Tweet
For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
I can't help wondering how accurate the virus counts are from around the world. Like is China really seeing a major reduction in their count? Also the US and Canada seem to be doing less testing than they should be doing. Then is Iran to be trusted on their counts? Lots of questions but so far not a lot of answers.
Also there seems to be quite a bit of difference in the support that various countries are offering to support the working population. Like the UK is covering some 80% of wage support whereas Canada seems to be offering only 10%.
Anyway... for me nothing has really changed as I receive a pension which doesn't change apart from currency fluctuations.. Also I already work from home so that also doesn't change. So the only change for me is that my favourite places for take out meals have now closed but as I didn't use them that often it means little as I'm used to cooking my own meals.
I have however taken to getting home delivery of my groceries but I do note that delivery times have changed as I could usually get next day delivery but now it's taking 5 days and of course I don't know if I'll receive all the items I ordered. I'm due to get a delivery today between 4 - 5 pm (since put back to 5-5.30)so guess I'll find out in a wee while. And I got another 3 notifications that my delivery time would be later until the final email saying they couldn't delivery and invited me to pick another delivery date which is now likely to be next Tuesday. That is not right at all. I can forgive not making it on time but they should still try to deliver the next day not put me off like it's now a new order. Unacceptable!!!. I ended up going out to my local grocery supermarket as I was out of bread and a few other items.
Anyway... social distancing is the key here and it seems that more cases are being found to be locally transmitted now which makes this even more important. So you need to keep 6 feet from other people when you are out and about and wash your hands regularly. In Chatham where I live there have only been 3 cases and all are from travelling from outside the area.
I might add that I am seeing new powers in Canada to fine or arrest people that are not distancing themselves and some of the fines are quite high. I did highlight in the news section an Italian family in New Jersey that got together for a special dinner and now 4 of them are dead and two more battling the virus. As Nola always has a special Easter get together of her family I told her about this and as a result this has been cancelled for this year. So please take care and be sensible of what can happen in family get together's.
I did have an appointment today with the eye specialist but that was cancelled for the time being. I'd hoped to get one more injection in my eye which I was confident would totally restore my sight. As it is I'm back to at least 90% of my normal vision.
I also note a number of Highland Games are being postponed or cancelled so do check with them if you've booked a ticket. I noted the gathering of the Buchanan Clan in Scotland but no mention of the virus but suspect you might want to check to see if they will still going ahead.
Tartan Week celebrations in New York have been cancelled and likely any Tartan Day events will be cancelled as well but do check. .
Of course if you are stuck in the house don't forget that I have lots of great reading material on the site and lots for the Kids as well.
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 world news stories that can affect Scotland and all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. 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.
Can Scotland meet EU economic criteria?
Such is the binary nature of political debate in Scotland that views on the economic prospects for an independent Scotland to join the European Union are overwhelmingly Manichean.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2020/03/can-sc...omic-criteria/
The history of crisis - and the future
It's easy to think coronavirus will be devastating for the country and change everything forever. But if we look back at the history of UK crises, a different, even brighter picture emerges
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-history-of-crisi...t-coronavirus/
Focus on the future of iconic thatched buildings in Scotland
Thatched buildings form an iconic part of Scotland’s heritage. But what place do they have here in the 21st Century, asks Gayle Ritchie
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/life...s-in-scotland/
Coronavirus: Four members of New Jersey family die
Four people in the same family have died from coronavirus in the US state of New Jersey, with three more relatives in hospital.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51978164
Tayside and Fife farm phones ringing off hook as hospitality workers respond to harvest jobs plea
The calls and messages came from hospitality sector workers looking for jobs and others who are simply desperate to ensure vegetables and fruit will be produced and picked this summer.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/busi...est-jobs-plea/
Row erupts as Scottish independence poll shows 59% of Scots back remaining in UK
Five years after the Yes/No referendum a survey commissioned by pro-UK campaigners Scotland in Union found large majority would vote to remain in UK but SNP say it is a rigged poll.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...-poll-20085737
The lockdown lowdown: CapX recommends
As we enter a nationwide quarantine, CapX brings you the definitive guide to thriving in self-isolation.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-lockdown-lowdown-capx-recommends/
No cure in sight for SNP’s self-inflicted ills
Ruling political nationalism in Scotland has been shown up as too puny and superficial to withstand the perennial enmities that can tear apart a movement even when supreme success has appeared closer than ever.
