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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
If you are in the Toronto/Guelph area in August and early September we would love to see you at the following upcoming events:
Thursday, August 11: you are invited to attend a lecture on the 14th and 15th Century Scottish Charters at the University of Guelph on August 11 from 1 pm to 3 pm, Thornbrough Building, Room 1307.
Details here: http://scottishstudies.com/520-14081...ers-poster.pdf
Friday, September 1: The next "Oor Club" talk will be on September 1 and will feature a talk by Rory Sinclair. Details at http://www.scottishstudies.com/920oorclub.htm
Sunday, September 3: The Annual Tall Ship Cruise will take place on Sunday, September 3, 2016 (Labour Day Weekend) on the "Empire Sandy," Canada's tallest sailing ship, when we commemorate the arrival of the Scots pioneers in Pictou, Nova Scotia, back in 1773 on board the old Ship Hector. Entertainment will include Celtic band "Mystic Fyre," Highland dancers and piper Rory Sinclair. The CNE's spectacular Air Show is also on that day — an added bonus! Tickets purchased in advance are $30 for adults and $5 for children (15 and under). Tickets purchased on day of sail: $35 adults, $8 children. Food and drinks are available for purchase on board the ship. Details are on our website www.scottishstudies.com or you can contact Heather Bridge at 416-902-7872, or by email at heather.bridgeconsulting@gmail.com
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I've been getting lots of phone calls from Duct Cleaning services over many months. Sometimes 3 phone calls in one day. I'm on what in Canada we call a "Do Not Call" list meaning it's illegal for sales companies to phone you. In the event someone does call you can report them to a special service and they should then contact the company to ensure they don't call again and if they do they can remove the telephone number and take other action.
Well I have reported this a number of times but if anything the calls were getting more frequent. So to me this simply means the "do not call" people are not doing their job right. And so as I'm now under a barrage of calls from these duct cleaning services I decided it was time to purchase a new phone system that incorporated a call blocking system. And so I purchased a Panasonic phone which has many other benefits as well.
As far as the call blocking system is concerned when I receive a phone call from one of those duct cleaning service I simply tap the "Call Block" button. A screen shows asking me if I really want to block the call and I simply tap the YES button and that's it. I got this system over this past weekend and it's now working just great. I've already had two of the numbers being used to dial me blocked and so it's working.
I might add that the phonebook system is also great as you can select a group to put your numbers into and when you add a number to your phone it automatically becomes available from the two extension phones as well. The base unit also has three one touch dial buttons you can configure.
So I am delighted to at last have found a way to block these really annoying duct cleaning services at long last. Perhaps the "do not call" people should just provide a grant to buy such a system and they could then close what is obviously a pretty useless service.
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One benefit of being retired is that I am getting the chance to read more books. Usually when I put a book up on the site I've read the start of the book in detail and then skimmed the rest and if I think it's worth while I put it up on the site. I am now finding that I will often now read the entire book before publishing it on the site. This week I've added two novels about early days sailing on the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river. I've enjoyed both and so thought I'd make them available on the Electric Canadian site for which see below...
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 as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. 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.
Sea of tartan kicks-off 2017 Tattoo
THIS year’s Tattoo promised more tartan than a Bay City Rollers-themed wedding on Burns Night and it did not disappoint.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/cu...ttoo-1-4522310
A clearing in the woods
Rising from the north-east shoreline of Loch Tay, Drummond Hill is a sturdy little peak lost to forestry. Engulfed by evergreens, the regimented rows of conifers ensure views from its slopes are scant.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/life...-in-the-woods/
Barnett Formula: Keeping it Simple
My last (long and complicated) blog attempted to explain how the Barnett Formula affects the devolved nation's Block Grant funding over time.
