soc.culture.scottish FAQ [1/4]
Craig Cockburn
The following version of the FAQ has been approved by
the rtfm.mit.edu FAQ maintainters and the automatic FAQ
validator and should appear as the first soc.culture.scottish FAQ
on the rtfm.mit.edu FAQ archives in a few weeks.
It is also available on-line by following the
soc.culture.scottish FAQ link at
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/internet.html
Auxilliary headers
Version: 2.0
URL: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/internet.html
Archive-name: scottish-faq
Soc-culture-scottish-archive-name: scottish-faq
Posting-Frequency: 3 months
Last-modified: 1996/08/24
Thanks to all who helped with this FAQ, it was far from being a solo effort.
Craig Cockburn , Editor and main author.
Edinburgh, Scotland. August 1996
Please mail comments, corrections and additions to me at
cr...@scot.demon.co.uk
Homepage at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
Alba - Scotland
---------------
(for other Celtic countries - see http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/sccfaq.html)
Contents
[1] Scotland's name
[2] Celtic background
[3] Where can I get Gaelic books?
[4] How can I learn Gaelic?
[5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words to Gaelic tunes, info on Gaelic
[6] Are there any files I can access for more information on Gaelic
[7] Scottish music radio programmes
[8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes
[9] Info on Robert Burns
[10] Info on cooking and haggis
[11] Where can I get haggis?
[12] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info?
[13] On-line Scots language info
[14] What Scottish Record labels are there
[15] How do I find out about Folk events in Scotland which might be on?
[16] When are the major Scottish folk festivals
[17] Where's a good place to buy folk records?
[18] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry?
[19] Any Scottish songs on-line?
[20] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board ?
[21] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence
[22] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day.
[23] How do I find out about Highland Games or Mods in my area. What is a Mod?
[24] Information on Runrig
[25] Information on Capercaillie
[26] Scottish Cultural classes (music, singing, language, history etc)
[27] Gaelic wedding blessing
[28] Dalriada Celtic society BBS
[29] The Gaelic for "Frequently Asked Questions"
[30] Edinburgh Festival Fringe
[31] Living Tradition.
[32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh
[33] Primary Literary figures
[34] Scottish Guide books.
[35] Primary folk music pubs
[36] What is a Ceilidh
[37] Best Scottish pubs
[38] Scottish Monarchs
[39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland
[40] What does Craig's signature mean?
[41] Where can I buy a kilt/Highland accessories
[42] Scottish song books
[43] Books for learning the fiddle
[44] Whisky (whiskey)
[45] The Scottish Youth Hostels Association
[46] The Ramblers Association
[47] Books for hillwalkers
[48] What is a Munro/Corbett?
[49] Legal questions
[50] Gaelic festivals
[51] Gaelic playgroups
[52] Scotch
[53] Plaid
[54] Scottish URLs
[55] alt.scottish.clans
[56] Edinburgh Folk Festival
[57] Postgraduate courses in Celtic Studies
[58] What is Scottish Country Dancing?
[59] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English
[60] Scottish Wedding Information
[61] Declaration of Arbroath
[62] Gaelic newspapers
[63] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English)
[64] European Community Folk Culture
[65] Scots Gaelic products and catalog
[66] Dog commands in Gaelic
[67] Guide to Gaelic Scotland
[68] Kirking of the tartans
[69] Cape Breton music mailing list
[70] Learning Scots
[71] What's on
[72] Robert Burns links
[73] Scottish music information
[74] The Celtic Cross
[75] Quangos
[76] OBEs, honorific titles, etc
[77] Waulking songs
[78] Puirt a beul
[79] Gaelic psalm singing
[80] Piobaireachd / Pibroch
[81] On-line Gaelic lessons
[82] Encyclopedia of the Celts
[83] New Scottish Local Authorities
[84] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song
[85] What is "Crest of the Clan Chief" in Gaelic
[86] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic
[87] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service
[88] Getting a job in Scotland
[89] Scottish newspapers on-line
[90] Intro to Scottish Music
[91] Scottish Independence information
[92] Scottish Yellow Pages
[93] Understanding Scottish Dance music
[94] Article on History of Language in Scotland
[95] Article on Scottish Step Dancing
[96] Address to a Haggis - Robert Burns
[97] Scottish Text Archive
[98] How to get scot.* hierarchy groups
[99] Fiddle styles
[100] Frequently requested songs
[101] Shetland and Orkney info
[102] Braveheart information
[103] Celtic knotwork and art
[104] Mayfest
[105] Weather info
[106] Getting hooked up to the internet
---===<<< The FAQ >>>===---
[1] Scotland's name
Scotland gets its name from the Scots, or Scotti who first arrived
in Argyll in the late 3rd to mid 4th centuries AD. It was not until
about 500AD that they built up a sizeable colony though. The Scots
spoke Irish, not Scots. Scots is a Germanic language like English,
described later. "Scotti" is what the Romans called them. We don't
know what they called themselves!
[2] Celtic background
It is incorrect to think of Scotland as a wholly Celtic country. Since
the first millenium BC, Scotland has been a place of multiple languages
and this tradition continues today. First of all it was Pictish and
British; then Gaelic, Norse and Scots came and today it's English,
Scots and Gaelic. Nearly all of Scotland was once Gaelic speaking
except Orkney, Shetland and Caithness which had a variety of Norse
until recent times and East Lothian which was settled by the Angles.
Galloway had a Gaelic community which became separated from the Gaelic
speaking Highlands and Gaelic was still in use until about the 17th
century in Galloway. "Poets, scholars and writers in Lowland Scotland
up until the 16th century readily acknowledged Gaelic to be the true
and original Scottish language. As we know, though, it was an incomer
just as much as Anglo-Saxon! For Walter Kennedy 'it suld be al trew
Scottis mennis lede': ('Flyting with Dunbar' c.1500)" : section quoted
from "Gaelic: a past and future prospect", Kenneth Mackinnon. Gaelic is
a Celtic language, like Irish.
Other notable reads include anything by the late Prof Kenneth Jackson,
particularly "A Celtic Miscellany", any of John Prebble's books (ie "1000
years of Scottish History") or Nigel Tranter ("The Story of Scotland")
[3] Where can I get Gaelic books?
The Gaelic Books Council stocks every Gaelic book in print
including prose, poetry, songs, music, children's material etc.
They have a catalogue.
Comhairle nan Leabhraichean
22 Sra\id Achadh a'Mhansa
Glaschu
Alba
G11 5QP.
Fon:0141 337 6211
The Gaelic Books Council
22 Mansfield Street
Glasgow
Scotland
G11 5QP
Tel: 0141 337 6211
Note: All Gaelic addresses can be used fine provided the postcode is written.
If you are looking for a Gaelic name for your child, the book to get is
Ainmean Chloinne, Scottish Gaelic names for Children. Author Peadar Morgan.
Published by Taigh na Teud, Breacais Ard, Skye.
[4] How can I learn Gaelic?
The Gaelic learners' association Comann an Luchd-ionnsachaidh can advise
about books, learners near you, classes, correspondence courses etc. The
name is abbreviated to CLI and prounounced CLEE. CLI has members around
the world.Motto: "For Gaelic learners and supporters". CLI publishes an
excellent magazine quarterly called Cothrom which is bilingual and
packed full of interesting articles and useful information. There is
also a tape of the Gaelic in the magazine. The printed version of the
magazine is distributed free to members.
CLI will be moving soon but the mail and calls will be forwarded
Address:
3 High Street, Dingwall, Ross-shire IV15 9HL
Tel/Fax : 01349 862820 (+[44] 1349 862820)
WWW: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cli/
Also join GAELIC-L, an e-mail list for all 3 Gaelics.
Send a mail to list...@listserv.hea.ie containing the line
sub Gaelic-L yourgivenname yoursurname
to join
There is also scots-gai...@eskimo.com - send a mail
to this address with "subscribe" as the subject to join, however
this list is Gaidhlig only and seems not to be aimed at beginners.
Suggestions for learners:
Teach Yourself Gaelic (book,tape) author: Boyd Robertson.
16.99 pounds for both. ISBN 0-340-55925-X. Book alone is 7.99
(ISBN 0-340-55923-3)
Speaking Our Language (workbooks, tapes, videos), published by Canan
(email: ca...@smo.uhi.ac.uk). Highly recommended for complete beginners
through to upper intermediate levels. The entire course covers 4 series,
each containing 18 programmes with each programme approx 25 mins.
Everyday Gaelic (book) author: Morag MacNeill (intermediate level)
Gaidhlig Bheo: Correspondence course, run by The National Extension
College, 18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge Tel: (01223) 316644
Fax: (01223) 313586
Gaelic/Highland/Music/Singing courses (1-2 weeks long)
Sabhal Mor Ostaig, An Teanga, Sleite, Isle of Skye IV44 8RQ,
Scotland tel: 01471 844 373
Email: ga...@smo.uhi.ac.uk
(Sleite is pronounced "Slate")
On-line Gaelic lessons
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bac/
Basic Gaelic for parents, with sound samples
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bgfp/
Information particular to the United States
http://www.clark.net/pub/acga/
Information on The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia - Gaelic and other Scottish classes are
offered here
http://www.taisbean.com/gaeliccollege
E-mail: gael...@atcon.com
Am Braighe, a Newspaper in English and Gaelic from Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia carries a wide range of Gaelic merchandise
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/
E-mail ambr...@fox.nstn.ca
For Gaelic products from Scotland, contact
Am Muileann Dubh
A' Chatalog Ghaidhlig
Sraid a' Mhargaid
Baile Dhubhthaich (Tain)
Siorrachd Rois (Ross-shire)
Scotland
IV19 1AR
http://www.catalyst-highlands.co.uk/muileann/dubh/
[5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words to Gaelic tunes, info on Gaelic
Contact An Comunn Gaidhealach, 109 Sraid na h-Eaglais, Inbhir Nis,
IV1 1EY. They have a lot of Gaelic music and maintain a list
of every Gaelic choir in Scotland. Currently the only Gaelic
choirs outside Scotland are in London, Sydney and Vancouver.
An Comunn also has an American branch. Their web address is
http://www.clark.net/pub/acga/
[6] Are there any files I can access for more information on Gaelic?
See http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/
See the Gaelic-L archives
http://yeats.ucs.csufresno.edu/GAELIC-L.HTML
Or go to the Gaelic Homepage
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html
[7] Scottish music radio programmes
In Scotland:
Radio Scotland (MW= Medium Wave 810, FM = 92.4 to 94.7)
Sat: 7-8pm Take the floor (FM,MW): 8-10pm "Travelling Folk" (FM,MW)
10-midnight: "Celtic Horizons" (FM,MW) (Fiona Ritchie)
In the US: The Thistle and Shamrock. This is hosted by Fiona Ritchie.
There is an on-line list of stations carrying this programme -
ftp://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/thistle.list.
The list is maintained by Pat Murphy (pmu...@nrao.edu) and posted
regularly to the rec.music.celtic group
The T&S has a brochure that gives some background on Fiona Ritchie and the
show, and includes information about their Newsletter, Playlists, and
Souvenirs -- T-shirts, a pin, tankard and coasters. If you want this
brochure, send a SASE to "The Thistle and Shamrock, P.O. Box 560646,
Charlotte, NC 28256 (USA).
[8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes
Gaelic Radio is on Radio Scotland VHF - this is 104.3 in the
Edinburgh area. It's on in the mornings and early evening.
Gaelic is no longer broadcast on Radio Scotland 810MW, a great
disappointment as it used to be available in most of England and
now the so-called "National" service only has patchy coverage in
Scotland!
Gaelic TV is on BBC Scotland. Scottish Television and Grampian
Television. For details of times and programmes, see the Gaelic
TV times "Suas!", publisher: The Gaelic Television Committee.
contact: Suas!, 4 Acarsaid, Cidhe Sraid Chrombail, Steornabhagh,
Eilean Leodhais PA87 2DF, Scotland.
Tel: 01851 705550
Fax: 01851 706432
Times of Gaelic Radio and TV are also published each Friday in the
West Highland Free Press, Broadford, Skye, IV49 9AP
Tel: 01471 822464
Fax: 01471 822694
E-mail: 10067...@compuserve.com
[9] Info on Robert Burns
See also Answer 96
Robert Burns, the National Bard of Scotland, was born in 1759, the son
of an Ayrshire cottar. A cottar is a Scots word for a tenant occupying
a cottage with or (from the late 18th century) without land attached to
it or a married farmworker who has a cottage as part of his contract.
The word dates from the 15th century. Anyway, back to Burns. He
apparantly developed an early interest in literature. Between 1784 and
1788, whilst farm-labouring, he wrote much of his best poetry,
including "Halloween", "The Cotter's Saturday Night" and the skilful
satires "Death and Dr Hornbrook" and "Holy Willie's Prayer". In 1786
the "Kilmarnock" edition of Robert Burns' early poems was published,
bringing with it fame and fortune, and the second edition, published by
William Creech, brought him enough financial security to marry his
mistress Jean Armour. The couple settled to a hard life in Ellisland
with their four children, and to supplement their meagre income, Burns
took a job as an excise man. From 1787, Burns concentrated on
songwriting, making substantial contributions to James Johnson's "The
Scots Musical Museum", including "Auld Lang Syne" and "A Red, Red
Rose". On 21st July 1796, at the age of 37, he died, his health
undermined by rheumatic fever.
Most of the above was taken from a recommended book "The complete
illustrated poems, songs and ballads of Robert Burns" 12pounds 95p.
Published by Lomond Books, ISBN 1 85152 018 X. This is a reprint of a
1905 publication so the print is a bit strange and unfortunately there
is no index and the contents aren't in alphabetical order. However, it
is 650 A5 size pages (hardback) and was recently seen in bargain books
for a mere 5 pounds!
The picture most usually seen of Burns (but not the one on the Bank of
Scotland five pound note) is from an engraving after a portrait by
Alexander Nasmyth, 1787. Today, many thousands of Scots around the
world celebrate Burns night on his birthday, 25th January. Burns night
has even been commemorated in the Kremlin. Burns suppers consist of
having a meal of tatties (mashed potatoes), neeps (turnips - not
swede!) and haggis. Details of how to buy haggis are elsewhere in this
FAQ. There is usually quite a bit of whisky drunk at these occasions
too, particularly as Burns was a well known drinker (and womaniser).
Usually a bloke makes a speech remembering Burns and how his thoughts
and poems are timeless and as relevent today as they were when they
were written. Then there's a "reply from the lassies" where it's usual
to point out the other side of Burns and how he left many women broken
hearted. Well, that's the general idea anyway, there's lots of
variations. Some of the features of Burns Suppers are rather
inauthentic: the kilts/tartans worn are really the garb of the
Gael, and the Great Pipe is the Gael's instrument. Burns himself
wasn't a Gael, and would have been more acquainted with
breiks and the fiddle.
Probably Burns' most famous composition is Auld Lang Syne, however most
people do not sing either the right words or the original tune. A lot of
people erroneously insert the words "the sake of" in the chorus - this
was not written by Burns. The tune is a bit confused too. Burns
originally wrote the words to a tune which his publisher didn't like,
so he then put the words to the tune which most people know. However,
the second tune is also claimed by the Japanese!. The original tune is
available on some recordings, including "The Winnowing" by The Cast and
"File under Christmas" by Scotland's leading Clarsach (Harp) duo,
Sileas (pronounced Shee-lis"). The old tune is rapidly gaining
momentum however, and I have heard hundreds of people sing it in
Edinburgh without difficulty. The old version of the tune is also in
The Digital Tradition (see elsewhere for details)
and off http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/songs.html
It is someting of a comment on the English-biased nature of Scottish
education that Scotland has produced one of the world's greatest and
best loved poets and yet he is hardly studied in his own country, most
people studying Shakespeare at school. Shakespeare was obviously a
world class bard as well, but isn't there room for Burns too?
To hear some of Rabbie Burns' poetry read by a native of Prestwick,
go to the Gaelic Homepage and look in the Scots section.
[10] Info on cooking and haggis
2 recommended books:
F. Marian McNeill - The Scots Kitchen, it's lore and recipies. A
classic and as much a source of folklore and history as a culinary
reference. First published in 1929. 300+ pages. Published by Grafton
Books, 8 Grafton St, London, W1X 3LA. ISBN 0-586-20784-8. Grafton books
is a division of Collins, Glasgow. Just about every recipie has a tale,
saying, poem, song or bit of history printed with it (the occasional
one in Gaelic; with translation). F. Marian MacNeill was a historian by
profession.
Another book, rather more contemporary (no stories etc but probably
biased towards modern eating trends and it also has US-UK conversions).
Scottish Cookery: Catherine Brown. ISBN 0-86267-248-1. Published by
Richard Drew publishing, 6 Clairmont Gardens, Glasgow G3 7LW. Really
good traditional stuff and well laid out.
McNeill's book gives several recipies for haggis. The Traditional
Cottage Recipe includes : "The large stomach bag of a sheep, the pluck
(including heart, lights and liver), beef-suet, pin-head (coarse)
oatmeal, onions, black pepper, salt, stock or gravy. Meg Dod's recipie
includes "Sheep's pluck and paunch, beef-suet, onions, oatmeal, pepper,
salt, cayenne, lemon or vinegar.". Haggis Royal includes "Mutton, suet,
beef-marrow, bread-crumbs or oatmeal, anchovies, parsley, lemon,
pepper, cayenne, eggs, red wine.". Deer Haggis includes "Deer's heart,
liver and suet, coarse oatmeal, onions, black pepper, salt, paste." It
takes about a day to make a haggis from scratch, but very very few
people do this as it is particulaly gruesome. Most people buy their
haggis from the butcher's. See next section for details of how to get
some.