Read more at:
http://www.thinkscotland.org/todays-...ead_full=14118
How Iran Botched the Coronavirus Pandemic
The government learned early on about the outbreak—but, from a combination of cynicism and ideology, decided not to do anything about it.
Read more at:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/24...emic-response/
Alex Salmond trial: What is the political fallout?
With a series of inquiries in the pipeline, what is going to come next?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...itics-52012145
Electric Canadian
Rev. William Cochrane
I added a link to a biography of this Scots Canadian which you can read at:
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cochr...lliam_12E.html
Travels through the States of North America and the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
During the years of 1795, 1796 and 1797 by Isaac Weld, Jun. (1807) in two volumes.
AT a period when War was spreading desolation over the fairest parts of Europe, when anarchy seemed to be extending its frightful progress from nation to nation, and when the storms that were gathering over his native country in particular, rendered it impossible to say how soon any one of its inhabitants might be forced to seek for refuge in a foreign land; the Author of the following pages was induced to cross the Atlantic, for the purpose of examining with his own eyes into the truth of the various accounts which had been given of the flourishing and happy condition of the United States of America, and of ascertaining whether, in case of future emergency, any part of those territories might be looked forward to as an eligible and agreeable place of abode. Arrived in America, he travelled pretty generally through the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York; he afterwards passed into the Canadas, desirous of obtaining equal information as to the state of those provinces, and of determining from his own immediate observations, how far the present condition of the inhabitants of the British dominions in America might be inferior or otherwise, to that of the people of the States, who had now indeed thrown off the yoke, but were formerly common members of the same extensive empire.
You can read this account at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/history/travels.htm
Petrolia
1862 - 1908, Its advantages as a commercial and residential centre (pdf) which you can read at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...da1800arno.pdf
Christ Church, Petrolia
In Commemoration of Sixty Years of Faithful witness, worship and administration 1882 - 1942 of Christ Church, Petrolia (pdf) which can be read at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/Rel...icpetrolia.pdf
Electric Scotland
Home Preacher
Added Service 24 by Dr. MacLeod which you can read at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/h...her/week24.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Hi Everyone. I hope everyone is safe and healthy today. It's tough not doing precisely what we wish to do...but, for awhile, for everyone, we have to stay home and practice "social distancing." It's not so bad as most everyone has power, water, groceries - and the capability of getting more - plus lots of things to do. I still do not wish to seek the dust bunnies under things, nor do some of the things that NEED doing...(My DNA must show a "lazy streak" somewhere.)
Here is BNFT April 2020 Section A. I have to admit I had a good time creating this one as I always do.
I have put on enough big events and attended many, many more than that - to appreciate all the hard work that goes into anything such as a Highland games, concert or any event...and so, understand the frustration and how you feel when you have to cancel something that is almost ready to go. Hang in there folks. I promise, it will get back to normal again given some time and if we all cooperate.
Be careful of scammers. You can't buy virus vaccine from ANYBODY as it simply does not exist yet. It's despicable for anyone to try to scam others at anytime...but, particularly now, when we are more vulnerable than normal. If something is too good to be true...guess what? It is NOT true.
This issue is a little different...but, I hope, still interesting.
And, I am so happy to report that Alastair McIntyre is pretty well back to normal with his sight...working too hard like always and loving every minute of it! Way to go, Alastair.
Please take care of yourselves.
Aye,
beth
Please Note: The Glasgow, KY Highland Games have been postponed until August 28, 29, 30, 2020 because of the coronavirus.
Also...
Ancestry Library Edition: In response to the closing of many libraries due to COVID-19 throughout the nation, Ancestry and Proquest have entered into temporary agreement concerning home access to Ancestry Library Edition. Under normal circumstances, the library edition version is only available in libraries. Thanks to the agreement, Ancestry Library Edition will be available from home through April 30th as long as you have a valid library card for your library system, and it is a subscriber to Proquest and the Ancestry Library Edition database. I performed multiple searches from home yesterday and was successful.