Read more at:
http://chokkablog.blogspot.ca/2017/0...it-simple.html
The Scottish diaspora: How Scots spread across the globe
IN 2009 then First Minister Alex Salmond invited the 100 million-strong Scottish family to return home for a year of cultural celebration.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-sco...lobe-1-4011012
Scotland’s greatest ever rock band - we salute you
A FITTING tribute to AC/DC, who have never forgotten their roots, is long overdue, says Martyn McLaughlin
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/cu...-you-1-4523506
East Neuk shops overlooked by tourists bid to get back on the map
Traders in the forgotten heart of a Fife tourist haven are taking action to persuade people to wander further than its famous waterfront.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...ck-on-the-map/
What is wrong at Police Scotland
Does the cluster of problems around Police Scotland suggest it’s time to rethink the single force strategy?
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...land-1-4524197
Year-long festival to celebrate Iron Age brochs
A new year-long archaeology festival aims to uncover new information about Iron Age brochs and also encourage greater public awareness of them.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...lands-40866021
World gold panning championships
To be held in Moffat
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/regions/dumf...ffat-1-4525705
Summer of discontent in the independence movement
It isn’t a happy time for the Scottish independence movement.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/08/summer...ence-movement/
The Macron lovefest is long gone
The French president's polling is in free fall; his magic is no longer working
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-macron-lovefest-is-long-gone
The Scottish wind-power racket
Since 2010, we’ve paid £328m to wind farms not to generate - most of them in Scotland
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-scottish-wind-power-racket
Electric Canadian
A Trip on the Great Lakes
Description of a trip, summer, 1912 by a Skiff Traveler, Who Loves "Outdoors." Tells of Fish, Fur, Game and Other Things of Interest By Raymond S Spears (1913) (pdf)
You can read this book at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...ngeatlakes.pdf
Camping on the Great Lakes
By Raymond S Spears (1913) (pdf). Learning life on a camping expedition on the Great Lakes by two school boys. Read the whole book and enjoyed it.
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...greatlakes.pdf
Notes on a Tour through the North-West Territory
By Rev. A. Sutherland, D.D. (1881) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/Reli...rinprairie.pdf
Conrad Black
I've always had a lot of time for Conrad Black and so as he writes from Canada on a number of issues of interest from around the world I'm intending to include links to his writings for you to view.
Aboriginals deserve a fair deal, but enough with us hating ourselves
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/...ting-ourselves
Electric Scotland
Hylton Newsletters
Got in the newsletter for Summer 2017 in Scotland, England and Norway which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...lton/index.htm
Reports of The Civil Aerial Transport Committee
A government report from 1918.(pdf) which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lTransport.pdf
Hidden Initials by the Early American Engravers Guild
Got a copy of this article which I've now linked to it from the article where it's referenced around half way down the page.
You can read this at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../greatseal.htm
New Scottish Gaelic Studies Visiting Lectureship
Coming to North Carolina
You can read about this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/nc/shusa.pdf
Appin Clan Regiment
Got more in about this regiment with 5 graphics which you can see at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...loden/c21.html
Clan Baird
Got in three documents, William Baird, son of William Baird and Janet Brown, Aberdeen, The Last Clan Battle and Flight of the Baird which I've added links to from our Baird page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...toc/baird.html
William Leitch
Scientist and the first to say that rockets would work in space.
You can read about him at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ch_william.htm
William Robertson Smith
A Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. I added link to a book about his life and also another about some of his work which you can get to at:http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...th_william.htm
Scots Musical Museum in Six Volumes
Consisting of 600 Scots Songs with proper Bases for the Piano Forte by James Johnson
Robert Burns had much to do with this collection and you can read these volumes at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/burn...icalmuseum.htm
Robert Burns Lives!