[11] Where can I get haggis?
The best haggis in the world (in my opinion, and several other people's too)
is made by Charles MacSween of Edinburgh. He makes about 1 ton a day and
ships it all over the UK and overseas too (it keeps remarkably well in
the post). Many shops in the UK (including supermarkets) sell
MacSween's haggis. There is also a vegetarian version which is quite
tasty.
contact:
McSweens Haggis, 130 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, EH10 4ES
Tel: 0131 229 1216.
McSween's will be moving soon as they've outgrown the Bruntsfield shop.
as an alternative,
You should try the haggis at Sandy Crombie's on Broughton Street.
There is a guidebook to the best food shops in the UK (I can't
remember the title, but I can find it if you want), and you'll find
Sandy's shop in there. It is a truly excellent butchers.
[12] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info?
See also answer 70
The Scots language is a Germanic language related to English.
It is not Celtic, but has been influenced by Gaelic, as Scottish
Gaelic has been influenced by Scots. "Briogais", "gaileis",
"baillidh", "snaoisean", "burach", "sneag", etc etc.
For more info, write to:
The Membership Secretary, the Scots Language Society,
A. K. Bell Library, 2 - 8 York Place, Perth PH2 8EP.
Membership is 7 pounds a year
There is also some info in the following section:
"The Pocket Guide to Scottish Words: Scots, Gaelic"
by Iseabail Macleod. Published by W&R Chambers, Ltd.
43-45 Annandale Street, Edinburgh EH7 4AZ
(ISBN 0-550-11834-9). Widely available at bookshops and airports
US distributors
Unicorn Limited, Inc.
P.O. Box 397
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525
(304) 379-8803
It has "Place names, personal names, food and drink. Scots and Gaelic words
explained in handy reference form."
There are 30 pages of Scots words explained. No grammar. It does list a
number of interesting sounding books:
SCOTS LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES:
----------------------------
Mairi Robinson, editor-in-chief "The Concise Scots Dictionary" 1985,
(Aberdeen University Press) 862pp, a comprehensive one-volume
dictionary covering the Scots language from the earliest records to the
present day; based largely on:
William Grant, David Murison, editors "The Scottish National Dictionary"
10 vols., 1931-76, the Scots language from 1700 to the present day, and:
Sir William Craigie, A J Aitken et al "A Dictionary of the Older Scottish
Tongue" published up to Pr- in 5 vols., 1931-, the Scots language up to
1700.
Alexander Warrack, "Chambers Scots Dictionary" 1911, 717pp.
"The Scots School Dictionary", ed. Iseabail Macleod and Pauline
Cairns, Chambers 1996, 370pp. The best two-way dictionary currently
available.
GENERAL SCOTS BOOKS:
--------------------
A J Aitken, Tom McArthur, eds "Languages of Scotland" 1979, 160pp., a
collection of essays on Scots and Gaelic.
David Murison "The Guid Scots Tongue" 1977, 63pp
"The New Testament in Scots" 1983, by W L Lorimer
Just to add to the list of books of/about Scots, one should mention
the reprint of P Hately Waddell's _The_Psalms:_Frae_Hebrew_Intil_Scots_
(orig 1871, reprinted with modern introduction 1987 by Aberdeen Univ Press).
I would love to see some instructive writing about the Scots tongue,
more than just word-lists. Especially pronunciation, intonation, cadence,
etc. as well as grammar.
There are two books that are essential reading on the subject of Scots.
The first is "Scots: the Mither Tongue" by Billy Kay. This is available
both in hardback and paperback.
The second is "Why Scots Matters" by J. Derrick McClure. This is more of
a booklet than a book, and is an inexpensive paperback.
Colin Wilson is working on a "Teach yourself Scots" book.
[13] On-line Scots language info
ftp://jpd.ch.man.ac.uk/pub/Scots/ScotFAQ.txt
Newsgroup: scot.scots
http://www.umist.ac.uk/UMIST_CAL/hame.htm is the URL of Clive
Young's "Scots on the Wab", the best "wab steid" about Scots.
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~src045 is the web site of the Univairsitie
o Aiberdeen Scots Leid Quorum.
http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides/scots.html has links to
various resources concerning Scots.
[14] What Scottish Record labels are there
Main labels are
Temple http://www.rootsworld.com/temple/index.html
Lismore
Greentrax http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm
Culburnie http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/culburn.htm
Also, see the Gaelic homepage at sunsite.unc.edu for an extensive list
of many celtic labels. Further info also at
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/Internet_Sources.html
[15] How do I find out about Folk events in Scotland which might be on?
The Scottish Folk Arts Directory. This is a book detailing
virtually everything to do with the Scottish folk music scene.
contact: Blackfriars Music, 49 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh EH1 1NB
Tel: 0131 557 3090.
[16] When are the major Scottish folk festivals
-------------------------------------------------
Edinburgh festival/fringe etc is the last 3 weeks in August usually
Edinburgh folk festival is on for 10 days during the Easter break,
ending on Easter Sunday. info at
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/edinfolk.htm
[17] Where's a good place to buy folk records?
The best shop which specialises in folk is Blackfriars Music
-- address is in the answer to 14. The other good places in
Edinburgh are the folk/Scottish sections of Virgin
Records and HMV (on Princes St). Folk is often subdivided
in these shops into subcategories (i.e. Scottish, Irish,
pipe bands, folk etc). John Menzies (sometimes pronounced "Mingis")
and also on Princes St, is usually the cheapest place to get CDs
but the folk section is small and poorly organised. Tower records
is probably the best place to start looking in Glasgow.
or as sg...@cix.compulink.co.uk said:
The best folk record shop in Scotland at present is in
Parnie Street, Glasgow, next to Adam McNaughton's book shop.
[18] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry?
There is a book published by HMSO (Her Majesties Stationary Office)
called "Tracing your Scottish Ancestry". All the records for
births, marriages and deaths in Scotland are held at:
New Register House, West Register St, Edinburgh, EH1
Tel: 0131 334 0380
Fax: 0131 314 4400
[19] Any Scottish songs on-line?
There are quite a few in The Digital Tradition, a free 4000+ strong
database (many with tunes to play on your computer's speaker). It is available
to FTP from ftp.uwp.edu, or mail digi...@world.std.com for more information.
There is also a lot of other musical info and folk info on that ftp site.
Particularly watch out for the October 94 edition which should have a lot
more Scottish material
http://pubweb.parc.xerox.com/digitrad
Also, check out the Ceo\l section of the Gaelic Homepage.
[20] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board?
Tel: 0131 332 2433 (+[44] 131 332 2433)
http://www.scotourist.org.uk/stb
[21] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence
Addresses of relevant organisations:
Scottish Politics home page: http://www.wp.com/Alba/
Political Parties:
Labour Party
1 Lynedoch Place,
Glasgow G3 6AB.
0141 332 8946 FAX 331 2566
Scottish National Party (SNP),
6 North Charlotte St
Edinburgh. EH2
0131 226 3661
(also known as Partaidh Naiseanta na h-Alba - PNA)
http://www.snp.org.uk/
Conservative and Unionist Party
Liberal Democrats,
4 Clifton Terrace,
Edinburgh EH12
0131 337 2314
Green Party
Politically Oriented organisations:
Common Cause, PO Box 822, Glasgow, G14 9JA 0141 631 2420
Democracy for Scotland, 5 Regent Rd, Edinburgh EH7 0131 558 3088
Scottish Patriots, 76 Constitution St, Leith, EH6 0131 554 7951
[22] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day.
25-Jan, 30-Nov.
Neither is a holiday in Scotland.
[23] How do I find out about Highland Games or Mods in my area. What is a Mod?
An Comunn Gaidhealach runs the Mods. An Comunn is based at
109 Church St, Inverness, IV1 1EY
The Mods are a series of Gaelic competitions involving singing, poetry,
drama, music etc.
The Royal National Mod is held in Mid-October each year. Forthcoming
venues for it are:
96 (Blairgowrie), 97 (Inverness), 98 (Skye)
The National Mod runs from a Friday to the Saturday morning of
the following week (the competitions end on the final Friday)
There are also local Mods. Here's a list of them:
Caithness/Sutherland; Dalriada (Lochgilphead area); Easter Ross;
East Kilbride; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Harris; Inverness; Islay; Kyle;
Lewis; Lochaber; Oban; Mull; Perthshire/Angus; Skye; Stirling; Uist;
Wester Ross. Local Mods generally run over a weekend.
Contact An Comunn Gaidhealach in Inverness for contact details
Edinburgh Mod will be restarted in 1997
Calum MacDonald (no connection with the person in Runrig) is
the new Mod officer with An Comunn Gaidhealach. The new membership
secretary is Coinneach MacLeo\id
[24] Information on Runrig
See: http://dux.dundee.ac.uk/~azmilne/runrig/
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/scotz/runrig.htm
Contact the fan club at:
Runrig Fan Club, 55 Wellington St, Aberdeen AB2 1BX. Tel: 01224 573100
Runrig as a name for the band is a term Blair Douglas thought up
when he was studying in Glasgow. A rig is a strip of farmland and
a run is a series of those strips. The run-rig system of farming
is no longer used, but the marks of it can still be seen particularly
on Skye where the core of the band is from.
The term run-rig is a Scots word. The Gaelic is "raon ruith"
Discography:
------------
Play Gaelic (good, very folky, last 2 tracks are very good, limited
lyrics in Gaelic available from fan club)
Highland Connection (v good, my favourite, mix of ballads and heavy rock,
lyrics supplied, but no translations. I have translations of Cearcall a'
chuain - one of my all time favourite tracks and an easy one to sing along
to and learn).
Recovery (v. good, close second, similar to Highland Connection. Translations
for Gaelic available from this point on). The last one with Malcolm Jones
playing the pipes.
Heartland (v. good, slightly more commercial than previous two, less Gaelic)
Cutter and the Clan (OK. considerably more commercial than Heartland.
2 Gaelic tracks. An uabhal as airde is a very good song from this album)
Once in a lifetime (live album featuring material from previous 4, but only
1 track from Play Gaelic- Chi mi'n Geamhradh)
Searchlight (OK. More commercial than "Cutter", 2 Gaelic tracks)
Big Wheel (improvement on Searchlight. Commercial, but some good tracks, 2
Gaelic tracks)
Amazing things (rather bland and middle of the road. Some good tracks, but
many forgettable)
Mara (a theme album; excellent production masks some rather middle of the
road tunes)
The band seem to be struggling to make their albums more and more
commercial in sound and the Gaelic content of each is nearly always
lower or the same as the last. However, they don't seem to be having
much sucess outside Scotland. They are the biggest selling band in
Scotland, and I think Donnie Munro is a very good singer. It's ironic
that Capercaillie have managed about the same sucess with singles as
Runrig yet Capercaillie's single was in Gaelic and a lot more
traditional. Runrig are perceived as too Scottish by many non-Scottish
audiences and their following is very heavily biased towards people
from Scotland or with Scottish connections.
You might wonder why this should be so. You would never hear it offered
as a criticism of Bob Marley that he was "too Jamaican", of Bruce
Springsteen that he is "too American", or of Madness that they were
"too English". With regard to Gaelic, it is a problem peculiar to
English speakers that they are often reluctant to appreciate music in
languages other than their own.
Runrig have played a major part in bringing Scottish music up to date
and reviving the Scottish folk scene, and interest in the Gaelic language.
However, I wish they'd accept that they're not going to have a major
breakthrough in popularity overseas and go back to the feel of their
earlier material. This early material, particularly pre-"Cutter" gets a
better response at concerts in Scotland.
The fan club has all the albums and can be reached at the address above.
Most of the band currently live in the Edinburgh area though Calum and
Donnie both have homes in the Highlands.
There is also an excllent instrumental album called "An ubhal as airde"
played on whistles and synthesisers - this album contains material which
Runrig have either written or recorded. More info on this follows:
The Highest Apple
An ubhal as airde
An intrumental album played by Steve Gwyn Davies (recorders and whistle)
with Sabine Barnes-Rauch (orchestral synthesiser). All songs on this
album have previously been written by or recorded by Runrig.
on Vital Records, 1 Waterloo, Breakish, Isle of Skye, IV42 8QE Scotland
released 1994, available on CD - VITAL CD02 (interesting to find out
what else is in their catalogue!)
it's about 40 mins long and contains 17 tracks (between 35 seconds and
4 mins).
also available from Canan at ca...@smo.uhi.ac.uk
7.99 pounds for cassette (code CSAUAA) or 11.99 for CD (code CDAUAA).
Some bilingual lyrics included.
May also appeal to fans of Enya. This album contains "Clachan Uaine" which
is the only song I know of that Runrig have written but not recorded
themselves (Mairi MacInnes recorded it on Causeway; she also sings on
Heartland)
[25] Information on Capercaillie
http://www.colloquium.co.uk/capercaillie/
Fan club:
Capercaillie Fan Club
Chapmanagement
PO Box 1155
Glasgow
G3 7TW
There is also a fanzine called Sidetaulk. Call Mandy Shanks on
Hopeman 01343- 835194 for more info, or write to her at:
21 Thom St, Hopeman, Elgin, Moray, Scotland IV30 2SS
Capercaillie is pronounced "Cap-ir-cay-lee", not "Cape-r-cay-lee" A
Capercaillie is the largest member of the Grouse family (from the
Gaelic words for Wood Grouse) and is an endangered species.
Capercaillie albums
-------------------
Album #1:Cascade (recorded 1984)
Lineup: Karen Matheson (lead vocal)
Joan MacLachlan (fiddle, vocal)
Marc Duff (Recorder, Whistles, Rauschpfeife)
Shaun Craig (Guitar, Bouzouki)
Martin Macleod (Basses, Fiddle)
Donald Shaw (Accordion, Keyboards, Fiddle)
Published by Taynuilt Records, Highfield, Taynuilt, Argyll, PA35 1JQ
This is the village which the band hail from and it's possible the
record company has some of Karen's earlier recordings when she was
with The Etives. The band met at Oban High School.
This is a really good album, but has no words with it and is only on cassette.
Greentrax do NOT stock it (they used to but no longer)
Album #2: Crosswinds (1987):
No words with this, many copies of the words are
available in books though. Excellent album.
Available on Green Linnet
Album #3: The Blood is strong (1988)
Soundtrack for TV series. Very good tunes (most are quite
short though, as is the album). Lyrics and translations
Album #4: Sidewaulk (1989)
Similar in sound to Crosswinds. The first album with
any English on it.
Full Gaelic and English lyrics supplied
On Green Linnet
At this point the band leave the Green Linnet label and join Survival
records. The fan club starts in a London suburb (graciously promoting a
ceilidh I was singing at in London!) and later moves to the studio in
Glasgow where the band do much of their recording. The sound becomes a
bit more contemporary, the Gaelic content goes down slightly but the
sound remains much more traditional than Runrig
Album #5: Delirium (published 1991)
Coisich a' ru\in (a 400 year old waulking song) from this
album becomes the first ever Scots Gaelic tune to enter the
UK top 40 after it becomes the theme tune for a UK wide TV
programme featuring Prince Charles entitled "A Prince among
islands". Charles appeared on this programme supporting
Gaelic and has since appeared on TV talking in Gaelic.
Album #6: Get Out - remixes and some new material. Worth getting
for the Poll Tax song!
Album #7: Secret People
Lyrics:
The following pointers to sources may be of interest to those seeking
music and/or lyrics to the Gaelic material on Secret People
An Eala Bhan - Gaelic and English words with sol-fa music available in
"Orain nan Gaidheal", Vol 3, Bruce Campbell.
Published by Gairm, 29 Waterloo St, Glasgow G2 6BZ
ISBN 1 871901 27 8 (Ailean Duinn with words, translation and sol-fa
music is in Vol 1, Maighdeanan na h-airidh is in Vol 2).
Hi ri'm bo - 4 part music and Gaelic lyrics only available in "Coisir a'
Mhoid" Vol 2. Available from the Gaelic Books Council, Address in
answer [3]. These are different verses to the ones Capercaillie do,
however.
Tobar Mhoire - Lyrics in Gaelic and English available from Temple
records to accompany Flora MacNeill's album "Craobh nan Ubhal"
Seice Ruraidh, part 1 - no source for this yet
Part 2 - Recorded by na h-oganaich - does anyone know which album and
does it have the words?
Lyrics for "Boneparte" are in the Frequently Asked Songs section
of this FAQ
Album #8: Capercaillie - the "Disco" album
Album #9: To the moon
More info on the Capercaillie website
Some Capercaillie lyrics are in the Frequently Asked Songs section
of this FAQ
[26] Scottish Cultural classes (music, singing, language, history etc)
For the Edinburgh area, contact either
The School of Scottish Studies (Sgoil Eolais na h-Alba),
University of Edinburgh,
27 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LD
(they run a number of summer schools)
Tel: 0131 650 1000
The main work of the dept is with teaching undergraduate and
postgraduate courses in Scottish ethnology (there is a separate
dept of Celtic). They also run summer classes though
or
The Adult Learning Project (ALP), 184 Dalry Rd, Edinburgh,
EH11 2EP Tel: 0131-337 5442
(has about 20 classes and about 300 students in culturally related
evening and day classes)
for Skye, try Sabhal Mor Ostaig (address elsewhere)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk
[27] Gaelic wedding blessing
-- Supplied by Christopher Lau, University of Calgary
Mi\le fa\ilte dhuit le d'bhre/id,
Fad do re/ gun robh thu sla\n.