You can read this section at: https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Clan Lachlan Association of Canada Spring 2020 Newsletter
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/familyt...hlan/index.htm
The Clan Buchanan Banner Newsletter for April 2020
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/familyt...anan/index.htm
Northern Spikes Funzine Issue 2 (pdf)
This can be read at: https://electricscotland.com/history...n_spikes_1.pdf
Clan Leslie Society International April 2020 newsletter
You can ead this at: https://electricscotland.com/familyt...ters/leslieint
Discovery of Insulin
Added a 3 hour movie about the discovery of insulin which you can view at:
https://electricscotland.com/history.../september.htm
Video from Rev. Nola Crewe
Added this into our Community at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/show...virus-pandemic
Liber S. Thome de Aberbrothoc
Which provides information on the Abbey of Arbroath from the 1100's through to the 1500's and is in 2 volumes in pdf format. There is a very extensive Preface which provides some excellent background.
Book 1: https://electricscotland.com/bible/l...eabe01bann.pdf
Book 2: https://electricscotland.com/bible/l...eabe02bann.pdf
Scottish Banner
For April 2020 which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...nner/index.htm
The Story
Marguerite Garden
Honour at last for Scots woman who 'did her bit' to help French fighters flee the Nazi occupation.
Article by Maureen Cultey in the Daily Mail, Saturday June 7, 2003
TO Marguerite Garden’s neighbours and many friends in the town where she has lived most of her life, she seems a typical grandmother. But the petite, grey-haired lady dressed In a cardigan and slippers has a secret past as a heroine of the French Resistance.
The Lanark pensioner rarely talks about her remarkable role in the war which she modestly dismisses as no more than ‘doing her bit’. But yesterday on the anniversary of the D-Day landings, fame finally caught up with Marguerite. It was revealed that she is to be decorated with the Legion D’Honneur France’s highest honour, for her exploits during world War II.
Preparations are being made for her to receive the award at a ceremony in Edinburgh later this year. French-born Marguerite, 77, has lived a daring life that mirrors that of Charlotte Gray, the fictional character brought to life on the screen by actress Cate Blanchett.
At the age of 14, Marguerite risked her life to work with the French Resistance in her picturesque home village of Plomodiern in Brittany. She and her father, who was also awarded the Legion D’Honneur, arranged escape routes out of France for hundreds of local men, including Marguerite’s brothers, to allow them to continue fighting from England.
She said: ‘I think my Involvement began when my father took me with him when a lobster boat was going away so I got to know the people who were preparing It. Later on, when my father wasn’t around, they trusted me enough to come to me and ask me to help.’
At one nerve-racking point, while harbouring airmen waiting to leave France, she helped conceal them upstairs in the family home while a German slept in one of the bedrooms, unaware. ‘What better cover than to have the Wehrmacht In the house,’ said Marguerite.
It was also at her family home that the head of MI6 — the intelligence-gathering network for which she worked - began making radio transmissions that were picked up at Bletchley Park, the Enigma code-breaking station in England.
Her work did not stop there. Marguerite carried out many dangerous missions. She scoured the Brittany coastline, searching for mines, to ensure British maps were accurate. She also carried messages and parcels between her network and another in Paris.
‘There was no reason to suspect me,’ she said. ‘I was a young girl, travelling to my school. I was never arrested.’
Eventually, her father’s role in the Resistance was found out and he fled as the Gestapo came knocking. ‘I opened the door to them,’ said Marguerite. ‘They smelled of the Gestapo, of Turkish cigarettes. My father had learned what was happening and didn’t come home, so my mother told them that he had left us and they accepted that. If it hadn’t been for that story, they would have taken us away.
Marguerite Garden‘I was aware of risking everything but tried not to think about it. I wasn’t scared even though one of my brothers was shot by the Germans in Paris. She added: ‘We wanted to be of use to Britain. That was our aim, to help win the war. I would do it all again if I had to.’
After the war she began an architecture course at college In Paris. At the age of 20 she met Scots holidaymaker James Garden and it was love at first sight. Within a year they were married in Kilmun, Argyll. She and her husband, who became a prominent surgeon, had seven children. He died in 1992.
News of the Legion D’Honneur, which the French foreign minister recommended she receive, brought a surge of emotions for Marguerite. ‘I don’t know why it has taken so long to come,’ she said. ‘But it means so much to me, I cannot say. When I think about it, I just burst into tears.’