Edited by Frank Shaw
Robert Burns’ Songwriting Prosody - Why His Tunes Matter by Andrew Calhoun
Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1957, Andrew Calhoun is a Chicago singer-songwriter, folksinger, author and founder/operator of Waterbug Records, an artists’ cooperative folk label since 1992. At age seven, Andrew memorized W. B. Yeats' "Song of Wandering Aengus," thus earning a nickel from his mother. He got his first guitar in 1967 and began writing songs at twelve. By the late seventies, he was performing in the Chicago folk scene. He has toured internationally, performing at folk clubs and festivals, pubs and house concerts. Andrew is passionate about Robert Burns and his songs, not just his poetry. His recordings have been released on Hogeye, Flying Fish and Waterbug Records. Recent projects include Rhymer’s Tower, Ballads of the Anglo-Scottish Border, a double CD of historical ballads on Waterbug Records, and Warlock Rhymer, an English Translation of Robert Burns’ Scots Poems, published by Artemis Books. In addition to several releases of his own songs, his revival of traditional call-and-response folk spirituals is represented on the Bound to Go CD. He is at work on a Robert Burns songbook, Glorious Work, a selection of 173 songs with guitar chords, TABS, translations and background. He performs solo and in a duo with daughter Casey Calhoun. In October 2012, Andrew was given the Lantern Bearer Award for twenty-five years of service to the folk arts in the Midwest by the Folk Alliance Regional Midwest. In 2014, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Woodstock Folk Festival in Illinois. He lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with his nonagenarian father.
It is indeed a pleasure to welcome Andrew and his writings to our website. Hopefully he will notify us when his new book on the songs of Burns is published.
You can read this article at: http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives257.htm
Journal of the Lady Beatrix Graham
Sister of the Marquis of Montrose (1871). Added a link to this book to the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...s/montrose.htm
Clan Munro Australia
Got in their August 2017 newsletter which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...unro/index.htm
The Last Baird Laird of Auchmedden and Strichen
The Case of Mr. Abington by John Malcolm Bulloch (1934) (pdf). Added a link to this book at the foot of the page at:http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...tion/baird.htm
The Story
Random Jottings of Brian Stephen Thompson
50 years ago, in Pre-oil days, I was the Manager of THE ABERDEEN & DISTRICT MILK MARKETING BOARD, Twin Spires, Bucksburn, and ABERDEEN DAIRIES, Aberdeen City. Also District Commissioner of Scouts, Aberdeen Northern District. My Maternal Grandmother was Mary Ross, and a Great Uncle, The Reverend James Ross, a Missionary, founding the Church in what was to become Abercorn, Northern Rhodesia.
The Milk Marketing Board, received the milk, from the Dairy Farmers of Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and Banffshire, and in a few cases cream separated on the Larger Estates. Factory Managers dealing regularly with the Great Estates, adopted Highland Dress as a matter of choice, My 12yard Hunting Ross Kilt, By Scott's of Union Street Cost me £50.00. Made to measure and cut to set.
Each time I returned to the North-East I visited farmer friends and always in Highland Dress, came the oil, casual dress became the norm.
I still return to Scotland three or four times a year on coach tours, by 2005 I had to admit that south of the Great Glen, Highland Dress equated to fancy dress. Attending the Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh Tattoo, and the Dundonald Games. I still wear Highland Dress, last year a strange thing happened, on two November coach trips (pretending to celebrate Xmas), the Hotel staff were in Kilts & Gillie Shirts. On a trip to Sterling, it was interesting to see three Scots living south of the border, purchase & wear Kilt Outfits!!!
So what have I to be thankful for?
I read and re-read The way forward for the Scots Language on your website, Burns works give no problem, as a child, my Dad read Burns works to me, always explaining words (and phrases) over which I stumbled, to be fair, I lived for time in Mauchline, and always enjoy performances at the Burns Centre.
Suddenly it dawned on me, what I was reading in The way forward for the Scots Language was the Scots we used in the Grampian area 50 years ago!!! a relative of mine Donald Ross, was translating Aberdeen Scots into Gaelic, sadly twenty years ago Donald died, and his draft notes were lost.
I thought I would test my memory recall without notes:
I see there is to be a TV program on Neville Chamberlain - what can I remember...
At the present time Neville Chamberlain, the pre-war Prime Minister is sneered at and written off as an appeaser. In fact he was only too aware that the shadow aircraft, & tank producing factories needed at least a year to be brought into production. So the inevitable war with Germany had to be postponed, hence his efforts at Munich.
