the other. In this dance there are eight figures, each having a “back step;” and another important point in the performance of this dance is the use of the arms in balancing the body, while the time of the dance should average sixteen bars in from twenty-four to twenty-eight seconds. Not unlike the Highland Fling in time and measure
IS THE STRATHSPEY
so called from the district whence it originated. In the beginning of this century it was called a “twasome” dance, because it was first danced by two persons; nowadays it is a “foursome,” usually two ladies and two gentlemen taking part. It is divided into two sections, the first or “reel” consisting of eight bars, and the second, or “setting step,” of eight bars. The ladies standing on the right lead off the dance after the introductory bowing to partners; in doing the “reel” part, in moving to the right, the right foot is advanced, followed closely by the left, then the left foot is brought down behind, and the right raised, then two hops, concluding with the same “setting step” as the Highland Fling. Lastly we have the Reel proper, world-famed, brisk, and lively dance, and allied to it is the “chief of Highland dances,”
THE REEL OF TULLOCH.
Both are danced in conjunction with, but after, the Strathspey. The tune of the Reel is quicker, however, and in the Reel pure and simple the same number of bars are danced both‘in the “reel” and “setting” parts. In the Reel of Tulloch, after the first “reel” part, a series of “setting” to partners takes place as follows :— The couple “set” four bars, then, each grasping the other by the rear part of the arm with the right hand, turn to the left in two bars, then change hands, dancing two bars the reverse way, the gentlemen meet in the centre and set as before, the partners resting, and thus alternately to the end. The Strathspey and the Reel are the most popular of the Highland dances, and in a quaint volume entitled “Sketches Relative to the History and Theory, more especially to the Practice of Dancing,” published at Aberdeen in 1805, we find the principal steps of each dance plainly and clearly described.
END
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you. Also hope you get some good bargains on the Black Friday sales.
Alastair