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend and mind and keep your distance, wash your hands and stay safe.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
I can't help wondering how accurate the virus counts are from around the world. Like is China really seeing a major reduction in their count? Also the US and Canada seem to be doing less testing than they should be doing. Then is Iran to be trusted on their counts? Lots of questions but so far not a lot of answers.
Also there seems to be quite a bit of difference in the support that various countries are offering to support the working population. Like the UK is covering some 80% of wage support whereas Canada seems to be offering only 10%.
Anyway... for me nothing has really changed as I receive a pension which doesn't change apart from currency fluctuations.. Also I already work from home so that also doesn't change. So the only change for me is that my favourite places for take out meals have now closed but as I didn't use them that often it means little as I'm used to cooking my own meals.
I have however taken to getting home delivery of my groceries but I do note that delivery times have changed as I could usually get next day delivery but now it's taking 5 days and of course I don't know if I'll receive all the items I ordered. I'm due to get a delivery today between 4 - 5 pm (since put back to 5-5.30)so guess I'll find out in a wee while. And I got another 3 notifications that my delivery time would be later until the final email saying they couldn't delivery and invited me to pick another delivery date which is now likely to be next Tuesday. That is not right at all. I can forgive not making it on time but they should still try to deliver the next day not put me off like it's now a new order. Unacceptable!!!. I ended up going out to my local grocery supermarket as I was out of bread and a few other items.
Anyway... social distancing is the key here and it seems that more cases are being found to be locally transmitted now which makes this even more important. So you need to keep 6 feet from other people when you are out and about and wash your hands regularly. In Chatham where I live there have only been 3 cases and all are from travelling from outside the area.
I might add that I am seeing new powers in Canada to fine or arrest people that are not distancing themselves and some of the fines are quite high. I did highlight in the news section an Italian family in New Jersey that got together for a special dinner and now 4 of them are dead and two more battling the virus. As Nola always has a special Easter get together of her family I told her about this and as a result this has been cancelled for this year. So please take care and be sensible of what can happen in family get together's.
I did have an appointment today with the eye specialist but that was cancelled for the time being. I'd hoped to get one more injection in my eye which I was confident would totally restore my sight. As it is I'm back to at least 90% of my normal vision.
I also note a number of Highland Games are being postponed or cancelled so do check with them if you've booked a ticket. I noted the gathering of the Buchanan Clan in Scotland but no mention of the virus but suspect you might want to check to see if they will still going ahead.
Tartan Week celebrations in New York have been cancelled and likely any Tartan Day events will be cancelled as well but do check. .
Of course if you are stuck in the house don't forget that I have lots of great reading material on the site and lots for the Kids as well.
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 world news stories that can affect Scotland and all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. 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.
Can Scotland meet EU economic criteria?
Such is the binary nature of political debate in Scotland that views on the economic prospects for an independent Scotland to join the European Union are overwhelmingly Manichean.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2020/03/can-sc...omic-criteria/
The history of crisis - and the future
It's easy to think coronavirus will be devastating for the country and change everything forever. But if we look back at the history of UK crises, a different, even brighter picture emerges
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-history-of-crisi...t-coronavirus/
Focus on the future of iconic thatched buildings in Scotland
Thatched buildings form an iconic part of Scotland’s heritage. But what place do they have here in the 21st Century, asks Gayle Ritchie
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/life...s-in-scotland/
Coronavirus: Four members of New Jersey family die
Four people in the same family have died from coronavirus in the US state of New Jersey, with three more relatives in hospital.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51978164
Tayside and Fife farm phones ringing off hook as hospitality workers respond to harvest jobs plea
The calls and messages came from hospitality sector workers looking for jobs and others who are simply desperate to ensure vegetables and fruit will be produced and picked this summer.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/busi...est-jobs-plea/
Row erupts as Scottish independence poll shows 59% of Scots back remaining in UK
Five years after the Yes/No referendum a survey commissioned by pro-UK campaigners Scotland in Union found large majority would vote to remain in UK but SNP say it is a rigged poll.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...-poll-20085737
The lockdown lowdown: CapX recommends
As we enter a nationwide quarantine, CapX brings you the definitive guide to thriving in self-isolation.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/the-lockdown-lowdown-capx-recommends/
No cure in sight for SNP’s self-inflicted ills
Ruling political nationalism in Scotland has been shown up as too puny and superficial to withstand the perennial enmities that can tear apart a movement even when supreme success has appeared closer than ever.