In 1938 Preston, Lancashire, schoolchildren, were given a tramcar ride to “Dick Kerr’s tramcar building factory” near Preston Docks. After watching new flanges being shrunk onto re-profiled worn tram wheels, we were given a bottle of ‘Pop’ and bag of sweets. The bulk of the factory had been Partitioned off, huge sliding doors in the partition, were marked EE Ltd. Our teacher said this referred to English Electric Ltd., who now owned the Tramcar Works. I told dad about this day out, only to be told “Never, Never mention this English Electric Ltd factory to anyone, this information would be important to German spies. Mr Seed” (who lived nearby) “drives one of the low-loaders at night, that take parts of Handley-Page Hampden Bombers to the airfield for final assembly & flight testing”
Enough of that!!!
Dad was born on 18th March 1897 anniversary tomorrow what can I recall?
I was born on the 15th November 1926, my Mother, Daughter of Mary Ross, unlike her elder sister who was the first female to work in a Bank, was considered to be an ‘over educated’ infant’s teacher, having graduated at Warrington college of Liverpool University. (paid for by winning scholarships and exhibitions).
Dad was the second son of a farm labourer, (who through sheer hard work, had become a Tenant Farmer). with 5 brothers and 3 sisters, Dad was called-up in 1914 to serve in the army, at his medical he mentioned that he was deaf in his left ear, following an accident whilst laying an old Hawthorn hedge. The Doctor told him that the thorn was still there, and a huge abscess had formed in the inner ear which would prove fatal, so he was rejected by the Army. A second doctor said “Why not admit him to hospital, remove the thorn and drain the abscess” “But he is not an Officer” was the response, “I’d like to try to drain it anyway, for although he is not an Officer nor is he yet an Enlisted man”.
The operation was a success, although that ear was ever after stone deaf.
Whilst convalescing, Dad read to others from his works of Burns, and worked through Todhunters Algebra from cover to cover. Also making life-long friends among the Gentry, with his developing skill as a chess player.
In Winter three night a week, after a day’s work on the farm, Dad would cycle to ‘Night School’ (Mother taught his Night School class, to build up her savings). At nine o’clock he would visit either the Vicar or the Squire to play Chess and borrow text-books he could not afford to buy. Then home for a few hour sleep, before it was time for the morning milking.
Dad needed an extra source of income, having set his heart on marrying his teacher. In the early post war years (after 1918), dairy farmers had little security, the men who delivered milk in the towns, demanded a steady milk supply all the year round to be delivered to them twice a day in summer. In winter, at times it required the farmer to purchase extra down calved Irish milk cows to maintain the milk supply the town dairyman, In summer the surplus milk was made into cheese and the whey used to rear pigs.
Dad was sent to Longridge Cattle market to buy a cow, He overheard three farmers complaining that the local seed merchant had run out of turnip seed, and would have none until the next year. He walked over to the Longridge Hotel, announced that he was waiting for someone. He picked up a copy of the ‘Farmer & Stockbreeder’ and found that Toogoods Seeds of Southampton, were offering the turnip seed, he wrote a letter asking to be sent sufficient seed for twice the acreage the two farmers required & a seed catalogue. To be delivered via the overnight mail train, to be collected at the Preston railway station post office.
Word spread, and at the next weeks Longridge Cattle Market, he took a dozen seed orders. He forwarded these to Toogoods, asking for Commission on these sales.
Mother said to him that he would have to either pay an accountant, or study Book Keeping, and obtain Qualifications. So he elected to work one day a week for no pay, assisting the accountant of a corn mill. In return for tutoring to gain a qualification. At 65, a Pensioner with time on his hands, singing in the Church Choir, and a School Governor, He repaid Longridge Corn Mill by keeping their Books until within a week of his death.
In 1924 now Toogoods Seeds Lancashire Representative, whilst playing Chess with the local Squire, he was asked if he would still play chess after he married. He said to marry, first we will have to find a home. No problem said the Squire, “My fool of an agent sold two farms for me, but forgot to include one of a pair of cottages, the other cottage I had given to my Gamekeeper. Would you like to rent Ivy cottage”, it would be handy for us to play chess after you marry? and so it came to pass.