Mo/ran la\ithean dhuit is si\th,
Le d'mhaitheas is le d'ni\ bhi fa\s.
Translated as:
"A thousand welcomes to you with your marriage kerchief,
may you be healthy all your days. May you be blessed
with long life and peace, may you grow old with
goodness, and with riches."
This is attributed to the Rev. Donald MacLeod, minister of Duirinish,
Skye, Scotland c. 1760.
The bit about the marriage kerchief probably isn't applicable these days,
so you could just ignore it. (any Bards fancy thinking up a suitable
replacement?)
There are Scottish wedding vows with translation elsewhere in this FAQ
[28] Dalriada Celtic society BBS
Information on Arran's only BBS. Here's the details:
Dalriada BBS: (line 1) up to V.42 bis. +44 (0)1770 302049
24 hours Fidonet number 2:259/6 (line 1 only)
(line 2) up to V.42 bis. +44 (0)1770 302532
Celtic file areas - culture, crafts, folklore, myths & tales, etc.
CELTNET Celtic conference network, "What's On" guide etc.
Sysops - Sammy McSkimming, Helen McSkimming, Lorraine MacDonald
Date: Wed, 6 Jul 94 11:05:00 +0000
Organization: ALMAC: Scotland : +44 (0)1324 665371
ALMAC are pleased to announce the availability of information from the
Dalriada Celtic History Society.
It is available (along with a host of other Scottish/Celtic material) on
gopher://almac.co.uk:70/11/
With thanks to Lorraine MacDonald of Dalriada for some excellent work.
Forrest Duncan forrest...@almac.co.uk
ALMAC tel: +44 (0) 1324-666336
141 Bo'ness Rd fax: +44 (0) 1324-665155
Grangemouth FK3 9BS BBS: +44 (0) 1324-665371
[29] The Gaelic for "Frequently Asked Questions"
"Ceistean Minig a Thig" (Scots Gaelic)
"Ceisteanna Minic a Thig" (Irish Gaelic)
There is a saying :
"Is truagh nach ta\inig Minig Nach Tig.
Leath cho minig 's a tha\inig Minig a Thig"
[30] Edinburgh Festival Fringe
postal: 180 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1QS
tel: 0131 226 5257 / 5259
fax: 0131 220 4205
email: ad...@edfringe.org.uk
web: http://www.presence.co.uk/fringe
[new site online now!]
You can view the whole Fringe programme, see and make on-line reviews
and buy tickets through the web site
join the edinburgh festival fringe emailing discussion group:
send the message: subscribe edfringe-list
to majo...@presence.co.uk
[31] Living Tradition.
This is the main magazine for Scottish folk music info, although it
covers other forms of traditional music too. The magazine can be
reached at: living.t...@almac.co.uk (E-mail)
[32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh
The bit that the tourists (and few locals) have ever seen. Mary
King's close, a medieval street under the Royal Mile. Sealed off in
1670. Not generally open to the public, but groups can book access by
arrangement by calling John Wilson on 0131- 662 0039 (early evenings).
Access is through the City Chambers. The section is 60 metres long,
steep, slippery and full of ghosts (!). John's tour's get booked up
several weeks in advance. They last about three hours and are generally
midweek starting about 7pm. The tour covers both the Close and the City
Chambers. A donation of 3 pounds is requested for the tour. John is a
councillor with an interest in local history. Bob Morton also does
tours, but these just cover the Close. Sometimes it is possible to find
a spare slot or two on an existing tour. About 30 people are catered
for at a time.
[33] Primary Literary figures
Robert Burns (details elsewhere
Lewis Grassic Gibbon (author of Sunset Song - my favourite book)
Neil Gunn (particularly recommended is
Highland River/The Silver Darlings)
James Hogg (Confessions of a Justified Sinner)
Sir Walter Scott (The Heart of Midlothian, Waverley)
Robert Louis Stevenson (Kidnapped, Weir of Hermiston)
Norman MacCaig (Collected poems)
Sorley Maclean (From Wood to Ridge)
The greatest Gaelic poet alive today and one of the greatest
ever. Book is bilingual; author's own translations.
Astoundingly powerful stuff.
ISBN 0 09 9887207 (published by Vintage, London)
Boswell and Johnson's tour to the Western Isles?
also writings by David Hume and Adam Smith from the age of the
Scottish Enlightenment
There's a very strong argument which says the best writing in English
right now is from Scotland. 'Trainspotting' is about Edinburgh, just as
much as 'Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner'. But there's a
heap of authors to recommend: Jeff Torrington, James Kelman, Robin
Jenkins, Alistair Gray, William McIlvanney - these are some I like and
frankly, I can't think of any current author whom I would rather read.
[34] Scottish Guide books.
The definitive guide to eating good traditional Scottish food is
"The Taste of Scotland" published by
Taste of Scotland, 33 Melville St, Edinburgh, EH3 7JF
The primary guide to finding out the best things to do, go, eat,
see etc in Scotland is "Scotland the Best". This is an alternative
guide to Scottish culture for both locals and tourists alike. I liked
it so much I bought the book then helped working on the next edition.
http://www.expressmedia.co.uk/main01.htm
For a tourist who might be interested in the history of Scotland, the
Blue Guide to Scotland is indispensible. I have used this book a great
deal, particularly when travelling in the highlands and the west: it is
excellent. It has none of the trendy stuff about where's cool to drink
or eat (like the Rough Guide) but it has a fantastic ammount of
historical detail which brings places and the landscape alive.
On Scotland, The Lonely Planet Guide to Britain is superior to the Rough
Guide to Scotland. And the STB have just re-issued 'Scotland: A Touring
Guide', which lists all the 'heritage attractions' in Scotland.
The Good Food Guide to Britain' is a very good restaurant guide.
The List also publishes very fair guides from time-to-time.
Edinburgh Guides.
Charles McKean's architectural guide to Edinburgh is first class and
Andrew Lownie's Edinburgh: A Literary Guide throws an interesting slant
on the city for anyone interested in these matters. A personal
favorite of mine is Edinburgh: The Graveyeard Guide. Many of the
graveyards offer quite beautiful and unexpected views of the city, and
generally they are excellent places to take drugs and while away the
day.
There is an on-line guide to some Edinburgh restaurants at
http://www.spidacom.co.uk/EDG/
[35] Primary folk music pubs
Edinburgh:
The Ceilidh House
Sandy Bell's
West End Hotel
The Royal Oak (best pub for sing arounds)
Digger's (Wednesdays)
The Pleasance (Edinburgh Folk CLub --Wednesdays
entrance fee but high profile acts)
Scruffy Murphy's
Old Coach Inn (Caledonian beer; Folk Thu's)
Fiddlers Arms
Oxford Bar (Mondays)
Check out the List for what's happening.
http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/
(E-mail: The...@cityscape.co.uk)
[36] What is a Ceilidh
A Ceilidh (pronounced "Kay-lay", emphasis on 1st syllable) is many
things. It derives from the Gaelic word meaning a visit and originally
meant just that (and still does in Gaelic). It can also mean a house
party, a concert or more usually an evening of informal Scottish
traditional dancing to informal music. Ceilidhs in the lowlands tend
to be dances, in the highlands they tend to be concerts. Dances in the
highlands and traditional ceilidhs in the Lowlands are often called
"ceilidh dances". Ceilidh dancing is fundamentally different from
Scottish Country Dancing [See answer 58] in that it is much less formal
and the primary purpose is the enjoyment of doing the dance. Scottish
Country Dancing is much more oriented towards being a demonstration or
exhibition. Ceilidhs are extremely popular indeed with young people and
often attract from a few dozen people to several hundred. There are
world championships for ceilidh bands now (the first winners were Fire
in the Glen, now called Tannas). There are also workshops for ceilidh
bands at The Adult Learning Project, Dalry Road, Edinburgh.
Best places for Ceilidhs are:
Edinburgh: Walpole Hall, Assembly Rooms, Marco's leisure centre,
Cafe Royal, Southside Community Centre, St Bride's centre.
The West End Hotel has leaflets on the noticeboard showing when
ceilidhs are on, or look in the Folk music section of
The List (the Glasgow and Edinburgh what's on guide; out fortnightly
available at most newsagents). http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/
info on Ceilidhs in the folk music section
Glasgow: The Riverside Club. OK place for a ceilidh but prone to being
busy and too much like a nightclub.
There are even bouncers (unheard of at all the good ceilidhs)
A good book for anyone wanting to learn how to do ceilidh dances and play
ceilidh tunes is Let's have a ceilidh by Robbie Shepherd
(well known Radio Scotland presenter of Take the Floor) Price 4.95, 100 pages.
Published by Canongate Press, 14 Frederick St, Edinburgh, EH2 2HB
ISBN 0 86241 412 1
Includes 20 of the most popular dances, plus a selection of music to
go with the dances. There are explanations for the various steps with
diagrams, as well as some notes on the history of dancing.
[37] Best Scottish pubs
To find out where to get the best beer (Real Ale), look in The
Good Beer Guide, available from all major bookshops. Published by
CAMRA. ISBN 1 85249 006 3. Published in October each year.
Edinburgh: Bannerman's; Bert's bar; Bow bar; Canny Man's;
Cumberland Bar; Clark's Bar; Drew Nicol's; Golden Rule; Greenmantle;
Guildford Arms; Halfway House; Hampton Hotel; Holyrood Tavern; Kay's
Bar; K. Jackson's Bar; Leslie's Bar; Malt and Hops; Oxford Bar;
Robbie's Bar; Royal Ettrick Hotel; Smithie's Ale House; Southsider;
Stable Bar; Starbank Inn (smoke free area); Merman, Caledonian Sample Rooms,
Homes Bar; The Cask and Barrel; Mather's; The Cafe Royal, Bennet's.
The Caledonian Brewery (Slateford Road) has a big beer festival in
early June; The biggest beer festival in Scotland is held at
Meadowbank Stadium in early October.
You should note that many recent Sundy paper reviews make the Basement
the 'trendiest pub in Edinburgh'. It also does excellent Mexican food
early evenings.
Glasgow: Athena Taverna; Babbity Bowser; Bon Accord; Boswell Hotel;
Brewery Tap; The Horse shoe; Mitre; Cask & Still; Sloane's; Station Bar;
Tennents; Three Judges; Ubiquitous Chip; Victoria Bar
For information on pubs with no-smoking areas, see Craig's list at:
ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/doc/liberty/general/scot-nonsmoking-pubs.txt
[38] Scottish Monarchs
Kenneth I MacAlpin 843 - 858
Donald I 858 - 862
Constantine I 862 - 877
Aed 877 - 878
Eochaid 878 - 889
Donald II 889 - 900
Constantine II 900 - 943
Malcolm I 943 - 954
Indulf 954 - 962
Dubh 962 - 966
Culen 966 - 971
Kenneth II 971 - 995
Constantine III 995 - 997
Kenneth III 997 - 1005
Malcolm II 1005 - 1034
Duncan I 1034 - 1040
Macbeth 1040 - 1057
Lulach 1057 - 1058
Malcolm III Canmore 1058 - 1093
Donald Ban 1093 - 1094
Duncan II 1094 - 1094
Donald Ban (again) 1094 - 1097
Edgar 1097 - 1107
Alexander I 1107 - 1124
David I 1124 - 1153
Malcolm IV 1153 - 1165
William I 'The Lion' 1165 - 1214
Alexander II 1214 - 1249
Alexander III 1249 - 1286
John Balliol 1292 - 1296
Robert Bruce (Robert I) 1306 - 1329
David II 1329 - 1371
Robert II (the Stewart) 1371 - 1390
Robert III 1390 - 1406
James I 1406 - 1437
James II 1437 - 1460
James III 1460 - 1488
James IV 1488 - 1513
James V 1513 - 1542
Mary (I) 1542 - 1567
James VI 1567 - 1625
Charles I 1625 - 1649
Charles II 1649 - 1685
James VII (II of England) 1685 - 1688
William 'III' & Mary II 1689 - 1694
William 'III' 1694 - 1702
Anne 1702 - 1714
George I 1714 - 1727
George II 1727 - 1760
George III 1760 - 1820
George IV 1820 - 1829
William 'IV' 1829 - 1837
Victoria 1837 - 1901
Edward 'VII' 1901 - 1910
George V 1910 - 1936
Edward 'VIII' 1936
George VI 1936 - 1952
Elizabeth 'II' 1952 -
The Scottish Monarchy merged with the English Monarchy in 1603 when
James VI of Scotland became James I of England and VI of Scotland.
After James VII and II the Scottish numbering system was ignored in
favour of the English one (William III and not William III & II)
[39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland
(a frequent source of argument on the scot.* and ed.* hierarchy).
This survey was conducted by System Three for the
Gaelic Television Committee and
published in July in their 93/94 annual report.
The Gaelic TV programmes are not funded by TV licence money, they
are funded directly from the Government by Act of Parliament.
Unweighted base: 1052.
Figures are percentages
The columns are
1) Agree strongly
2) Agree slightly
3) Neither agree nor disagree
4) Disagree slightly
5) Disagree strongly
6) Don't know
7) Mean score
Questions:
a) There are too many Gaelic programmes on television nowadays
Answers: 11 15 13 36 20 4 -0.40
b) I enjoy watching Gaelic TV programmes, even though I may not
speak Gaelic myself.
Answers: 12 30 12 20 23 4 -0.14
c) Too many Gaelic TV programmes are shown at peak times
Answers: 14 14 13 36 17 6 -0.29
d) It is important that the Gaelic language in Scotland is kept alive
through Gaelic programmes on TV
Answers: 40 35 9 8 5 3 1.00
[40] What does Craig's signature mean?
It is "Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Gha\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e."
and is Scots Gaelic for "Write to me in Gaelic please".
[41] Where can I buy a kilt/Highland accessories
One shop which seems to get recommended frequently is:
Geoffrey (tailor) Highland Crafts Ltd
57-59 High Street (2 doors up from John Knox's house)
Royal Mile
Edinburgh
EH1 1SR
Tel: 0131 557 0256
or in the US
Geoffrey Tailor Highland Crafts
17 Greenwood Dr.
South San Francisco, CA 940080
Tele--1-800-253-7269
They are also always at the Texas Scottish Festival.
Someone added: They have made one of my kilts and are quite good.
Their Edinburgh shop is open 7 days and late on Thursday.
Although it's on the Royal Mile, the prices should be reasonable.
They hire outfits; sell outfits and also sell ex-hire outfits.
Note that women in Scotland don't wear kilts, they wear kilted skirts.
For info on doing the traditional plaid outfit like the costumes in
Braveheart, see http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/john/greatkilt/greatkilt.html
[42] Scottish song books
I'm frequently browsing through bookshops to find good songbooks, but
most of the time they're of the tourist top 40 genre with only the most
popular tunes in. These are the sort of tunes you might hear played at
the Edinburgh tattoo, and not the sort you'd here at a folk concert or
down the pub.
I was at Blackfriars Music yesterday (the "Headquarters" of Scottish
Folk) and got a copy of an excellent book by them called "The Singing
Tradition on Scotland: Book 1, The Birken Tree". This particularly caught
my eye as The Birken Tree was a song which our singing group performed in
a concert a few weeks ago. The book is 3 pounds 50p, has 56 songs and is 64
pages. All the songs are Scottish, have staff music supplied, as well as
a glossary of Scots words, notes on the songs and notes for guitarists.
There's the usual tourist songs such as The Lewis Bridal Song (Mairi's
Wedding), Scotland the Brave and The Skye Boat Song, but the majority of
songs are of the type that folk artists would record or which you would
here down the pub. There's about 10 by Robert Burns. Unusually for book
not written for the Gaelic market, there is a Gaelic song "Cumha
Mhic Criomain" = MacCrimmon's Lament.
Blackfriars Music specialise in folk music and bagpipe music and sell
instruments, records and books. The also publish the "Scottish Folk
Arts Directory", the "yellow pages" of the Scottish folk scene detailing
festivals, artists, record labels, societies, radio programmes, folk pubs
etc etc.
The 1994/95 edition is published next week. The 93/94 edition was 70 pages.
Blackfriars Music can be reached at:
Blackfriars Music
49 Blackfriars St
Edinburgh
EH1 1NB
Scotland
Tel: 031 557 3090
(if you are visiting, the shop is open 7 days and is near The Scandic Crown
hotel on the Royal Mile).
Another good book is "The Trefoil Song Book". This is a Scottish version
of Rise up Singing. It has Scottish songs as well as non-Scottish
songs. The lyrics are supplied together with chord sequences and chord
charts for guitar.
The book has about 150 songs and is 63 A4 pages. To order one, contact
The Trefoil Centre, Gogarbank, Edinburgh, EH12 9DA, Scotland
Tel: 031 339 3148. The book is 2 pounds 50p plus postage.
The Trefoil centre organises holidays for the handicapped, is a charity,
and proceeds from the sales of the book go towards continuing the work
of the centre.
The Feis movement (Feisean nan Gaidheal) has a songbook due out soon
which I've seen draught versions of and it looks excellent for anyone
interested in Gaelic song. Music (staff format) and translations available
for all the songs which range from the traditional to the new. See answer
50 for address.
[43] Books for learning the fiddle
Failte gu Fidheall - The Scottish Folk Fiddle tutor, Book 1.
