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American friends of Scotland’s largest conservation charity have enabled the acquisition of the Treshnish Isles, an archipelago of eight uninhabited islands located in the Inner Hebrides, securing the future of this distinctive seascape. The Treshnish Isles are internationally significant as a nesting site for many seabird species, including puffins, guillemots, and kittiwakes. Twenty percent of the entire British population of storm petrels nest on the islands. The waters surrounding the isles are home to Atlantic seals, basking sharks, and minke whales.

Now uninhabited, the Treshnish Isles have a long human history that dates from the Iron Age. They were in the possession of King Haakon of Norway until 1249. The islands feature the ruins of two medieval castles and have strong historical links with the Scottish clans MacDougal, MacDonald, and Maclean.  The National Trust for Scotland assumed care of the Treshnish Isles in July. The Trust is responsible for the protection of some of Scotland’s most special places, including the Hebridean islands of Staffa, Iona, and Canna, as well as Fair Isle and the dual world heritage site of St Kilda. In America, The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA (NTSUSA) raises visibility and financial support for the Trust’s conservation priorities. There has been a strong tradition of American support for conservation in the Hebrides. The islands of Staffa, Pabbay, Berneray, and Mingulay were all gifted to the Trust through bequests from the US, and NTSUSA recently has made significant contributions to preservation initiatives on Canna and Iona.

Protect Scotland’s heritage and natural beauty

Kirstin Bridier, executive director of NTSUSA, noted, “We are delighted to fund the acquisition of the Treshnish Isles. With more than 20 million Americans claiming Scottish ancestry, NTSUSA is committed to garnering international support to protect Scotland’s heritage and natural beauty now and for future generations.” The acquisition of the Treshnish Isles comes as the National Trust for Scotland is investing significantly in the region. With more than 50,000 visitors per year expected on the Treshnish Isles, the Trust will work with local boat operators to ensure that rats and mice cannot reach the island and feed upon vulnerable seabird chicks.

The Trust also will have a ranger on-site to help monitor and educate visitors about the islands’ wildlife. An archaeological survey will ensure all data from historical ruins is captured and will inform development of a preservation plan. The acquisition caps a year in which NTSUSA granted more than $530,000 in funding for projects at nearly twenty National Trust for Scotland properties. This included $208,000 to support the digitization of 18^th century manuscripts in poet Robert Burns’s hand held in the collection of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, Ayrshire. The result will be a website accessible to Burns scholars and fans across the globe.

The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA (NTSUSA) is an independent non-profit organization that exists to support the work of the National Trust for Scotland’s most urgent conservation priorities. Donations to NTSUSA, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. To learn more about NTSUSA or to become a member, please visit: www.ntsusa.org

Main photo: View from Lunga toward Bac Mòr (or Dutchman’s Cap).

The Southern Downs will play host to not one, but three national championships during CelticFest Warwick 2023, on the September long weekend (Sep 30-Oct 1). The Australian Highland Games Championships will be held at the main ticketed event at the Warwick Showgrounds. Meanwhile, as part of the CelticFest Fringe (separately organised and ticketed events, where applicable), SCOTS PGC College will host the inaugural Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships on Saturday 30 September, alongside the Australian Solo Piping and Drumming Championships on Friday 29 September.

Feats of strength

A field of 20 professional strongmen will battle it out for the Australian Highland Games Championships open men’s title at the Warwick Showgrounds on the afternoon of Saturday 29 September and all-day Sunday 1 October. The strongman crowned Australia’s national highland games champion will represent Australia at the World Amateur Highland Games Championships in Norway in March 2024. Previously the Australian Highland Games Championships had been held at The Gathering in Ipswich, but with that event taking a break for 2023, the search was on for another venue.

Championship organizer, Highland Muscle’s Rob Mitchell, said that the decision to hold the event during CelticFest was due to the timing of the event, and the ability for CelticFest to hold a ‘decent crowd’. The latter is based on the outstanding reception for the highland games heavy events during CelticFest 2022 when the Portley Grandstand and surrounding area were packed with onlookers, reveling in the feats of strength from strongmen and women in events such as putting the stone, hammer throw, weight for height, and everyone’s favourite, the caber toss.

By CelticFest, athletes will have competed in four qualifying events: The Hayland Gathering, Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival, NSW Central Coast Highland Challenge, and the Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes. Each competitor placing top 3 in their division in these events automatically qualifies for the Australian Highland Games Championships.

There will be four divisions: Open Men’s, Open Women’s, Masters’ Men’s, and Men’s under 90kg. Mitchell said all current champions will compete in Warwick – Terry Sparks (Open Men’s), Fran Fitzpatrick (Open Women’s), Stephen Henry (Master’s Men’s), and Morgan Westmoreland (Men’s Under 90kg) – with around 25 athletes in total.

Other athletes to watch out for are Sian Cooper, Kalina Vikilani, and last year’s Open Men’s winner at CelticFest, Macauley Tinker. Mitchell himself is aiming for the Men’s Master’s crown after coming back from injury late last year.

Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships

The SCOTS PGC-hosted inaugural Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships will see some 15 school-based bands travel from around Australia to participate, including from as far afield as Perth. Confirmed participants include Presbyterian Ladies College Perth, Scotch College Melbourne and The Scots School Albury Pipe Band, which will join SCOTS PGC Pipes and Drums and Brisbane Boys College, among others.

SCOTS PGC is also planning recitals and workshops over the weekend with another expected highlight being the participation of Alisdair McLaren. McLaren is the current Pipe Major of the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the West Australia Police Pipe Band; he has also performed as the REMT’S Lone Piper, as well as for King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth. In addition, SCOTS PGC College will host the Australian Solo Piping and Drumming Championships on Friday 29 September, showcasing some of the country’s best pipers and drummers.

Excitingly, senior and junior pipe band players will join the Warwick Thistle Pipe Band as it celebrates its centenary year in a stirring spectacle of a street parade on the morning of Saturday 30 September. Coincidentally, SCOTS PGC will also celebrate 75 years of their kilted pipe band and is welcoming past students to march in this special event. The street parade is expected to attract around 300 performers. Meanwhile, tickets are now available for CelticFest, to be held at the Warwick Showgrounds on the evening of Saturday 30 September and all-day Sunday 1 October.

For more information about CelticFest and to purchase CelticFest tickets, go to www.celticfestqld.com.au or search for CelticFest Warwick on Eventbrite. Further details about CelticFest Fringe will also be available on the CelticFest website, Facebook page and Instagram account.

Photos Jessica Mead Photography.

Piping Live! will once again have a great programme of online events as part of festival for 2023. With around 30 hours of content, you can watch the best solo piping, traditional music, Gaelic song and so much more, all from the comfort of your own home.

The event has a new online viewing software for 2023, through The National Piping Centre channel. Here you can subscribe and watch all the events taking place online.
This year, the events will be a mix of livestream and premiered events which will be recorded as live and broadcast after the event.

The events this year are:
Livestream
 The Masters Solo Piping Competition on Monday 14th August – both events
 The Pipe Idol Grand Final on Thursday 17th August
 The Gordon Duncan Memorial Competition on Sunday 20th August

Premiering Concerts
 Lunchtime Recital Tuesday – The Pipes of John MacColl – premiering at 6pm on Wednesday 16th August
 Canntaireachd with Kim Carnie, Ailis Sutherland, Kathleen MacInnes and Brighde Chaimbeul – premiering at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th August
 Lunchtime Recital Wednesday – The Pipes of Hugh McCallum – premiering at 6.00pm on Thursday 17th August
 The LBPS presents inB – premiering at 7.30pm on Thursday 17th August
 Lunchtime Recital Thursday – The Pipes of Gordon Duncan – premiering at 6.00pm on Friday 18th August
 Friday Night Folk featuring Project SMOK and The Eryn Rae Band – premiering at 7.30pm on Tuesday 22nd August
 The Closing Concert with The Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton Band and Jarlath Henderson and Innes Watson – premiering on Monday 21st August at 7.30pm

You can buy a Piping Live! Online Festival Pass for £55, which lets you watch all live and premiering events across the week, or each concert is individually available to purchase. You can rewatch all these events until 12noon on Monday 28th August. All times stated are in BST UK time.

Register now at our website: https://thenationalpipingcentre.vhx.tv

Work has finished to complete this year’s design on the world’s oldest Floral Clock in Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens. For 2023, the hugely popular landmark will celebrate 100 years of Flying Scotsman, the world’s most famous steam locomotive. A team of three gardeners took just four weeks to plant over 50,000 flowers and plants used to create the clock, which will be in bloom until October. There are 20 different plants included in this year’s design such as antennaria, crassula, echevaria, sedum, saxifrage and annuals such as pyrethrum, begonias and geraniums.

The dedication of the clock coincided with a visit to the Capital from the iconic locomotive. The Lord Provost Robert Aldridge was joined by floral clock gardeners Gillian and David to welcome Flying Scotsman at Edinburgh Waverley.  Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Robert Aldridge said: “I am delighted to once again see the city’s beautiful floral clock completed, and blooming in time for the special visit from Flying Scotsman. Each year the iconic clock marks special occasions and events in the heart of the Capital and this year it is a unique tribute coinciding with celebrations taking place around the country to celebrate 100 years of Flying Scotsman.  My thanks and congratulations to the dedicated and creative parks team who have put together the design that I’m sure will be enjoyed by everyone who passes by it this summer.”

The oldest of its kind in the world

Edinburgh born Andrew McLean, National Railway Museum Assistant Director and Head Curator, said: “I first saw the clock when I was a boy and my grandfather was involved in helping maintain it as part of his job as the Clerk of Works for the City of Edinburgh Council from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. It is an important part of Edinburgh’s history and was always a source of great pride so bringing the clock and Flying Scotsman together is a great joy for me.”

The Floral Clock was first created in 1903 by then Edinburgh Parks Superintendent, John McHattie, and is the oldest of its kind in the world. It initially operated with just an hour hand, with a minute hand added in 1904, followed by a cuckoo clock in 1952. Until 1972 the clock was operated mechanically and had to be wound daily. Since 1946 it has been designed in honour of various organisations and individuals, including the Girl Guides Association, Robert Louis Stevenson and the Queen, for her Golden Jubilee. In the clock’s centenary year in 2003 it won a Gold Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Flying Scotsman, the world’s most famous steam locomotive, turned 100 in February 2023. Synonymous with the golden age of rail travel, the locomotive is renowned as a feat of design and engineering. It is a star attraction in the collection of the National Railway Museum (part of the Science Museum Group) in York, where it is a working museum exhibit

Did you know?

Floral Clock

-The clock was created in 1903 and is the oldest floral clock in the world.

-It is housed in the plinth of the Allan Ramsay Monument at the north-east corner of West Princes Street Gardens.

-Planting begins in May each year.

-Up to 50,000 plants are used in the design each year (compared to 13,000 in the 1930s; 25,000 in the 1950s).

-In 1946 the clock began celebrating a different event or anniversary each year.

-In 1952 a cuckoo clock was added and still chimes every 15 minutes.

– In 1973 was when the clock began being operated electrically.

-In 2003 the clock won a Gold Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

-Clock circumference: 36 ft. Clock width: 11 ft 10 ins. Weight of large hand (when filled with plants): 80lbs. Weight of small hand (when filled with plants): 50lbs.

Floral clocks are now distributed worldwide and many were made in Edinburgh, where the idea originated. They can be found in India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, United States of America, Canada and many other European countries.

Flying Scotsman

-Flying Scotsman was built in Doncaster in February 1923, as an A1 class locomotive for the newly formed LNER and converted to an A3 class in 1947 costing £7,944.

-It was the first locomotive of the newly formed LNER (London and North Eastern Railway). Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and numbered 1472, the locomotive was not named Flying Scotsman until the following year when it was picked to attend the British Empire Exhibition in London and renumbered 4472.

-The locomotive went on to operate in service until 1963 and later in preservation, which included tours of the USA, Canada and Australia, where it captured the hearts of millions.

-The Flying Scotsman is officially the first steam locomotive to reach 100mph, and the first to circumnavigate the globe.

-It holds the world record for a non-stop run in a steam locomotive, set in 1989 with a 422-mile trip.

-Today the locomotive is owned by the National Railway Museum in York and is operated and maintained by Riley & Son (E) Ltd, based in Heywood, Greater Manchester.

Main photo: The 2023 Floral Clock. Photo: Steve Morgan/Science Museum Group.

Wemyss Bay Station was presented with the Best Loved Station award by broadcaster and historian Tim Dunn. The station, which serves the village of Wemyss Bay in Inverclyde, emerged victorious in the highly anticipated World Cup of Stations 2023 as champion, surpassing 47 other stations to claim the title.   Pictured with Tim Dunn, broadcaster and presenter, Tracy Stevenson, Community Relations for Scotrail, Ronnie Cowan, Scottish National Party MP for Inverclyde and Stuart McMillan Scottish National Party, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Friends of Wemyss bay station.

The World Cup of Stations

The World Cup of Stations, supported by the Rail Delivery Group and Community Rail Network, captivated station staff, volunteers, train operators, and customers across England, Scotland, and Wales through a week-long competition with over 70,000 votes cast across 11 regions and nations of Great Britain.  The ScotRail managed station won the award through its remarkable achievements Including: its outstanding volunteer work, the development of a vibrant and colourful community garden and the establishment of the station bookshop which resonated with voters, earning them widespread admiration and support. 

The epitome of railway excellence

As part of Community Rail Week, the competition highlighted the remarkable diversity of stations and the imaginative ways in which they are utilised, often with the invaluable assistance of Community Rail volunteers who tirelessly work towards improving local stations for residents, the environment, and the local economy.  The plaque symbolises the station’s exceptional standing and recognition as the epitome of railway excellence in Great Britain. The station’s triumph highlights its historic significance, awe-inspiring architecture, and dedication to community engagement. The Friends of Wemyss Bay, in collaboration others have transformed the station into a vibrant community rail destination, capturing the hearts of locals and visitors alike.   In receiving this award, Wemyss Bay Station joins the ranks of the country’s most beloved and cherished stations, cementing its status as a beacon of excellence in the railway industry. 

The South of Scotland Destination Alliance has created bespoke themed routes following in the footsteps of Robert Burns and inspired by the Great Tapestry of Scotland Two new driving trails have been formally launched by the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA) and partners, designed to immerse visitors in the story-filled landscape of the south of Scotland as they follow in the footsteps of Robert Burns and experience the parts of the region immortalised in the magnificent Great Tapestry of Scotland. Created using new digital functionality funded through VisitScotland’s Destination and Sector Marketing Fund, the Great Tapestry Trail and the Burns Trail on the SSDA’s Scotland Starts Here website have been painstakingly curated to guide visitors around key landmarks in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, highlighting great places to stay, eat and discover along both themed journeys.