And that's it for this week and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
If you are in the Toronto/Guelph area in August and early September we would love to see you at the following upcoming events:
Thursday, August 11: you are invited to attend a lecture on the 14th and 15th Century Scottish Charters at the University of Guelph on August 11 from 1 pm to 3 pm, Thornbrough Building, Room 1307.
Details here: http://scottishstudies.com/520-14081...ers-poster.pdf
Friday, September 1: The next "Oor Club" talk will be on September 1 and will feature a talk by Rory Sinclair. Details at http://www.scottishstudies.com/920oorclub.htm
Sunday, September 3: The Annual Tall Ship Cruise will take place on Sunday, September 3, 2016 (Labour Day Weekend) on the "Empire Sandy," Canada's tallest sailing ship, when we commemorate the arrival of the Scots pioneers in Pictou, Nova Scotia, back in 1773 on board the old Ship Hector. Entertainment will include Celtic band "Mystic Fyre," Highland dancers and piper Rory Sinclair. The CNE's spectacular Air Show is also on that day — an added bonus! Tickets purchased in advance are $30 for adults and $5 for children (15 and under). Tickets purchased on day of sail: $35 adults, $8 children. Food and drinks are available for purchase on board the ship. Details are on our website www.scottishstudies.com or you can contact Heather Bridge at 416-902-7872, or by email at heather.bridgeconsulting@gmail.com
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I've been getting lots of phone calls from Duct Cleaning services over many months. Sometimes 3 phone calls in one day. I'm on what in Canada we call a "Do Not Call" list meaning it's illegal for sales companies to phone you. In the event someone does call you can report them to a special service and they should then contact the company to ensure they don't call again and if they do they can remove the telephone number and take other action.
Well I have reported this a number of times but if anything the calls were getting more frequent. So to me this simply means the "do not call" people are not doing their job right. And so as I'm now under a barrage of calls from these duct cleaning services I decided it was time to purchase a new phone system that incorporated a call blocking system. And so I purchased a Panasonic phone which has many other benefits as well.
As far as the call blocking system is concerned when I receive a phone call from one of those duct cleaning service I simply tap the "Call Block" button. A screen shows asking me if I really want to block the call and I simply tap the YES button and that's it. I got this system over this past weekend and it's now working just great. I've already had two of the numbers being used to dial me blocked and so it's working.
I might add that the phonebook system is also great as you can select a group to put your numbers into and when you add a number to your phone it automatically becomes available from the two extension phones as well. The base unit also has three one touch dial buttons you can configure.
So I am delighted to at last have found a way to block these really annoying duct cleaning services at long last. Perhaps the "do not call" people should just provide a grant to buy such a system and they could then close what is obviously a pretty useless service.
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One benefit of being retired is that I am getting the chance to read more books. Usually when I put a book up on the site I've read the start of the book in detail and then skimmed the rest and if I think it's worth while I put it up on the site. I am now finding that I will often now read the entire book before publishing it on the site. This week I've added two novels about early days sailing on the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river. I've enjoyed both and so thought I'd make them available on the Electric Canadian site for which see below...
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 as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. 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.
Sea of tartan kicks-off 2017 Tattoo
THIS year’s Tattoo promised more tartan than a Bay City Rollers-themed wedding on Burns Night and it did not disappoint.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/cu...ttoo-1-4522310
A clearing in the woods
Rising from the north-east shoreline of Loch Tay, Drummond Hill is a sturdy little peak lost to forestry. Engulfed by evergreens, the regimented rows of conifers ensure views from its slopes are scant.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/life...-in-the-woods/
Barnett Formula: Keeping it Simple
My last (long and complicated) blog attempted to explain how the Barnett Formula affects the devolved nation's Block Grant funding over time.