(This book is in English with a bilingual Gaelic-English introduction)
A Comprehensive guide for beginners
Compiled and arranged by Christine Martin and Anne Hughes
Published by Taigh na Teud (Harpstring house)
Address: 13 Breacais Ard, Isle of Skye, Scotland, IV42 8PY
Published 1992, ISBN 1 871931 90 8
Craig Cockburn
They also publish "Ceilidh collections", "Ceol na Fidhle" (=music of the
fiddle) and "Session Tunes".
The book is about 5 pounds and is 42 A4 pages
There is also a demonstration tape to accompany the book, available from
the publishers.
This is a really good book with one of the best selections of tunes
(Highland, Lowland and others) I've seen in any book.
[44] Whisky (whiskey)
Try the whisky www page at
http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/staff/jhb/whisky/index.html
Whisky is the spelling used in Scotland. Whiskey is the spelling
used in Ireland, the US and some other countries. People very rarely call
whisky "Scotch" in Scotland, they either ask for it by brand name
or ask for any malt, or just ask for a whisky. The word "scotch" is
used though (scotch is an appellation). A single malt scotch must fulfill
three requirements:
i) It must be the product of only one distillery
ii) It must be made exclusively from barley malt
iii) It must be made in Scotland.
and, in order to be sold under the description "Scotch Whisky",
it must by law be at least three years old.
Highland malt whisky must be made in an area north west of a line which
passes near Dunblane, my home town. It includes both Deanston and
Blackford, the adjacent towns to the west and north of Dunblane.
The definitive book on Malt Whiskies is:
Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion
A Connoisseur's Guide to the Malt Whiskies of Scotland
Published by Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 9 Henrietta St, London, WC2E 8PS
The ISBN for the 1995 edition is 0 7513 0146 9 The price is now UKP12.99
240 pages, hardback
Covers over 250 malts from over 120 distilleries with full tasting notes.
Includes all well known brands plus rare and specialist bottlings
Includes rating system for both the whisky and the distillery.
Includes alphabetic index, and list of distilleries (with phone numbers)
that offer tours.
The brands that Jackson rates most highly are:
Balvenie, Lagavulin, Glenlivet and Highland Park.
The best selling single malt in Scotland is "Glenmorangie", pronounced
to rhyme with "orangey" (stress on the 2nd syllable of Glen-mor-an-gie).
This word comes from the Gaelic for "Glen of Great Tranquility". The best
selling single malt scotch in the world is Glenfiddich (=Glen of the Deer).
My personal favourites are Highland Park (12 years old, from Orkney).
Jackson rates this as "The greatest all-rounder in the world of whisky".
For special occasions, I'd recommend MacAllan 18 year old. Astounding stuff!
[45] The Scottish Youth Hostels Association
The best way to see Scotland if you've got a tight budget. Even if you
can afford more luxurious accomodation (accomodation is always singular
in Britain), Youth Hostels are definitely worth using. All ages use them
and cost is typically 5-10 pounds a night. Most of them have lights out at
11pm, except those in large cities which are often open later.
Contact for more info, to book accomodation etc
The Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SHYA)
7 Glebe Crescent
Stirling
Scotland
FK8 2JA
Tel: 01786 451181
Joining the SHYA, (#2.50 ages 5-17, #6.00 ages 18+) entitles you to use
Youth Hostels all over the world
[46] The Ramblers Association
A UK wide organisation. Produces a book "The Ramblers yearbook and
accomodation guide" which is a good source of low cost accomodation
(typically 10 - 20 pounds per person per night)
ISBN 0-900613-75-0
Available from:
The Ramblers' Association, 1/5 Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2XX
Tel: 0171 582 6878
[47] Books for hillwalkers
2 that spring to mind are:
Ralph Storer's "100 best routes on Scottish mountains", Warner books.
A division of Little, Brown and Company (UK) Ltd, 165 Great Dover St,
London, SE1 4YA
ISBN 0 7515 0300 2
223 pages, includes a variety of mountains throughout Scotland.
Mountains classified by grade; terrain; navigation difficulty and
seriousness. Includes diagrams and Gaelic translations and phonetics
Ordnance Survey: "Place names on maps of Scotland and Wales"
ISBN 0-319-00223-3
24 pages of info on Gaelic, Norse and Welsh placenames, meanings,
grammar, common Anglicisations. V useful for translating many place
names in remote areas.
[48] What is a Munro/Corbett?
A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 3,000ft. There are 277. There must
be a vertical drop of 500ft between two peaks for them to both qualify
as Munros. A Top is a mountain over 3,000ft not separated by a vertical
drop of 500ft from a Munro. The name Munro comes from Munros tables
compiled by someone called Munro, but there have been some modifications
since the table was first compiled. A Corbett is a separate mountain
over 2,500ft. The Inacessible Pinnacle on Skye is the only Munro to
require climbing equipment
[49] Legal questions
Scotland has its own legal system and its own laws.
Answers to most common Scottish consumer questions can be found in:
Your Rights and Responsibilities, A personal guide for Scottish Consumers.
published by HMSO and the Scottish Consumer Council.
ISBN 0 11 495205 1, 4 pounds 95p
Telephone orders: 0171 873 9090
[50] Gaelic festivals
Contact:
Arthur Cormack
Feisean nan Gaidheal
5 Caolshra\id Mhicheil
Inbhir Nis (Inverness)
Scotland, IV2 3HQ
Tel: 01463 226472 Fax: 01463 237470
[51] Gaelic playgroups
Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Araich (CNSA)
53 Sra\id na h-Eaglais (53 Church Street)
Inbhir Nis (Inverness)
IV1 1DR
Tel: 01463 225469
www.scotnet.co.uk/cnsa/index.html
There are about 100 pre-school playgroups
throughout Scotland through the medium
of Gaelic
[52] Scotch
This is a term used to mean various things, but is considered mildly
offensive when referring to people - generally use "Scots" for people
and "Scottish" for everything else. Whisky is usually not referred to
as "Scotch" - see note on whisky.
Historically, the word was widely used in Scotland as a adjective
meaning the same as "scottish". In fact, it was not until
~1925 that the Scotch Education Department became the Scottish Education
Department.
[53] Plaid
Plaid (pronounced "plad") is the name of the material which is used for
making kilts. It isn't the name of the pattern on the material, this is
called "tartan". In the US, plaid is sometimes pronounced "plaid" and
usually refers to the material - plaid and tartan are interchangeable
terms there, they aren't in Scotland.
Also see: ftp://members.aol.com/sdullman/programs/tartan20.zip
- displays about 60 tartans
[54] Scottish URLs
As good a place as any to start, try the Almac http site.
Includes the Glasgow Herald's homepage.
http://leapfrog.almac.co.uk
University of Stirling's WWW Home Page in Gaelic
http://www.stir.ac.uk/gaelic_index.html
www-2nd-cs.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wdw/Afalonrhithwir.html
John Andrea's WWW page of tartans
http://www.stfx.ca/people/jandrea/projects/tartans.html
The alternative Scottish FAQ from Scot.general
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/GonadoVision
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/languages/gaelic/Scc/scot.general
http://www.eolas.co.uk/gguide/eu/gb/scotland/gguide.htm
http://www.gla.ac.uk/World [Needs that capital 'W']
For info regarding Glasgow's environs including hotels, online papers,
theatres, etc. Contains links to places wider afield in Scotland too.
[55] alt.scottish.clans
A group has been created called alt.scottish.clans. The purpose of
this group is to discuss the folklore, traditions and history of the
various Scottish clans. Current clan gatherings and announcements will
also be found here. Anyone interested in this sort of thing is invited
to join in the discussions.
[56] Edinburgh Folk Festival
Contact address:
Edinburgh Folk Festival, PO BOX 528, Edinburgh, EH10 4DU
Tel (+44) (0)131 556 3181, fax (+44) (0)131 556 4177.
The programme is *FREE*
Dave Francis is the organiser
dfra...@edinfolk.demon.co.uk
Pre-festival box office:
Queen's Hall, Clerk St, Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 668 2019, Fax: 0131 667 7776
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/edinfolk.htm
[57] Postgraduate Courses in Celtic Studies
Dept of Celtic, The University of Edinburgh, David Hume Tower,
George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JX
Fax: 0131 650 6536
Tel: 0131 650 3622
contact: Professor William Gillies
Degrees available:
PhD (min 3 years); MLitt (min two years); MSc/Diploma (one year/nine months)
Entrance qualifications for all three is a good Honours degree in Celtic
studies or a related or relevant discipline, but I understand each case is
considered on its individual merits.
The MSc/Diploma is based around a series of prescribed specialisms
including literary, linguistic and historical options of which
candidates chose one. There isn't much specific info on the content of
the other courses
The Dept of Celtic was founded in 1882 and is the oldest in Scotland.
Current members include Prof William Gillies (head of dept), Ronald
Black and Robert Mullally. Thomas Clancy (British Academy Post-Doctoral
fellow) and Allan MacDonald also take part in teaching. Nerys Ann
Jones, Kenneth MacKinnon and Cathair O Dochartaigh are Honorary Fellows
of the Faculty of Arts in the field of Celtic Studies.
The other two Celtic Departments in Scotland are at Aberdeen University
and Glasgow University. It is said that Aberdeen, then Edinburgh then
Glasgow give their students the best opportunities to leave as fluent
Gaelic speakers. Edinburgh also has the School of Scottish Studies which
is the world centre for ethnology, folklore, traditions, customs etc (covers
the whole of Scotland, not just the Highlands)
[58] What is Scottish Country Dancing?
Contributed by Anselm Lingnau
Scottish Country Dancing is a modern form of the `country dancing' popular
in England and Scotland in the 18th century. It involves groups of six to
ten people (most of the time) of mixed sex (most of the time) -- a `set'
-- dancing to the driving strains of reels, jigs and strathspeys played
on the fiddle, accordion, flute, piano, drums, etc. (no bagpipes, mostly!).
The dance often combines solo figures for the `first couple' in the set
with movements for all the dancers, although there is considerable
variation -- there are over 7000 different dances catalogued, of which
maybe 1000 or so are of lasting and non-local importance. Many of these
dances derive from traditional sources such as old manuscripts and printed
dance collections, but a lot have been devised in the fairly recent past,
say the last fifty years or so. This fusion of the traditional and the
modern as well as its ongoing evolution are part of the attraction of
Scottish Country Dancing.
Think of SCD as a cross between square or contra dance (although there is
no caller) and ballet; there are about a dozen basic figures which will get
you through quite a number of dances, although many dances have their own
quirks and specialities which make them unique and fun to dance. There is
also more emphasis on `steps' than in, say, Ceilidh dancing, but the basic
technique can be learned at a week-end workshop or through a couple of
months' worth of practice evenings once a week. Even though there are so
many dances, you don't have to learn any of them by heart if you don't
want to -- the programmes for balls and social evenings are usually
published well before the event, so everybody can check their crib sheets.
Also, at the event itself dances are often recapitulated or even sometimes
walked through slowly before the music starts (although local custom may
vary).
SCD is a very social form of dancing, not only because you get to dance
with seven or so people at once instead of just with one partner (smiles
and eye contact are almost mandatory, and if you want there is a lot of
opportunity for relaxed `flirting') but also because there are workshops,
balls and social dances being held in places all over the world. It is
nice to be able to travel and join a SCD group for a night nearly
everywhere you go.
When country dancing came to Scotland in the 18th century, it was at first
popular among the townspeople in places like Edinburgh, but spread
throughout Scotland (at varying pace) and thrived there even when, during
the 19th and early 20th century, more modern dances like the Waltz,
One-step etc. became fashionable in other places. Country dancing in
Scotland was also influenced by other Scottish dances such as Highland
Reels and so acquired a particular `Scottish' flavour.
In 1923, the Scottish Country Dance Society (SCDS, later `Royal' Scottish
Country Dance Society or RSCDS) was founded in order to preserve
traditional Scottish country dancing. Its patrons went out to watch
people dance and collect the dances for publication. In the process,
they also tried to reconstruct and publish dances from old manuscripts
that were no longer actually danced, and standardized technical points
like steps and footwork (which the common folk rarely bothered a lot
about). It is debatable whether this standardization was actually a good
thing as far as preserving the tradition of Scottish country dancing was
concerned, but it has certainly done a lot for making SCD into something
that can be enjoyed internationally. In fact, Scottish Country Dancing is
probably more alive today than it ever was in the past, and this is
to a large extent due to the efforts of the RSCDS.
Today the RSCDS numbers about 25.000 members and has `branches' in
various countries all over the world. Lots of SCD groups are affiliated
with the RSCDS even though they aren't actually branches of the Society,
and even more people enjoy SCD without being members of the RSCDS
(or any group) at all.
The RSCDS is at
12 Coates Crescent telephone: 0131-225 3854
Edinburgh EH3 7AF fax: 0131-225 7783
Scotland
As far as we know they don't have e-mail.
There is an Internet mailing list (not affiliated with or endorsed by
the RSCDS) for discussing Scottish Country dancing and music, which goes by
the name of `Strathspey'; send a message containing a `Subject: help'
to `strathspe...@tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de'. There is also a
World-Wide Web server containing an archive of the mailing list as well as
lots of other interesting items connected with SCD at
http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/strathspey/
(Yes, that's in Germany. So much for the international character of SCD!)
[59] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/posadh.htm
Source: Sabhal Mor Ostaig
[60] Scottish Wedding Information
http:/www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
There is a link off the bottom of this page to the Weddings info on
the mefaq.html page
[61] Declaration of Arbroath
Source: Charles Macgregor
The Declaration of Arbroath (English Translation)
Edinburgh Information
http://www.efr.hw.ac.uk/EDC/Edinburgh.html
The Declaration of Arbroath (English Translation)
To the most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord John, by divine
providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church, his
humble and devout sons Duncan, Earl of Fife, Thomas Randolph, Earl of
Moray, Lord of Man and of Annandale, Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March,
Malise, Earl of Strathearn, Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, William, Earl of
Ross, Magnus, Earl of Caithness and Orkney, and William, Earl of
Sutherland; Walter, Steward of Scotland, William Soules, Butler of
Scotland, James, Lord of Douglas, Roger Mowbray, David, Lord of
Brechin, David Graham, Ingram Umfraville, John Menteith, guardian of
the earldom of Menteith, Alexander Fraser, Gilbert Hay, Constable of
Scotland, Robert Keith, Marischal of Scotland, Henry St Clair, John
Graham, David Lindsay, William Oliphant, Patrick Graham, John Fenton,
William Abernethy, David Wemyss, William Mushet, Fergus of Ardrossan,
Eustace Maxwell, William Ramsay, William Mowat, Alan Murray, Donald
Campbell, John Cameron, Reginald Cheyne, Alexander Seton, Andrew
Leslie, and Alexander Straiton, and the other barons and freeholders
and the whole community of the realm of Scotland send all manner of
filial reverence, with devout kisses of his blessed feet.
Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of
the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the
Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from
Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of
Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most
savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however
barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of
Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still
live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly
destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the
Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many
victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear
witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their
kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own
royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner. The high qualities
and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain
glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our
Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them,
even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the
first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that
faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles -- by calling,
though second or third in rank -- the most gentle Saint Andrew, the
Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his
protection as their patron forever.
The Most Holy Fathers your predecessors gave careful heed to these
things and bestowed many favours and numerous privileges on this same
kingdom and people, as being the special charge of the Blessed Peter's
brother. Thus our nation under their protection did indeed live in
freedom and peace up to the time when that mighty prince the King of
the English, Edward, the father of the one who reigns today, when our
kingdom had no head and our people harboured no malice or treachery and
were then unused to wars or invasions, came in the guise of a friend
and ally to harass them as an enemy. The deeds of cruelty, massacre,
violence, pillage, arson, imprisoning prelates, burning down
monasteries, robbing and killing monks and nuns, and yet other outrages
without number which he committed against our people, sparing neither
age nor sex, religion nor rank, no one could describe nor fully imagine
unless he had seen them with his own eyes.
But from these countless evils we have been set free, by the help of
Him Who though He afflicts yet heals and restores, by our most tireless
Prince, King and Lord, the Lord Robert. He, that his people and his
heritage might be delivered out of the hands of our enemies, met toil
and fatigue, hunger and peril, like another Macabaeus or Joshua and
bore them cheerfully. Him, too, divine providence, his right of
succession according to or laws and customs which we shall maintain to
the death, and the due consent and assent of us all have made our
Prince and King. To him, as to the man by whom salvation has been
wrought unto our people, we are bound both by law and by his merits
that our freedom may be still maintained, and by him, come what may, we
mean to stand. Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to
make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English,
we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a
subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was
well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us
remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English
rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are
fighting, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives
up but with life itself.
Therefore it is, Reverend Father and Lord, that we beseech your
Holiness with our most earnest prayers and suppliant hearts, inasmuch
as you will in your sincerity and goodness consider all this, that,
since with Him Whose vice-gerent on earth you are there is neither
weighing nor distinction of Jew and Greek, Scotsman or Englishman, you
will look with the eyes of a father on the troubles and privation
brought by the English upon us and upon the Church of God. May it
please you to admonish and exhort the King of the English, who ought to
be satisfied with what belongs to him since England used once to be
enough for seven kings or more, to leave us Scots in peace, who live in
this poor little Scotland, beyond which there is no dwelling-place at
all, and covet nothing but our own. We are sincerely willing to do
anything for him, having regard to our condition, that we can, to win
peace for ourselves. This truly concerns you, Holy Father, since you
see the savagery of the heathen raging against the Christians, as the
sins of Christians have indeed deserved, and the frontiers of
Christendom being pressed inward every day; and how much it will
tarnish your Holiness's memory if (which God forbid) the Church suffers
eclipse or scandal in any branch of it during your time, you must
perceive. Then rouse the Christian princes who for false reasons
pretend that they cannot go to help of the Holy Land because of wars
they have on hand with their neighbours. The real reason that prevents
them is that in making war on their smaller neighbours they find
quicker profit and weaker resistance. But how cheerfully our Lord the
King and we too would go there if the King of the English would leave
us in peace, He from Whom nothing is hidden well knows; and we profess
and declare it to you as the Vicar of Christ and to all Christendom.