Story heritage

“The south of Scotland is absolutely jam-packed with fascinating stories and heritage just waiting to be discovered. In developing these two new driving trails, we’ve worked hard with our partners to showcase the stand-out highlights of our region’s connections with both Burns and the Great Tapestry, while weaving in lots of useful recommendations for fantastic places to stay, eat, drink and visit along the way, said Sarah Macdonald,  SSDA Project Lead – Stories Experience Collection, who co-designed both trails for Scotland Starts Here. “It’s especially exciting to be unveiling these new trails in 2023, which promises to be such a momentous year for the whole of the south of Scotland – not only were we named among the 30 best places in the world to visit this year by Lonely Planet but we’re champing at the bit to launch our epic new 250-mile Coast to Coast cycle route from Stranraer to Eyemouth this summer.”

“The South of Scotland is steeped in history and these itineraries will help bring to life the region’s fascinating past, encouraging visitors to uncover the  hidden gems, attractions and diverse places to eat and drink. By encouraging visitors to stay longer, visit all year round and explore more widely, they can in turn contribute to the sustainable quality of life of the communities they encounter. Tourism is a force for good. It creates jobs, sustains communities and contributes significantly to the economy,” said Annique Armstrong, VisitScotland Destination Development Director for the South of Scotland.

Burns Trail

The 187 mile-long Burns Trail takes visitors on a six-day tour from Berwickshire to Dumfries, following in the footsteps of Scotland’s national bard. The journey takes inspiration from the tour of the Borders the then 28-year-old Burns took in May 1787 with his friend Robert Ainslie, beginning in the coastal town of Eyemouth, where the pair were made Royal Arch Masons of St Ebb’s Lodge – to this day, the cutlery Burns used at his repast are still treasured by the Eyemouth Lodge. The Burns Trail then progresses westwards, passing the ruined abbeys of Kelso, Jedburgh and Melrose, the Border towns of Selkirk and Galashiels and into Dumfries and Galloway, visiting Moffat and Ellisland Farm where Burns and his family lived for three years in the late 1700s and where he wrote Auld Lang Syne before culminating in Dumfries, the place of his death in 1796 at the young age of 37.

“Ellisland is the only home built by Burns and definitely the best preserved and most authentic and romantic. Some of Burns’ most creative years were spent in Dumfriesshire and of course he was greatly inspired by the Borders, so bringing the two together in both these fantastic new trails makes perfect sense, ” said Joan McAlpine, Business Development Manager at Burns’ former home Ellisland Museum & Farm, which features in both trails.

Great Tapestry of Scotland Trail

The Great Tapestry of Scotland is the result of a Scotland-wide community art project involving 1,000 stitchers aged four to 94 to tell the colourful history of Scotland from pre-history to the modern day, featuring battles, Romans, religion, Vikings, innovation, sport, kings and queens and much more. The 143m-long tapestry, first exhibited in 2013 at the Scottish Parliament and now housed in a new, purpose-built exhibition space in Galashiels, is made up of 160 beautifully embroidered linen panels made over 50,000 hours with 300 miles of wool thread. Visitors spending seven days travelling along the 283-mile Great Tapestry Trail start at the Tapestry Centre itself before wending their way to the Berwickshire coast and then west again to the Border towns and Abbotsford, home of great historical novelist Sir Walter Scott. The trail then weaves in Roman history with a stop at Trimontium Museum, Melrose where in AD80 the Romans established a major fort and which is one of the UK’s most significant archaeological sites from that period.

Taking in the fascinatingly-named Devil’s Porridge Museum just outside Gretna next, which pays tribute to the world’s largest WW1 munitions factory, trail-followers will then catch up with Robert Burns in and around Dumfries before heading to Wigtown, Scotland’s national book town and the location for cult film The Wicker Man, which celebrates its 50^th anniversary in 2023. Stopping to see the ruins of Glenluce Abbey where Mary, Queen of Scots once dined and slept while on a pilgrimage to Whithorn, the trail ends at the dramatic clifftop lighthouse in the Mull of Galloway – Scotland’s most southernmost point, at the end of the Rhins of Galloway.

“We are delighted to be have been part of this fantastic project with SSDA. Many of the 160 panels in the Great Tapestry of Scotland feature the compelling and rich history of the people and landscape of the south of Scotland. The Tapestry trail vividly brings stories to life of history, heritage, battles and culture across the entire region. It is such a compelling journey travelling to locations which feature in the tapestry, everyone will find something to explore and intrigue them,” said Sandy Mawell-Forbes, Centre Director The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Two Scottish researchers are trying to piece together part of Scotland’s religious past by combining hi-tech science with historical knowledge. A combination of scientific and historical research is shedding light on the physical and chemical properties of medieval stained glass, as well as its wider religious meaning. The researchers, Dr Craig Kennedy from Heriot-Watt University’s Institute for Sustainable Building Design, and Dr Michael Penman, a historian from the University of Stirling, hope they can bring the past to life with the project, and fill in the knowledge gaps created by the Reformation.

They’ve been supported by two research associates. Helen Spencer, Heriot-Watt, carried out the analysis of glass from Elgin Cathedral, while Tom Turpie, Stirling, contributed research on cults and popular religion in the pre-Reformation era.

Reformation’s destruction wiped out church windows 

During the Protestant Reformation of 1560, most of Scotland’s Catholic churches faced widespread destruction. Items considered idolatrous were targeted and destroyed.  Significantly, stained glass windows were smashed and buried on-site, or otherwise left to decay, and were replaced by austere, plain glass. In England and across Europe, church windows survived and still bathe visitors in their colourful light. In Scotland, visitors and historians have had to use their imaginations. That’s what Dr Kennedy and Dr Penman want to change with their research.

Dr Michael Penman said: “If you visit the great medieval churches at Canterbury, Westminster or York, the stained glass windows are the main attraction for visitors, alongside the paintings on the walls. In medieval times, most of the congregation would have been illiterate, so stained glass and paintings would have been the best way to address them.  Nowhere else would they have seen anything so colourful and lavish. They were positioned and designed based on when the light would move round the church and shine through to best effect. You can step inside these cathedrals and get a real sense of what congregants would have experienced, sitting for worship several times a day, basked in colour. In Scotland, the Reformation was much more destructive, and absolutely nothing remains in place. We want to try and recreate this experience and learn more about medieval daily life by combining historical research with scientific findings.”

Recreating church windows from just 16 shards

The team has focused on two churches: Elgin Cathedral and Dunfermline Abbey.  Dr Craig Kennedy previously worked on a project that tested 30 shards of glass from Elgin Cathedral. They were tested using the university’s state-of-the-art electron microscopy facility and x-ray fluorescence to identify the elements present, which in turn revealed the colour of the glass, and where it came from. Dr Kennedy said:  “Over the last few decades, we’ve been able to recover shards of medieval church glass during excavations.  We can narrow down the age of the glass to part of a century, and from there we can use scientific techniques to determine where it was produced. We can work out when it was produced from some decorative patterns.   We know the colours but so much more. The presence of certain glass tells us where Scotland had trade routes, and who sponsored or supported churches here.”

Combining scientific information and historical studies has led to an educated guess on how the chapel windows may have looked at Elgin Cathedral.  “The glass recovered from Elgin was red, brown, blue, green and clear, and many of the clear sections were decorated in the French grisaille style. Elgin Cathedral’s windows may have had grisaille borders and abstract top lights highlighting saintly figures. As to who those figures were, we have a number of candidates. The Virgin, Thomas Becket, St Columba of Iona and a few others are known to have regional dedications in the northeast of Scotland.”

Trying to accurately imagine the stained glass windows of Dunfermline Abbey is proving difficult: only 16 shards of glass have been found.  Dr Kennedy continued : “It is fascinating that a site of such national importance as Dunfermline Abbey has yielded so few glass shards to date. This site, Scotland’s national mausoleum, yielded red, white and blue glass samples. This site had a highly spiritual connection with St Margaret and we can assume that high-quality narrative glass was at some time installed in the Abbey.”

Next steps: A modern day medieval church window

Kennedy and Penman hope that they will win funding to support two researchers, one historical and one scientific, so that they can try to answer a simple question: what did the glass look like? Using scientific techniques to trace the origins of the physical glass and historical studies to understand the religious stories that were conveyed, an attempt to recreate these lost windows can be made. Further, through engaging with local communities near these sites, they aim to shed a light on a previously unknown part of Scotland’s religious history. They’d like to commission an expert glass artist to create medieval glass to tour Scotland and give people a window to the past. Penman said: “All the stained glass currently in Scottish churches of a medieval origin is modern, from the 19^th and 20^th century and often for Protestant congregations. If our research can identify a distinctive Scottish palette and styles for stained and painted medieval church glass, either figurative or decorative, then an artist might be able to recreate the imagery and thus the spiritual and huge emotional effect of such windows on Scottish worshippers before the Reformation.”

Main photo: Elgin Cathedral.

By: David C. Weinczok

In the May 2023 edition I reflected on five of my favourite Scottish castles following twelve years of non-stop exploration. Let’s now turn the clock back, way back, into the mists of prehistory. Scotland has tens of thousands of prehistoric sites, from intangible yet significant Mesolithic settlements hinting at the first people to walk the post-glacial landscape to massive monuments like standing stones and chambered cairns. Even if you live in central Edinburgh or Glasgow, you’re never far from something dating back 5,000 years or more. Some of the prehistoric sites chosen as my favourites, such the rock art of Kilmartin Glen and the many tales surrounding the Eildon Hills, have been covered in-depth in previous editions of the Scottish Banner. All the more reason to revisit the back catalogue!

The Dwarfie Stane, Orkney

Orkney could easily have monopolised this list, and the temptation to let it was strong. The Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe, Taversöe Tuick, Skara Brae, the Broch of Gurness – need I go on? Yet, monuments similar enough to all of the above can be found elsewhere in Scotland. There is nothing anywhere quite like the Dwarfie Stane. At the head of Trowie Glen in Hoy, Orkney, is a solitary mass of rock. When the glaciers retreated some 12,000 years ago, they dropped this monumental erratic in their wake. Five thousand years ago, people wielding nothing but bone and stone tools hollowed it out and carved a stone bed, complete with a pillow-like ledge, inside. A block, now a few feet in front of the entrance, can plug it like a cork in a bottle of wine. Naturally, a place as strange as this became an epicentre for folklore.

One story tells of its creation by feuding giants. Another, no less than Walter Scott’s The Pirate, makes it the home of a Norse dwarf name Trolld. The Trowie Glen was home to the last of the fairy or ‘peedie’ (an Orkney Scots word meaning ‘small’) folk in Hoy, and many a local over the centuries was lured into their subterranean dwellings for what seemed like a few hours only to emerge years or decades later. The Dwarfie Stane has long been a draw for eccentrics, hence the texted carved in its side in Persian and reverse Latin by Major William Mounsey which reads, “I have sat two nights and so learnt patience”. It still is, hence my own visit, and hopefully one day your visit, too. 

The Fortingall Yew, Perthshire

There is one very special thing about the Fortingall Yew which separates it from all other prehistoric sites in Scotland. It’s alive. At around 3,000 years old, the Fortingall Yew is one of the oldest living organisms in the world. Set within church grounds, it would have been a place of veneration for people for dozens of generations before the first whispers of Christianity were heard. Beltane fires were often lit at its base, which eventually caused the great yew to split. A report from 1769 says that it was then possible to drive a horse and carriage through the gap. Yew trees like the Fortingall specimen are revered as embodiments of the cycle of life and death. When their branches grow so long as to graze the ground, they can foster new offshoots. This may be one of the reasons why they are so often found in churchyards, given the central belief in resurrection.

More recently, the Fortingall Yew has undergone another jump across a dichotomy. In 2015 one of its branches was observed to have three berries. This is extraordinary because the Fortingall Yew is male, and yet, male yews don’t have berries. It is possible for whole yews, or at least individual branches, to change sex, and that is precisely what appears to be happening. However, the Fortingall Yew’s future could be cut short. On my most recent visit, I observed a New Age-type group praying at the tree only to then break branches from it to take as keepsakes. This type of vandalism is killing the yew, and if it is not stopped the tree will be dead as soon as 2050. I hope that it has not endured 3,000 years just to be undone by those who claim to revere it.   

Achnabreck, Kilmartin Glen

Given my previous coverage of the rock art of Kilmartin Glen in the July 2022 edition of the Scottish Banner, I’ll keep this one short and sweet. Achnabreck is just one of dozens of rock art sites situated within Kilmartin Glen, an area which boast over 800 sites of archaeological significance within just a few square miles. Other standout rock art sites include Ormaig, Kilmichael Glassary, and Cairnbaan, each with their own distinctive patterns and atmospheres.

Yet it is at Achnabreck that the grandest display of rock art is on show. Carved between 6,000 to 3,500 years ago, the patterns on several sloping escarpments include rings several feet wide, deep cup marks which cradle the morning dew, and teardrop-like ‘tails’. Many are integrated into the natural features of the rock, incorporating cracks and divots into the motifs. They are best viewed at sunrise or sunset, especially in winter when the sun’s angle is low and catches every groove. No one knows what they mean, but that only deepens the wonder of being here. A lifetime could be spent trying to observe and understand the carvings in Kilmartin Glen alone (indeed several have). Some things will forever elude us, and Achnabreck teaches us that there is a certain magic in not knowing. 

Kingarth Standing Stones, Bute

This is one category which could easily have been cornered by an example from Orkney, but in lieu of the many possibilities from further north, my mind kept circling – pardon the pun – back to a much less-well known example from the Isle of Bute. At Kingarth in the south of the island you will find three very unusual standing stones which I like to call the Three Weird Sisters. They were once part of a much larger stone circle, but only these three remain. They are composed of conglomerate, with one of the stones – distinctly red in hue – almost looking as though it was an arts and crafts project consisting of compressed quartz and gravel. White quartz is prominent on these stones and was used in funerary and megalithic monuments throughout the shores of the Firth of Clyde due to its shimmering nature.