Read more at:
http://chokkablog.blogspot.ca/2017/0...it-simple.html
The Scottish diaspora: How Scots spread across the globe
IN 2009 then First Minister Alex Salmond invited the 100 million-strong Scottish family to return home for a year of cultural celebration.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-sco...lobe-1-4011012
Scotland’s greatest ever rock band - we salute you
A FITTING tribute to AC/DC, who have never forgotten their roots, is long overdue, says Martyn McLaughlin
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/cu...-you-1-4523506
East Neuk shops overlooked by tourists bid to get back on the map
Traders in the forgotten heart of a Fife tourist haven are taking action to persuade people to wander further than its famous waterfront.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...ck-on-the-map/
What is wrong at Police Scotland
Does the cluster of problems around Police Scotland suggest it’s time to rethink the single force strategy?
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...land-1-4524197
Year-long festival to celebrate Iron Age brochs
A new year-long archaeology festival aims to uncover new information about Iron Age brochs and also encourage greater public awareness of them.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...lands-40866021
World gold panning championships
To be held in Moffat
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/regions/dumf...ffat-1-4525705
Summer of discontent in the independence movement
It isn’t a happy time for the Scottish independence movement.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/08/summer...ence-movement/
The Macron lovefest is long gone
The French president's polling is in free fall; his magic is no longer working
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-macron-lovefest-is-long-gone
The Scottish wind-power racket
Since 2010, we’ve paid £328m to wind farms not to generate - most of them in Scotland
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-scottish-wind-power-racket
Electric Canadian
A Trip on the Great Lakes
Description of a trip, summer, 1912 by a Skiff Traveler, Who Loves "Outdoors." Tells of Fish, Fur, Game and Other Things of Interest By Raymond S Spears (1913) (pdf)
You can read this book at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...ngeatlakes.pdf
Camping on the Great Lakes
By Raymond S Spears (1913) (pdf). Learning life on a camping expedition on the Great Lakes by two school boys. Read the whole book and enjoyed it.
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...greatlakes.pdf
Notes on a Tour through the North-West Territory
By Rev. A. Sutherland, D.D. (1881) (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/Reli...rinprairie.pdf
Conrad Black
I've always had a lot of time for Conrad Black and so as he writes from Canada on a number of issues of interest from around the world I'm intending to include links to his writings for you to view.
Aboriginals deserve a fair deal, but enough with us hating ourselves
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/...ting-ourselves
Electric Scotland
Hylton Newsletters
Got in the newsletter for Summer 2017 in Scotland, England and Norway which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...lton/index.htm
Reports of The Civil Aerial Transport Committee
A government report from 1918.(pdf) which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lTransport.pdf
Hidden Initials by the Early American Engravers Guild
Got a copy of this article which I've now linked to it from the article where it's referenced around half way down the page.
You can read this at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../greatseal.htm
New Scottish Gaelic Studies Visiting Lectureship
Coming to North Carolina
You can read about this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/nc/shusa.pdf
Appin Clan Regiment
Got more in about this regiment with 5 graphics which you can see at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...loden/c21.html
Clan Baird
Got in three documents, William Baird, son of William Baird and Janet Brown, Aberdeen, The Last Clan Battle and Flight of the Baird which I've added links to from our Baird page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...toc/baird.html
William Leitch
Scientist and the first to say that rockets would work in space.
You can read about him at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ch_william.htm
William Robertson Smith
A Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. I added link to a book about his life and also another about some of his work which you can get to at:http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...th_william.htm
Scots Musical Museum in Six Volumes
Consisting of 600 Scots Songs with proper Bases for the Piano Forte by James Johnson
Robert Burns had much to do with this collection and you can read these volumes at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/burn...icalmuseum.htm
Robert Burns Lives!