But if your Holiness puts too much faith in the tales the English tell
and will not give sincere belief to all this, nor refrain from
favouring them to our prejudice, then the slaughter of bodies, the
perdition of souls, and all the other misfortunes that will follow,
inflicted by them on us and by us on them, will, we believe, be surely
laid by the Most High to your charge.
To conclude, we are and shall ever be, as far as duty calls us, ready
to do your will in all things, as obedient sons to you as His Vicar;
and to Him as the Supreme King and Judge we commit the maintenance of
our cause, casting our cares upon Him and firmly trusting that He will
inspire us with courage and bring our enemies to nought. May the Most
High preserve you to his Holy Church in holiness and health and grant
you length of days.
Given at the monastery of Arbroath in Scotland on the sixth day of the
month of April in the year of grace thirteen hundred and twenty and the
fifteenth year of the reign of our King aforesaid.
Endorsed: Letter directed to our Lord the Supreme Pontiff by the
community of Scotland.
[62] Gaelic newspapers
Scotland:
Guth na Ga\idhlig
The subscription desk
Highland News Group
Henderson Road
Inverness
IV1 1SP
Nova Scotia and Scotland
Am Braighe
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/
[63] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English)
Seo agad doigh airson aran a cho\caireadh
<Here's a Gaelic recipie for bread - takes about 2-3 hours total. We
make this frequently, it's quite straightforward
English follows>
Aran Sgi\re Raoird
Cungaidh:
Aran:
dusan unnsa flu\r-bracha donn
coig unnsaichean flu\r geal la\idir
spa\in-ti\ de shalann
spa\in-ti\ de shiu\car
spa\in-bhu\ird de cho\than ghearrte
spa\in-bhu\ird de shi\l neo\inean-gre\ine
seachd gramaichean de bheirm
Comhdachadh:
ugh
leth spa\in-ti\ de shalann
da\ unnsa-bhu\rn de bhainne
si\l de cheann choilich dheirg no si\l sasamaidh
Ceuman:
Cuir an cungaidh gu le\ir le che\ile le tri\ ceud ml de bhu\rn bhla\th.
Taoisnich fad deich mionaidean e agus de\an tri\ roinntean dheth. Fill na
roinntean le che\ile mar fhigheachan. Measgaich an ugh, salann agus am
bainne le che\ile agus comhdaich an taois leis. Cuir dhan an darna taobh
fad leth-uair a thi\de gus e\irigh e. (Feumaidh e a bhith da\ uiread na
mo\)
Nuair a tha an taois air e\irigh, comhdaich e leis a' bhainne agus an
ugh a-rithist. Faodar si\l de cheann choilich dheirg, no si\l-sasamaidh
a chur air cuideachd.
Cuir e dhan an a\mhainn, aig 230C. mar tha, fad deich mionaidean air fhichead.
<English>
Nut bread
12 Oz Malted brown flour
5 Oz strong white flour
1 tsp salt, sugar
1 tbsp olive oil (or veg oil), chopped nuts, sunflower seeds
1 pkg yeast (7g)
sesame or poppy seeds.
Brush on: 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Oz milk
Beat lightly and apply as directed below
Mix all ingredients together with 300ml of warm water (approx 125ml boiling
and 175ml cold). Kneed for at least 10 mins. Shape and cover with "brush on".
Cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm, draft free area to double
original size. Prior to cooking re-apply "brush on" and sprinkle with sesame
seeds or poppy seeds. Cook for 30 mins at 230C (450F) in a preheated oven.
[64] European Community Folk Culture
http://www.worldserver.pipex.com/nc/edinmedia
[65] Scots Gaelic products and catalog
Am Muileann Dubh
A' Chatalog Ghaidhlig
Sraid a' Mhargaid
Baile Dhubhthaich (Tain)
Siorrachd Rois (Ross-shire)
Scotland
IV19 1AR
WWW pages at http://www.catalyst-highlands.co.uk/muileann/dubh/
[66] Dog commands in Gaelic
Heel - gu sail ( nas fhearr saoilidh mi na 'sail' fhein)
Sit - suidh!
Stay - fuirich! ( fan! mas e Gaidhlig Earraghaidheil a tha sibh ag
iarraidh math dh'fhaoidte; Cha bhitheadh 'stad' freagarrach, agus cha
bhitheadh 'feith' uamhasach nadarra - 'a' feitheamh' = 'waiting')
Come (here) - trobhad!; tiugainn! (Chan urrainn dhuibh 'thig' a radh
leis fhein - feumaidh tu facal eile comhla ris, mar eiseamplar 'thig
an-seo'.)
Fetch - faigh (sin/seo/e)
(Get) down - sios! ( Chan e ordugh a tha san fhacal 'dol' - dh'fhaodadh
sibh 'gabh sios' no 'sios leat' a radh.)
(Be) quiet - bi samhach!
Attack - gabh chuige!; gabh air/oirre etc.! (Chan e ordugh a tha san
fhacal 'ionnsaigh'. Co-dhiu, tha mi 'n dochas nach bi sibh feumach air
an ordugh seo!!)
Stop that - sguir dheth! ('sgurr' = mountain peak)
?Off? - chan eil mi a' tuigsinn carson a chleachdadh duine seo an aite
'down', agus co-dhiu chan e an aon rud a tha ann an 'air falbh' - ach
'having gone', no 'somebody is away somewhere'.
Mu dheireadh, seo facal eile a bhiodh feumail, 's docha - ma tha sibh
a' bruidhinn ri cuilean, canaidh sibh "A Chuilidh" - car coltach ri
'doggy' ann am Beurla.
[67] Guide to Gaelic Scotland
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/cnag/failte/
[68] Kirking of the tartans
From: T.M...@mailbox.uq.oz.au (Tom McRae)
Subject: Re: SPREADING THE WORD
To give you an idea of the pseudo Scottery we have to put up with here I'm
appending something I put out over on H-ALBION British History Group. Not a
single respondent cited an example of this silly bit o' Brigadoonery in
Scotland. My name's mud with the local so-called Clans Congress, if they
only knew I've hardly started yet. I'm currently doing a long series of
articles on the early Scottish National Movement and am just recovering
from the trauma of doing 3 articles covering the West Coast Insurrection of
1820 and its ghastly repercussions. I'm quite narked with the S.N.P. as I
wrote to them in Edinburgh outlining my project and asking for information
on its history for inclusion in later articles. Three months later I have
still to receive the courtesy of a reply. Seems they've yet to get their
act together.
Slainthe
Tom Mc Rae
KIRKING OF THE TARTANS
On a Sunday close to St Andrew's Day this ceremony is practised in at
least Sydney and Brisbane. Organised by the local Clans Congress it
involves clan leaders marching into some presbyterian or uniting church
in strict order of precedence. (I neither know, nor care who follows
who). They are led in by someone carrying a saltire flag alongside
another with the Australian flag. Clan tartans are worn and so-called
clan banners are carried in the procession. Highlight of the ceremony
is when wee bits of tartan are brought out and prayed over or blessed.
If people enjoy themselves marching up and down like this I've no
objection. What concerns me is the mythos developed around the rite. It
all started, so the story goes, when the tartan was banned after the
fall of Bonnie Prince Charlie. To cherish its memory parishioners took
wee bits of the stuff to kirk every sabbath to have it blessed, the
ceremony has persisted up until today.
Nice tale, but garbage!
First off Charlie's army consisted largely of Roman Catholics and
Scottish Episcopaleans. Had they won the Kirk would probably have been
oppressed yet again. Presbyterians of the time had no truck with the
Jacobites, they'd suffered too much already at the hands of Stewart
kings.
Second point. Blessing of bits of cloth, or anything else inanimate,
was anathema to all good Calvinists. Any kirk goers practising such
rites would have been severely dealt with.
Thirdly. No native born Scot I've discussed the matter with recalls
such a ceremony in Scotland. Any group stupid enough to act out such a
pantomime would have been laughed out of the church.
Fourth I've searched historical records but could find no mention of
the ceremony. In desperation I consulted the encyclopaedic "Dictionary
of the Scottish Language" There are dozens of entries on tartan and on
kirk and kirking; not one makes mention of this rite. I then went to a
dictionary of the older Scottish tongue, once again no records.
Finally. If this is true where are all those wee bits of tartan? Surely
they' have become cherished family heirlooms. After the banning the
tartan sticks used to mark out traditional weaves were destroyed; we
don't know what pre '45 tartans looked like, apart from a few
paintings. Those we use today are post 1780. Relics of the early
tartans would be invaluable to Scottish history so where have they all
gone to?
I wrote the whole thing up in the newsletter of our Scottish radio
programme group here in Brisbane. In my article I promised that if
anyone could give me proof of this ceremony's antiquity I would gladly
recant. Six months later the sole response was a letter from the
Secretary of our local Clans Congress complaining bitterly at my unfair
attack. I answered his letter gently pointing out the questionable
origins of the Kirking but never received reply. My main objection is
the ridiculous light in which this sort of Brigadoonery puts real Scots
culture. Best example of this was some years back in Sydney. After the
Kirking ceremony all the clan leaders and their retinues marched from
the kirk to New South Wales' Upper House of Parliament, In they
marched, banners awave, up to the bar of the House. Members were
discussing some legislation and totally ignored them, after standing
like gallahs for 10 minutes or so all they could do was about turn and
march out again.
I seem to have traced the origins of the thing to New York State,
U.S.A. where a presbyterian minister invented it as a war bond scheme.
Any information from The States, Canada, etc would be appreciated. Best
of all can any Scots tell me I'm wrong and that the ceremony is a
genuine hand me down from the days of The '45?
Regards Tom Mc Rae
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Tom Mc Rae Home (011617)3713966
Entomology Department Work (011617)3652196
University of Queensland Fax (011617)3651922
BRISBANE Qld 4072
AUSTRALIA
Email t.m...@mailbox.uq.oz.au
[69] Cape Breton music mailing list
send a mail to: cb-m...@chatsubo.com
subject: subscribe
[70] Learning Scots
Whit's Scots?
jouk, gulravae, stech, fushionless, ill-setten, nieve, orrals, pley, incomin,
havers, clamihewit, murlin, upbring, hant, pleesure, bravity, fantoush,
smeddum, scunner, gilliegaupus, thrawn, glaikit, airtit, bogshaivelt,
flouers, eedjitm lintie, champit, pauchtie, dour, nainsel, pech, haun, ....
It's our ain tung!
The Scots Language Society
exists to promote Scots in literature, drama, the media, education and
every day usage. Since Scots was once the state language of Scotland, it
is a valid part of our heritage and the Society recognises that it should
be able to take its place as a language of Scotland, along with Gaelic and
English.
As well as promoting the language and lobbying education authorities and
the media for greater use of Scots, the society publishes the twice-yearly
"Lallans", the magazine for writing in Scots (free to society members) plus
a newsletter in Scots. It holds an annual conference, which has been
addressed by eminent writers, actors, journalists, musicians, television
presenters, scholars and others, and runs competitions encouraging both
adults and children to write in Scots.
The society can provide advice on the language to theatre companies, schools,
etc.
The society is a registered charity.
Did ye ken?
> The Anglo-Saxons said "Hoose" for "House", "Sang" for "Song" and "Maist"
for "Most"
> In Scotland, even speakers of Standard English use Scots words, idioms
and grammatical constructions without even realising it. Think about
"Janitor" (care-taker) or "I've got a cold" (I've a cold) or "Outwith"
(Outside)
> Scots was once the state language of the kingdom of Scotland, used by
all classes for all purposes
> Many of Scotland's greatest writers have used the Scots language to
express many of their most profound thoughts and ideas. eg. Robert
Henryson (c 1430-1506), Robert Burns (1759-1796), Robert Louis Stevenson
(1850-1894), Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978).
> A great many common Scots words have cosmopolitan origins, such as 'Skank'
(drain, grating) from French, 'Scone' from Dutch, 'Kirk' from Old Norse and
'Janitor' from Latin.
> Today, Scots is a living language, in use outwith the Gaeltacht. It is
recognised as a seperate language, even in the European Union where it is
represented by the bureau for lesser used languages.
Jyne us nou!
The Scots Language Society
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Fax: 01738 646505
Local branches of the society are to be found in Aberdeen, Edinburgh,
Glasgow and Perth.
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[71] What's on
The Lowlands (Glasgow/Edinburgh area)
http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/
The Highlands
http://www.scot-highlands.com
[72] Robert Burns links
www.cyberiacafe.net/burns/
www.open.gov.uk/nithsdal/burnsidx.htm
www.almac.co.uk/es/burns/index.html
www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~darsie/burns.html
www.discribe.ca/world/scotland/culture.html
www.cc.gatec.edu/grads/b/Gary.N.Boone/love_in_letters.html
www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/315.html
www.lexmark.com/data/poem/poem.html
www.scotborders.co.uk/burns/
sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/Scots/burns.html
[73] Scottish music information
The Scottish music information centre has compiled a book with over
3,000 entries giving details of Scottish music performers (classical,
early music, folk and traditional jazz), music education, sources of
funding, suppliers and services, venues, clubs and promoters, festivals
and competitions. The book also has sections on young peoples' music,
music from other cultures and publicity and marketing.
Data:
ISBN 0 9525489 0 9 paperback
210mm x 148mm 320pp 12.99 pounds
published 30-Nov-95
Available from:
Scottish music information centre
1 Bowmont Gardens
Glasgow
G12 9LR
Tel: 0141 334 6393
Fax: 0141 337 1161
postage and packing is an additional 1.38 pounds for the UK. Dunno about
further afield. They don't appear to take credit cards.
I've seen a copy of the book and it looks excellent for people wanting
to book artists for gigs and artists looking for venues and promoters etc.
[74] The Celtic Cross
It isn't Christian nor Celtic - the Celtic cross predates Christ by at
least 1,000 years and the arrival of Celts in Scotland by at least
1,500. The stones at Callanish are laid in the shape of a Celtic cross.
It is possible the Christians took the cross symbol from the Celts or
Megalithic peoples but certainly not that the Celts took the symbol
from the Christians.
[75] Quangos
(Quasi-autonomous non governmental organisations - now called
non-departmental public bodies apparantly)
If you think that quangos are over dominated by politicians of a
certain political persuation - here's your chance to go on one
yourself: Write to the Scottish Office and ask for the list of
Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The address is: Room 237, St Andrew's
House, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 3DG Tel: 0131 244 4999 Fax: 0131 244
2683. You will be asked about your political persuations when you
join - this is not used for selection but is simply used for
statistical analysis (do you believe that?)
[76] OBEs, honorific titles, etc
John Major is attempting to award knighthoods, OBEs, MBEs etc to more
members of the general public. If you know of someone who is worthy of
an award then just write to 10 Downing St, Whitehall and ask for
details. You get back a 4 page form to fill in.
[77] Waulking songs
Article by Craig Cockburn
Waulking is a process for fulling Harris tweed (making it
more airtight). The word 'waulking' is a Scots word from the 14th
century meaning the same as "full" in English. The waulking process
not only fulls the tweed but also shrinks it slightly.
There are many individuals and groups who have recorded a waulking song
or two on an album of Gaelic music, but there are three albums of
exclusively waulking songs which may be of interest:
1) Orain Luaidh - Waulking songs
Published 1986 by the Harris Tweed Association (sorry no address)
This is an excellent tape and has a 29 page A5 book with it which has
lyrics for every song, a translation and some notes. There is a 5 page
introduction which gives more information and additional reference material.
Most of the contributions are from the Western Isles although one is
from Cape Breton
2) and 3) both published by Greentrax records
Cockenzie Business Centre, Edinburgh Road, Cockenzie, East Lothian EH32 0HL
Tel: 01875 814155 Fax 01875 813345
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm
2) Waulking songs from Barra
This is published in the excellent "Scottish tradition" series which is
essential for anyone really interested in authentic Scottish
traditional music, particularly from an academic standpoint. This
series is produced with the School of Scottish Studies, part of
Edinburgh University and the world's foremost authority on Scottish
ethnology. All the recordings (which cover both Highland, Lowland and
Shetland traditions) have extensive books and notes to accompany them.
The cassettes are not general mass market music and the song ones are
all unaccompanied. They are however outstanding and in particular
William Matheson's Gaelic Bards and Minstrels is incredible. I don't
have the waulking tape in this series but I do have 3 others and they
are both excellent!
3) Bannal - Waulking songs. Bannal is a group comprising many well known
singers, they are:
Kenna Campbell, Catherine Fletcher, Christine Grant, Wilma Kennedy,
Mairi MacArthur, Chrissie MacInnes, Maeve MacKinnon, Mary C MacLean and
Chrissie Martin
The tape comprises 18 distinct songs of between 1 and 3 mins each and is
all unaccompanied with all the women except Chrissie MacInnes having a turn
at solo. Most of the women are known soloists in their own right.
The tape is excellent entertainment value for listening to in the car (as
I did today) but is spoiled considerably by not having any notes on the
individual songs and more importantly no lyrics whatsoever in either Gaelic
or English with the album and no indication that lyrics are available. This
isn't the first time Greentrax have let me down in this way - Canan nan
Gaidheal has no Gaelic lyrics either. By contrast Temple records have
an excellent reputation for printing lyrics and given the choice between
both companies I would feel happier buying a Gaelic recording from Temple
knowing I would be able to get lyrics.
(more from another article)
When tweed is made, it needs to be fulled to increase it's ability to
keep out the wind. Waulking is a process of repeatedly beating the cloth
to full it and prepare it for use. Waulking songs are a musical form
unknown elsewhere in Western Europe and often sound African. They are
very rhythmic and were composed to keep the beat when the cloth was
being waulked. This task was only done by women in Scotland, however
in Nova Scotia where it is known as milling then it is generally a
male task. Often waulking songs were adapted from other songs.
Frequently they tell of local gossip, the material is not usually
"highbrow". The tweed was generally soaked in human urine (it was
someone's job to collect the urine which had been saved in each house).
The women were usually seated around a table and the tweed would be
placed on the table, or perhaps a door which had been taken off its
hinges. There might be one woman at each end and maybe about 4-5 down
each side. One person would sing out the verse and then everyone would
join in the chorus. The verses and choruses (sometimes there are up to
4 choruses) are very short, sometimes only a few syllables. The chorus is
what is used to classify waulking songs I think - nearly always the chorus is
meaningless vocables. I only know of one which has real words - Deannain
sugradh ris a nighean dubh (on the Poozies first album). There are a few
waulking songs in the book "Folksongs and folklore of South Uist" (Margaret
Fay Shaw). During the waulking, the cloth would be pulled towards you,
then passed slightly to your left before pushing it back. This way, the
cloth turned round the table in a clockwise manner as it was being waulked.
The Gaels are superstitious and believe anti-clockwise to be unlucky. It
was important to turn the cloth to ensure the cloth was evenly processed.
Waulking as a process is now no longer necessary, machines do it now.
However, there are societies which preserve the waulking tradition for
historical/tourist reasons. I think waulking died out in the 1950s.
Probably the oldest Gaelic song in existence (perhaps 13th C?) is Seathan,
this is a waulking song and appears in Carmina Gadelica (an amazing source
of folklore!). Seathan (he was the son of the King of Ireland) is several
pages long and would easily take over an hour to sing. The waulking process
could last about 2-3 hours and there would likely be a ceilidh afterwards
(I hoped they washed their hands first!), with the men being invited back in.
I think it was usual to start with slower songs and then to speed up
towards the end - the speed of waulking songs varies a lot.
Seathan, Gur h-e mo ghille dubh donn are quite slow whereas He mo leannan
is usually sung a bit faster and Tha Mulad, He Mandu
etc are faster still. One of the fastest is "Beann a' Cheathaich" which
has been recorded by Christine Primrose and recently The Poozies on
"Danceoozies" (I prefer Christine's version). It was adapted by
Margaret Kennedy Fraser and became "Kishmul's Galley"
Today, many bands/singers eg Capercaillie, Sileas, Poozies, Mary Jane
Lamont, Runrig, Christine Primrose, Cathy Anne MacPhee, Flora MacNeill,
Eilidh MacKenzie, etc etc use waulking songs - they are proving very
popular and the strong rhythms make them quite transportable to
so-called mainstream culture (mainstream in whose definition?). It was
a waulking song sung by Capercaillie "Coisich a ruin" (also sometimes
known as "Fluich an oidhche") which a few years ago became the first
ever Scots Gaelic tune to enter the UK top 40. It is about 400 years
old I think. There are three variations of this song that I know of.
During waulking, the cloth is pulled, passed through the hands to the
left and then returned to the table. By this method, the cloth spins
clockwise a few inches with each beat. Anti-clockwise was said to be
unlucky.
See also Tocher 50. Published by
The School of Scottish Studies, 27 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LD
[78] Puirt a beul
See the following for an introduction:
http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~lingnau/puirt.html
for more information on traditional Gaelic singing in general,
see:
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/gaelsong
[79] Gaelic psalm singing
Greentrax sells tapes from the School of Scottish studies and one of
these is Gaelic psalm singing from Lewis. Greentrax has www pages at
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm
Album reference is CDTRAX/CTRAX 9006
[80] Piobaireachd / Pibroch
Available from Greentrax in the Scottish Tradition series.
Relevant album numbers are CTRAX 9010,9011, 9012 and 9015
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm
[81] On-line Gaelic lessons
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bac/
also see
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cli/
and e-mail ca...@smo.uhi.ac.uk
[82] Encyclopedia of the Celts
http://www.centrum.dk/users/kmariboe
[83] New Scottish Local Authorities
http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/data/councils/ncintro.html
[84] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song
Piobaireachd Dhomhnuill Dhuibh
Source: John MacInnes, School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh University
On the Clan Alba Album
[85] What is "Crest of the Clan Chief" in Gaelic
Suaicheantas a ceann cinnidh
[86] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic
Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic are a bit like Italian and Spanish -
fluency in one goes a long way to understanding the other. I am
learning Scots Gaelic and can read some Irish with a bit of difficulty,
but fluent speakers of Scots Gaelic can more or less understand most
Irish - indeed Irish Gaelic is sometimes broadcast on Scots Gaelic
radio. The people from Islay however have a Gaelic that is almost a
cross so have less trouble than the rest of Scotland. The written form
is easier to understand than the spoken form.
[87] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service
http://www.lews.uhi.ac.uk/fosglan/fosglan2.htm
[88] Getting a job in Scotland
The Scotsman and The Herald carry job adverts most days, although
Friday is usually the best day for both. The Scotsman has an Edinburgh
bias to the jobs in it, the Herald a Glasgow bias. However, sometimes jobs
in Edinburgh are only advertised in the Herald. I've also seen Highland
jobs only advertised in the Herald. Best to get both if you're not fussy
about location
All the on-line resources are currently biased towards computing jobs.
There are two newsgroups
scot.jobs - jobs specific to Scotland, although only limited
distribution
uk.jobs.offered - jobs in UK (covers Scotland but heavily
dominated by jobs in England)
Jobserve
Jobserve allows to to filter jobs by location so you can receive a mail
whenever a job in Scotland comes up which matches your criteria (e.g.
technical skills) For more information about JobServe, please send a
blank email message to he...@jobserve.com or visit the web server at
http://www.jobserve.com/
Jobsite
Similar to Jobserve although some jobs may appear on one and
not the other. E-mail job...@jobsite.co.uk or visit their website at
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/ Tel: 01243 641141
[89] Scottish newspapers on-line
http://www.presence.co.uk/SundayPost/ - The Sunday Post
http://www.scotsman.com - The Scotsman
http://www.record-mail.co.uk/rm/ - Daily Record and Sunday Mail
http://web1.cims.co.uk/herald/ - The Herald
http://web1.cims.co.uk/eveningtimes/ - The Evening Times (Glasgow)
http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/ - The List (but you need to
register through the http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/ page)
http://www.eolas.co.uk/gazette/default.htp - Stornoway Gazette
E-mail:
10067...@compuserve.com - The West Highland Free Press
edi...@scotonsun.com - Editor of Scotland on Sunday
[90] Intro to Scottish Music
By Charles McGregor
There are several kinds of 'Scottish Music'.. First of all the
Alexander brothers, Kenneth McKellar, Moira Anderson,
Bill McCue type thing is IMO largely an amalgum of Harry
Lauder type Coonery and a catering to Tourist tastes (mostly English
coach parties) in various 'Summer'shows. Most Scots do not like this
kind of thing, it makes them cringe.
The Scottish folk circuit is where most Scots would look for a
real cultural night out. It is alive and vibrant, it is not just about
traditional music. There are many contemporary song-writers as well
as traditionalists.
Scotland being small, there is not a great deal of money available so
you find that often some of the folk circuit artists may leave the
circuit and go into other more lucrative areas. e.g. Gerry Rafferty,
Barbara Dickson, Billy Connelly, Eddie Reader.
Many remain e.g. Dougie MacLean, Eric Bogle, Archie Fisher, Hamish
Imlach, Battlefield Band, Dick Gaughan, Tannahill Weavers, Phil
Cunningham, Aly Bain.
Now at one time, the folk circuit consisted almost entirely of
little folk clubs up and down the country, there was not a deal of
concert hall performances except for the Corries, and this meant that
they were regarded a little apart from the general folk circuit as a
consequence of this.
Nowadays, concert hall performances are common as the folk
'revival' continues.(It seems to have been 'reviving' or getting bigger
all my life). Dougie MacLean, Dick Gaughan etc. regularly fill halls
up and down the country.
Another large part of the folk circuit that used to be almost non
existant is the 'folk fesitival'. I don't know how many there are now,
possibly hundreds. Used to be 1.. the Scottish folk festival for
years in Blairgowrie then moved to Kinross.
Folk programs or series make regular appearances on TV.
Then there is the ceilidh music. This basically falls into two camps.
First there is a fairly formal version where the musicians are
basically following a traditional trade. They are largely used for
formal or semi-formal 'occasions' like weddings or 'Dances' in hotels
or village halls. Scottish country dancing like this is regarded as a
little plastic, or perhaps formulaic is a more appropriate word.
However, Scots do go to these and frequently enjoy them, despite some
similarity to 'summer time specials' they are not an artifact of
tourism, although a lot of tourists will go as well. The Jimmy Shand
band might typify this class of music.
The Second type is the rapidly growing 'new order' of ceilidh music.
In this version, formality goes out the window. The main objective is
enjoyment, getting the dance steps wrong is almost irrelevant the
groups are expected to at least be attempting to push the envelopes of
the genre. There is a positive feedback between the audience and
group which leads to near frenzy all round. Wolfstone perhaps typify
this class of music.
Then there is Gaelic music, which again falls into two categories,
the formal and the less so. The formal consists of gaelic choirs up and
down the country with the mega event being the national Mod once a
year.
The less formal are essentially concert hall based and consist of
groups like Runrig, Capercaillie, Clan na Gael.
Now the above are guidlines there is considerable overlap from one
genre to the other. The term Celtic music covers several of them and
indeed in some branches exchange with Irish artistes is commonplace,
indeed several groups are part Irish part Scots e.g., Capercaillie,
Waterboys, Relativity.
[91] Scottish Independence information
http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/hamish/index.html
[92] Scottish Yellow Pages
http://www.scotland.org/
[93] Understanding Scottish Dance music
I hope this is what you're looking for -- and as a caveat, this is only
my understanding based on observation/listening, not on any
authoritative source. Also, you must know that this is not the best
way to learn this stuff! It would have helped to know which tunes you
know; I've included some examples that I think are common, but they
might not be in your experience. I hope you can find some kind person
to show this to you interactively; reading text is a terrible medium
for this kind of information. Nevertheless:
What characterizes each kind of tune is the rhythm. You must be able
to hear differences in rhythm in order to tell one from the other.
First of all, listen for the "downbeats" or major rhythmic accents.
These kinds of dance tunes are evenly divided into measures (also
called bars) and the downbeat is the first beat in each measure.
Counting the number of beats from one downbeat to the next is the
first step in distinguishing one type of tune from the others. The
examples that follow the explanations (the BUMP bahs, etc.) are best
understood said aloud if possible, and/or tapped with the hands,
fingers or feet, to get a physical sense of the rhythms.
THINGS IN FOUR
Reels and strathspeys, and most hornpipes are counted in four, that is,
they have four beats to a measure. Jigs of all kinds are in three
(have multiples of three beats to the measure). A pickier (or more
knowledgeable) person might say that many reels, etc. are in fact
counted in two rather than four, but for purposes of simplification,
I'm calling it four. Likewise, jigs are counted in three or multiples
thereof.
reels and single/double jigs have two beats to the measure.
Strathspeys have either 4 or 2 depending on the style (RSCDS tends to
be in 2, while Cape Breton and Highland are in 4). To illustrate, if
someone were playing a typical reel, Flowers of Edinburgh, for example,
no one would clap 4 beats to the measure. Rather they would normally
clap two beats to the measure. Likewise, the musicians will normally
tap two beats with their feet, if they tap at all. The same is true of
jigs. The difference is what happens in the beat. In reels there is a
duple rhythm, which could be expressed as 4 notes to the beat, 8 notes
to the measure, while in jigs there is a triple rhythm with three notes
to the beat or six notes to the measure. I've seen some people give
metronome markings of the beat =240, counting 4 beats to the measure,
but that strikes me as ridiculous. It's almost impossible to count at
mm=240, but not too hard at mm=120 and two beats to the measure. BTW,
RSCDS seems to use about mm=112 for both reels and jigs.
In a reel, the notes are for the most part evenly spaced -- that is,
all the fast notes have the same time as each other, and the same with
the slower ones. And reels are played quickly. Very quickly, usually.
Hornpipes and strathspeys are usually slower, though of course this
depends on the players. Some people play everything as fast as they
can manage, to the detriment of the beauty of the music, IMHO.
Though this is not always the case, I think of hornpipes as having what
is called "dotted time" (because of the way it is written). The first
note is held longer than the second, so a bar of this kind of rhythm
might be illustrated:
Bump bah bump bah
where the "Bumps" have half again as much time as the "bahs" or even
twice as long as the "bahs", giving the hornpipe a feeling of triple
time within a 4 beat measure.
But dotted time is usually only one component of the rhythm. Other
rhythmic figures such as triplets and regular quarter notes are
sprinkled in amongst the dotted. The triplets work out real well with
the dotted rhythm.
Another common feature of hormpipes is that the parts often end with
three beats. For instance, perhaps the most well-known hornpipe, The
Sailor's Hornpipe, ends this way, though, I'm sorry to say, it doesn't
have dotted time. The Rights of Man hornpipe has both.
Hornpipes can be played in several different styles. RSCDS tends to
treat hornpipes as reels, which tends to force the notes into equal
Wayne McCollum
Craig Cockburn wrote:
> > [100.18] Sguaban Arbhair
> From Play Gaelic - outstanding tune and lyrics.
>
> Na Sguaban Arbhair - The stacks of corn
>
> Rann/Verse 1
> Bha mi raoir a' siubhal drathair
> Last night I opened a drawer
> 'S thainig dealbh do mo laimh
> and a picture came to hand
> Dealbh mo sheannmh'ar is mo shean'ar
> a picture of my grandmother and grandfather
> 'S balach og na shuidh' ri'n taobh
> and a young boy sitting by their side
>
> Rann 2
> 'S iad ag obair aig na sguaban arbhair
> They were working on the corn stacks
> Shuidh mi g'an coimhead fad' na h-oidhch'
> I sat and looked at them all night
> Thainig cianalas na m'chridhe
> A deep sorrow came to my heart
> 'S thainig cuideam na mo laimh
> and a great weight came to my hand
>
> Seist/Chorus
> Uair eile gu bhith dhachaidh
> (O for) Another chance to be home
> Uair eile gu bhith beo
> Another chance to be alive
> Ruith mu'n cuairt na sguaban arbhair
> Running around the stacks of corn
> Uair eile gu bhith og
> Oh to be young again
>
> Rann 3
> Cha'n e aois a tha mi sabaid
> It isn't age I'm fighting against
> Cha'n e mo bheatha nach eil slan
> It isn't my life that's unwell
> 'S e bhith fuireach ann a' saoghal maide
> It's living in a false world
> Le chuid daoin' nach tuig mo chainnt
> With it's people who don't understand my language
>
> Rann 4
> Dh'fhalbh mo sheannmh'air 's mo shean'air
> My grandmother and grandfather passed on
> Thuit na sguaban arbhair sios
> The stacks of corn fell down
> Dh'fhalbh mi gu saoghal eile
> I left to go to another world
> 'S dh'fhalbh a' Ghaidhlig bho mo bheul
> And Gaelic went from my mouth
>
> [Seist a-rithist/Chorus again]
>
> Written in 1975 on the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh.
>
Craig, This is great. You mention the tune. Any idea where one
could find the guitar chords for it??
Thanks>>Wayne Mc
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <3220BD...@airmail.net>, sgriobh Wayne McCollum
<rus...@airmail.net>
>Craig, This is great. You mention the tune. Any idea where one
>could find the guitar chords for it??
>Thanks>>Wayne Mc
It took me about 5 years just to get the words and I'm sure it's never
appeared in any book so I suggest the best thing would be for you to buy
a copy of the Play Gaelic album it appears on and try and learn the
chords from that, it isn't a difficult song. The album is available on
cassette and CD I believe.
--
Craig Cockburn ("coburn"), Du\n E/ideann, Alba. (Edinburgh, Scotland)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
Rusty Celt
Craig Cockburn wrote:
>
> Ann an sgriobhainn <3220BD...@airmail.net>, sgriobh Wayne McCollum
> <rus...@airmail.net>
> >Craig, This is great. You mention the tune. Any idea where one
> >could find the guitar chords for it??
> >Thanks>>Wayne Mc
>
> It took me about 5 years just to get the words and I'm sure it's never
> appeared in any book so I suggest the best thing would be for you to buy
> a copy of the Play Gaelic album it appears on and try and learn the
> chords from that, it isn't a difficult song. The album is available on
> cassette and CD I believe.
Try around the vender tents at the Games here, Wayne. That's where I
found my Run Rig, 'Play Gaelic' cassette.
Rusty
Colin Rosenthal
In the section on Scottish Songbooks, you could add that The Corries
Songbook (and their CDs) can be ordered on the web from Gavin Browne's home page
at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gavin_Browne/ . He seems to
be extremely efficient. My book was mailed the same day I ordered it.
--
--Colin Rosenthal | ``Don't smell the flowers -
--rose...@obs.aau.dk | They're an evil drug -
--http://www.obs.aau.dk/~rosentha | To make you lose your mind''-
--Aarhus University, Denmark | Ronnie James Dio, 1983 -
Ray Dunn
In the s.c.s FAQ, Craig Cockburn says...
>[8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes
>
> Gaelic Radio is on Radio Scotland VHF - this is 104.3 in the
> Edinburgh area. It's on in the mornings and early evening.
> Gaelic is no longer broadcast on Radio Scotland 810MW, a great
> disappointment as it used to be available in most of England and
> now the so-called "National" service only has patchy coverage in
> Scotland!
On holiday recently the rental car digital RDS radio distinguished
between BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Gaelic on VHF.
Radio Scotland and Gaelic "simulcast" (to use a horrible but useful
American term) most of the time, and all three part of the time. I
can't recall the frequencies (if I ever paid attention to them, one of
the advantages of the RDS system is that frequencies are no longer
important) but the stations were certainly distinct.
This doesn't gell with the FAQ info. What's the story?
The FAQ in general is quite good, but the emphasis on Gaelic items
and fairly narrow interest subjects more represents the interests of
the author than the reality of life in Scotland, where Gaelic plays no
or very little part in the lives of the vast majority of Scots.
It is certainly a little disconcerting comparing the volume of items on
Gaelic issues with that on Scots, which is much more relevant to
everyday life, and with, my general complaint, the fact that the FAQ
doesn't address those everyday issues very well, if at all. Where is
the information on transportation, education, sport, pastimes etc. etc.
Specific points:
[9] Info on Robert Burns
It might be appropriate to balance this "traditional" information on
Burns by pointing out that, as well as being quite the poet, Burns was
also a sexist, philandering, womaniser. His sentiment of "A man's a
man for a' that" doesn't carry over very well into his treatment of
women.
[24] Information on Runrig etc.
I'm not sure that the FAQ is the best place for discographies of
currently popular entertainers, particularly when it is so selective
in its taste of same. There are too many groups and individuals,
present and past, folk, pop and other forms of entertainment, who
deserve equal treament. Perhaps pointers to elsewhere under a general
heading would be more appropriate.
[32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh
It would be useful to visitors to point out that the various touristy
tours advertised at the Tron Church and other places in the High Street
as including the "underground city" go nowhere near Mary King's close.
Don't be taken in. My son was sucked into one of these, and the spiel
was: "You may be wondering why we go *upstairs* to the underground
city, but..."
[33] Primary Literary figures
Why treat dead authors differently from living - Irving Walsh,
McIllvaney, are added almost as an afterthought, and there's a whole
generation or two missing. How about Maurice Walsh, Buchan etc.
Perhaps someone with a general knowledge of Scottish literature could
contribute an article?
[39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland
(a frequent source of argument on the scot.* and ed.* hierarchy).
I'm sorry, but the relevance of this to the FAQ, and the perception of
things that appear "frequently" in the newsgroups, is very different in
my mind and the author's.
[40] What does Craig's signature mean?
I suppose we must put up with this little bit of ego polishing, seeing
Craig did most of the work, but really....
[44] Whisky (whiskey)
>Whisky is the spelling used in Scotland. Whiskey is the spelling
>used in Ireland, the US and some other countries.
In the interests of accuracy, and to justify the habitual jumping on
people who refer to Scotch as "whiskey", it would be wise to show the
knowledge that Canadian Rye is the only other spirit correctly spelt
"whisky".
[49] Legal questions
A good candidate for expansion.
[53] Plaid
Shouldn't it also be pointed out that "plaid" is also the specific name
for the tartan "cape" worn over the shoulder in full "highland dress",
e.g. by pipers. In my experience, from my long gone pipe band days,
this was indeed called a "plaid" and not a "plad".
[56] Edinburgh Folk Festival
Again, the bias of the author shows strongly! I'm sure for the
majority of readers, information on the Edinburgh International
Festival and the associated Fringe Festival would be as relevant if not
more so, and reflect the volume of discussions in s.c.s better.
[88] Getting a job in Scotland
Perhaps, because of the wide international readership, the
difficulties/legalities of obtaining a job in Scotland without UK
citizenship should be pointed out.
[90] Intro to Scottish Music
[95] Article on Scottish Step Dancing
Frequently Requested Songs - Contents
Wouldn't pointers to elsewhere be more relevant in this
extremely-long-already FAQ
[part 4 hasn't reached me yet]
Please take these criticisms in the spirit that they're meant - to
improve the FAQ. There's a lot of good info there, although I don't
think it's very well organized. However I think it presents a very
narrow view of scottish society, refecting only a small cross-section
of discussion in s.c.s, and this gives a flavour of parody almost as
bad as the traditional "pipes and tartans" one.
--
Ray Dunn (opinions are my own) | Phone: (514) 938 9050
Montreal | Phax : (514) 938 5225
r...@ultimate-tech.com | Home : (514) 630 3749
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <4vvfqc$m...@ns.RezoNet.NET>, sgriobh Ray Dunn
<r...@ultimate-tech.com>
>In the s.c.s FAQ, Craig Cockburn says...
>
>
the Fringe most of this week.
--
Craig Cockburn ("coburn"), Du\n E/ideann, Alba. (Edinburgh, Scotland)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
Garry Marling
ray
Its not what you say , it's how you say it, (ALL SPIRITS ASIDE - yes
I'm shouting).
Give the Craig guy a go. His views are his, if you have some get off yer
arse and do something rather than snipe from the side.
Garry Marling
Ray Dunn
In referenced article, Garry Marling says...
Now that you've got that off your chest, how about giving a constructive
response to the various points made and a crit of the FAQ itself.
If you think that Craig has compiled his views, then you can't think
much of his FAQ. If Craig (or anyone else) compiles a FAQ, then he
shouldn't be compiling his views, he should be compiling a FAQ of the
newsgroup. I *don't* think Craig has just compiled his views, and as I
said, I think it's quite good.
I just don't like the emphasis, and I don't think it's anywhere near
representative enough of either the traffic in the newsgroup (and its
Frequently Asked/Answered Questions) nor of life in Scotland.
These are *my* views, and rather than "snipe from the side" as you put
it, in all but 2 of 12 specific items referenced, I suggested ways in
which I think improvments could be made, in the hope that there will be
some reasonable and rational discussion.
"The Craig guy" *has* been given a go, and he's published his work, a
task that he took on himself, but on our behalf, and we're grateful.
Let's discuss it now, and see what we can contribute to improve it.
Ray Dunn
In referenced article, Craig Cockburn says...
>>
>>
>the Fringe most of this week.
In English I hope Craig. Sorry, I couldn't resist that.....
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <500gjl$1o...@ns.RezoNet.NET>, sgriobh Ray Dunn
<r...@ultimate-tech.com>
>In referenced article, Garry Marling says...
>>Its not what you say , it's how you say it, (ALL SPIRITS ASIDE - yes
>>I'm shouting).
>>
>>Give the Craig guy a go. His views are his, if you have some get off yer
>>arse and do something rather than snipe from the side.
>
>Now that you've got that off your chest, how about giving a constructive
>response to the various points made and a crit of the FAQ itself.
>
>If you think that Craig has compiled his views, then you can't think
>much of his FAQ. If Craig (or anyone else) compiles a FAQ, then he
>shouldn't be compiling his views, he should be compiling a FAQ of the
>newsgroup. I *don't* think Craig has just compiled his views, and as I
>said, I think it's quite good.
>
>I just don't like the emphasis, and I don't think it's anywhere near
>representative enough of either the traffic in the newsgroup (and its
>Frequently Asked/Answered Questions) nor of life in Scotland.
>
things:
1) Frequently asked questions on soc.culture.scottish (and previously to
that Scottish questions on soc.culture.celtic as that's where the FAQ
came from)
2) Things I think readers might find useful or be interested in.
Referring back to the Gaelic bias, I accept there is a Gaelic bias to
the FAQ particularly comparing it to info about Scots - however see
point 1 - people do ask frequently here about Gaelic and I can't recall
ever anyone asking about learning Scots. People who speak Scots just
speak Scots and seem not to ask questions about it - I typed in the info
about joining the Scots language society because I thought it would be
useful, not because it was a frequently asked question!
>These are *my* views, and rather than "snipe from the side" as you put
>it, in all but 2 of 12 specific items referenced, I suggested ways in
>which I think improvments could be made, in the hope that there will be
>some reasonable and rational discussion.
>
>"The Craig guy" *has* been given a go, and he's published his work, a
>task that he took on himself, but on our behalf, and we're grateful.
>Let's discuss it now, and see what we can contribute to improve it.
>
Ray, I appreciate your comments in the spirit they were made and I
welcome the feedback. I'll try and make the changes in the next week
before I repost the FAQ - unfortunately I need to do this to get the
rftm.mit.edu archives to update so I'll do it once I've reorganised the
FAQ and merged in your suggestions.
If anyone has something they wish to contribute, please mail it to me
soon.
--
Craig Cockburn ("coburn"), Du\n E/ideann, Alba. (Edinburgh, Scotland)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
MAGAIDH
I think everyone is indebted to Craig for the enormous amount of time and
effort that he has put into all this. I have used all four parts
already, and it's much appreciated.
I think Ray, without taking anything away from Craig, had some valid
points, which I know will be taken on board by Craig, for, not only does
he ask for feedback, he always appreciates any helpful comments, and acts
upon them!
Congrats., Craig,
Margaret
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <4vvfqc$m...@ns.RezoNet.NET>, sgriobh Ray Dunn
<r...@ultimate-tech.com>
>In the s.c.s FAQ, Craig Cockburn says...
>
>>
>> Gaelic Radio is on Radio Scotland VHF - this is 104.3 in the
>> Edinburgh area. It's on in the mornings and early evening.
>> Gaelic is no longer broadcast on Radio Scotland 810MW, a great
>> disappointment as it used to be available in most of England and
>> now the so-called "National" service only has patchy coverage in
>> Scotland!
>
>On holiday recently the rental car digital RDS radio distinguished
>between BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Gaelic on VHF.
>
>Radio Scotland and Gaelic "simulcast" (to use a horrible but useful
>American term) most of the time, and all three part of the time. I
>can't recall the frequencies (if I ever paid attention to them, one of
>the advantages of the RDS system is that frequencies are no longer
>important) but the stations were certainly distinct.
>
>This doesn't gell with the FAQ info. What's the story?
>
At the rest of the time, the same frequency is used by BBC Scotland and
it may also be used by BBC radio 4 too, I'm not sure.
I'm listening to BBC Scotland at the moment (Robbie Shepherd) and it's
the same frequency used for the Gaelic service in the morning.
I'm not sure if this answers the point you were making.
>The FAQ in general is quite good, but the emphasis on Gaelic items
>and fairly narrow interest subjects more represents the interests of
>the author than the reality of life in Scotland, where Gaelic plays no
>or very little part in the lives of the vast majority of Scots.
>
I am hoping that the FAQ serves two functions:
1) To answer frequently asked questions and to provide full answers to
those questions, fuller than would generally be seen in a news reply.
2) To be of interest to people as a source of general information.
With regard to Gaelic, it comes under 1.
My mailer keeps a record of every outgoing news and mail message and I
can confirm I've personally answered questions regarding learning Gaelic
6 times in the last 12 days and answered those questions by just cutting
and pasting from the FAQ.
Whilst I support Scots (I'm a member of the Scots language society) and
typed in answer [70] regarding the Scots Language Society, I'm afraid
that learning about Scots isn't a FAQ. People just don't ask that often
about learning Scots. I put it in though because I felt it important and
because I thought people might be interested, reason [2]
Regarding opinion on Gaelic by Scots in general, see answer 39.
d) It is important that the Gaelic language in Scotland is kept alive
through Gaelic programmes on TV
75% agree or strongly agree.
13% disagree or strongly disagree.
In terms of number of speakers you're right, it's only spoken by 1.5%
(approx) of the population. However, it terms of popular support 3/4 of
Scots as an average feel the language should be kept alive, taking up
airtime which would otherwise be allocated to English TV. I am
personally in favour of _further_ English TV being reduced to be
replaced by Scots language TV and keeping the Gaelic TV at least at its
present level - Gaelic TV is current only 300 hours a year and should be
about 440 if it's in proportion to the number of speakers and the amount
of actual broadcast hours per week (546) once channel 5 comes on-line.
>It is certainly a little disconcerting comparing the volume of items on
>Gaelic issues with that on Scots, which is much more relevant to
>everyday life, and with, my general complaint, the fact that the FAQ
>doesn't address those everyday issues very well, if at all. Where is
>the information on transportation, education, sport, pastimes etc. etc.
>
I would welcome such information.
A bit of history first though.
The FAQ evolved from the soc.culture.celtic FAQ which I set up in August
94. I wrote most of the Scottish section of that but tried to take in
stuff from the group too. Subsequent to that I thought a
soc.culture.scottish FAQ would be a good idea and posted here several
times questions for articles and a draft version. However, the FAQ
evolved from soc.culture.celtic with the biases that that entails. To
compile the new FAQ, I went through the whole thing updating known
mistakes, phone numbers etc. Then I went through every message I've sent
since Aug 94 adding in everything from that I thought might be of use.
Hopefully by this process I'm actually inserting actual answers and
useful info, the sort of stuff which should be in a FAQ. If there is
something you'd like in and it isn't there, then I'd be delighted to add
it. However I can't do everything myself so if you want it, then you or
someone else will probably have to do it.
Education: Some info under "Adult Learning Project"
for pasttimes I've included "books for hillwalkers" and info on the SHYA
and the ramblers association. There's plenty on music, ceilidhs, etc.
What other pasttimes did you have in mind?
As I said, if you want something in, please feel free to contribute it.
>Specific points:
>
>[9] Info on Robert Burns
>
>It might be appropriate to balance this "traditional" information on
>Burns by pointing out that, as well as being quite the poet, Burns was
>also a sexist, philandering, womaniser. His sentiment of "A man's a
>man for a' that" doesn't carry over very well into his treatment of
>women.
>
duly added
>[24] Information on Runrig etc.
>
>I'm not sure that the FAQ is the best place for discographies of
>currently popular entertainers, particularly when it is so selective
>in its taste of same. There are too many groups and individuals,
>present and past, folk, pop and other forms of entertainment, who
>deserve equal treament. Perhaps pointers to elsewhere under a general
>heading would be more appropriate.
>
But Runrig and Capercaillie are discussed here. Pop music is generally
not discussed here, neither is jazz, classical or many other forms. What
tends to be discussed here is _Scottish_ music as opposed to artists and
musicicians _from_Scotland_. People ask about Capercaillie because of
the Rob Roy film music. If there are other artists which you'd like in
then please let me know which ones. The Corries also have a mention in
the FAQ.
>[32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh
>
>It would be useful to visitors to point out that the various touristy
>tours advertised at the Tron Church and other places in the High Street
>as including the "underground city" go nowhere near Mary King's close.
>Don't be taken in. My son was sucked into one of these, and the spiel
>was: "You may be wondering why we go *upstairs* to the underground
>city, but..."
>
duly added
>[33] Primary Literary figures
>
>Why treat dead authors differently from living - Irving Walsh,
>McIllvaney, are added almost as an afterthought, and there's a whole
>generation or two missing. How about Maurice Walsh, Buchan etc.
>Perhaps someone with a general knowledge of Scottish literature could
>contribute an article?
>
I don't consider myself much of an expert here and got part of the info
from a book and part of the info someone sent me. By all means, I'd
welcome an article on literature.
>[39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland
>(a frequent source of argument on the scot.* and ed.* hierarchy).
>
>I'm sorry, but the relevance of this to the FAQ, and the perception of
>things that appear "frequently" in the newsgroups, is very different in
>my mind and the author's.
>
When I compiled the FAQ in 94, questions 1-53 were in that version and
the others have all been added for the new version. Hence back in 94
this was a frequent source of debate, that debate now seems to have
calmed down a lot and so isn't really a FAQ but I thought people might
be interested - particularly since I've quoted said figures as part of
this reply, the _actual_ attitudes of Scots towards Gaelic is that as a
nation they support the language despite it only being spoken by 1.5%.
So I feel it's important to remind people of this, particularly since
Gaelic TV does get poo pood by a number who claim that noone watches it
or speak the language. As can be seen from the survey they are in the
minority.
>[40] What does Craig's signature mean?
>
>I suppose we must put up with this little bit of ego polishing, seeing
>Craig did most of the work, but really....
>
It's only a few lines :-)
>[44] Whisky (whiskey)
>
>>Whisky is the spelling used in Scotland. Whiskey is the spelling
>>used in Ireland, the US and some other countries.
>
>In the interests of accuracy, and to justify the habitual jumping on
>people who refer to Scotch as "whiskey", it would be wise to show the
>knowledge that Canadian Rye is the only other spirit correctly spelt
>"whisky".
>
duly added
>[49] Legal questions
>
>A good candidate for expansion.
>
I'd need a solicitor/lawyer to do this, any offers?
>[53] Plaid
>
>Shouldn't it also be pointed out that "plaid" is also the specific name
>for the tartan "cape" worn over the shoulder in full "highland dress",
>e.g. by pipers. In my experience, from my long gone pipe band days,
>this was indeed called a "plaid" and not a "plad".
>
duly added
>[56] Edinburgh Folk Festival
>
>Again, the bias of the author shows strongly! I'm sure for the
>majority of readers, information on the Edinburgh International
>Festival and the associated Fringe Festival would be as relevant if not
>more so, and reflect the volume of discussions in s.c.s better.
>
The fringe is in [30],
The fringe is also in [16] and I've just added Celtic Connections
Mayfest is in [104]
The Mod is in [23]
I've covered the biggest three arts festivals in Scotland (Fringe,
Mayfest, The Mod). The Edinburgh Folk festival, The Fringe and Celtic
connections are largest folk events in Scotland. Whilst I can't cover
everything, I try to cover the major events.
I'm not aware of any discussions on on soc.culture.scottish about the
International Festival (although I may have mentioned that in 97 it'll
contain Gaelic for the first time). I don't know much about that
Festival so rely on someone else to contribute that.
I would welcome the address of the TMSA so that people can write to them
for details of other folk festivals in Scotland.
>[88] Getting a job in Scotland
>
>Perhaps, because of the wide international readership, the
>difficulties/legalities of obtaining a job in Scotland without UK
>citizenship should be pointed out.
>
warning note added
>[90] Intro to Scottish Music
>[95] Article on Scottish Step Dancing
>Frequently Requested Songs - Contents
>
>Wouldn't pointers to elsewhere be more relevant in this
>extremely-long-already FAQ
>
By FAQ standards it isn't that big (the soc.culture.celtic one was 250K)
In comparison to the 1.4Mb on a single floppy or the size of some other
FAQs, I don't think it's that big. I'd rather have a big FAQ which was
answered as much as possible than a cut down version. I don't propose
posting it very often to news.
>[part 4 hasn't reached me yet]
>
>Please take these criticisms in the spirit that they're meant - to
>improve the FAQ. There's a lot of good info there, although I don't
>think it's very well organized. However I think it presents a very
>narrow view of scottish society, refecting only a small cross-section
>of discussion in s.c.s, and this gives a flavour of parody almost as
>bad as the traditional "pipes and tartans" one.
>
You're right about the organisation. I hope to fix that problem soon.
The FAQ is the way it is because of what's been added to it, if anyone
would like it changed and want to contribute something which is either
an answer to a frequently asked question or is likely to be of interest
or use to readers, please send it in. I have a day job and all of this
is done in my evenings and weekends as an unpaid hobby, my time is quite
limited.
thank you for your comments.
(updated FAQ now uploaded to the website)
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <EEuQ$wApxX...@scot.demon.co.uk>, sgriobh Craig
Cockburn <cr...@scot.demon.co.uk>
>>
>You're right about the organisation. I hope to fix that problem soon.
>
Here's the suggested new structure. I'll do the renumbering later.
General
[1] Scotland's name
Celtic & general language information
[103] Celtic knotwork and art
[82] Encyclopedia of the Celts
[74] The Celtic Cross
[57] Postgraduate courses in Celtic Studies
[94] Article on History of Language in Scotland
[2] Celtic background
Scots language information
[12] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info?
[13] On-line Scots language info
[70] Learning Scots
Scottish music, song, poetry and literature
[7] Scottish music radio programmes
[14] What Scottish Record labels are there
[15] How do I find out about Folk events in Scotland which might be on?
[16] When are the major Scottish folk festivals
[17] Where's a good place to buy folk records?
[19] Any Scottish songs on-line?
[35] Primary folk music pubs
[42] Scottish song books
[43] Books for learning the fiddle
[56] Edinburgh Folk Festival
[73] Scottish music information
[33] Primary Literary figures
[9] Info on Robert Burns
[96] Address to a Haggis - Robert Burns
[72] Robert Burns links
[30] Edinburgh Festival Fringe
[31] Living Tradition.
[90] Intro to Scottish Music
[99] Fiddle styles
[100] Frequently requested songs
[104] Mayfest
Gaelic information
[3] Where can I get Gaelic books?
[4] How can I learn Gaelic?
[5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words to Gaelic tunes, info on
Gaelic
[6] Are there any files I can access for more information on Gaelic
[8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes
[39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland
[81] On-line Gaelic lessons
[40] What does Craig's signature mean?
[29] The Gaelic for "Frequently Asked Questions"
[27] Gaelic wedding blessing
[28] Dalriada Celtic society BBS
[50] Gaelic festivals
[51] Gaelic playgroups
[62] Gaelic newspapers
[85] What is "Crest of the Clan Chief" in Gaelic
[86] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic
[87] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service
[23] How do I find out about Highland Games or Mods in my area. What is
a Mod?
[65] Scots Gaelic products and catalog
[66] Dog commands in Gaelic
[67] Guide to Gaelic Scotland
Gaelic song and music
[77] Waulking songs
[78] Puirt a beul
[79] Gaelic psalm singing
[80] Piobaireachd / Pibroch
[24] Information on Runrig
[25] Information on Capercaillie
[69] Cape Breton music mailing list
[84] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song
Scottish dance
[58] What is Scottish Country Dancing?
[36] What is a Ceilidh
[93] Understanding Scottish Dance music
[95] Article on Scottish Step Dancing
Scottish food and drink and pubs
[10] Info on cooking and haggis
[11] Where can I get haggis?
[63] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English)
[44] Whisky (whiskey)
[37] Best Scottish pubs
Political information
[21] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence
[91] Scottish Independence information
Historical information
[18] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry?
[38] Scottish Monarchs
[61] Declaration of Arbroath
Hillwalking
[46] The Ramblers Association
[47] Books for hillwalkers
[48] What is a Munro/Corbett?
Travel and What's on
[20] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board ?
[45] The Scottish Youth Hostels Association
[105] Weather info
[32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh
[34] Scottish Guide books.
[71] What's on
Internet information
[98] How to get scot.* hierarchy groups
[106] Getting hooked up to the internet
Traditions and History
[68] Kirking of the tartans
[22] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day.
[26] Scottish Cultural classes (music, singing, language, history etc)
[41] Where can I buy a kilt/Highland accessories
[52] Scotch
[53] Plaid
[55] alt.scottish.clans
[59] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English
[60] Scottish Wedding Information
[64] European Community Folk Culture
[102] Braveheart information
Current Affairs & Modern Life
[89] Scottish newspapers on-line
[75] Quangos
[76] OBEs, honorific titles, etc
[83] New Scottish Local Authorities
[88] Getting a job in Scotland
[92] Scottish Yellow Pages
[49] Legal questions
Sources of Further information
[54] Scottish URLs
[97] Scottish Text Archive
Areas of Scotland
[101] Shetland and Orkney info
Angus MacCulloch
Craig Cockburn wrote:
>
> Ann an sgriobhainn <4vvfqc$m...@ns.RezoNet.NET>, sgriobh Ray Dunn
> <r...@ultimate-tech.com>
> >[49] Legal questions
> >
> >A good candidate for expansion.
> >
> I'd need a solicitor/lawyer to do this, any offers?
I could do something, but I would need to know what questions would be
FAQ. Obviously the Scots legal system is quite large and narrowing the
areas of interest would be helpful.
Angus.
--
**********************************************************
* Angus D. MacCulloch Faculty of Law *
* Tel: +44 (0)161 275 3582 University of Manchester *
* Fax: +44 (0)161 275 3579 Manchester M13 9PL *
**********************************************************
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <322B47...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk>, sgriobh Angus
MacCulloch <msr...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk>
>Craig Cockburn wrote:
>>
>> Ann an sgriobhainn <4vvfqc$m...@ns.RezoNet.NET>, sgriobh Ray Dunn
>> <r...@ultimate-tech.com>
>
>> >
>> >A good candidate for expansion.
>> >
>> I'd need a solicitor/lawyer to do this, any offers?
>
>FAQ. Obviously the Scots legal system is quite large and narrowing the
>areas of interest would be helpful.
>
also possibly divorce law (as it's currently being reformed in England,
might be useful to know how it differs here), brief into to contract law
etc.
Ray Dunn
In referenced article, Craig Cockburn says...
>evening. At the rest of the time, the same frequency is used by BBC
>Scotland and it may also be used by BBC radio 4 too, I'm not sure.
>
Not really - not that it's vitally important. The FAQ says Gaelic
Radio is on Radio Scotland. In fact, Gaelic Radio has it's own
frequencies which most of the time simulcast Radio Scotland. When
there's Gaelic on, Radio Scotland still carries the English language
stuff. Listeners tuning to the Radio Scotland frequency in the hope of
hearing Gaelic are going to be disappointed (at least that's my
experience in the Edinburgh/Glasgow area).
Thanks for adding my non-gaelic-controversial comments to the FAQ.
On the opinion that the Gaelic emphasis makes the FAQ very unbalanced,
I know that I'm unlikely to convince you otherwise, however:
>My mailer keeps a record of every outgoing news and mail message and I
>can confirm I've personally answered questions regarding learning
>Gaelic 6 times in the last 12 days and answered those questions by
>just cutting and pasting from the FAQ.
>...
> Then I went through every message I've sent
>since Aug 94 adding in everything from that I thought might be of use.
QED.
It's a pity you didn't have time to go through everything _everybody_
had sent. I'm not suggesting you should have gone to that extent, I'm
only underlining the skew.
You obviously are fond of statistics, so:
1.5% of Scots speak Gaelic.
A very rough search of DejaNews shows only about 8.5% of articles in
s.c.s mention the word Gaelic.
In the FAQ roughly 20% of the subjects are Gaelic oriented and 25% of
the lines of the text body....
>Regarding opinion on Gaelic by Scots in general...
>d) It is important that the Gaelic language in Scotland is kept alive
>through Gaelic programmes on TV
>75% agree or strongly agree.
>13% disagree or strongly disagree.
>
>In terms of number of speakers you're right, it's only spoken by 1.5%
>(approx) of the population. However, it terms of popular support 3/4
>of Scots as an average feel the language should be kept alive, taking
>up airtime which would otherwise be allocated to English TV.
There's a huge difference between passive support and active
participation and interest.
I wonder how many of those 75% would keep their support if it was
suggested that "Spot the Loony" or whatever is the currently most
popular game show, should be broadcast in Gaelic only?
I would profess my strong support for the right of those people to
watch "Spot the Loony", but I'm not interested in hearing any
discussion about the show. Passive support doesn't justify FAQ
entries, activity does.
>I am personally in favour of _further_ English TV being reduced to be
>replaced by Scots language TV and keeping the Gaelic TV at least at
>its present level - Gaelic TV is current only 300 hours a year and
>should be about 440 if it's in proportion to the number of speakers
>and the amount of actual broadcast hours per week (546) once channel 5
>comes on-line.
But wait a minute, channel 5 _isn't_ on-line yet, so the current 300
hours is remarkably close to the correct proportion for the existing 4
stations (within 15%). I didn't realize the media was doing so well...
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <50i5og$g...@ns.RezoNet.NET>, sgriobh Ray Dunn
<r...@ultimate-tech.com>
>
>>I am personally in favour of _further_ English TV being reduced to be
>>replaced by Scots language TV and keeping the Gaelic TV at least at
>>its present level - Gaelic TV is current only 300 hours a year and
>>should be about 440 if it's in proportion to the number of speakers
>>and the amount of actual broadcast hours per week (546) once channel 5
>>comes on-line.
>
>hours is remarkably close to the correct proportion for the existing 4
>stations (within 15%). I didn't realize the media was doing so well...
>
300 is within 15% of 440?
huh??
Ray Dunn
In referenced article, Craig Cockburn says...
>>> Ray Dunn wrote:
>>> >[49] Legal questions
>>> >
>>> >A good candidate for expansion.
>>> >
>>> I'd need a solicitor/lawyer to do this, any offers?
>>
>>be FAQ. Obviously the Scots legal system is quite large and
>>narrowing the areas of interest would be helpful.
>>
>Legal tender may be worh explaining
>also possibly divorce law (as it's currently being reformed in
>England, might be useful to know how it differs here), brief into to
>contract law etc.
There was a discussion about property conveyancing and feu duties in
the group recently - a good candidate as this is very different from
the English system.
How about some info on the laws of tresspass etc. that affect
hillwalkers in Scotland.
r...@ultimate-tech.com
Craig Cockburn wrote:
>Ray Dunn wrote:
> >>replaced by Scots language TV and keeping the Gaelic TV at least at
> >>its present level - Gaelic TV is current only 300 hours a year and
> >>should be about 440 if it's in proportion to the number of speakers
> >>and the amount of actual broadcast hours per week (546) once channel 5
> >>comes on-line.
> >
> >hours is remarkably close to the correct proportion for the existing 4
> >stations (within 15%). I didn't realize the media was doing so well...
> >
> 300 is within 15% of 440?
> huh??
No. According to your statement, 546 hours per week will be broadcast when
the 5th channel comes online. So, all things being equal, there are 436
hours currently broadcast on the 4 channels, or 22,714 a year.
1.5% of 22714 is 340 hours, the correct number of Gaelic hours according to
the proportion of speakers.
Actually 300 hours are broadcast, 88% of the expected number.
So actually they're currently within 12%, not 15% of the "correct" number.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This article was posted to Usenet via the Posting Service at Deja News:
http://www.dejanews.com/ [Search, Post, and Read Usenet News!]
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <8419547...@dejanews.com>, sgriobh ray@ultimate-
tech.com
>Craig Cockburn wrote:
>>Ray Dunn wrote:
>> >>replaced by Scots language TV and keeping the Gaelic TV at least at
>> >>its present level - Gaelic TV is current only 300 hours a year and
>> >>should be about 440 if it's in proportion to the number of speakers
>> >>and the amount of actual broadcast hours per week (546) once channel 5
>> >>comes on-line.
>> >
>> >hours is remarkably close to the correct proportion for the existing 4
>> >stations (within 15%). I didn't realize the media was doing so well...
>> >
>> 300 is within 15% of 440?
>> huh??
>
>No. According to your statement, 546 hours per week will be broadcast when
>the 5th channel comes online. So, all things being equal, there are 436
>hours currently broadcast on the 4 channels, or 22,714 a year.
>
>1.5% of 22714 is 340 hours, the correct number of Gaelic hours according to
>the proportion of speakers.
>
>Actually 300 hours are broadcast, 88% of the expected number.
>
>So actually they're currently within 12%, not 15% of the "correct" number.
>
>
Assume 546 is the correct number of hours for 5 channels and 1.5% of the
population speaking Gaelic. The correct number for 4 channels is thus
4/5 of this, about 437.
Here's how I got them:
4 Channels
24 hours a day
365.25 days in a year
total available broadcast hours = 4*24*365.25 = 35064 (674/week)
1% of this is 350.64
1.5% of this is 525.96
Hence my original figures were (526/300-1)*100 or 75% out but these
assume 24 hour coverage at present and I don't believe all channels are
24 hours. For 5 channels it'll be 525.96*5/4 = 657.45. Well over double
the current number of hours.
The 546 above is the number of hours Gaelic TV should have been per year
not the actual number of broadcast hours per week across all channels.
It was in the wrong place in the sentence which I wrote in a hurry
Dick Kaulfuss
Craig Cockburn (cr...@scot.demon.co.uk) wrote:
: Ann an sgriobhainn <322B47...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk>, sgriobh Angus
: MacCulloch <msr...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk>
: >
: >I could do something, but I would need to know what questions would be
: >areas of interest would be helpful.
: >
: Legal tender may be worh explaining
: also possibly divorce law (as it's currently being reformed in England,
: might be useful to know how it differs here), brief into to contract law
: etc.
And rights of way and "trespass". Might be worth extending it to land and
property ownership in general.
--
Dick
Angus MacCulloch
That lot would take about would take about 100 hours of lectures at
university to cover. Of that right of way and tresspass would take up 30
minutes. The subject areas would have to pretty narrow to get any decent
coverage. Preferably they would be in a question format, anything more
would result in a long essay.
Areas like propety ownership would require a massive amount of detail, to
give you an example of the problems, rural property (separate area),
commercial property (again separate), law of the tenement (more complex
than a detatched house). What would you want to see?
Also remember this is for lay people, many from abroad. If you want
detailed advice they can get it from uk.legal or another source.
You wont get many lawyers putting their name to detailed guides of
general topics. Most lawyers only deal with one or two issues with any
confidence.
If you could put up some succinct questions I, and some others, could
have a go at producing a short answer.
I've already sent a brief draft of an introduction to the Scottish legal
system off to Craig for inclusion in the FAQ.
Ian O. Morrison
In article <3230B4...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk>
msr...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk "Angus MacCulloch" writes:
<re putting legal FAQs up>
> Areas like propety ownership would require a massive amount of detail, to
> give you an example of the problems, rural property (separate area),
> commercial property (again separate), law of the tenement (more complex
> than a detatched house). What would you want to see?
I remember when the Scottish Museums Council sought advice on the
legal aspects of ownership of museum objects. Scottish Office solicitors
sought opinion from two sources, which gave conflicting advice.
The conclusion was that issues of this nature could only be settled
in court. So far there has not been a case.
--
Ian O. Morrison (i...@nmsdoc.demon.co.uk)
A Wyld Wykkyd Helandman fae Linlithgowshire
Craig Cockburn
New look FAQ emerging at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/internet.html
Please bear with me while the rest of the articles are put in order!
Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <HydQfUA8...@scot.demon.co.uk>, sgriobh Craig
Cockburn <cr...@scot.demon.co.uk>
>New look FAQ emerging at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/internet.html
>Please bear with me while the rest of the articles are put in order!
>
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/internet.html
all sorted now!