While they may not be the most dramatic standing stones in Scotland, or even in Argyll and Bute, they provide fascinating insights into why such places were created and how their changing environments can alter our perception of them. For instance, most of Bute’s standing stones are positioned at valley terminals, almost like ‘gateways’. Furthermore, a book from 1893 shows the stones being enclosed by tall trees. This was the case when I visited them in 2016, lending them an air of secrecy and seclusion. Yet, these trees were far from ancient – they were a plantation, and when I returned in 2022 the stones stood instead in an open, stump-filled field visible from afar. This entirely changed the experience of visiting them, as it became possible to see what other sites they are intervisible with today and likely would have been when they were raised. It’s little insights like this which make some places stand out despite their superficial shortcomings.

The Eildon Hills, Scottish Borders

At first, the choice of the Eildon Hills may seem a strange one. After all, there is very little upon them made by people from any era which is still tangible. The reason why the Eildons resonate is due partly to their innate beauty, and to their role as a centre of gravity for countless other historic sites and stories in their literal and metaphorical shadow. One of few exceptions to the lack of tangible remains are the outlines of earthen ramparts atop the summit of Eildon Hill North, which was once the site of the largest hillfort in Scotland.

The summit was used as a gathering place since at least the Bronze Age, with room enough for up to 3,000 people to assemble – more than the modern population of Melrose. The relationship between this great hillfort and the huge Roman fort of Trimontium, which is swallowed by the shadow of Eildon Hill North as the sun sets, remains up for debate. Like Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, the Eildons are said to be ‘hollow hills’ containing unimaginable wealth and the hidden realm of the fairy folk. Thomas the Rhymer, the renowned prophet of the Borders, gained his gift of prophecy through a seven year-long visit to this hidden kingdom. Another Borderer shrouded in mystery, Michael Scott, is said to have created them during an escapade with a demon. Of course, Walter Scott merits a second mention here as the Eildons were a beloved part of his life in and stories from the Borders. Looking out to them from the majestic lookout point of Scott’s View, it is easy to understand why.

Main photo: The Eildon Hills.

By: Eric Bryan

The Cairngorm funicular railway in the Cairngorms National Park has the double distinction of being the only funicular railway in Scotland, and the highest railway in the United Kingdom. Positioned on the north side of Cairn Gorm, the railway serves the Cairngorm Mountain alpine ski area that was developed in 1960.  The railway replaced the White Lady Chairlift, which opened in December 1961. The chairlift eventually proved to be too susceptible to the sometimes enormously strong mountain winds, while a funicular railway was deemed to be much more resistant to such weather hazards. Construction began on the railway in 1999, laying a 2000mm broad gauge track from the base station in the Coire Cas area 2km up the mountainside to Ptarmigan, more than 1097m above sea level. The steepest gradient the rails traverse is 23 degrees, or a 40 per cent inclination.

Sheiling

The railway has a middle station at Sheiling, situated at about 765m above sea level, and a passing loop above this where the single rail line splits into two, so that the two carriages can pass each other – one going up, the other on its way down. During the skiing season the carriages run at up to 36km/h, and in the off season the top speed is 18km/h. Not counting middle station stops, the trip to the top can take about 4-5 minutes in winter and 9 minutes in summer, or generally 5-8 minutes depending on season, weather and middle station stops. During summer the train does not make stops at the middle station.

Depending on various weather factors, the trains can operate safely in winds of 100-120km/h. In the approach to the top station the carriage enters a 230m long tunnel, and then arrives at the top platform which is concealed in the mountainside. Each carriage has a capacity of 120 standing passengers, and is wheelchair accessible. The stations at the base and at Ptarmigan are equipped with lift access to each level. Two 500kW motors mounted in series power the railway by pulling up one carriage as the other descends. Typically, the railway is operated from a control room at the Ptarmigan Station, but there are also operational controls at the base station and inside each carriage. Control, communication and safety systems plus backup systems are part of the railway network. The latter include standby generators and manually operated emergency systems for moving the carriages in case of power failure.

Reinstatement of the railway

At the Top Station are the Ptarmigan Restaurant, Shop at the Top gift shop, Cairngorm Gin Bar, Cairngorm Learning Zone, and of course panoramic views which can be accessed from the restaurant through floor to ceiling windows and via the viewing terrace. Due to mountain conservation efforts in cooperation with Scottish National Heritage, climbers and hillwalkers are forbidden to use the railway for uphill travel during the ski season. Further, during the summer, rail passengers are not allowed to explore the mountain from Ptarmigan Station, but hillwalkers who reach the upper station on their own may buy a downhill ticket to return to the lower terminus. The base station houses a Disability Sport UK office, hire shop, restaurant, ranger’s post and ticket office. Near the middle station is a Scottish Ski Club building.

In October 2018 the railway closed due to concerns over structural weaknesses, and engineers undertook investigations of the system. The economic viability of continuing to operate the railway was also in question. But in October 2020 the Scottish Government announced a £20m funding package for work on the Cairngorm ski resort, £16m of which was slated for the repair, upgrade and reinstatement of the railway. The engineering works project, which included reinforcement of the viaduct and the installation of a new control system, started in November 2020 and finished in late 2022. The railway reopened on 26 January 2023. Trains depart regularly from the lower terminus from 10am to 3:30pm. The last train leaves the upper terminus at 4:30pm, though this schedule is weather dependant. Return railway tickets for adults are £22 standard, or £17 off peak. Juniors ride for £12.50 standard or £9.50 off peak. There are discounts for seniors and families, while children under five ride for free. Off peak prices apply to the 10am, 10:30am and 3:30pm trains, Monday thru Friday. Friends of Cairngorm Mountain season passes for 2023 are £45 for adults and £25 for juniors.

Cairngorms National Park

With an area of 4528 square kilometres, Cairngorms National Park is the largest national park in the UK. The park encompasses the Cairngorms mountain range and surrounding hills. Established by the Scottish Parliament in 2003, the park is visited by millions of tourists annually. Within the park is the largest stretch of Caledonian forest left in Scotland, and a number of castles are on park grounds. These include Loch an Eilein, Braemar, Ruthven Barracks, Corgarff, Glenbuchat, Blairfindy, Drumin, Blair, and Castle Roy. There are several nature reserves inside the park where visitors may see red squirrels, ospreys, crossbills, crested tit, lapwings, curlews, redshanks, greylag geese and whopper swans (the latter two during wintertime). In the Cairngorms are snow bunting, red grouse, golden eagle, ptarmigan and ring ouzel. Mountain hare, red deer, and the only semi-domesticated herd of reindeer in the British Isles – introduced from Sweden in 1952 – roam the slopes and plateaus. Wildlife can be seen from the more than 100 walking paths and trails in the park.

Cairn Gorm

Classed as a Munro, Cairn Gorm at 1244.8m high is the sixth tallest mountain in the British Isles. Cairn Gorm’s summit overlooks Strathspey, and the obscure Loch Avon is visible from the mount’s southern slopes. Despite its being named after the Cairngorm range, Ben Macdui is the tallest and most prominent mountain in the Cairngorms. Automated weather stations on the summit of Cairn Gorm provide wind speed, temperature and frost data. The mountain’s average of 194.4 frost days per year make these the UK’s coldest weather stations. Daytime temperatures which stay below 0 degrees Celsius have been recorded on Cairn Gorm during every month of the year. The coldest known temperature here is -26.9 degrees C, and the warmest is 25.5 degrees C. Cairn Gorm is the site of the highest recorded UK wind speed on land, with a 278km/h gust occurring in March 1986. An unofficial 312km/h gust was reported in December 2008, but was unconfirmed by the Met office.

Main photo: Image courtesy of Cairngorm Mountain.

The Fife town of Glenrothes was ‘born’ on 30^th June 1948. It was Scotland’s second new town and became the first in Scotland to appoint its own artist to specially create public art. Today the town houses tens of thousands of people, has a strong connection to the electronics industry, as well as a much loved African animal, as Judy Vickers explains.

In 1950, the population stood at just 1,000 people, living in a couple of hamlets and farm steadings scattered across the area. By 1960, the population of the new town of Glenrothes had shot up to 12,500 and was growing rapidly – latest figures show there are almost 40,000 people living there today. This year the Fife town celebrates its 75^th anniversary and to mark the occasion, an exhibition charting its history is being held at the Kingdom Centre in the town and a new sculpture – of a hippo, which has become the unlikely symbol of the town – is being unveiled.

Coal mining

The town was founded in June 1948 as the second of Scotland’s new towns under the New Towns Act of 1946 – the first was East Kilbride. Unlike East Kilbride and several other new towns which were created during this period, Glenrothes was not designed to home the overspill population from Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city. Instead the idea was to construct homes for the workers at the new nearby Rothes Colliery, planned to be one of the country’s new “superpits”, producing 5,000 tons of coal a day and lasting for 100 years.  Coal mining in the area dates back to the 13^th century but it was only in the post-Second World War era, with the drive for security of energy, that mass production was planned.

Shafts had already been sunk by the time Glenrothes was founded but the mine suffered flooding and geological problems. Plans for the town specified that one in eight of its inhabitants should be miners and although the colliery was opened with great fanfare by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1958, a year after it finally began producing coal, it only lasted another four years, before closing in 1962 as one of the National Coal Board’s most spectacular failures. The town that was built for it, however, proved far more long-lasting and successful. Located between the villages of Leslie, Thornton and Markinch, it was named after the Earl of Rothes who owned most of the land which the town was built on – Glen was added to avoid confusion with Rothes, a town on the banks of the river Spey in Moray near Elgin. The town was almost called Westwood, after Joe Westwood, the then Secretary of State for Scotland, who proposed the location.

Silicon Glen

The area has long been occupied by mankind – the earliest known civilization in Glenrothes is the early Neolithic settlement of Balfarg.  Ancient pottery and other artefacts dating back 4000 years BC were found here. The 3000-year-old Balfarg Henge and stone circle at Balbirnie show that the new town has some fairly ancient foundations. While the loss of mining meant the original purpose for the town was lost, it did not spell its end though, as a new industry had sprung up even before the closure of the pit.  In 1958 US based Beckman Instruments choose Glenrothes over English locations for its UK plant – Glenrothes having been promoted as being perfect for electronics due to its clean air. Others followed including Hughes Microelectronics (now Raytheon), Canon, Brand-Rex (now Leviton) and Apricot Computers, making Glenrothes a key player in Scotland’s “Silicon Glen”. Many electronics firms have since relocated to places such as China but some have stayed and are still key employers in the area.

Hippos

New towns were often seen as rather soulless places with no cultural history. To combat that, Glenrothes became one of the first to appoint a town artist. It was an inspired move; not only has it made Glenrothes a centre for public art – there are more than 140 pieces in the town today produced by the official town artists and visiting creatives – but it also gave the town its curious link with hippos. The first artist was David Harding in 1968. He was employed as part of the planning department and he moved to the town with his family to better immerse himself in the place and created pieces such as Henge (1970) drawing on the town’s prehistoric links. But it was his assistant Stan Bonnar – father of TV actor Mark Bonnar – who created the first hippo sculpture, made out of concrete. It was such a hit that Harding and Bonnar made several more, positioning them around Glenrothes. The next town artist was Malcolm Robertson who added landmark pieces such as The Birds (1980) and Giant Irises, the town’s contribution to the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival.

But it was the hippos which captured the town’s imagination which is why the African animal is the subject of a new sculpture for the town. The sculpture has again been created by Stan Bonnar who was persuaded out of retirement by Leviton, formerly Brand-Rex, which was marking 50 years in the town. The Disappearing Hippo follows the theme of the older hippos but highlights the plight of the creatures in the wild due to global warming and the reduction of their habitat. The frame is formed by 685 triangles cut and shaped by Stan from old tin cans.

The recycled materials and the “disappearing” theme obviously reflect 21^st century concerns – instead of the original environmentally unfriendly concrete Stan has used a greener, modern alternative geopolymer concrete – with hippo dung as the binding agent. And along with the history of the town, the exhibition features the work of The Turgwe Trust, the hippo conservation charity which sent Stan the dung.

Ian Wilkie, the managing director of Leviton Network Solutions who is part of the event’s steering committee, said: “As a piece of art to commemorate the 75^th birthday of Glenrothes, there could be no more fitting tribute.  The fact that it has been created by the original Mr Hippo – Stan Bonnar in the year when he too turns 75 makes this even more special. But as you gaze at this hippo’s beauty here in Glenrothes, spare a thought for the plight of real hippos in the wild.”

The Glenrothes 75 Years exhibition will run at the Kingdom Centre throughout July, August and September.

Main photo: The Dream by Malcolm Robertson, 1989.

A project to transform a disused dairy farm in southwest Scotland is attracting wildlife to the area and inspiring change across the country.

By: Sarah Burnett

Located in the heart of Dumfries & Galloway, the Threave Landscape Restoration Project has seen 81 hectares of land transformed from a disused dairy farm to a haven that features wildflower meadows, rich wetlands, and growing native woodlands that are buzzing with insect and bird life, including species rarely before seen in the area.

The project has inspired other places we care for, with teams at Culloden, Burg, Iona and Ben Lawers all looking to adapt their conservation grazing approach to utilise new GPS software in use at Threave. Holistic planned grazing, such as that done by the 14 Belted Galloway cattle on site, increases biodiversity by creating vegetation at different heights, which encourages a range of wildlife and allows wildflowers to grow. The project uses pioneering GPS technology, located in the collars of the cows, to allow remote tracking of activity via smartphone to reduce the chance of over-grazing.

A cohesive, open space

Not only is the project inspiring large-scale changes at key historic sites across Scotland, it’s also generating change locally. Following a visit from Gelston Primary School to Threave, pupils have worked with Engagement Ranger Mary Smith to create their own wildlife garden in the grounds of the school. Since the project – supported by HSBC UK and the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme and using funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund – began in 2021, we have been giving nature a helping hand to encourage wildlife and biodiversity across the site. An innovative project from the beginning, it captures a new way of caring for the land which moves away from the more traditional prescriptive measures, to one which lets nature and the land itself lead the way.

Taking what was once a segregated landscape, our team at Threave has created a cohesive, open space on which natural heritage can flourish across wetland, woodland, wild meadows and grass-scapes. 210 meters of new boardwalks have been introduced to allow visitors to cross the re-created 7.3 hectare wetland area and discover species new to the site, including the shoveler duck. A different approach to woodland management, which saw a shift from commercial forestry plantation woodlands to replanting methods and native woodland generation, has seen 2,000 native trees planted between November 2022 and March 2023 alone. By the end of the project, the land will be home to 16,000 trees. Backing our commitment to increasing accessibility at all of our places as part of our vision of nature, beauty and heritage for everyone, we also upgraded the core paths around the land in partnership with the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme. The wider pathways not only connect to the local town but will also allow wheelchairs and prams easier access. Currently the area receives between 800–900 visitors each week, with people of all ages keen to spot the range of wildlife now living on the land, including ospreys, wild fowl, greylag geese and sand martins.