Read more at:
http://www.thinkscotland.org/todays-...ead_full=14118
How Iran Botched the Coronavirus Pandemic
The government learned early on about the outbreak—but, from a combination of cynicism and ideology, decided not to do anything about it.
Read more at:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/24...emic-response/
Alex Salmond trial: What is the political fallout?
With a series of inquiries in the pipeline, what is going to come next?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...itics-52012145
Electric Canadian
Rev. William Cochrane
I added a link to a biography of this Scots Canadian which you can read at:
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cochr...lliam_12E.html
Travels through the States of North America and the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
During the years of 1795, 1796 and 1797 by Isaac Weld, Jun. (1807) in two volumes.
AT a period when War was spreading desolation over the fairest parts of Europe, when anarchy seemed to be extending its frightful progress from nation to nation, and when the storms that were gathering over his native country in particular, rendered it impossible to say how soon any one of its inhabitants might be forced to seek for refuge in a foreign land; the Author of the following pages was induced to cross the Atlantic, for the purpose of examining with his own eyes into the truth of the various accounts which had been given of the flourishing and happy condition of the United States of America, and of ascertaining whether, in case of future emergency, any part of those territories might be looked forward to as an eligible and agreeable place of abode. Arrived in America, he travelled pretty generally through the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York; he afterwards passed into the Canadas, desirous of obtaining equal information as to the state of those provinces, and of determining from his own immediate observations, how far the present condition of the inhabitants of the British dominions in America might be inferior or otherwise, to that of the people of the States, who had now indeed thrown off the yoke, but were formerly common members of the same extensive empire.
You can read this account at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/history/travels.htm
Petrolia
1862 - 1908, Its advantages as a commercial and residential centre (pdf) which you can read at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...da1800arno.pdf
Christ Church, Petrolia
In Commemoration of Sixty Years of Faithful witness, worship and administration 1882 - 1942 of Christ Church, Petrolia (pdf) which can be read at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/Rel...icpetrolia.pdf
Electric Scotland
Home Preacher
Added Service 24 by Dr. MacLeod which you can read at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/h...her/week24.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Hi Everyone. I hope everyone is safe and healthy today. It's tough not doing precisely what we wish to do...but, for awhile, for everyone, we have to stay home and practice "social distancing." It's not so bad as most everyone has power, water, groceries - and the capability of getting more - plus lots of things to do. I still do not wish to seek the dust bunnies under things, nor do some of the things that NEED doing...(My DNA must show a "lazy streak" somewhere.)
Here is BNFT April 2020 Section A. I have to admit I had a good time creating this one as I always do.
I have put on enough big events and attended many, many more than that - to appreciate all the hard work that goes into anything such as a Highland games, concert or any event...and so, understand the frustration and how you feel when you have to cancel something that is almost ready to go. Hang in there folks. I promise, it will get back to normal again given some time and if we all cooperate.
Be careful of scammers. You can't buy virus vaccine from ANYBODY as it simply does not exist yet. It's despicable for anyone to try to scam others at anytime...but, particularly now, when we are more vulnerable than normal. If something is too good to be true...guess what? It is NOT true.
This issue is a little different...but, I hope, still interesting.
And, I am so happy to report that Alastair McIntyre is pretty well back to normal with his sight...working too hard like always and loving every minute of it! Way to go, Alastair.
Please take care of yourselves.
Aye,
beth
Please Note: The Glasgow, KY Highland Games have been postponed until August 28, 29, 30, 2020 because of the coronavirus.
Also...
Ancestry Library Edition: In response to the closing of many libraries due to COVID-19 throughout the nation, Ancestry and Proquest have entered into temporary agreement concerning home access to Ancestry Library Edition. Under normal circumstances, the library edition version is only available in libraries. Thanks to the agreement, Ancestry Library Edition will be available from home through April 30th as long as you have a valid library card for your library system, and it is a subscriber to Proquest and the Ancestry Library Edition database. I performed multiple searches from home yesterday and was successful.
You can read this section at: https://electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Clan Lachlan Association of Canada Spring 2020 Newsletter
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/familyt...hlan/index.htm
The Clan Buchanan Banner Newsletter for April 2020
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/familyt...anan/index.htm
Northern Spikes Funzine Issue 2 (pdf)
This can be read at: https://electricscotland.com/history...n_spikes_1.pdf
Clan Leslie Society International April 2020 newsletter
You can ead this at: https://electricscotland.com/familyt...ters/leslieint
Discovery of Insulin
Added a 3 hour movie about the discovery of insulin which you can view at:
https://electricscotland.com/history.../september.htm
Video from Rev. Nola Crewe
Added this into our Community at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/show...virus-pandemic
Liber S. Thome de Aberbrothoc
Which provides information on the Abbey of Arbroath from the 1100's through to the 1500's and is in 2 volumes in pdf format. There is a very extensive Preface which provides some excellent background.
Book 1: https://electricscotland.com/bible/l...eabe01bann.pdf
Book 2: https://electricscotland.com/bible/l...eabe02bann.pdf
Scottish Banner
For April 2020 which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...nner/index.htm
The Story
Marguerite Garden
Honour at last for Scots woman who 'did her bit' to help French fighters flee the Nazi occupation.
Article by Maureen Cultey in the Daily Mail, Saturday June 7, 2003
TO Marguerite Garden’s neighbours and many friends in the town where she has lived most of her life, she seems a typical grandmother. But the petite, grey-haired lady dressed In a cardigan and slippers has a secret past as a heroine of the French Resistance.
The Lanark pensioner rarely talks about her remarkable role in the war which she modestly dismisses as no more than ‘doing her bit’. But yesterday on the anniversary of the D-Day landings, fame finally caught up with Marguerite. It was revealed that she is to be decorated with the Legion D’Honneur France’s highest honour, for her exploits during world War II.
Preparations are being made for her to receive the award at a ceremony in Edinburgh later this year. French-born Marguerite, 77, has lived a daring life that mirrors that of Charlotte Gray, the fictional character brought to life on the screen by actress Cate Blanchett.
At the age of 14, Marguerite risked her life to work with the French Resistance in her picturesque home village of Plomodiern in Brittany. She and her father, who was also awarded the Legion D’Honneur, arranged escape routes out of France for hundreds of local men, including Marguerite’s brothers, to allow them to continue fighting from England.
She said: ‘I think my Involvement began when my father took me with him when a lobster boat was going away so I got to know the people who were preparing It. Later on, when my father wasn’t around, they trusted me enough to come to me and ask me to help.’
At one nerve-racking point, while harbouring airmen waiting to leave France, she helped conceal them upstairs in the family home while a German slept in one of the bedrooms, unaware. ‘What better cover than to have the Wehrmacht In the house,’ said Marguerite.
It was also at her family home that the head of MI6 — the intelligence-gathering network for which she worked - began making radio transmissions that were picked up at Bletchley Park, the Enigma code-breaking station in England.
Her work did not stop there. Marguerite carried out many dangerous missions. She scoured the Brittany coastline, searching for mines, to ensure British maps were accurate. She also carried messages and parcels between her network and another in Paris.
‘There was no reason to suspect me,’ she said. ‘I was a young girl, travelling to my school. I was never arrested.’
Eventually, her father’s role in the Resistance was found out and he fled as the Gestapo came knocking. ‘I opened the door to them,’ said Marguerite. ‘They smelled of the Gestapo, of Turkish cigarettes. My father had learned what was happening and didn’t come home, so my mother told them that he had left us and they accepted that. If it hadn’t been for that story, they would have taken us away.
Marguerite Garden‘I was aware of risking everything but tried not to think about it. I wasn’t scared even though one of my brothers was shot by the Germans in Paris. She added: ‘We wanted to be of use to Britain. That was our aim, to help win the war. I would do it all again if I had to.’
After the war she began an architecture course at college In Paris. At the age of 20 she met Scots holidaymaker James Garden and it was love at first sight. Within a year they were married in Kilmun, Argyll. She and her husband, who became a prominent surgeon, had seven children. He died in 1992.
News of the Legion D’Honneur, which the French foreign minister recommended she receive, brought a surge of emotions for Marguerite. ‘I don’t know why it has taken so long to come,’ she said. ‘But it means so much to me, I cannot say. When I think about it, I just burst into tears.’
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend and mind and keep your distance, wash your hands and stay safe.
Alastair
Comment