Edited by Frank Shaw
Robert Burns’ Songwriting Prosody - Why His Tunes Matter by Andrew Calhoun
Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1957, Andrew Calhoun is a Chicago singer-songwriter, folksinger, author and founder/operator of Waterbug Records, an artists’ cooperative folk label since 1992. At age seven, Andrew memorized W. B. Yeats' "Song of Wandering Aengus," thus earning a nickel from his mother. He got his first guitar in 1967 and began writing songs at twelve. By the late seventies, he was performing in the Chicago folk scene. He has toured internationally, performing at folk clubs and festivals, pubs and house concerts. Andrew is passionate about Robert Burns and his songs, not just his poetry. His recordings have been released on Hogeye, Flying Fish and Waterbug Records. Recent projects include Rhymer’s Tower, Ballads of the Anglo-Scottish Border, a double CD of historical ballads on Waterbug Records, and Warlock Rhymer, an English Translation of Robert Burns’ Scots Poems, published by Artemis Books. In addition to several releases of his own songs, his revival of traditional call-and-response folk spirituals is represented on the Bound to Go CD. He is at work on a Robert Burns songbook, Glorious Work, a selection of 173 songs with guitar chords, TABS, translations and background. He performs solo and in a duo with daughter Casey Calhoun. In October 2012, Andrew was given the Lantern Bearer Award for twenty-five years of service to the folk arts in the Midwest by the Folk Alliance Regional Midwest. In 2014, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Woodstock Folk Festival in Illinois. He lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with his nonagenarian father.
It is indeed a pleasure to welcome Andrew and his writings to our website. Hopefully he will notify us when his new book on the songs of Burns is published.
You can read this article at: http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives257.htm
Journal of the Lady Beatrix Graham
Sister of the Marquis of Montrose (1871). Added a link to this book to the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...s/montrose.htm
Clan Munro Australia
Got in their August 2017 newsletter which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...unro/index.htm
The Last Baird Laird of Auchmedden and Strichen
The Case of Mr. Abington by John Malcolm Bulloch (1934) (pdf). Added a link to this book at the foot of the page at:http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...tion/baird.htm
The Story
Random Jottings of Brian Stephen Thompson
50 years ago, in Pre-oil days, I was the Manager of THE ABERDEEN & DISTRICT MILK MARKETING BOARD, Twin Spires, Bucksburn, and ABERDEEN DAIRIES, Aberdeen City. Also District Commissioner of Scouts, Aberdeen Northern District. My Maternal Grandmother was Mary Ross, and a Great Uncle, The Reverend James Ross, a Missionary, founding the Church in what was to become Abercorn, Northern Rhodesia.
The Milk Marketing Board, received the milk, from the Dairy Farmers of Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and Banffshire, and in a few cases cream separated on the Larger Estates. Factory Managers dealing regularly with the Great Estates, adopted Highland Dress as a matter of choice, My 12yard Hunting Ross Kilt, By Scott's of Union Street Cost me £50.00. Made to measure and cut to set.
Each time I returned to the North-East I visited farmer friends and always in Highland Dress, came the oil, casual dress became the norm.
I still return to Scotland three or four times a year on coach tours, by 2005 I had to admit that south of the Great Glen, Highland Dress equated to fancy dress. Attending the Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh Tattoo, and the Dundonald Games. I still wear Highland Dress, last year a strange thing happened, on two November coach trips (pretending to celebrate Xmas), the Hotel staff were in Kilts & Gillie Shirts. On a trip to Sterling, it was interesting to see three Scots living south of the border, purchase & wear Kilt Outfits!!!
So what have I to be thankful for?
I read and re-read The way forward for the Scots Language on your website, Burns works give no problem, as a child, my Dad read Burns works to me, always explaining words (and phrases) over which I stumbled, to be fair, I lived for time in Mauchline, and always enjoy performances at the Burns Centre.
Suddenly it dawned on me, what I was reading in The way forward for the Scots Language was the Scots we used in the Grampian area 50 years ago!!! a relative of mine Donald Ross, was translating Aberdeen Scots into Gaelic, sadly twenty years ago Donald died, and his draft notes were lost.
I thought I would test my memory recall without notes:
I see there is to be a TV program on Neville Chamberlain - what can I remember...
At the present time Neville Chamberlain, the pre-war Prime Minister is sneered at and written off as an appeaser. In fact he was only too aware that the shadow aircraft, & tank producing factories needed at least a year to be brought into production. So the inevitable war with Germany had to be postponed, hence his efforts at Munich.