Nature will flourish

Although the restoration at Threave is a long-term project spanning 100 years, the difference in the land approach is already reaping rewards: this month alone a pair of wheatear birds were seen using the reserve; curlew have been spotted on the wetlands; all 19 ponds and scrapes were occupied all winter with wild fowl; and three shoveler ducks took up home on the ‘great scrape’. Skylark have also been displaying on the site over the last month in a direct result from the change in land use, as a species which searches for long grass for nesting.

Gareth Clingan, Operations Manager for Dumfries & Galloway, said, “The Threave Landscape Restoration Project is a really different way of thinking about looking after land, one that lets nature recover and monitors the changes over a 100-year period, with a bit of a helping hand from the National Trust for Scotland. We hope our approach will inspire others to think about how they can make changes that mean nature will flourish. This is so important in this time of climate and biodiversity crises. Another great thing about our work here at Threave is how easy it is for people to see it firsthand. We’re just off the A75 and only five minutes away from the heart of Castle Douglas, so everyone can come along and see the difference our conservation charity’s work here has made, and enjoy the nature, beauty and heritage of this lovely part of Scotland. Not only have we created flourishing eco-systems, teeming with flora and fauna, but we’ve also created local job opportunities with the recruitment of two new rangers, alongside several volunteers who are making a big contribution to the project. If this is what we can see after just two years, imagine the transformation in 2121.”

Head Ranger David Thompson added, “This project has really put our charity and our conservation credentials on the map. We’ve been talking to folk from all over the world, and especially pupils and students, which is essential if we are to grow the next generation of conservationists. It’s been really rewarding sharing our specialist skills and knowledge. As a team, we’ve also learned a lot and have a much deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, this special place.”

Text and images are courtesy of the National Trust for Scotland. For more information on the Trust or to help them protect Scotland’s heritage see: www.nts.org.uk

The Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games is ecstatic to announce that Glass Tiger will be the music headliner at the Tattoo’d in Tradition ceremony this year! They will be performing on the Friday night, August 11^th following the Tattoo and are included as part of the purchase of a Friday night ticket or weekend pass.

“We are truly thrilled to have Glass Tiger at the Festival this year” noted Festival Executive Director Elizabeth Bender.  “It is especially meaningful, as Glass Tiger was going to be part of our 2020 Festival and 75^th Anniversary celebrations which were unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. It is fabulous that we are able to welcome them this year.” 

“It will be great to finally have Glass Tiger up on stage” added Festival President Matthew Bennett-Monty.  “The Festival team has put together an amazing lineup of entertainment this year that compliments all our other programming including the World Heavy Event competition and Outlander stars. This is a Festival year not to be missed,” Bennett-Monty stated. In addition to Glass Tiger, the Festival will also welcome a lineup that is a wonderful combination of fan favourites and new music and entertainment including Albannach, Waking Finnegan, Glengarry Bhoys, The Snake Charmer, Elora Festival Singers, The Rogersons, Gillebride MacMillan, David Leask, Bob Maclean, and Chambless & Muse.

Richard Rankin

The Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games is also thrilled to announce the Featured Guest for 2023 will be Richard Rankin. Known as Roger MacKenzie on the hit TV series Outlander based on the best-selling books by Diana Gabaldon. Rankin is the third Outlander star the Festival has welcomed and will be on the grounds Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 11 – 13, 2023.

The Festival team has curated an awesome combination of unique VIP experiences, including brunch, autograph/photo opportunities, whisky tastings, and free panel discussions.  There will be multiple opportunities to meet Rankin up close, and in addition to scheduled featured events, he will also be participating in activities through the Festival grounds.

Stay on top of Festival announcements and updates via social media channels. For more detailed information about the musical entertainment and all Festival activities and to purchase tickets, visit: www.fergusscottishfestival.com.

One of Scotland’s best-loved ceilidh nights is promising to bring Scottish country dancing to an even greater audience after teaming up with a global tartan-wear brand and announcing a raft of prizes for the best dancers.  The tartan tie-up will see Bonnie & Wild’s famous White Heather Club ceilidh nights offering prizes for participants and encouraging Edinburgh residents, tourists, and Scotland fans all over the world to take part in Scottish country dancing.  Organisers Bonnie & Wild said the collaboration with global kilt-maker ScotlandShop will see its staff decked out in a Bonnie & Wild tartan as they showcase ceilidh culture through the popular White Heather Club dances.

The White Heather Club was an iconic TV show in the 1960s and 1970s that beamed ceilidh dancing into people’s homes across the UK, and was largely credited with the revival in popularity of Scottish country dancing. Last year, Bonnie & Wild, the Scottish Food Hall in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter where the monthly dances are held, reprised the ceilidh night, attracting hundreds of dancers every month to the free ceilidhs.  Ryan Barrie, Managing Director of Bonnie & Wild, said: “Our ceilidh nights have been a phenomenal success since we revived them last year, with thousands of residents, tourists and curious passers-by coming along to Bonnie & Wild and enjoying these evenings of music, dance and good cheer. The White Heather Club is already one of Edinburgh’s biggest and best nights out, and we know there’s potential for more. Teaming up with ScotlandShop, we’ll be showcasing ceilidhs to a wider audience, while also offering new rounds of prizes to participants, and honouring some of the bonnie dancers who come to our White Heather Club. And there’ll also be a few surprises on the way.”

Celebrating Scottish culture

Bonnie & Wild’s White Heather Club has already proved to be a hugely popular night in Edinburgh’s events calendar, with thousands of Scots and city visitors having taken part in the regular ceilidhs, which are held on the last Thursday of every month and are free.  Mr Barrie added: “With ScotlandShop’s partnership, we’ll see a lot more tartan on the night, made in Scotland of course. The White Heather Club is a celebration of Scottish culture, something that all of us at Bonnie & Wild are passionate about, whether it’s the food and drink we offer, the chefs and business we work with, and our love of the land through our sponsorship of the Scottish Landscape Photographer Awards.”

Anna White, Founder of ScotlandShop, said: “Like Bonnie & Wild, we are passionate about celebrating Scottish culture, including of course the many tailored tartan garments and fabulous fabrics woven here in Scotland. But we also embrace Scotland’s wider culture, its food, drink, music and of course our country dancing. We know these are very important to our customers who I’m sure will be excited by the White Heather Club and our involvement in it.” Taking the floor on the night, the White Heather Club is led by the Charlie Kirkpatrick Band, one of Scotland’s best ceilidh bands and a regular at ceilidhs across the country as well as on radio.

The White Heather Club takes place on the last Thursday of every month at Bonnie & Wild, St James Quarter, Edinburgh. Starting at 8pm, tickets are free and can be reserved online: www.bonnieandwildmarket.com

We are a new pipe band to Queensland and we would like to provide Veterans and Families of Townsville and Emergency Services the opportunity of playing the Highland Bagpipes and Highland Snare Drum, through weekly lessons and practice conducted at the Oasis Centre Townsville, North Queensland. This will include music theory on both instruments and lessons to enable the band member to achieve a competent level of playing the bagpipes and drums to competition level.  

Come along, have a bit of fun learning the great Highland Bagpipes and Highland Snare drum. Give yourself a challenge. This is a hobby that has ultimate results, stretching to all corners of the world, participate in things such as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow Scotland as well as domestic competitions here in Australia.

Pipe Major John Ferguson

The Pipe Major John Ferguson started his career in the Scots Guards in 1977. John has been an Infantry Soldier serving in nearly all parts of the world, starting his piping career in the City of Bradford pipe band in West Yorkshire England.  John has played (to name one or two) his bagpipes for HM Queen Elizabeth, His RH King Charles, the Duke of Edinburgh. HM the Queen Mother also a few other well know celebrities, John Denver, His holiness Pope John Paul II, the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher plus many more.

Whilst John was serving in the Scots Guards, he was part of the winning band that won the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow Scotland. John served for 11 Years in the Scots Guards then in 1987 moved to Australia to join the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) where he still serves in the 3^rd Btn RAR to this day. No matter where your family history stems from or your age, you only need the will and drive to succeed at a very challenging hobby. Enjoy meeting new friends that you have not yet met from all parts the world.  

The Veterans and Families Pipeband meets at The Oasis Centre, 20 Darter Street, Oonoonba, Townsville., Queensland. 18:30 for learners and 19:30 for more advanced players. For more information contact: Pipe Major John Ferguson 0449 116 651.

By: Marilyn Meikle, Communications Coordinator, Montreal Highland Games

“Dare to be honest and fear no labour.” – Robbie Burns

Scotland’s famous poet sums up the history of the Montreal Highland Games. While not the biggest games in Canada, they began with the hard work of a group of Scots when the Caledonian Games were established in Montreal in 1855. Over the past 168 years, there have been various incarnations of the Games, hundreds of volunteers, thousands of hours of hard labour, and dedication to maintaining some iteration of Scottish competitions. Men and women daring to invest their time and money to preserve Scottish culture in Montreal. How fortunate the city is that they did. Today’s Montreal Highland Games are a tribute to that hard work.

“We couldn’t hold the Games without the dedication of our committee, our volunteers, and our partners. We are grateful to have CN Canada along with the St. Andrew’s Society as co-presenting sponsors”, Scott Mackenzie, President of the Games, says.

Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation’s Men and Women’s National Championships

This year, the Games are thrilled to host the Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation’s Men and Women’s National Championships. These competitors from across Canada clearly demonstrate they have no fear of hard labour. They are disciplined athletes who work to maintain their strength and strive to improve each caber toss or stone put. Lorne Colthart, ON and Susie Lajoie, NS will be defending their 2022 titles. Hard work and commitment are seen throughout many events and attractions at the Games; from the families who participate in the 5km Caledonian Run that kicks off the day; to the competitive Highland dancers who range from primary to premier; pipe bands who compete under the judge’s trained ear; to musicians who gather in the Fiddlers Tent along the Celtic Mile, and Mariner’s Curse and The Hellions who will be performing at their best in the Ceilidh Tent. Everyone involved in the day dares to be their best whether they are a volunteer in the Children’s Village, or a member of the clean-up crew. Honesty and hard work are integral to making the Games a success.

The result of the energy put into the Games is a family-friendly event for all Montrealers to experience Scottish culture and enjoy a fun-filled day. There is no labour involved to attend the Games! Hop on the free shuttle bus from the Angrignon métro station and join in the celebration at the Douglas Hospital Grounds, Verdun on Sunday, August 6. Tickets can be purchased on the website.

The Montreal Highland Games takes place on Sunday August 6, for more information see: www.montrealhighlandgames.com. Or keep up to date on Facebook: @montrealhighlandgamesor Instagram: @mtlhighlandgames.

All images courtesy of Peter Matulina.

Tourists to the West Highland Line can now benefit from a guided tour as they travel by rail through the scenic route, thanks to a partnership between ScotRail, Geotourist, and the University of Dundee. The collaboration aims to enhance the travel experience by offering an engaging and informative audible tour that highlights the history, culture, and natural beauty of the West Highlands.

Breath-taking landscapes and iconic destinations

With its breath-taking landscapes and iconic destinations such as Fort William, Ben Nevis, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the West Highland Line is one of Scotland’s most beloved railway journeys, and it’s easy to see why many of the stops along the way have featured in high profile movies such as Local Hero, Trainspotting and Harry Potter. Recognising the importance of providing tourists, both foreign and domestic, with a rich and immersive experience, ScotRail has joined more than 20 other organisations, and teamed up with Geotourist to develop a captivating audio tour that will enhance customers’ understanding and enjoyment of the route. The audible tour, which is accessible on the ScotRail website and through Geotourist’s user-friendly mobile app, provides passengers with a unique narrative as they travel through the West Highland Line.

Scotland you can only see from the train

The content has been carefully crafted to offer historical insights, local stories, and interesting facts about the landmarks and attractions along the way. Whether customers are history enthusiasts, nature lovers, or simply seeking to learn more about the area, the audio tour will cater to their interests and enrich their journey. Alasdair Smart, ScotRail Tourism Manager, said: “We’re delighted that customers travelling on the West Highland Line can now benefit from a more immersive experience thanks to the new audio tour. From the hustle and bustle of Glasgow to peaceful and picturesque Mallaig at the end of the line, it’s a side of Scotland you can only see from the train, and a magical tour of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.”

Since 1948, the Glengarry Highland Games has welcomed over one million visitors to one of North America’s premier Celtic festivals. Home of the North American Pipe Band Championships™ and host of a spectacular Tattoo and Concert, the Games has welcomed some of the world’s finest Celtic entertainers to its stage. The moving massed pipe band performance at the end of the Games sees over 1000 pipers and drummers playing together on a field ringed with an awestruck audience. Along with the traditional Games events of heavyweights, highland dancing and Scottish fiddling, the Games has introduced several new attractions with the Highland Regiment Tug of War, a Kilt Run, a Harp Workshop, Scotch Tasting, a Wee Bairns Area and more. Each year, over 20,000 visitors flock to Maxville, Ontario to celebrate this Celtic tradition and participate in everything Scottish.

One of the world’s best Highland Games

Last year the Games made a triumphant return after a two-year covid hiatus and to its surprise had one of its record attendance years. Also, this past winter the Games was nominated by the Pipes and Drums magazine as one of the world’s best Highland Games and just recently was named as one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals and Events in the same category as Ottawa’s Bluesfest and the Stratford Festival.

This summer at the 2023 Glengarry Highland Games there might be as many hockey jerseys as kilts in the audience when the Games welcomes as Guest of Honour hometown boy John Wensink, an NHL hero most noted for his time as enforcer with the Boston Bruins. Wensink joins an illustrious group of Canadian celebrities who have filled the role of Guest including Prime Ministers, a Governor General, an astronaut and other noted Canadian figures.

Celtic music

The award-winning Celtic rock sensation The Derina Harvey Band (dHb) will be this year’s Friday night Tattoo headliner with traditional songs as well as their own brand of original tunes. Lead singer and band leader Derina Harvey’s vibrant personality takes center stage with humour, storytelling, and, of course, her world class vocals. dHb has been likened to a “rockier” version of Canada’s Great Big Sea if fronted by Adele, and has earned a reputation as a high-energy show that leaves many an audience out-of-breath and hollering for more. What is it about Celtic music that when its solid rhythms, upbeat tempos and catchy melodies start up, that people are compelled to clap their hands and tap their feet and start dancing. The Celtic bands of Glengarry are well known across North America and they all make sure they are home to play at the entertainment venues at the Games. From Gaelic singing to Scottish fiddle to favourite Scottish and Irish tunes, they will all be there with perennial favourites the Brigadoons, Hadrian’s Wall, Brandy and Port, the 2 Paddys and the County Lads along with Maritime talent Anna Ludlow and East Coast Experience.

There aren’t many Canadians who don’t immediately recognize the distinctive red uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and at this year’s Games there will be loads of opportunities to meet them up close as the Games salutes the 150^th Anniversary of the RCMP. From the Tartan Ball decorated with RCMP regalia to a special performance of the RCMP Pipes, Drums and Dancers at the Friday Night Tattoo, Games visitors will be able to say thank you to one of Canada’s historic policing forces.

Another colourful highlight of Friday night’s Tattoo will be the performance of Canada’s Band of the Ceremonial Guard with their scarlet tunics and bearskin caps, a symbol of Canada’s relationship to the monarchy and one of Ottawa’s most treasured icons. Daily during the summer, the Guard performs the Changing of the Guard on the lawns of Parliament Hill, one of the most recognized military traditions in Canada. As well, members of the Ceremonial Guard perform daily sentry duties at Rideau Hall, the official residence and workplace of the Governor General of Canada.

1,000 pipers and drummers

For many people, the Games is all about the pipes and anyone coming to the Games will not be disappointed.  Some of the best in North America piping descend on Maxville to compete for the prestigious Piobaireached Society Gold Medal(Canada), the many piping and drumming awards and of course, the North American Pipe Band Championship™. After two days of wall-to-wall competitions and entertainment, the Games wraps up with its culminating event, the famous Glengarry Highland Games massed bands where over 1,000 pipers and drummers take to the infield and perform in unison. It’s a moving moment when the last strains of Amazing Grace fade away on the wind and the crowd surrounding the infield is hushed and in awe. Whether you’re nine or ninety, there is something for you at the Games. The grounds are fully accessible and there are many indoor events in air-conditioned spaces while outdoors there is an abundance of shaded areas where you can gather to watch the piping, the heavyweights or cheer on the tug of war.

Check out the website, www.glengarryhighlandgames.com, our Facebook page or Instagram to find out more about the Games and to plan your visit. As they say, during the long weekend on August 4 and 5, all roads lead to Maxville.

By:Oscar Peterson, Joshua Holborn and Ryan Shine

Scotch College Pipe Band from Perth, Western Australia recently crossed the globe to take part in this year’s Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk, Virginia. Some of the students shared with the Scottish Banner on the incredible experience and the thrill of performing for US audiences.

On Sunday 9^th April 2023, 43 boys from the Scotch College Pipe Band assembled in Perth airport. Pipes in hand, drums in cases, the boys were ready for the trip of a lifetime, the Virginia International Tattoo. Months of preparation had led up to the tour. Auditions, early wake ups, lunchtime practices, but to say it was worth it would be an understatement. with no current member of the band ever having been on tour due to covid, the boys were ecstatic to see what it was all about.

New York City

Our tour started in the buzzing and vibrant streets of New York City, quite a culture shock for the boys coming from relaxed, costal Perth. We were treated to the full New York experience crammed into a few short but memorable days. Ice hockey, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Times Square to name a few. The last day gave the boys the freedom to use the day however they wanted, in which some interesting, rather chaotic stories were produced with a recurring theme of subway confusion and accent barriers making for some great tales. But in a flash our time in NYC was over, and it was time to head down to the capital, Washington DC. Whilst traveling to Washington DC, we made a short stop over at the Kitchen Kettle Village located in the rural areas of Pennsylvania in which we played a few of our favourite tunes for the village. 

Washington, DC

Our arrival in Washington saw us immersed in a broad range of popular destinations and tourist attractions, with the patriotic environment being a unique aspect of our journey. We visited the war monument in Arlington which featured the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Washington monument which included the famous Lincoln Memorial and then for one of the evenings, we attended a baseball game which further broadened our scope of American culture and tradition. The overall experience of Washington gave the group a key piece of memorabilia that entails lots of positive, humorous, and fascinating memories. Our next stop, Norfolk Virginia, where we will take part in the annual International Tattoo.

Norfolk, Virginia

For the next week, Pipes and Drums became our life. We were involved in countless hours of rehearsals for the Tattoo, led by Pipe Major Ross McCrindle, and Drum Major Rab McCutcheon. Our band was the largest that attended the 2023 Tattoo, pressuring us to play at our highest standard with which was made possible due to the thorough preparation by the Scotch staff in Australia. During our time in Norfolk, we performed at four schools as part of the outreach program, an Irish pub, the Pipe Bands competition day, a drumming battle against the Ukrainian Drummers on battleship Wisconsin, and several hullabaloos.

The group was kept very busy throughout the Tattoo week, with many of the boys balancing sightseeing, practicing, performing and study for the emerging exams in Australia. The Tattoo performance nights were exhilarating. The outstanding production and performers worked in harmony to produce a powerful atmosphere that is unforgettable to all of us. However, after one of the most memorable experiences of our lives, it was time to say goodbye to the friends we made from all around the world, and return to the other side of the globe. 

Scotland will mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla during Royal Week in Edinburgh on Wednesday 5 July.  The King will be presented with the Honours of Scotland at a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral following processions on the Royal Mile. Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay will also attend events. The Honours will be collected from Edinburgh Castle by a People’s Procession, involving around 100 people representing aspects of Scottish life.  It will be escorted by The Royal Regiment of Scotland , Shetland pony mascot Corporal Cruachan IV and supported by  cadet musicians from the Combined Cadet Force Pipes and Drums, 51 Brigade Cadet Military Band.

Historic occasion

The Royal Procession will travel from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the Cathedral. There will be opportunities for the public to view the People’s Procession and the Royal Procession along the Royal Mile. A 21-Gun Salute will fire from Edinburgh Castle at the end of the St Giles’ Service, before the Royal Procession travels back to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Scotland will welcome the new King and Queen in July with a series of events to mark the Coronation. A People’s Procession, a Royal Procession, a National Service of Thanksgiving and a Gun Salute will take place in Edinburgh. Representatives from many different communities and organisations in Scotland will take part in these historic events. People who wish to mark this historic occasion can get involved by watching broadcast coverage or viewing events in person.”

The Stone of Destiny will be in St Giles’ Cathedral for the service. There will also be a fly past by the Red Arrows following the event.

Main photo: Palace of Holyroodhouse. Photo: VisitScotland.

A 40-year-old family recipe never before trialled in competition has secured the first ever Haggis World Championship for North Lanarkshire butcher Coopers of Bellshill. Owner Laura Black admitted she entered the inaugural world title-chasing bid “in hope rather than expectation” as she lifted the coveted trophy at the Scottish Craft Butchers Trade Fair in Perth. And she couldn’t have been more delighted as she dedicated the win to her hard-working team who helped tweak and perfect the family recipe into a modern winner.

Near perfection

“It’s the highlight of my career,” she thrilled. “I’m absolutely delighted. The world title is coming to North Lanarkshire, coming to Bellshill and coming to Coopers.” Laura’s family favourite fought off stiff competition from nearly 70 other Scottish hopefuls bidding to become the first Haggis World Champion and head judge John Wilkin, senior lecturer in food science at Abertay University, Dundee, described it as “near perfection”. “If there`s better haggis out there somewhere in the world then I want to taste it,” he said. “Laura’s haggis is worthy of the World Championship title – it’s absolutely superb.” Judges praised the standard of entry in this first championship, sponsored by Hamlyn of Scotland, describing it as a delicious celebration of the country’s best haggis. But it was Laura’s family staple that proved the ultimate winner in the fiercely contested showdown.

First ever world championship

George Jarron, President of Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) which hosted the new competition, said the event had proved a showcase for the best in the business. “We have been running a Scottish Haggis Championship for the past 30 years, but this is the first ever world championship,” he said. “We decided that haggis was such an iconic dish the world over that it was deserving of a global championship title to let the world know we had recognised and rewarded the very best. And it was only fitting that the first world title for a product so quintessentially Scottish should be staged in Scotland. There are few producers of our national dish that wouldn’t want to have a World Championship to their name, and we congratulate Laura and the team at Coopers of Bellshill for securing the first place on the international roll of honour.”

By: Eric Bryan

The Glasgow tractor changed Scottish farming life in the early 20^th century and was the only tractor designed and built in Scotland. Production of this special tractor lasted just five years but still to this date remains Scotland’s only indigenous tractor, built for Scottish conditions, as Eric Bryan explains.

In the early 20^th century, imported mass-produced American-made farm tractors dominated the market in Britain. But these tractors were designed mainly to work the vast flatlands of the American Midwest, and weren’t ideally suited to operating on hilly and muddy Scottish farmlands. With an eye toward creating a tractor fitted for working in such British conditions, W Guthrie, in conjunction with John Wallace & Sons Farm Implements and the DL Motor Manufacturing Co of Motherwell, designed the Glasgow Tractor.

Drawn up specifically to be compatible with Scotland’s challenging terrain, the Glasgow was not only an all-wheel drive tractor, but was in a three-wheeled configuration – not as you’d expect with two wheels in the back and one in front as with a crop-row tractor, but with two in the front and one in the back. This layout, combined with its weight distribution and low centre of gravity made the tractor resistant to overturning. The three-wheeled AWD system offered more stability than did a four-wheeled configuration, as it was less likely that one of the wheels would lift clear of the ground on steep or awkward landscapes. As a Glasgow advertisement stated, ‘The secret of the “Glasgow’s” splendid work on steep gradients is its three-wheel drive.’

Improved traction

Each of the Glasgow’s wheels could be fitted with spuds for improved traction, while the machine’s even weight distribution reduced bogging. The tractor’s AWD, with all wheels powered and turning cooperatively, meant that if one wheel slipped in a rut or got stuck against an obstacle, the other wheels kept turning and helped to free the slipping or trapped wheel. More Glasgow advertising somewhat sensationally claimed, ‘The “Glasgow” will climb and pull a plough anywhere. It cannot turn over. It will not dig in, tip up, slip or skid – points of superiority, due to all its three wheels being driven.’

The Glasgow’s steering system, rather than turning the rear or front wheels, slowed one of the front wheels while the other wheels kept rotating at a consistent speed, causing the vehicle to pivot on the slowed wheel and so turn the tractor. The driver’s iron basket seat was positioned all the way at the back of the machine, behind the rear wheel. From this perch, the operator had a full view of the front wheels as well as of the hitching and lift mechanisms which were positioned below the seat.

The Scottish tractor

Debuting at the 1919 Lincoln Tractor Trials, the Glasgow made a strong and favourable impression. At this gathering, W Guthrie drove the tractor up a 1 in 7 grade and pulling four 12 x 10 inch ploughs which usually required four horses to drag, ploughed one acre per hour. The Commercial Motor reported that the Glasgow attracted much interest at the trials, and pulled impressively. ‘It was noted that in the case of the “Glasgow” Tractor that owing to its three-wheel drive no slip whatever occurred. This will tend to show that, especially in the case of small and light tractors, the all-wheel drive has certain advantages if properly designed, so that the effect of the skidding of one wheel will not take all the power from the others.’

The Scottish tractor had an American Waukesha four-cylinder 27 horsepower engine, two forward and one reverse gear powered via nickel steel reduction gears, a Zephyr carburettor, and weighed 1636kg unladen. Its dimensions were 3.4m long, 1.7m wide and 1.9m high. Despite its promising start, the Glasgow Tractor was to face some daunting challenges. While the 1922 price tag for the Glasgow stood at £375 (and would swell to £450), the Fordson Tractor then available cost only £120. The Glasgow was also overwhelmingly noisy for the operator, and its motor proved to be a high maintenance unit. This combination of factors led to the demise of the Glasgow, then Scotland’s sole home-grown tractor, in 1924.

The National Museum of Rural Life

A surviving example of the Glasgow Tractor is on display at the National Museum of Rural Life, near East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire. Operated by National Museums Scotland, the Museum of Rural Life is sited at Wester Kittochside Farm and opened in 2001. The museum carries on and expands upon the collections and work done by the former Scottish Agricultural Museum, which was established in 1949 and based at Ingliston. The museum comprises the main building and visitor centre, Georgian farm buildings, and surrounding agricultural fields and hedgerows.

Scotland’s largest collection of combine harvesters, tractors and other agricultural machinery are housed at the museum. Indoor and outdoor exhibits present tractors from most decades of the 20^th century. Besides the Glasgow, other tractors in the collection are Fordsons, a Ferguson Brown, Ford Ferguson, David Brown, Field Marshall, and a Ferguson ‘Little Grey Fergie’. A modern Deutz tractor pulls the Farm Explorer which carries visitors to the farm. Wester Kittochside Farm is a working farm, and resident animals include Clydesdale horses; Tamworth pigs; Aberdeen Angus, Ayrshire and Highland cattle; sheep, hens and farm cats. Farm buildings visitors can explore are the Georgian farmhouse, bothy, small byre, stables, gig shed, threshing barn, dairy, milking byre, hay shed, Dutch barn, hen house, sheep pens, pig sty, and pig run.

Main photo: Glasgow Tractor on display at the National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride. Photo: Magnus Hagdorn, CC BY-SA 2.0.

By: Judy Vickers

She is the last of her kind in the world. In her heyday she carried British royalty and a US First Lady and in her hour of need she has attracted support from a princess, celebrities and a mysterious millionaire benefactor. This year the iconic Clyde steamer TS Queen Mary celebrates her 90^th birthday, having been constructed in 1933 by shipbuilders William Denny in Dumbarton.

And like any 90-year-old, she has seen ups and downs in her life, from the highs of carrying 13,000 passengers each week as “Britain’s finest pleasure steamer” to the lows of lying rusting in the English port of Tilbury and threatened with scrappage. Her next decade looks set to be bright though as a multi-million pound restoration aims to have her cruising again, for the first time since 1977, in 2025. Her anniversary year has started well with a £1 million donation from a mystery benefactor in April, taking campaign funds to almost half their £10m target.

The Glasgow boat

The charity which rescued the ship from Tilbury in 2015, Friends of TS Queen Mary, said at the time the “astonishing gift” would “turbo-charge” their efforts to ensure the much-loved vessel will sail again, added to a revival of a once-popular tradition – that of sailing “doon the watter”. From the early 19^th century, steamers carried thousands of city folk out and away from the factories and the industrial urban landscape of their Glasgow home for day trips to the scenic parts of Ayrshire, particularly during Glasgow Fair Week in July.

Sailing “doon the watter” – the “watter” in question being the Clyde – was a familiar part of holiday life for many until the latter part of the 20^th century when cheap airfares and package holidays abroad killed the trade. TS Queen Mary was the tenth (and final) turbine pleasure steamer built for Clyde service.  She was the largest and most luxurious in the fleet and is now the last in existence. She was known as “the Glasgow boat” and sailed “doon the watter” from Glasgow to destinations such as Dunoon, Rothesay, Millport and Arran.

From the beginning her history was full of quirks – in the spring of 1935, at the request of Cunard White Star Line, TS Queen Mary was renamed Queen Mary II, so as to release the name Queen Mary for the liner then under construction at John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank. She regained her original name in 1976 as the liner Queen Mary had retired from sailing.  She hadn’t been in cruising service for long before war interrupted – she was called into service providing a lifeline mail and passenger service to the Scottish islands. Her wartime passengers included King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), the future Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret and former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  She returned to cruising duty after the war but the 1960s and 70s saw a decline in Clyde steaming’s popularity and her final sailing was in September 1977 before she was moored up in Greenock.

Then comes her most traumatic years. She was sold to Glasgow District Council in 1978 with the idea of converting her into a museum but funds weren’t available and she was sold on again several times before she was towed to London in 1981. In 1987 she underwent a £2.5m refurbishment and was moored at Victoria Embankment in London as a floating restaurant. In 2009, she had been sold yet again and was taken to Tilbury in Essex near London, from where she was due be taken to begin a new life in France as a floating restaurant and fitness centre. Lack of funds scuppered those plans and she was left to rot – by 2015 she had prohibition notices slapped on her, barring her from leaving the port until hundreds of thousands of pounds in essential repairs were carried out. Scrappage loomed – but help was at hand.

An iconic part of Scottish history

Friends of TS Queen Mary had been formed in 2012 by a group of enthusiasts alarmed by developments and keen to save such an iconic part of Scottish history. When the Port of Tilbury put the vessel up for sale, the Friends’ bid, funded by businessman Jim McColl, one of Scotland’s richest men, was accepted.

And this wasn’t the only time the Queen Mary was able to rely on friends in high places. Once in the hands of the charity, a campaign to have her repaired was launched in December 2015, headed by Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane. The Rutherglen-born star was a huge supporter of the TS Queen Mary until his death last year.  “Robbie used to sail on the ship as a boy,” explains a spokesman for the Friends. “He had a very deep affection for the vessel.  What many people don’t know is that Robbie was a massive fan of Clyde steamers, as well as classic ocean liners – not just the vintage cars, which most people associate him with. Robbie came on board as patron before the ship was brought back to Glasgow. He was very good friends with Sam Neill (a fellow actor who was born in Northern Ireland before moving to New Zealand as a boy).  Sam also has an interest in ships and was delighted to become our Commonwealth patron, when Robbie approached him.”

Funds flooded in and the Queen Mary was towed back home to the Clyde in an epic voyage along the west coast of the UK. Repairs began in 2016 with the idea of turning her into a static heritage centre at Pacific Quay. But in April last year, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, who has been royal patron of the ship for four years, revealed plans to allow the ship to sail once again. The £1m anonymous donation will be used to construct new steel decks to ensure the ship complies with modern maritime safety requirements – one of the biggest structural undertakings of the ongoing work. Iain Sim, chairman of Friends of TS Queen Mary, said: “Our work continues to restore an iconic British ship whose proud history serving the Clyde rekindles many memories for tens of thousands of Scots and others across the world.”

Main photo: TS Queen Mary. Photo: David Millar.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has discovered the buried remains of a Roman fortlet that once stood next to the Antonine Wall in West Dunbartonshire. The fortlet was built next to the Antonine Wall, the frontier that the Romans constructed across central Scotland, and was thought lost in the mists of time. However, geophysical survey in an unassuming field near Carleith Primary School in West Dunbartonshire revealed details lost for hundreds of years. The announcement of the discovery comes on World Heritage Day (18 April), the international celebration of cultural heritage. The Antonine Wall is one of Scotland’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Previous excavations to find the fortlet were unsuccessful, but new technology has allowed HES’s archaeological survey team to find the buried remains. The fortlet was referenced in 1707 by antiquarian Robert Sibbald, who wrote that he had seen a fortlet in the area around Carleith Farm. Excavation teams looked for it in the 1970s and 1980s, but the exact location remained unknown. The survey team have now employed gradiometry, a geophysical surveying technique, to look under the soil without the need for excavation. Gradiometry measures small changes in the earth’s magnetic field to detect archaeological features otherwise invisible from the ground surface. This technique was able to identify the stone base of the fortlet, which remains buried underground. On top of this base, turf would have been laid to build a rampart about 2 metres high.

Important Roman monument

This newly discovered fortlet would have been part of several fortlets along the Antonine Wall. It would have been occupied by 10 to 12 Roman soldiers who were stationed at a larger fort nearby, likely to be Duntocher, and manned the fort for a week at a time before being replaced by another detachment. The fortlet would have been made up of two small wooden buildings to house the soldiers staying there and will have been used for the 20 years (142 CE – 162 CE) that the Antonine Wall was defended as the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. Commenting on the discovery, Riona McMorrow, Deputy Head of World Heritage at HES, said: “It is great to see how our knowledge of history is growing as new methods give us fresh insights in the past. Archaeology is often partly detective work, and the discovery at Carleith is a nice example of how an observation made 300 years ago and new technology can come together to add to our understanding.”

This discovery has led to HES reviewing the site’s designation to ensure the fortlet is recognised and protected as part of the Antonine Wall. The geophysical survey will help to better understand and protect the Antonine Wall. While up to 41 fortlets may have lined the Wall when it was built, only nine have previously been found. This discovery marks the tenth known fortlet and shows that there is still more to be discovered about this important Roman monument and its functions even after centuries of enquiry.

Main photo: A digital reconstruction. Photo: Historic Environment Scotland.

Crawick Multiverse, the spectacular artland and visitor attraction inspired by the science and mysteries of the cosmos, will host a week of family-friendly summer solstice celebrations.  This year the Multiverse, near Sanquhar on the Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire border, is partnering with The Open University (OU) in Scotland for a series of inspirational, educational and entertaining events and activities between 18-24 June.  On the longest day itself, Wednesday 21 June, the beautiful 55-acre site will open at 4am for visitors to gather in a truly breath-taking setting and welcome the dawn.

A Sunrise Ceremony will be led by Open University professor of religious studies, Graham Harvey and professional storyteller, Gordon MacLellan.   Gordon said: “Our Solstice Sunrise Ceremony will draw upon midsummer traditions from around the northern hemisphere, bringing together ancient British poetry with Scandinavian stories and more. Spiritual without being religious, this event will encourage visitors to pause and reflect upon their relationship with the world around them and appreciate this morning, this sunrise, one of the turning points of the year.”

The longest day

The longest day culminates with a Tilt Ceremony to mark the moment, at 3.57pm, when the sun reaches its highest point of the year in the sky.  Visitors will also be able to enjoy music, performers, sensory tours, guided tours, yoga sessions and Tai Chi demonstrations and more.  That evening will see the launch of Solstice Seminars; talks from leading specialists in space science from The Open University, including professors Monica Grady CBE, Stephen Peake and Mahesh Anand, in Sanquhar Town Hall.  The week will come to a close on the Saturday with a Midsummer’s Day Family Picnic complete with more entertainment and a pop-up exhibition.   

The solstice celebrations offer a superb chance to explore Crawick Multiverse (designed by the late Charles Jencks) with its giant conical grass mounds representing colliding galaxies, long avenue of standing stones and other spectacular features inspired by the sun, stars, and other wonders of the cosmos.  Cathy Agnew, Trustee, The Crawick Multiverse Trust said: “We’re thrilled to be inviting visitors and locals to mark the Summer Solstice in such spectacular surroundings. And it’s a huge pleasure to be working in partnership with The Open University in Scotland to offer a programme of events that will be fun and informative.”

Crawick Multiverse is a spectacular land art installation created by the late Charles Jencks and inspired by his thinking about space, astronomy and cosmology. Around 2,000 boulders were used to create Crawick Multiverse. The Sun Amphitheatre is at the heart of the Multiverse and can hold approximately 3,500 spectators.

For further information about Crawick Multiverse visit: www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk

Photos: Mike Bolam.

The new Aberdeenshire County flag was revealed at a special dedication ceremony held at The National Trust for Scotland’s Castle Fraser, Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, with invited guests and a large crowd gathered to witness the historic occasion. The chosen flag was based on the original designs of pupils from Newtonhill School, Stonehaven, and Elrick School, Westhill.

An important part in local identity

Accompanied by the Drums & Pipes of The Gordon Highlanders Association and an honour guard of Lonach Highlanders, the children presented the flag to The Lord-Lieutenant, Sandy Manson, at the castle doors. Following a dedication, the new Aberdeenshire flag was taken to the top of the castle tower and raised by the Lord-Lieutenant. Lone Piper, David Fraser, from The Gordon Highlanders Association Pipe Band played the famous march, Back o’ Bennachie and the assembled crowd gave a resounding ‘Three Cheers’. 

Mr Sandy Manson, The Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, said: “It is wonderful to see this splendid County flag now unveiled for all to see. For the children from two different local schools to produce such similar designs that were then brought together in the flag you see today, was remarkable. It’s clear to see why their design triumphed over hundreds of others from all ages and corners of the world: a bold flag that heralds our past and signals a confident future. Judging over 800 global entries by the panel was certainly not easy. The five designs chosen for the shortlist went to a public vote, encompassing the many traditions and characteristics we associate with our beautiful and historic county.  My congratulations to all the pupils involved in so creatively designing the winning flag. I hope all of Aberdeenshire will be very proud as our new flag flies over the county, playing an important part in our local identity.”

Scotland’s castle country

The pupils described their winning design, “Aberdeenshire is Scotland’s ‘castle country’ but also the strong royal association referenced by the crown. A quarter of Scotland’s arable land is in Aberdeenshire, with the gold representing the barley and the whisky that it makes, and the purple symbolises the heather of our mountains.” The project was initiated in March 2022, when the Lord-Lieutenant, Mr Sandy Manson, discovered through dialogue with the Lord Lyon’s office that while Aberdeenshire had a long-standing coat of arms, it did not have a county flag as was the case with most counties in Scotland.

Two Deputy Lieutenants, Mrs Jean Haslam and the late Mrs Miranda McHardy took this historic project forward, running an open competition to design a flag for Aberdeenshire. Workshops were run by Philip Tibbetts (Lyon Court Vexillologist for Scotland) during the first week in September 2022 in schools across the county. With the help of the Lord Lyon and Mr Tibbetts, a judging panel examined over 820 entries submitted in October, the largest ever response to a flag competition in Scotland. A short-list of five designs was selected that went to a public vote, with 4,208 votes cast.

Clans will gather at Kryal Castle to celebrate everything Scottish in August. Pipe bands, Highland Dancing, Games, Clan Tents, Scottish food and drink and unique historical entertainment. Thousands from the sizeable Scottish diaspora in the Ballarat region are expected to attend the event in the Central Highlands of Victoria, just one hour out of Melbourne for this inaugural event.  Chief of the Day will be Simon Abney-Hastings, the 15^th Earl of Loudon, who recently attended the coronation of Charles III and officially presented the golden spurs to His Majesty the King during the ceremony.

“The Kryal Castle Highland Spectacular will have all the familiar attractions that you expect from a Highland Gathering but we have included amazing performances from pivotal moments in Scot’s history. Scottish knights and their brave hearted steeds fighting for Scotland. We will see you ready for freedom on August 19^th and 20^th”, Mr Hamilton, CEO of Kryal Castle said.

The Kryal Castle Highland Spectacular has activities for all ages, including: Massed pipe bands, Highland dancing, Highland Games featuring strong men, clan tents to find out about your ancestry, a whisky dinner with all the Scottish trimmings, performances from Scottish history including the Warriors of Scotland, armoured knights and their mighty steeds and kids’ activities including knight’s school, archery, demonstrations, displays and hands-on learning.

Kryal Castle Highland Spectacular takes place August 19-20^th. Tickets are all-inclusive and on sale now. Ticket numbers are limited and are prepurchase only, no tickets will be available at the gate. Tickets are available at https://checkout.roller.app/kryalcastle/products/highlanderspectacular?date=20230819#/sessions. For more event information visit: https://kryalcastle.com.au/highland-spectacular.

The American Scottish Foundation (ASF) recently played a key role in celebrating the 25^th annual Tartan Day Parade in New York City. Events took place across the city including the Tartan Day Observance at Bryant Park and the parade with thousands of participants celebrating Scotland and marching down 6^th Avenue.

This year’s Grand Marshal was Scottish television personality Gail Porter. The 25^th edition of Tartan Week also included the first ever NYC Tartan Week Mòd, which was won by Cynthian Knight from Virginia. The ASF is proud to be a founding member of the National Tartan Day New York Parade Committee, helping to organize the Parade alongside the St Andrews Society of New York, New York Caledonian Club and Clan Campbell. The 2024 NYC Tartan Day Parade will be held on National Tartan Day, Saturday April 6, 2024.

For more information on the American Scottish Foundation see: www.americanscottishfoundation.com.

All images courtesy of the American Scottish Foundation.

Scotland’s Picts have long been viewed as a mysterious people with their enigmatic symbols and inscriptions, accentuated by representations of them as wild barbarians with exotic origins. But a newly published study by an international team led by researchers at the University of Aberdeen and Liverpool John Moores University is helping to shed new light on the origins of the Picts. The Picts were first mentioned in the late 3^rd century CE as resisting the Romans and went on to form a powerful kingdom that ruled over a large part of northern Britain, in present-day north-east Scotland.

Pictish genomes

In the medieval period, the Picts were considered immigrants from Thrace (north of the Aegean Sea), Scythia (eastern Europe), or isles north of Britain but as they left few written sources of their own little is known of their origins or relations with other cultural groups living in Britain. Archaeologists have conducted the first extensive analysis of Pictish genomes and their results have been published in the open access journal PLOS Genetics. The results reveal a long-standing genetic continuity in some regions of the British Isles, helping to build a picture of where the Picts came from and providing new understanding of how present-day genetic diversity formed. The findings also confirm descriptions by the great English historian Bede of the far-flung eastern origins of the Picts as one of myth and fantasy.

The researchers used Identity-By-Descent (IBD) methods to compare two high-quality Pictish genomes sequenced from individuals excavated from Pictish-era cemeteries at Lundin Links in Fife (Southern Pictland) and Balintore in Easter Ross (Northern Pictland) to those of previously published ancient genomes as well as the modern population. Dr Linus Girdland Flink of the University of Aberdeen, senior corresponding author of the study, said: “Among the peoples present during the first millennium CE in Britain, the Picts are one of the most enigmatic. Their unique cultural features such as Pictish symbols and the scarcity of contemporary literary and archaeological sources resulted in many diverse hypotheses about their origin, lifestyle and culture, part of the so-called ‘Pictish problem’. Using DNA analysis, we have been able to fill a gap in an understudied area of Scotland’s past. We aimed to determine the genetic relationships between the Picts and neighbouring modern-day and ancient populations. Our results show that individuals from western Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Northumbria display a higher degree of Identity-By-Descent (IBD) sharing with the Pictish genomes, meaning they are genetically most similar among modern populations.”

Anglo-Saxon heritage

This genetic make-up was distinct from areas of southern England where there is a greater relative degree of Anglo-Saxon heritage. Dr Adeline Morez from Liverpool John Moores University, lead corresponding author of the study, adds: “Our findings also support the idea of regional continuity between the Late Iron Age and early medieval periods and indicates that the Picts were local to the British Isles in their origin, as their gene pool is drawn from the older Iron Age, and not from large-scale migration, from exotic locations far to the east. However, by comparing the samples between southern and northern Pictland we can also see that they were not one homogenous group and that there are some distinct differences, which point to patterns of migration and life-time mobility that require further study.”

The analysis of mitochondrial genomes from Lundin Links has also provided an insight into another Pictish myth – that they practised a form of matriliny, with succession and perhaps inheritance going to the sister’s son rather than directly through the male line.

Dr Morez continued: “In a matrilocal system we would expect to find females staying in their birthplace after their marriage and throughout their life. At Lundin Links, diversity in the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA suggests this was not the case. This finding challenges the older hypotheses that Pictish succession was passed along the mother’s side and raise further questions about our understanding of Pictish society and its organisation.”

The present genetic findings not only provide new insight into Pictish population history, but serve to test directly various longstanding assumptions, and even myths, about Pictish origins and social structure.

The Australian Celtic Festival hit a record number of visitors in May with over 6,000 purchasing tickets and up to 7,500 adults and children attending various events held throughout Glen Innes, in the NSW New England region.

The Year of Scotland has traditionally been one of the most popular highlighted nations bringing in the crowds but this year has gone beyond Glen Innes Severn Council’s expectations. With all accommodation vacancies filled well before the event, many regional locals took advantage of heading out for the day, catching as much entertainment and atmosphere as they could. Glen Innes could not have had a better backdrop to the festivities then the National Celtic monument which became the focal point, full of sound, colour and excitement.

A standout event

Many of the visitors came to see the Street Parade, Jousters, Highland Games and an array of local, interstate and overseas artists including the Festival’s Honoured Guest international traditional fiddle player Paul Anderson, Scotland’s Kilted Yogi Finlay Wilson and from New Zealand, crowd pullers Clan Celtica who stirred the audiences with their processional pipes and drums. The Pipe Band competition was also very popular as well as the atmosphere of the clans. This festival is very important for the visitor economy, bringing in over 1.8 million dollars into businesses in the lead up, during and after the festivities.

Next year is celebrating the Year of Ireland and the Isle of Man and it is already gearing up to be another record breaker. Council would like to thank all the businesses who sponsored or supported the event as well as Council staff and volunteers for their contribution in making this year’s Australian Celtic festival a standout event in the region.

2-5 May 2024 are the dates for the next Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes Highlands, celebrating the Year of Ireland & The Isle of Man. For details: 02 6730 2400 or www.australiancelticfestival.com.

All images courtesy of Jim Barker, Twelve Points Photography and the Australian Celtic Festival.

The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada is excited to announce its signature summer show that promotes island culture, history, stories and songs. Highland Storm is an exhilarating evening of Celtic music and dance that will captivate the audience and transport them back to a pivotal time in PEI over 250 years ago, when three ships, the Annabella, the Edinburgh and the Falmouth, arrived having carried families from their homeland in Scotland to a new land with little more than the clothes on their backs. Highland Storm is the story of the Scots arriving on PEI and is a reimagining of their first year on the island.  

The story is performed by The College of Piping’s instructors and students and featuring fiddler Gilbert Arsenault, vocalist Christine Gallant and is directed by Peter Gallant. Prepare to sit tight and hold on… there is a Storm coming! Highland Storm runs July 13, 20, 21, 27 and August 3, 4 5. The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre is one of Canada’s best acoustic venues. It has a strong sense of community at its core when it comes to its stage promoting island schools, arts and culture. The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre is very proud of its signature production, Highland Storm.

For more details on College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada and Highland Storm performances see: www.collegeofpiping.com.

This month see the worldwide release of Outlander season seven. STARZ announced the June 16 return of its fan-favourite time-traveling drama series Outlander, confirming the upcoming seventh season will be split into two parts of eight episodes each, with the back half airing in 2024. It was previously announced that the seventh season would be an extended 16 episodes. Additionally, STARZ released several first look images of the new season to quench the ‘Droughtlander’ thirst. The series has already been renewed for an eighth and final ten episode season and a prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood centreing on Jamie Fraser’s parents has been greenlighted for a first season.

STARZ previously announced several new additions to the Outlander family, including Charles Vandervaart (Lost in Space) as William Ransom, Izzy Meikle-Small (Snow White and the Huntsman) as Rachel Hunter and Joey Phillips (Casualty) as Denzell Hunter, joining returning fan-favourites Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser, Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser, Sophie Skelton as Brianna MacKenzie, Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie, John Bell as Young Ian, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Caitlin O’Ryan as Lizzie Beardsley and Paul Gorman as Josiah and Keziah Beardsley.

Season seven will again feature Outlander’s iconic theme song the Skye Boat Song, which will be performed by Irish singer Sinead O’Connor.

In Season 7, Jamie, Claire, and their family are caught in the violent birth pains of an emerging nation as armies march to war and British institutions crumble in the face of armed rebellion. The land the Frasers call home is changing – and they must change with it. In order to protect what they’ve built, the Frasers have to navigate the perils of the Revolutionary War. They learn that sometimes to defend what you love, you have to leave it behind. As the conflict draws them out of North Carolina and into the heart of this fight for independence, Jamie, Claire, Brianna, and Roger are faced with impossible decisions that have the potential to tear their family apart.

One epic tale

The Outlander television series is inspired by Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books, which have sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, with all nine of the books gracing the New York Times best-seller list. The Outlander television series has become a worldwide success with audiences, spanning the genres of history, science fiction, romance and adventure in one amazing tale. Outlander spans the genres of romance, science-fiction, history and adventure in one epic tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945, who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 Scotland. When forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous young Scottish warrior, Claire’s heart is torn between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Christina Davis, President of Original Programming for Starz, said in a statement. “The hit series Outlander embodies everything about our initiative including a powerful female lead character and an amazing team of storytellers. We look forward to following the adventures of Claire and Jamie in America during the Revolution as well as more time travel during this next season.”

Matthew B. Roberts, Ronald D. Moore, Maril Davis, Toni Graphia, Luke Schelhaas, Andy Harries, Jim Kohlberg, Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan executive produce the new season, based on the book, An Echo in The Bone and will focus on the struggles of Claire and Jamie amid the American Revolution. Filming for Outlander took place mainly in Scotland, which doubles for North Carolina.

The highly anticipated seventh season of Outlander is set to premiere on Friday, June 16 at midnight ET on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms and internationally on the LIONSGATE+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. On linear, it will debut on STARZ on Friday, June 16 at 8:00 PM ET/PT in the U.S. and Canada. New episodes will be available to stream weekly on Fridays at midnight on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms and will air weekly on the STARZ linear platform. See: www.starz.com/us/en/series/outlander/21796

In Australia the seventh season of Outlander will premiere on FOXTEL.

All images cortesy of Starz.

Did you know?

Outlander

–Outlander features the story of Claire Randall, a Second World War combat nurse, who finds herself thrown back in time to the Jacobite Rising in 1743.

-The Outlander TV show is based on a series of nine novels by Diana Gabaldon which have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

-The Outlander novels have been published in 27 countries and 24 languages, so far.

– Diana Gabaldon was inspired to create Outlander by an episode of Dr Who.

-Author Diana Gabaldon had never visited Scotland before writing Outlander.

–Outlander was recently named the world’s ‘most bingeworthy’ TV show at a LA awards show.

-It has been reported that the Scottish actors do not wear anything underneath their kilts, in true Scottish fashion.

-The show has sparked a Scots tourism boom with visits to historical sites topping over five million visitors.

–Outlander is filmed in Scotland, primarily at the Wardpark Studios at Cumbernaud near Glasgow. -Author Diana Gabaldon was given in 2020 the “International Contribution to Scottish Tourism” award at the Scottish Thistle Awards, for the ‘Outlander Effect’ on Scotland’s tourism industry.

September 2-3, 2023 brings back the full experience of Celtic culture at Centennial Park in Canmore, Alberta – so you’ll want to witness the colours of the tartans and the thrill of the pipes at the 32^nd annual Canmore Highland Games. Here’s how you can awaken your inner Scot with some big fun – the Taste of the Highlands, the Canmore Highland Games and the Canmore Ceilidh, beneath the scenic peaks of the Rockies on Labour Day weekend.

Celtic culture

Sip the spirits, mead and ale at the Taste of the Highlands. Bring the whole family for the Highland Games – visit the clans, see the heavy sports, shop the Celtic market, watch the sheepdogs at work, observe the intense competitions of highland dancing and piping and drumming, enliven your palate with a Scotch tasting, sample the foods available, quench your thirst while enjoying live Celtic music in the beer garden, and discover the British automobiles on show. Let loose and expose your inner Scot at the Canmore Ceilidh – be ready to hit the dance floor! Headliners this year are Celtica Nova. Always entertaining and definitely unique, Celtica Nova are a blast of Celtic energy and won  the “International Celtic Artist of the Year” award at the 2019 Australian Celtic Music Awards!

“The Highland Games has become a signature summer event in our small mountain town. Every year we entertain the visitors to the Games while show-casing affordable Celtic culture in our communities. This creates economic support for all the local businesses who benefit,” says Three Sisters Scottish Festival Society president, Sandy Bunch.

Always an affordable event, there are advance tickets and bundles to choose from.Tickets and event information can be found at: www.canmorehighlandgames.ca. Email: [email protected]

Piping Live! will return for its 20th edition this summer with an eclectic calendar of events from Saturday 12th – Sunday 20th August 2023.

The world’s biggest piping festival annually attracts over 30,000 attendees to Glasgow and this year the Piping Live! team hopes to bring in even more visitors, as it celebrates two decades as a cornerstone on the Scottish cultural calendar. General tickets go on sale 10am, Friday 19th May.

The music is both steeped in tradition as well as forward-looking and innovative

Finlay MacDonald, Artistic Director for Piping Live!, said: “We are delighted to be launching the 20th edition of Piping Live! It’s incredible to think back on how much the festival has grown in the last 20 years. I’m extremely proud to be involved in the direction of what is now a major cultural and musical event for Scotland, and the global piping and traditional music scene. 

“Piping is more popular than ever, there are more people from diverse backgrounds playing, the music is both steeped in tradition as well as forward-looking and innovative. This rise in popularity is in no small part down to the continued support from our audiences and the dedication of the teams behind Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships. There’s a real energy in the piping and drumming scene in anticipation of Piping Live! this year. Glasgow is certainly going to be alive with music, friendship and camaraderie. 

“The team here at the National Piping Centre have been working tirelessly to deliver the festival this year, despite some substantial funding cuts across the cultural events industry, so we really need public support now more than ever – please purchase tickets, please donate what you can and please encourage others to come out and enjoy the world-class performances we will be showcasing this August. Never has your support been more vital in ensuring this iconic festival, and the scene it supports, continues to thrive.”

The Piping Live! Closing Concert will round off the 20th edition with performances by some festival favourites, including the hugely talented multi-instrumentalists Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton, who have been involved with Piping Live! since its earliest days. The duo will perform a double header show with Uilleann piper Jarlath Henderson, who performed at the first Piping Live! festival, and guitarist Innes Watson.

Full program of events

The Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge, Piping Live!’s flagship evening of solo piping, will be showcased at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall’s Strathclyde Suite this year. The competition will pit five top solo pipers against each other as they take to the stage to perform a 25-minute medley of their favourite tunes. Annually a sell-out success, performances this year will come from Angus MacColl, Stuart Liddell, Sarah Muir, Callum Beaumont and the 2022 champion Matt MacIsaac.

The International Quartet Competition will feature six of the top Grade I pipe band quartets in the world; Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland), Inveraray and District (Scotland), Manawatu Scottish (New Zealand), 78^thFraser Highlanders (Canada), Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia (Scotland) and People’s Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland). Each of the six bands from across the world will send four of their best pipers to compete in this head-to-head challenge ahead of the World Pipe Band Championships on Saturday 19th August. There will be five hidden judges listening to an MSR and Medley event in the Strathclyde Suite on Tuesday 15th August. 

The show Canntaireachdwill also take place on Tuesday 15th August. This exciting new collaboration between multi-award winning singers and pipers Kim Carnie (vocals), Kathleen MacInnes (vocals), Brìghde Chaimbeul(small pipes and bagpipes) and Ailis Sutherland (small pipes and bagpipes) will join forces with the formidable collective Staran. Celebrating and exploring the relationship between piping and Gaelic song, the project will breathe new life into centuries old songs, tunes and stories with new material woven throughout.

Lowland and Borders Pipers’ Society presents inB –  a new and exciting collaboration that celebrates the rich sounds of the Uilleann pipes and Scottish smallpipes pitched in the beautiful key of B. Award-winning musicians from Scotland Brighde Chaimbeaul and Fin Moore will perform on Scottish smallpipes that have been handcrafted especially in B by Fin. On the Uilleann pipes, Ireland’s Louise Mulcahy and Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn bring their unique approach to this musical collaboration. The powerful sound of four sets of pipes playing in harmony creates a beautifully unique tonal texture. inB celebrates the important history and musical connection between Ireland and Scotland.

The annual Friday Night Folk gig will open the final weekend of Piping Live! when the progressive Scottish Traditional music trio Project Smok will perform at Stereo. Supporting this fantastic band will be former BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician Eryn Rae and her band. 

The Masters Solo Piping Competition will take place at the National Piping Centre, with this prestigious competition being the qualifying event for the Glenfiddich piping competition. This huge day of performance will see the best soloists from across the world compete in Piobaireachd and Light Music on Monday 14^th August.

Piping Live!’s avant Garde night of music, entitled Ceol Nua, will return to the festival when multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield and Estonian piper Caatlin Magi perform on Tuesday 15^th August. 

Piping Live!’s final day will showcase the internationally renowned Gordon Duncan Memorial Competition. This iconic event continues to celebrate Gordon’s links to Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. One Scottish, Irish, Breton and international piper will each play sets of Scottish, Irish and Breton music and the overall winner will be the best player of all three musical styles. 

A plethora of free day time events, which will primarily take place at the festival’s iconic Street Café on McPhater Street, will include the ‘Emerging Talent’ stage where daily shows will be performed by up-and-coming trad music groups, alongside performances by international artists from Brittany, Estonia and Ireland. 

The National Piping Centre’s auditorium will also host the Pipe Idol Final, when four solo players aged 21 and under will compete after winning their heat earlier in the week. The much-coveted prize is a set of Reelpipes from Fred Morrison Pipes.

Pipe bands from across the globe will perform on Buchanan Street from 12 noon each day of the festival, including artists from Canada, USA, Australia, Belgium and of course Scotland. 

The Gig in the Gallery series will return to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow’s stunning flagship gallery, which will host a daily recital featuring international styles of bagpipes. There will also be talks and book launches across the event, and a special gallery of photos from across the festival’s 20 years will also be showcased at the National Piping Centre for all visitors to enjoy.

World-class piping

Bailie Annette Christie, Chair of Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council Convenor for Culture, Sport and International Relations, said: “As a UNESCO City of Music, Glasgow is renowned as an outstanding destination for lovers of all types of music, and there’s certainly no better to place to experience world-class piping, with Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships – the pinnacle of the piping competition calendar – both taking place in the city this August.

“These firmly established highlights of our vibrant summer events programme are extremely important to Glasgow. Attracting thousands of musicians, supporters and spectators from around the world, they showcase the city, boost its international profile and contribute greatly to its visitor economy. We are therefore pleased to continue our support of both global piping extravaganzas and look forward to welcoming audiences from near and far to this year’s exciting events.”

For 2023, Piping Live! is working with a new ticketing partner to make in-person ticket purchasing as smooth as possible. Customers will now be able to add all of their tickets into one basket, and there will be multi-ticket discounts available for the first time. General tickets are now on sale.

Live streaming will return to Piping Live!, with an exciting programme of live and premiered events and concerts to be announced.

Tickets and more information on where and when each performance is happening are available at www.pipinglive.co.uk.

The Robert Burns Scottish Festival (RBSF) Chairperson, Dr John Menzies OAM, is pleased to announce that festival is going ahead with a full weekend program, with several new events on offer. The RBSF volunteer committee has also created multiple Burns Bite events for the year, so please connect with them via their website and our Facebook page to stay up to date with what’s on, and when. For RBSF 2023 the festival is excited to headline Austral, an exciting young folk band who are infectiously toe-tapping, before they head overseas. They were winners of the Traditional Folk Album of the Year at the 2022 Australian Folk Music Awards.

Festival favourites; Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club and Hugh & Janet Gordon, are back. Big Fiddle Little Fiddle are new guests, their performances are energised by a sheer joy of playing music, not to be missed. Fiona Ross, a gifted interpreter of Scots song and winner of Best Folk Album: Music Victoria Awards 2020, is returning with Shane O’Mara. A line-up of talented local bands and musicians include Kyle & Merran Moir, The Twa Bards, Camperdown’s Lakes and Craters Band, The Warrnambool Pipes and Tuniversal Music Group Inc.

New events this year will include a Saturday Evening Soirée, to be held in the Killara Centre, and a Saturday Poetry & Ploughman’s Lunch with the Unicorn Tapestry, celebrating Scotland’s national animal. Also on Saturday there will be a show for kids, by entertainer Eric Read, that will be a fun filled, family-friendly highlight. The festival opens Thursday night with a movie at the Killara Centre, with ‘Falling for Figaro’, a delightful feel good, music rich, comedy. The Gala Dinner will be held at the Theatre Royal on Friday night.

Enjoy a sumptuous and authentic Scottish meal with an Address to the Haggis, and entertainment. Bookings essential as numbers are limited. Looking for historical context? Maree Belyea and Bob Lambell have organised four wonderful guest speakers for the Saturday Lecture Series, held at the Killara Centre. Topics include; Fiona Ross – ‘Burns as songwriter & collector, Stewart McArthur – ‘Waltzing Matilda’, Dr Rosalie Triolo – ‘Scots as ‘Sodgers’ & Teacher-Enlistees 1914-18’, Allan Willingham – ‘Portraits, Panoramas & Landscapes’.

Events and entertainment for all

Wee Stories will be at the library for the children, along with games, music and markets in the avenue. Highland dancers and pipers will activate the Clock Tower precinct. You might even get a photo opportunity with Rosie & Doge, two friendly Westies who will be in their tartan. If you have a West Highlander or Scottie dog bring them along… your dog might win a prize for the pooch with the waggiest tail! Choir Workshops will be held on the Saturday (TBC). The very popular Cookery Class (TBC) will be happening with Liz Patterson and Ruth Gstrein giving participants the opportunity to cook authentic Scottish food. The Robbie Burns Golf Ambrose Cup will be held at the Camperdown Golf Club.

On both Saturday and Sunday the Camperdown Heritage Centre and the Masonic Lodge will be open for folk to visit, along with a climb of the Clock Tower. Sunday morning brings music & poetry with The Twa Bards by the Statue, followed by the Festival Finale Concert at the Theatre Royal in the afternoon, featuring The Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club. NAIDOC week starts on Sunday the 2^nd of July, and the RBSF also aims to incorporate Indigenous connections in its program, as we seek to celebrate the unique heritage of where we love and live.

In 2023 we’re also celebrating a return of the school children’s program with primary and secondary aged events including art works, poetry, story writing and the popular shortbread baking competition. These activities will happen before the festival and delivered in the schools. Take a walk along the main street during festival week and see student’s work exhibited in local shop windows. Dr Menzies also said that schools can access resources from the Robert Burns World Federation website: www.rbwf.org.uk at no cost, giving students the opportunity to learn more about Robert Burns and Scotland. There’s plenty of things to see and do, for all ages and RBSF invites you to come and enjoy what’s on offer in 2023.

The Robert Burns Scottish Festival takes place June 29-July 2 in Camperdown, Victoria. Keep up to date at: www.camperdownburnsfestival.com.au and www.facebook.com/robertburnsfestival. Tickets available now: www.trybooking.com/CICVY. For further information please contact Catherine O’Flynn RBSF Co-ordinator on 0407 056 126.

Main photo: RBSF headline act, Austral.

Scotland’s best-selling cookbook author, Coinneach MacLeod, will be serving up the best of the Hebrides this summer at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. A seminar will be held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 6PM in the Flora MacDonald Gammon Memorial Platform(otherwise known as the whisky tasting seminar platform).

Each session is $45 and will include his new book, his singing, his story telling, tasting his special mix of cocktails, and enjoying a nibble of one of his ‘bakes’. To buy these tickets go to www.gmhg.org; select ‘All Tickets and Registrations Here’; scroll to the bottom left and select ‘Add-Ons’.

The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games takes place July 6-9, 2023. For further information: (828) 733-1333, [email protected], or www.gmhg.org.

By: Paul Hughes

The Scots College Pipes and Drums tour to New York was a unique and exciting experience for the 25 band boys involved. New York City has a rich history of Scottish and Irish heritage, and the sounds of the bagpipes and drums certainly add to the atmosphere of the city. The tour included performances at various venues throughout the city, such as parades, concerts, and cultural events and the band even took the opportunity to do a flashmob performance in Grand Central Station.  

The boys performed a 1-hour pipes and drums concert in Central Park. The band marched through Central Park gathering a huge crowd. Having the opportunity to see the boys perform in Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell was amazing. Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell is an original feature of the Park and has come a long way from its beginnings as a mere classical music arena. The site of both a speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. and a eulogy read for John Lennon, it has become a place of historical importance within the park. The band performed a range of traditional and contemporary pieces and our two youngest boys on tour performed a great duet of Flower of Scotland. The 300-strong audience who had just been passing and relaxing in the park stayed for the full concert and cheered the band as they finished the concert by marching back through Central Park.

Grateful audiences

Next for the band was a performance at the Buckley School. The boys performed a concert for the 400 Buckley students and staff. It was incredibly well received and both schools had a fantastic time together. The highlight for the Buckley School was certainly the drummer’s salute and the Drum Majors flourish. The Buckley students were fascinated with the band and we even managed to give the boys and staff the opportunity to try some instruments.  While in New York the band was honoured to be invited to perform for the Tartan Day organisers and performed two concerts in Bryant Park. With the most incredible backdrop of New York City the band performed for extremely grateful audiences. The band had a great opportunity to hear other pipe bands, folk bands and choirs which was greatly appreciated. As the Bryant Park concerts came to an end The Scots College and St Columba’s Pipe Band (Scotland) performed together and marched through the park. This was a great opportunity for both bands to combine and have a few tunes together.

Marched with great pride

While taking a stroll through the city after performing our second Bryant Park concert the band thought it would be a great idea to do a flashmob performance in Grand Central Station. The College Pipe Major struck up his pipes in the main terminal and instantly the public stopped to watch him. As more and more pipers joined in, we could see more and more passengers gather around the band. Once the drummers joined in and filled the main terminal with Waltzing Matilda the flashmob band had hundreds of commuters gathered around to listen to the band. This was a very memorable experience for all involved and was aired on Australian and American television shows.  

The band had the opportunity to visit some of the city’s famous landmarks and attractions, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square and many more. The boys also attend a number of sporting events in Maddison Square Gardens and Yankee Stadium.

In 1999, two pipe bands and a small but enthusiastic group of Scottish Americans, led by Grand Marshal and Academy Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson, marched from the British Consulate to the UN in the first New York City Tartan Day Parade. Since then, the annual NYC Tartan Day Parade has brought together thousands of people from across the globe providing meaningful connections through the celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. The Scots College, Sydney Pipes and Drums finished the New York tour by parading down 6^th Avenue as part of the NYC Tartan Day Parade. The parade was filled with great sounds and tartan uniforms. With thousands of supporters cheering on, our boys stood tall and marched with great pride.  The Pipes and Drums tour to New York provided our students with so many unforgettable memories and a deep appreciation for the city’s rich culture and history.

By: Neil Drysdale

Picture the scene: you’ve just left school and been offered the opportunity to join a professional football club, only to discover that one of your first assignments is cleaning your boss’s toilet. That was the unpromising scenario which confronted 16-year-old Neale Cooper in 1979 when, as a young hopeful at Aberdeen, he found himself tasked with keeping Alex Ferguson’s throne in pristine condition. It was a gruelling regime at Pittodrie, but the young Cooper, a keen-as-mustard ball boy and fervent football fan from his childhood, long before he had ever signed a contract, was ready to do anything he could to succeed at the highest level. He later recalled: “Before I made my Aberdeen debut, I was cleaning Fergie’s toilet. It was my job, looking after his room and the coaches’ room. Then, one day he came in and said: ‘When you have finished sorting that out, get yourself home’. I asked why. And he replied: ‘Because you are playing tomorrow.”

It was a reminder of how swiftly the teenager burst into the spotlight. Some players make an instant impression; while others toil away for years, gradually stamping their imprint on the game. There was never any doubt in which camp Cooper belonged. He was the youngest member of the Aberdeen contingent who secured their fabled triumph over Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final on a rainy night in Gothenburg in 1983; an achievement which cemented their posterity for as long as people in the Granite City are talking about football. Yet, while others searched for superlatives, Cooper himself refused to buy into the hype or believe the headlines which emblazoned him as a star. Instead, he was always as happy chewing the fat with fans as he was impersonating his former manager. That philosophy was summed up by his reaction to the German maestro Franz Beckenbauer declaring – after the Dons had beaten Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals – “Young Neale Cooper is the closest thing I have seen to me at that age”. And the Scot’s reply? “That just shows that even the very best can talk sh***.”

Tattie

It’s five years since Cooper became the first of the Gothenburg Greats to leave us at the age of just 54 and, even now, there is tristesse at the fashion in which the youngest member of the team slipped away. The recent celebrations surrounding the Dons’ Class of 83 being given the Freedom of Aberdeen was tempered by the knowledge “Tattie” wasn’t involved in the thick of it.  But the tributes to him were fulsome and delivered with an emotional punch, as myriad former players and fans alike commemorated somebody they regarded as their best friend. Cooper, born in Darjeeling in India, prior to attending Airyhall Primary and Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, might have left his roots to pursue his playing and managerial career at Aston Villa, Rangers, Reading, Dunfermline, Ross County, Hartlepool United, Gillingham and Peterhead. But he was never more in his element with a spring in his step and a joie de vivre than when he was on the rampage with the Red Army cheering him on, while he and his colleagues marauded down the Beach End.

In the aftermath of his glory days on the pitch, during which time he collected league titles, Scottish Cup medals and European honours with the Dons, and added to his silverware at Ibrox  (yet, astonishingly, missed out on Scotland selection), Cooper proved he could cut the mustard at management level. He was – and remains – a cult figure in Hartlepool and was inducted as one of the most cherished members of the English club’s Hall of Fame. Yet, despite assuming a senior role at Victoria Park and steering Ross County to uncharted heights, he was happy to indulge in spontaneous impressions of those with whom he had worked.

Sky Sports presenter, Jeff Stelling, was among those who saw how skilful Cooper could be in the art of mimicry. He said: “I remember the first time I met him, we took a camera crew to the hotel in London where the team were staying to do an interview. I had heard about his reputation for doing a Sir Alex Ferguson impression so, not knowing him at all, the first thing I asked him was if he would do it – and he refused point blank, in the nicest possible way, of course. But ‘Tattie’ was the sort of guy who just couldn’t help himself, though – and five minutes later, he was in full, fluent Fergie mode and was excellent. I hope people in the football world know that he wasn’t just loved in Aberdeen, but was loved in Hartlepool as well, because it was his second home.”

It was a measure of the fun and flamboyance which ‘Tattie’ brought to his often action-packed life and times that there was still plenty of laughter amid the tears as Richard Gordon hosted the proceedings. Joe Harper, the all-time leading goalscorer at Aberdeen, gave one of the most touching appreciations of his close friend. He said: “In those winter nights, when you see the star twinkling, that is the star of the north and that is Neale winking at you.” He left us and his family prematurely. But he will never be forgotten.