In 1938 Preston, Lancashire, schoolchildren, were given a tramcar ride to “Dick Kerr’s tramcar building factory” near Preston Docks. After watching new flanges being shrunk onto re-profiled worn tram wheels, we were given a bottle of ‘Pop’ and bag of sweets. The bulk of the factory had been Partitioned off, huge sliding doors in the partition, were marked EE Ltd. Our teacher said this referred to English Electric Ltd., who now owned the Tramcar Works. I told dad about this day out, only to be told “Never, Never mention this English Electric Ltd factory to anyone, this information would be important to German spies. Mr Seed” (who lived nearby) “drives one of the low-loaders at night, that take parts of Handley-Page Hampden Bombers to the airfield for final assembly & flight testing”
Enough of that!!!
Dad was born on 18th March 1897 anniversary tomorrow what can I recall?
I was born on the 15th November 1926, my Mother, Daughter of Mary Ross, unlike her elder sister who was the first female to work in a Bank, was considered to be an ‘over educated’ infant’s teacher, having graduated at Warrington college of Liverpool University. (paid for by winning scholarships and exhibitions).
Dad was the second son of a farm labourer, (who through sheer hard work, had become a Tenant Farmer). with 5 brothers and 3 sisters, Dad was called-up in 1914 to serve in the army, at his medical he mentioned that he was deaf in his left ear, following an accident whilst laying an old Hawthorn hedge. The Doctor told him that the thorn was still there, and a huge abscess had formed in the inner ear which would prove fatal, so he was rejected by the Army. A second doctor said “Why not admit him to hospital, remove the thorn and drain the abscess” “But he is not an Officer” was the response, “I’d like to try to drain it anyway, for although he is not an Officer nor is he yet an Enlisted man”.
The operation was a success, although that ear was ever after stone deaf.
Whilst convalescing, Dad read to others from his works of Burns, and worked through Todhunters Algebra from cover to cover. Also making life-long friends among the Gentry, with his developing skill as a chess player.
In Winter three night a week, after a day’s work on the farm, Dad would cycle to ‘Night School’ (Mother taught his Night School class, to build up her savings). At nine o’clock he would visit either the Vicar or the Squire to play Chess and borrow text-books he could not afford to buy. Then home for a few hour sleep, before it was time for the morning milking.
Dad needed an extra source of income, having set his heart on marrying his teacher. In the early post war years (after 1918), dairy farmers had little security, the men who delivered milk in the towns, demanded a steady milk supply all the year round to be delivered to them twice a day in summer. In winter, at times it required the farmer to purchase extra down calved Irish milk cows to maintain the milk supply the town dairyman, In summer the surplus milk was made into cheese and the whey used to rear pigs.
Dad was sent to Longridge Cattle market to buy a cow, He overheard three farmers complaining that the local seed merchant had run out of turnip seed, and would have none until the next year. He walked over to the Longridge Hotel, announced that he was waiting for someone. He picked up a copy of the ‘Farmer & Stockbreeder’ and found that Toogoods Seeds of Southampton, were offering the turnip seed, he wrote a letter asking to be sent sufficient seed for twice the acreage the two farmers required & a seed catalogue. To be delivered via the overnight mail train, to be collected at the Preston railway station post office.
Word spread, and at the next weeks Longridge Cattle Market, he took a dozen seed orders. He forwarded these to Toogoods, asking for Commission on these sales.
Mother said to him that he would have to either pay an accountant, or study Book Keeping, and obtain Qualifications. So he elected to work one day a week for no pay, assisting the accountant of a corn mill. In return for tutoring to gain a qualification. At 65, a Pensioner with time on his hands, singing in the Church Choir, and a School Governor, He repaid Longridge Corn Mill by keeping their Books until within a week of his death.
In 1924 now Toogoods Seeds Lancashire Representative, whilst playing Chess with the local Squire, he was asked if he would still play chess after he married. He said to marry, first we will have to find a home. No problem said the Squire, “My fool of an agent sold two farms for me, but forgot to include one of a pair of cottages, the other cottage I had given to my Gamekeeper. Would you like to rent Ivy cottage”, it would be handy for us to play chess after you marry? and so it came to pass.
And that's it for this week and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair