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The Knights, all the bands, all the Clans, medieval soldiers and villagers, singing and dancing together unite Celtic spirits at the 18^th Berry Celtic Festival. Visit the Berry Showground on Saturday 24 May to relive medieval life in Celtic times.

The 2025 Berry Celtic Festival steps off at 9.30am with a grand street parade of pipe bands marching in their distinctive kilts, together with representatives of all the Clans, medieval knights, and Scottish terrier dogs. The Parade proceeds down the main street of Berry and on to the Berry Showground where the rest of the day’s activities are held.

The Berry Celtic Festival continues the castle keep feel with stalls, Scottish soldiers’ camp, Celtic musicians, spinners and weavers, and artisans forming an avenue around the parade ground where the pipes and drum bands, knights on steeds, Highland Strongmen, dancers and Scottish soldiers feature in the entertainment program. As well as hand to hand combats and strongman competitions, heavily armoured noble knights on horseback joust one another to see who is the last one standing. You’ll hear the thunder of the hooves as horses charge at one another with the jousting knights aiming their lances at each other.

The Berry Celtic Festival is a fundraising activity of the Rotary Club of Berry where proceeds go towards disaster relief projects, youth development programs and community development. The Rotary Club thanks all of the sponsors who help make this Festival possible.

The Berry Celtic Festival takes place on Saturday May, 24^th in Berry, NSW. For more information and ticketing, visit www.berryrotary.org.au.

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II standing against the dramatic Highlands landscape of Balmoral are among almost 100 rarely seen photographs, negatives, and archival materials from the last 100 years now on display at The King’s Gallery in Edinburgh. Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography charts the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, unveiling the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family.

The exhibition brings together little-seen vintage prints (the original works produced by the photographer, or under their direct supervision), contact sheets and proofs from the Royal Collection, alongside documents including letters and memorandums held in the Royal Archives. It is the first time many of the works have been shown in Scotland, following the exhibition’s successful run in London.

Unforgettable portraits of the Royal Family

Alessandro Nasini, curator of the exhibition, said: “Portrait photography is a creative process, and it has been fascinating to discover the careful decisions that were made to achieve such unforgettable portraits of the Royal Family, taken by some of the most celebrated photographers of the past century – from Dorothy Wilding and Cecil Beaton to David Bailey and Glasgow-born Rankin.  Although we may be used to seeing photographs on screens, the opportunity to see the original prints up close is rare, as they can’t often be on display for conservation reasons. With archival material providing context into how these photographs were made and used, I hope visitors will enjoy going behind the scenes into the process of creating royal portraits.”

A star work of the exhibition will be a striking photograph of Queen Elizabeth II by Julian Calder, taken on the Highlands landscape of the Balmoral Estate in 2010. Beneath an unpredictable sky and cloaked in the mantle of the Order of the Thistle, the late monarch braved the threat of rain and midges to achieve Calder’s vision, inspired by the 19^th century paintings of Clan chiefs – as seen in a behind-the-scenes photograph reproduced on a panel within the exhibition. In contrast, for her 2007 portrait of the sovereign, Annie Leibovitz – the first American to receive an official commission to photograph Queen Elizabeth II – used digital editing to superimpose the figure against a stormy sky.

An exciting time for portrait photography

The past century was an exciting time for portrait photography; techniques evolved rapidly, and the transition from a manual craft to an increasingly digital process is a key theme of the exhibition. One of the earliest photographs shows the royal family – including the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret – smiling in soft-focus and framed by an oval vignette, typical of its time in 1934. To achieve this effect, society photographer Marcus Adams had to adjust the lens of an enlarger, a device for producing a photographic print from the original negative, which will also be on show.

Later photographs will show how portraits became bigger and ever more colourful over the course of the century. The impact of Nadav Kander’s bold, 1.6m-tall headshot of King Charles III when Prince of Wales, taken at Birkhall for a 2013 cover of Time magazine, or Hugo Burnand’s jewel-hued official Coronation portraits in 2023, was possible thanks to advances in printing technology.

The close relationships between photographers and royal sitters will reveal themselves over the course of the exhibition, as seen in the intimate portraits of Princess Margaret taken by Lord Snowdon, born Antony Armstrong-Jones, before and after they married in 1960.  Further highlights include 19 portraits taken by Cecil Beaton, who enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Royal Family. Beaton came to prominence photographing stylish society figures in 1920s London and was seen as a surprising and avant-garde choice when Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother selected him for the now-famous shoot in the Buckingham Palace Gardens in 1939. Visitors will also see photographs from their last sitting together in 1970 after more than three decades of collaboration, with the photographs later released to mark The Queen Mother’s 70^th birthday. Referring to their unique relationship, The Queen Mother wrote to him saying, ‘we must be deeply grateful to you for producing us, as really quite nice & real people!’

Visitors will discover the multitude of purposes royal portraits have served, from reputation-making portraits of a young Queen Elizabeth II for use on currency and stamps by Yousuf Karsh, to birthday portraits of Princess Anne by Norman Parkinson. A handwritten memorandum from Queen Elizabeth II’s Assistant Private Secretary in 1953 reveals her suggestions for which Coronation portraits should be sent to Commonwealth representatives, used to thank Maids of Honour, and given as family mementos. More recently, a photograph of Her Majesty Queen Camilla by Jamie Hawkesworth commissioned by Vogue shows The Queen with a book in her lap to represent Her Majesty’s passion for literature.

Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography is now on at The King’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse, until 7 September 2025. Visitor information and tickets for The King’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse: www.rct.uk, T. +44 (0)303 123 7306. 

Main photo: Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Scots, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle and Chief of the Chiefs, 2010. Photo: Julian Calder/Camera Press.

Perth Museum has announced that their summer show will be Macbeth: An Exhibition. Famously known as The Scottish Play, the exhibition explores the historical origins of the King of Scotland and the continuing influence that William Shakespeare’s iconic play has had on art, theatre, music, and film. Macbeth: An Exhibition, will take visitors on a journey through time, connecting the legendary figure to the very landscape of Perthshire. From the haunting forests of Birnam Wood to the imposing Dunsinane Hill, the exhibition will unveil the deep-rooted connection between this dramatic tale and the region.

Visitors will be invited to uncover the enduring power of Shakespeare’s Macbeth against a backdrop of national identity, monarchy and James VI and I’s fear of witchcraft during his reign, as well as the enduring influence that William Shakespeare’s masterpiece has had on audiences and performers across centuries.

One of Scotland’s most enduring and enigmatic figures

On display for the first time will be a rare 11^th century sword from the time of the real King Macbeth, as well as an example of William Shakespeare’s First Folio, where the tragedy of Macbeth was first printed, on loan from the National Library of Scotland. From Innerpeffray Library there will also be a selection of rare documents and books on witchcraft, including Dr John Dee’s Spiritual Diary, and a first edition of James VI/ I’s Dæmonologie. More modern representations of Macbeth will also be on display, including an Arabic translation and a Japanese script from the 1985 performance of Macbeth. London based artist Charlotte Rose has been commissioned to create a new work for the exhibition.

Helen Smout, Chief Executive Officer at Culture Perth and Kinross, said “As we approach our first anniversary, we are thrilled to announce this new exhibition bringing together history, legend and art to explore one of Scotland’s most enduring and enigmatic figures. From the real 11^th  century king to Shakespeare’s tragic character, this exhibition offers a fascinating insight into the myths and reality of Macbeth all set in the heart of Scotland.”

Scottish history

JP Reid, Exhibitions and Interpretation manager at Culture Perth and Kinross, added “Visitors will be surprised to learn just how much the play draws on Scottish history. The extent to which (Shakespeare) is pulling out of historical sources is really interesting. The witches are in the historical record. They’re not a literary invention by Shakespeare. So, these are very old stories. These have very deep roots in Scottish history. And I think that aspect, the connection of that literary character to Scottish history, is something that will really surprise people. Different creative people over the past 200 years have taken Shakespeare’s material and run with it in totally surprising, inspiring, challenging, baffling directions. And at the core of them is this story of power and the abuse of power, and where an individual stands in relation to these huge tides of prophecy and history, and really whether they have any control over that kind of environment. This is such a rich seam for the world’s best theatre producers and directors, actors, film directors, artists, and writers. This is an endlessly rich seam to mine. The topics and themes that Shakespeare is writing about 550 years after the historical king are topics that resonate and are relevant today. So, drawing that thread from the 11th century through the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and exploring themes like power, superstition, betrayal, and how these inform broader ideas around Scottish identity and monarchy, is something that’s absolutely relevant. These are big themes which we have the luxury of being able to contextualise within some specific locations in Perth. And that’s very exciting for us”

Tickets for Macbeth: An Exhibition, running to August 31st 2025, are available to book now through Perthshire Box Office. Visitors can purchase at the Museum on the day of their visit, but advance booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.  Perth Museum has welcomed over 225,000 visitors since opening in March 2024. The museum is open every day: Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 11am to 4pm. Entry to the permanent galleries and the Stone of Destiny exhibit is free. For more details see: www.perthmuseum.co.uk/inside-the-museum/macbeth

Manawatu Scottish were crowned Grade One Champions at the 2025 New Zealand Pipe Band Championships, held in Invercargill on the 7^th and 8^th of March. Canterbury Caledonian took the Medley prize, and Manawatu Scottish won the MSR prize. Manawatu were also crowned Grade One drumming champions.

Canterbury Caledonian were the runners up. The Simon Wright Shield, awarded to the Champion Grade One Band, was retired this year, and replaced with the Iain Blakeley Challenge Trophy in recognition of Iain’s significant contribution to the New Zealand pipe band community.

Congratulations to all other prize winners throughout the grades:

Grade Two: St Andrew’s College Pipe Band

Grade Three: Hamilton Caledonian Society’s Pipe Band

Grade Four A: Metro Scottish Pipe Band

Grade Four B: ILT City of Invercargill Highland Pipe Band

Juvenile: St Andrew’s College A Pipe Band

The Australian Celtic Festival (ACF) is set to return to Glen Innes from May 1 to May 4, 2025, marking its 33^rd year with a vibrant celebration of Celtic nations as well as highlighting the Celtic Nations of Brittany, Cornwall, and Wales.  Visit Glen Innes this May to celebrate the enduring spirit and culture of the Celtic nations. The Festival looks forward to welcoming you to an event filled with music, dance, history, and community.

Cultural experiences

This year, attendees can anticipate a rich tapestry of cultural experiences, including:

• Live Music and Dance Performances: Featuring both national and international artists showcasing traditional and contemporary Celtic music and dance including Dalla Duo,  Hiraeth, Austral, Bush Gothic, Siobhan Owen, Kejafi, Cymbrogi, Murphy’s Pigs, Asleep At The Reel, Limerick, The Gathering, Raggle Taggle Gypsies, Australian Celtic Women, Auld Alliance, Abakus Celtic Trio, Moreton Fiddle Club, Brythonics, Lorna & Dave, Michael Atherton,   Matt Scullion, Goldheist, The Scotsman – Graeme McColgan, The Skinner Boyz and Kim Kirkman.
• Celtic Cultural Symposium – Thursday 1 May Highlands Hub 167 Grey Street, join MC Nigel Brown as he introduces presenters chatting about all things Celtic including language, the history of the Standing Stones and much more.
• 100,000 Welcomes – Thursday 1 May, Featuring Asleep at the Reel.
• ACF Celtic Food Trail – follow the ACF Food trail and try delicious inspired Celtic food and drink throughout the week and weekend.
• Busking Friday 2 May – Grey Street comes alive with buskers from 9am, registration open on the day with permits available through registering at the Highlands Hub 167 Grey Street Glen Innes.
• Opening Ceremony – 11 am Grey Street Town Hall Square
• ACF Eisteddfod incorporating the Australian Dance Championships and the Celtic Cultural Awards.
• Friday Night Ceilidh with Celtic Connections with support bands Moreton Fiddle Club and Kejafi.
• Saturday Night Sesh – featuring Bush Gothic and Austral
• Celtic Cauldron – Festival Site – Workshops and presentations as well as session players all weekend.
• Pipe Bands and Competitions: Experience the stirring sounds of massed pipe bands performances at the Street Parade, NSW Pipe Band Quintet Competition and Junior Solo Piper Competition.
• Highland Games and Strongman Events: Witness feats of strength and skill in traditional Highland competitions including Backhold Wrestling.
• Re-enactment Groups: Step back in time with historical re-enactments depicting Celtic life and legends. Jousting and Knights school.
• Celtic Fashion Parade and Dog Parade: Celebrate Celtic heritage through fashion showcases and a parade featuring beloved canine companions.
• Celtic Kids Marquee: A dedicated space offering activities and entertainment tailored for younger festivalgoers.
• Market Stalls and Food Trucks: Explore a variety of stalls offering Celtic crafts, merchandise, and culinary delights.
• Sunday Night after party – Glen Innes District Services Club featuring The Gathering Band.

Celtic culture and traditions

The festival’s main events will be held at the Australian Standing Stones National Celtic Monument on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4. Additional activities and fringe events will take place throughout the Glen Innes region during the four-day celebration.  Set against the picturesque backdrop of Glen Innes’ autumnal hues, the festival offers an immersive experience into Celtic culture and traditions.

Whether you’re of Celtic descent or simply captivated by its rich heritage, the Australian Celtic Festival promises an unforgettable experience for all. Tickets are available for purchase online. Weekend passes include access to evening events such as the Friday Night Ceili (May 2) and Saturday Night Sesh (May 3) featuring Bush Gothic and Austral, along with all activities at the Australian Standing Stones. Please note that some events, like the “100,000 Welcomes” on Thursday, May 1, and the ACF Eisteddfod on Friday, May 2, require separate tickets. iwannaticket.com.au For those seeking accommodation, the Glen Innes Showground offers camping and caravanners.

For further details, ticket purchases, and the latest updates, please visit the official Australian Celtic Festival website at: www.australiancelticfestival.com.

Main photo: Siobhan Owen.

VE Day in 2025 marks the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. On Thursday 8 May Victory in Europe Day (VE Day)  marks the day the German forces surrendered to the Allied powers. People are being urged to stop and reflect on this day of this year’s anniversary and one Aberdeen piper, who was taught my one of the world’s top pipers,  will be playing the pipes in honour of those who have served. Pipe Major Lady Jane Macrae will perform Celebratum, which was specially written for the commemoration, at St Paul’s Cathedral in London in May, as Neil Drysdale explains.

Try to picture Margaret Rutherford with a dash of Joyce Grenfell and a sliver of Maggie Smith and you might get close to describing Jane MacRae. Or rather, Lady Jane MacRae. Or, more precisely, Dr Lady Jane MacRae. (“No no, that looks stupid”). Whatever the title, comparisons are futile when it comes to describing this remarkable force of nature who teaches mathematics at St Machar Academy in Aberdeen – even though she could have retired from the classroom years ago.

Lady Jane is, quite simply, a formidable character who regards any obstacle in her path as something to be beaten into submission: the one-time Grease and Oliver singer who has danced to her own tune while strolling down the corridors of academia. If you had suggested a decade ago that she would be playing the bagpipes in front of the King at the official VE Day 80 commemorations at St Paul’s Cathedral in May, she would probably have looked at you with a mixture of derision and incredulity. But here’s the thing. It’s happening, this redoubtable individual will take centre stage in the cathedral on May 7 and at the London Eye on May 8 and she told me all about it.

Stuart Liddell MBE

Lady Jane said: “I was brought up at Carlton Towers in Yorkshire and music was very much part of as life because my mother was a very talented pianist. At school, my music teacher tried very hard to persuade me to have my voice trained but, although I sang in many performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, I was not interested at that time in singing as a career.  At no point in my life did I ever even consider playing the bagpipes until one day when a lady I know suggested I should try the chanter, lent me one and taught me the scale. This became a challenge and I’m not somebody to refuse one. I started lessons with the local band (in Deeside), but that didn’t last long as Covid hit (in 2020). For several months, I was floundering, not having any real direction and trying to teach myself grace notes and tunes. But, purely by chance, I was advised to have a lesson with Stuart Liddell MBE and I was shaking in my shoes at the thought of doing this with somebody who is, arguably, the greatest piper in the world today. However, that was the start of what has now become an obsession.”

As somebody based in Monymusk, the mother of two – and grandmother of four – has never been less than competitive. It has inspired her in music, in teaching, in assisting vulnerable children and relentlessly improving her standards. Maths might be difficult for some people, but not when it comes to Lady Jane. And she smiles when she recounts how it has transformed so many lives. She told me: “I have been teaching for many years and, to this day, I love the interaction with the youngsters. It has been a very satisfying career with often wild children taking snippets of the many talks we had and remembering them years later and thanking me for helping them become successful people. You tend to think your advice falls on deaf ears, but this is far from the truth with letters – yes, they did exist – and messages being sent from grateful youngsters. Obviously, all teachers are delighted when their pupils pass exams, especially when they have little confidence in their ability, but these are stepping stones to their careers and it is the proof you have made a difference to a life that gives the most pleasure. I really must have annoyed the heads of several schools because I would sing at the top of my voice in the corridor at all times of the day, irrespective of lessons going on. Nobody objected, but I’m sure that Iona Reid, the headmistress of St Machar Academy, must heave a sigh of relief that she has not been subjected to this… yet!

Climactic commemorations

Last summer, as Britain remembered D-Day, Lady Jane participated in a poignant memorial to those involved in the Normandy landings in 1944 by playing the pipes at 10 different Scottish castles, prior to travelling to the Menin Gate in Belgium. She was joined at Inveraray Castle by her mentor in what became an “especially moving” event and will never forget the haunting lament which Mr Liddell performed at Ypres, one of the towns which suffered the biggest loss of life from 1914 to 1918. She recalled: “My grandfather served in the First World War. When he returned home, he was unrecognisable and was told by the butler to use the tradesmen’s entrance. Obviously, this was soon rectified, but the very fact he was in such a state that his own wife didn’t recognise him, has always resonated with me. I suppose he was lucky being able to return home because so many didn’t, both in the camps and fighting on the front. My mother was in the Signals Regiment during the Second World War and lost friends during those dreadful times.”

Most of those who served their country in the two conflicts are gone now and that is why the 80^th anniversary of VE Day will be a closing salute to the remaining few. In which light, it’s hardly surprising that Lady Jane has a mixture of emotions about being asked to fulfil such a pivotal role in these climactic commemorations. She said: “I’m still reeling from the shock of being invited to play at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Blessing of the Lamp Light of Peace and at the London Eye for the Lighting of the Principal Beacon. This is a great honour,  and I am very aware of its significance. My first thought must be to practise the two tunes as much as possible in order to do the occasion justice. I could have no better teacher than Stuart who, I’m sure, will crack the whip if he doesn’t think I’m working hard enough. But there is little chance of that happening as I will practise as much as possible to perfect the tunes for the events. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Stuart is the single, most important reason I have continued my love of the bagpipes and music in general. Many people think of him as being the greatest piper of his time and the Pipe Major of the World Champion Pipe Band, Inveraray and District, but he is far more than that. He is a consummate musician, plays many instruments, his knowledge of all genres is astonishing, and his ability to teach and motivate both young and old is incredible. The man’s a genius and it is an honour to have him as a teacher. My only worry is just how big a stick will be needed to bring my playing up to the standard required.”

One suspects both will be equal to the task. After all, nothing else has held them back.

Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (SIGS) has launched Ken Your Kin, an exciting new event being held in Glasgow, Scotland from the 4^th to the 11^th of June 2025. Whether you’re a seasoned genealogist or just beginning your journey into Scottish family history, the Ken Your Kin summer school is the perfect opportunity to both celebrate and bring Scottish ancestry and heritage to life. The Ken Your Kin experience will provide opportunities for participants to ask questions, engage in discussions, and benefit from one-to-one genealogy research input from qualified genealogists.

Delegates will be warmly welcomed to the City of Glasgow with a civic reception at Glasgow’s historic City Chambers building.  Step back in time and hear talks from Scottish historians, museum curators, and family history experts. Explore fascinating topics such as what your ancestors ate, migration to and from Scotland, the connections between clans, families and DNA and the history of Scottish entertainment – with music hall songs and a bit of a sing-along!

Scotland’s rich history and culture

Delve into Scotland’s rich history and culture through visits to museums, cultural landmarks, and historical sites. Explore iconic venues such as The Tenement House, New Lanark, The National Museum of Rural Life, and enjoy a dedicated research day at Edinburgh’s ScotlandsPeople Centre.

If that’s not tempting enough, you’ll also have the choice between a hands-on ‘try the bagpipes’ workshop at the National Piping Centre or a tour of the Clydeside Distillery, where you’ll discover the art of single malt whisky making—and enjoy a few drams along the way. The 7-day programme will wrap up with a final night dinner at the historic Trades Hall in Glasgow’s Merchant City. Non-Ken Your Kin participants are welcome to join for an additional fee.  Before arriving in Glasgow, participants will have exclusive access to a secure online portal, where they can connect with fellow delegates and the SIGS team. The portal will also provide top tips, valuable resources, and the latest updates from the organisers. SIGS look forward to sharing our Scottish culture and history and meeting new friends!

To find out more visit: www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy

 

At last, you say, CelticFest Warwick is back in 2025! Tickets will soon be available for the now-biennial event, to be held at the Warwick Showgrounds on Saturday 4 October and Sunday 5 October, 2025, with CelticFringe events running from Friday 3 October in Warwick and surrounds.

The highly-anticipated local volunteer-run event, which last year sold almost 9,000 tickets, will bring back favourites such as the Australian Highland Games Championships  hosted by Highland Muscle, The Gathering Irish band on the main stage, Highland coos (cows) from Keans-Agri, a living Medieval Village, family ceilidh on the Saturday night, pipe band displays, Irish dancing, Celtic-themed markets, Celtic animals, the gathering of the clans, Celtic-inspired bar and food – and much more.

CelticFest 2025 will run over two days at the Showgrounds, with a full program of music on the Main Stage both days, and a headlining performance from ‘kick arse’ Irish band, The Gathering, on the Saturday evening. CelticFest will also welcome back popular past performers, with new acts also being added to the musical line-up; these and other program inclusions for the event will also be announced over the coming months.

There will be a full program of events in the Main Arena both days, including the Australian Highland Games Championships, medieval combat, and Jacobite black powder displays. CelticFest visitors will again be able to cheer on professional strongmen and women, as they perform many feats of strength, including the perennially popular caber toss.

CelticFringe

The medieval village will be open for CelticFest attendees to stroll back in time, providing a window into a bygone era, including thumping battles between knights of yore, graceful dancing displays of women through history, and experiencing the daily life of those who lived in feudal times.  You will be overtaken by powerful tunes from the roaming pipe bands and delighted by the Highland dancers. Wander through Celtic-themed markets to purchase your Celtic keepsakes, have a photograph with the gloriously gentle Highland cows, trace the genealogy of the clans, and feast on Celtic-themed food and drink….and if you’re game, try some Haggis!

CelticFringe events will include the Australian Celtic Women performing a feature-length gig at the Club Warwick RSL on the Friday night, a Southern Downs heritage train trip to Clifton, and a Celtic-themed parkrun hosted by Warwick parkrun on the banks of the Condamine River. More CelticFringe events will be announced over the coming months.

When tickets go on sale, they will be available from the CelticFest website: www.celticfestqld.com.au. For further information, and to receive updates on CelticFest Warwick 2025, please follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.

Orkney is a place of innumerable wonders great and small. Most visitors tend to gravitate towards a handful of well-known sites like Skara Brae, Scapa Flow, and the Broch of Gurness. Across the archipelago, however, are historic sites and natural landscapes of staggering variety and character which relatively few tend to tread. These are a few of my favourites, all freshly visited during a month-long stay in February 2025.

The Brough of Birsay

The Brough of Birsay is a very special place, cherished by Picts, Norse, and modern Orcadians alike. Sloped like a cresting wave with towering cliffs on its seaward face, the Brough of Birsay is an island only accessible at low tide by a meandering causeway traversing a wonderland of tidepools and rock formations.

A large Pictish settlement was established on the island, later superseded by a Norse settlement which was possibly the base of operations for Thorfinn the Mighty, a mighty Norwegian Earl of Orkney. It is holy, too – pilgrims make their way to the Brough of Birsay to pay tribute to St Magnus, whose body was possibly taken here after his murder-cum-martyrdom on the island of Egilsay. George Mackay Brown, Orkney’s quintessential writer, set many stories and plays on the island and along its sea-swept causeway.

Built heritage aside, the Brough of Birsay is a prime puffin-spotting location in May and June and affords spectacular views across Birsay Bay to the south and to Westray to the north. On my recent visit I took great pleasure in wandering the island’s fringes, searching for seashells among the tidepools, and contemplating the countless generations and multiple cultures who invested the Brough of Birsay with an air of both secular and spiritual reverence.

North Ronaldsay Lighthouse and seaweed-eating sheep

North Ronaldsay is the northernmost of the Orkney Islands, reachable by a 2.5-hour ferry from Kirkwall or, in my case, a spectacular 15-minute flight in an eight-seater propeller plane. The island’s fertile inland contrasts with a precipitous and rugged coastline, and it is along this coastline that you will find North Ronaldsay’s most numerous and distinctive residents – beach sheep

The North Ronaldsay breed is unique in subsisting on foraged seaweed. Their sure-footedness on the stones is unmatched, and they resemble the ancient sheep breeds which prehistoric Scots would have farmed. They’re not fazed by much, sometimes even approaching human observers and mingling with basking seals. The whole island is encircled by a Grade A-listed Sheep Dyke, a stone wall first built in the 19^th century which keeps the sheep on the shore and has pens for shearing them. Much of their wool is processed in the historic North Ronaldsay Lighthouse, the tallest land-based lighthouse in the UK at 42 metres high. It was built in 1852 by Alan Stevenson, a member of the renowned ‘Lighthouse Stevensons’ family. The lighthouse has a visitor centre with guided climbs up its 176 steps, atop which you can easily see Fair Isle and sometimes even Shetland on a clear day. Within easy sight of the newer lighthouse is the Old Beacon, the third lighthouse built in Scotland first lit in 1789 and now abandoned.

The Broch of Borwick

Orkney has dozens of brochs, stone towers from the Iron Age which, when complete, resembled the cooling towers of modern nuclear power plants. Brochs were certainly defensive in part, with thick stone walls and a towering height advantage, but they were also homes for extended families and even places of worship – several brochs have wells and subterranean passages which were likely used to commune with the ancient gods and the dead.

The Broch of Gurness and Midhowe Broch, both along the Eynhallow Sound, are the most famous and best-preserved of Orkney’s brochs, but few stand in locations as spectacular as the Broch of Borwick in West Mainland. The Norse who gave it its name called it as they saw it – Borwick is derived from Old Norse ‘borg’, meaning ‘fortification’, and ‘vik’, meaning ‘bay’. The broch stands immediately upon the edge, and will no doubt begin to vanish with a few more centuries’ worth of winds and waves chewing away at the cliffs. Excavated in 1881, locals quickly availed of its fine worked stone when in need of repairs and extensions to their field dykes and cottages. The broch was likely built around 500BC and occupied until as late as 700AD. Remarkably, there was once a path carved into the cliff face leading down to a cave evocatively known as ‘Hell’s Mouth’. Combined with extensive Iron Age cultivation terraces found in the grounds in front of the broch, this was clearly a place of strength, prominence, and high status in the landscape, hardly less impressive today than in its heyday.

The Yetnasteen and the ‘Fingersteens’ of Rousay

Much of the Norse legendarium took root in Orkney during the Viking Age. There are the goblin-like trows who stalk hillsides at night and ancestor spirits called Hogboons who guard tombs. Looming largest, literally and figuratively, are stories of giants. Some throw great stones to settle inter-island rivalries, and others have become great stones themselves. The Yetnasteen in the east of Rousay is one of the latter. Its name comes from the Old Norse jotna-steinn, meaning ‘stone of giants’. The Yetnasteen was once a giant but was caught out by the rising sun and turned to stone by its rays. Now, it thirsts for a drink from the nearby Loch of Scockness. At the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay it comes to life, makes its way to the loch in two great strides, takes a drink, and then returns to its position. Those who attempt to see this transformation occur are invariably distracted, fall asleep, or have imbibed too many drams to be believed.

Two boulders in Rousay are said to bear the fingerprints of Cubbie Roo, an infamous giant resident in the island of Wyre derived from a very real Norse strongman, Kolbein Hruga. These boulders, called ‘Fingersteens’ were thrown by Cubbie Roo in anger at other giants. Antiquarian sources are vague as to their location, but on a recent visit I managed to track down two very likely candidates.  One, on the slopes above the Knowe of Yarso in Frotoft, bears four incredibly deep and unmistakeable holes as if massive fingers bored into them. Alongside it is another boulder with deep markings which resemble a three-clawed hand. Another boulder in the shore of the Leean in North Rousay has less obvious ‘fingerprints’ but is said to bring disaster to passers-by who do not place a pebble atop it. With my ferry back to the Scottish mainland due to depart in the next few days, you can be sure I added one to the pile!

Text and images: David C. Weinczok.

The 47^th annual Savannah Scottish Games will take place on Saturday, May 3, from 8:45 am to 7 pm at Bynuh’s Field, Bethesda Academy, located in Savannah, Georgia. “At Bethesda Academy for our 17^th year, we will host Celtic competitions, Scottish food, gathering of the clans, and outstanding live music from bands including our headliners, Ally the Piper and Seven Nations.

Providing an iconic venue for heavy athletes, pipe bands, and Highland Dancers to compete and obtain feedback from highly esteemed judges, we celebrate our love for Scottish culture and heritage with our surrounding communities,” states Savannah Scottish Games President, Murray Marshall.  The Savannah Scottish Games are set at Bethesda Academy on 650 picturesque acres which sits on the pristine banks of the Moon River. This event promises a day filled with wide-ranging entertainment for the whole family.

Celebrate our Scottish heritage

Title Sponsor, Stewart Marshall, with Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty adds, “With a long Scottish family history in Savannah, It is an honor and a privilege to celebrate our Scottish heritage as title sponsor of the 47^th Savannah Scottish Games, leveraging the Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty brand and my brand Stewart Sells The Lowcountry.

From the manicured town squares and horse-drawn carriages to ornate antebellum architecture of Historic Savannah it’s no wonder Savannah is one of the most visited cities in the South. Come for a visit and let Stewart Sells The Lowcountry find you a home in this beautiful community.”

Athletic Competitions are one of the highlights of the Scottish Games. This thrilling event features skilled athletes competing in seven traditional athletic events. The Games are proud to host the ScotDance Highland Dancing Southeast Regional Championships, one of six Highland Dance competitions held throughout the United States each spring. The top three Savannah Regionals winners in each group can compete in the ScotDance National Championships. Music lovers will enjoy performances by renowned Celtic bands, including Ally the Piper and Seven Nations.

Ally the Piper is a viral internet sensation, renowned for modernizing the Great Highland bagpipe. She blends classic rock and heavy metal with Celtic influences, captivating audiences worldwide. Ally showcases her talent on various traditional instruments and is redefining the bagpipe’s place in contemporary music.

Throw away preconceived notions about Celtic music .. Seven Nations has invented its own sound veering from roots in folk, dance and fusion-rock.  The pipe and drum and solo competitions provide the stirring and haunting melodies of the bagpipes which characterize the very soul of Scotland. Did we mention that Savannah is known as a haunted city?

The Scots in you

Children might encounter Zephyr, a magical fairy, while enjoying a captivating selection of Scottish tales and games like the kilt run, tug-of-war, sheaf toss, caber toss, haggis hurl, stone throw, welly toss, and the sack race. Children’s Passports are provided to collect stamps from clan tents and collect a special prize.

The Shire of Forth Castle, will host interactive demonstrations and displays showcasing a variety of medieval European activities. This authentic southern venue is the perfect backdrop for Clan Nan Con, a passionate group of historians and reenactors who specialize in studying and bringing to life the world of Scottish Highlanders between 1736 and 1746. Living history reenactors from Fort King George in Darien, Georgia will also be representing some of the finest soldiers of their time and demonstrating life as a settler.

Ever wondered if you have a bit of the Scots in you? Explore forty-three clan tents surrounding the Scottish Games arena, each offering a treasure trove of artifacts, history, and a list of surnames tied to their clan. For those eager to dig deeper, visit the genealogy tent, where experts and historical associations will help you trace your family tree and uncover your roots. But beware—this fascinating journey into your past can quickly become an addictive adventure.

Savannah, Georgia is full of manicured parks, cobblestone streets, and southern charm – perfect opportunity to visit on May 3^rd.

For more information visit: www.savannahscottishgames.com

All images courtesy of Duion Furgason, Tybee Light Photography.

The remarkable story of a how a small group of skilled craftswomen in the Orkney island of Sanday built a knitwear business that went on to supply prestigious clothing outlets around the world, has been recounted in a new book. How to Knit a Bathroom, The Story of the Isle of Sanday Knitters, has been written by Sandra Towrie, who played a key role in the pioneering company that ran between 1970 and 1999.

When the business started, few opportunities for women to work outside of the home existed in Sanday, reflecting the situation across Orkney’s North Isles. But many Sanday women had a particular talent for knitting and, around 1970, their skills caught the attention of Mary Baker, wife of the newly appointed Sanday School headteacher, Ron. She saw there was an opportunity for local women to make a little money for themselves, making crochet squares for a fashion company which had advertised for outworkers in a sewing magazine.

Camaraderie

Under Mary’s encouragement and leadership, the Sanday knitters ultimately moved on from crochet squares to jumpers, combining their talents to create a new cooperative enterprise, Isle of Sanday Knitters. For three decades, the company grew and flourished, with the women designing and making traditional wool jumpers that quickly became much sought after throughout the UK, and further afield. It was a venture that had a tremendous impact on the local community, changing the lives of many of the knitters. The book’s title reflects how income generated from knitting work brought a greater degree of financial independence to local women, paying for everything from clothes for their children and family holidays, to new television sets and even complete bathrooms. The knitters’ efforts placed Sanday firmly on the international fashion map, with the company producing knitwear for exclusive boutiques and large, well-known stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman in New York, and Hackett and Harrods in London. They were also commissioned to knit Christmas jumpers for actors, Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey, for a festive episode of the Men Behaving Badly sit-com in 1997.

Although Isle of Sanday Knitters wound up in 1999, an extensive archive of documents and photographs relating to the company had been kept by Sandra Towrie, a Shetland born teacher who designed and knitted for the company during its heyday. Sandra had passed the archive material to the island’s heritage centre for a 2016 exhibition on the business, but last year was approached by the North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme (NILPS) with a view to running some hand knitting classes in Sanday, as part of a project aimed at preserving traditional skills. That then led her to explore the idea of writing a book on the Isle of Sanday Knitters and sharing the unique story of the venture with a wider audience. Funding for the book has come from NILPS, with proceeds from sales going to the Sanday Heritage Centre. “It was a tremendous thing for the island,” said Sandra. “The abiding memory I have of that time is of the camaraderie. None of the women involved ever set out to run a business, but because they were managing houses and running farms, multitasking to a degree nobody would believe, they discovered they had all these transferable skills. They’d fit the knitting around whatever else they were doing.”

A great deal of pride in Sanday

“I just bumped into somebody recently who had lived in Sanday a long while ago and been one of the knitters,” continued Sandra. “She remembered how her kids had wanted designer jeans, but the family were scrimping and saving at the time and couldn’t afford to buy them. But with the knitting, she was able to pay for the jeans. And somebody really did pay for a bathroom!” What’s perhaps most surprising about the Isle of Sanday knitters is the scale of the operation at its peak. It got so busy the company had to enlist the help of knitters all the way from Shetland to Wolverhampton. “It was all big orders,” recalled Sandra. “The knitters were working for the mass market, with 200 pieces for places like Hackett. It was huge quantities and tight, tight timelines, and we had agents in London getting us those big customers. And there was me, a mum of three small children, who had been no further than Aberdeen or maybe Edinburgh, and suddenly I was having to go to trade fairs in Paris, Munich, New York and London!”

By the 1990s, many of the people who had worked hard to establish the company were no longer able to devote as much time and energy as they’d done in the past. And some of the business’ long-standing customers found they could source similar products much more cheaply from overseas. In 1999, the board of Isle of Sanday Knitters unanimously agreed to wind the company up. Sandra added: “The aspect of the Isle of Sanday Knitters that’s hard to quantify is the feeling it created within the community. People had that little bit of extra money, and it was a positive thing for everyone, even if they weren’t directly involved with the company. There was a great deal of pride in Sanday for what was achieved and it’s a pleasure to be able to share the story of the company through the new book.”

Valerie Dawson, programme manager/project officer for NILPS, said: “We are delighted to fund the publication of Sandra’s book about the Isle of Sanday Knitters. NILPs aims to support and celebrate traditional local crafts and this excellent book documents how ingenuity and hard work by the Sanday community saw the craft of knitting develop into an important small industry for the Island for over 25 years.”

Main photo: Above Sanday. Photo: VisitScotland.

In partnership with the Lower Clarence Scottish Association, the Queensland Highland Pipers Society are bringing Stuart Liddell to Brisbane for its April Recitals. The two groups have been working together now for over a decade to share the costs of bringing the worlds best pipers for the Highland Gathering every year, names such as Glenn Brown, Roddy Macleod, Alasdair Henderson, Callum Beaumont, just name a few.

Even in this part of world, Stuart Liddell is a megastar of the Piping World. As soloist he has won every major prize several times, including the Glenfiddich on 4 occasions. Stuart is bringing his young family for the trip, and will enjoy some “holiday time” in South East Queensland, no doubt enjoying some good weather, a swim at the beach, and no doubt being dragged to a couple of themes parks by his young children.

Stuart’s time will be spread across several events whilst he is here, including the Inaugural Pipe Major MacNeill’s Invitational contest at St Pauls Church on Saturday 12 April. The event will see ten of Australia’s young piping talent compete for the McNeill Claidhmhor Trophy across two elements, a March, Strathspey & Reel element, followed by a Scottish Hymn, Hornpipe and Jig. There will be a Ceilidh after this event and no doubt someone will try and persuade Stuart to give us a quick tune!

The main Brisbane event is the Recital at the Queensland Multicultural Centre in Kangaroo Point on Wednesday 16 April starting at 7pm. Tickets are selling out fast for this one, which is a brilliant venue for a recital. Stuart will be supported by some local emerging pipers, during the show, and will include a short Q&A session with Stuart about the 20^th anniversary year of Inveraray & District Pipe Band, stories, successes, and challenges in those early years of forming the band.

One of the most gifted pipers in the world

The Lower Clarence Scottish Association is proud to announce that PM Stuart Liddell, one of the world’s premier pipers, will be visiting Maclean for the 2025 Maclean Highland Gathering, after guiding his band, Inverary & District Pipe Band, to success at the Grade One World Pipe Band Championships in 2024. PM Stuart Liddell hails from Inveraray, Scotland and started piping at the age of nine. Stuart was originally taught by his grandfather, the late Pipe Major Ronald McCallum M.B.E. and later, Arthur Gillies. He has also had tuition from Jim Henderson and Hugh MacCallum.

One of the most gifted pipers in the world today, he has won three Clasps at Inverness, the Senior Piobaireachd at Oban five times, both Gold Medals, is a three-time Glenfiddich Piping Champion and has won the Donald MacLeod Memorial in 2016 and, most recently, The Springbank Invitational in Campbeltown 2023. Stuart is founder and Pipe Major of the Inveraray & District Pipe Band, winners of the Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championship in 2017, 2019 and 2024. Previously he was a member of the Scottish Power Pipe Band for seven years, subsequently joining the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band from Vancouver, Canada with whom he played for ten years. The recital will be held at the Former Maclean Services Club 36-38 River Street, Maclean from 7.30 pm on Saturday 19^th April 2025. The event is free, and no bookings are required. Do not miss this unique opportunity to hear one of the world’s best in person.

Tickets for the Inaugural Pipe Major MacNeill’s Invitational on April 12 can be ordered at:  www.trybooking.com/au/event/1358482

Tickets for the QHPS International Piping Recital on April 16^th can be ordered at:  www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1350374

The 120^th Maclean Highland Gathering will take place April 18-19 (Easter weekend) in Maclean, NSW. For more details visit:  www.macleanhighlandgathering.com.au

The Scottish Banner speaks to Jason Barrett, Chief Executive, of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a world-class event, rooted in Scottish tradition, offering audiences an experience like no other. Performed to a global live audience of 220,000 each year in August on the iconic Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, the Tattoo showcases creativity through music, precision performances and dance from military and cultural acts from around the world.

Jason Barrett, Chief Executive, of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo took the time to speak to the Scottish Banner on the Tattoo’s special 75^th year, how Edinburgh Castle plays such a starring role in the Tattoo and just what it is like to be part of ‘the greatest show on earth’.

2025 marks 75 incredible years of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The event has grown to become a benchmark of Scottish global celebrations. What is it about the Tattoo do you feel is so enduring and also continues to hold such broad global appeal?

JB: I’m a firm believer that if you’re standing still you’re falling behind, which is why we continue to evolve and innovate creatively throughout the entire company.  From our plans to tour internationally, to enhancing our arena for a better experience, to upgrading our systems and processes throughout the business, we are committed to growing the brand and elevating the Tattoo at all levels.

We’re excited to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and while naturally people think of the lights, sounds and skill featured on the Esplanade, we have so much more going on throughout the year to signify this celebration.

Our 75^th allows us to look back proudly on our legacy, and enthusiastically to the future.  In this anniversary year, we recommit to giving more to our charitable partners and to honouring those who’ve made the Tattoo so successful.

Can you tell us a bit about 2025 production The Heroes Who Made Us and what can audiences expect with this year’s performance?

JB: In 2025 we are celebrating 75 years of the Tattoo with our new Show, The Heroes Who Made Us. The Show will celebrate the heroes across the Tattoo, military and wider society in Scotland who help better the lives of others through their efforts and take audiences on a journey through our rich history.  The Show, which will run from 1-23 August 2025, will also see the introduction of a storyteller, who will not only guide audiences through the Show, but immerse themselves in the performance to provide an even deeper and enhanced emotional audience experience.  The Heroes Who Made Us will be the first Tattoo from new Creative Director Alan Lane, who places storytelling at the heart of his creative process. The performance will also nod to Scotland’s proud history in the arts and military connection with Skipinnish’s song Eagle’s Wing being performed as part of the finale with the whole cast, supported by state-of-the-art projection and lighting.

Can you briefly explain just how much work, logistics and preparation goes into bringing hundreds of performers from around the world together to create the magic that is the Tattoo?

JB: A lot! We work about 18- 24 months from each Show, preparing the Show theme, content and production elements as well as the logistics of the venue and our ongoing marketing campaigns. We have a core team of 36 employees who work tirelessly across the year to bring together the incredible spectacle that nearly 230,000 people get to see live every August. We’re lucky to have such supportive partners and stakeholders that help bring the Show to life, from selecting the performers to writing the music. It’s a team effort – and one that is very rewarding for all involved.

How hard, or easy, is it to secure performers, especially from the military, each year given the length of the run of the Tattoo each August?

JB: As you can imagine, for many services times are tough just now with reduced numbers of serving personnel and even more reduced numbers of musicians taking up the ranks. However, we have such a strong and important relationship with the MOD that we work very closely together to ensure we continue to represent the best of military music in our Show each year. It’s quite the commitment for performers to be part of the Tattoo, but the experience and opportunities that it opens – not just for individuals, but countries and militaries – is unmatched and one that everyone who joins us in August recognises.

Some feel Edinburgh Castle itself is always one of the stars of the Tattoo. How does the Castle serve up both logistical challenges but also provide such a unique stage that few productions can replicate?

JB: There’s nowhere else in the world quite like Edinburgh Castle. And we absolutely refer to it as one of the stars of our Show! It’s unique backdrop and iconic location has lent itself to many classic Tattoo moments – not least our Lone Piper appearing on the historic ramparts. That doesn’t mean to say it doesn’t come without its challenges – something our Operations team will attest to. Each night of our 26 Show run, we welcome up to 9,000 audience members – and not to mention the 1000s of cast and crew members – to a venue with only one exit and entrance, up cobbled hills and steep steps. That’s why it’s so important that we work closely as an organisation with our stakeholders and suppliers to ensure the best experience for all visitors to our event. We work hard to make the event accessible by all and will continue to do this.

The Tattoo not only honours tradition and Scottish culture but also uses cutting-edge production technology. How important is it to merge modern technology to showcase military tradition?

JB: It’s very important. The Tattoo has always been at the forefront of technology or techniques when it comes to presenting the best show we can. Even 75 years ago, we were using innovative ways to light the Esplanade. Today we have so much at our fingertips, and so much opportunity to present the best of military and Scottish traditions. It’s vital to us that while we introduce or make use of new technologies, whether that be in projection or special effects, the core of the Tattoo will always remain our values of military, tradition and charity.

Every year the Tattoo celebrates comradery and friendship through music, dance and military alliance with a variety of nations. How does it feel to witness that connection and unity of performers coming together to create what many consider ‘The greatest show on earth’?

JB: In one word? Incredible. There is no feeling that matches that of witnessing the whole cast come together on the Esplanade in the finale of a Show and the connection between them and the audience. Many of whom have travelled far and wide to be there. It’s made that extra special for me as I get to see the backstage friendships forming, and the coming together throughout the year that goes on behind the scenes. But really nothing is better than sitting back and seeing the magic come to life on the Esplanade.

The Tattoo has been performed previously in both Australia and New Zealand. Are there any plans to again take the Tattoo to international audiences?

JB: This is such an exciting time for us just now, with many great opportunities on the table. I’ve spoken before about the potential for the Tattoo and where we could take it – whether that be around the world, or just to different venues. Now we have ambitions to go back to Australia and New Zealand soon, and potential for presenting something in the US. Already in 2025, we’re heading out to the US to be part of the Washington Tattoo and New York’s Tartan Week. So, watch this space for more to be announced soon!

The Royal Edinburgh Miliary Tattoo celebrates their 75^th in 2025. The Heroes Who Made Us will run at the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle from 1-23 August 2025. For details and tickets visit: www.edintattoo.co.uk

All images courtesy of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

 

Glasgow 850 is calling on Glaswegians who have gone international to be part of this year’s celebrations.

This year, Glasgow is celebrating its 850^th birthday with its first living remembrance book to celebrate the people who have taken the Glasgow spirit globally. The physical book, which will also be available to view online for a limited time, is aiming to contain the names of at least 850 Glaswegians that no longer reside in the city but still call it ‘hame’(Scots word for home).  Once ready, the book will be displayed in Glasgow City Chambers and will include a mix of names, stories and images capturing the memories and special moments of the people that make Glasgow what it is today. The book allows Glaswegians living abroad or away from the city to be part of this year’s celebrations.  Entrants can share as much or as little as they like about their time in the ‘Dear Green Place’.

Where did you GlasGOw? is an open invitation for those abroad who have an affinity to the city and a story to tell – whether about themselves, a fellow Weegie (Scots word for Glaswegian), or on behalf of an ancestor, family member, or friend.  To share your memories, stories and images please visit glasgow850.com and complete the online form. Entries will be available to view towards the end of the year and will serve as a legacy from the Glasgow 850 celebrations.

The unique spirit of Glasgow

Cllr Jacqueline McLaren, Lord Provost of Glasgow said; “Glasgow has long been known for having some of the world’s best banter and that sense of humour doesn’t fade when they move away. They carry their memories and stories of home with them, sharing the unique spirit of Glasgow wherever they go. It’s long been said that ‘story telling is the oldest form of education’, and we hope by having global Glaswegians share their authentic stories and experiences that people will be able to gain a real understanding of our famous slogan, People Make Glasgow.”

The launch of the book is part of a much wider yearlong citywide programme of curated events and community-based activities for citizens and visitors. It will let people at home and abroad, share their experiences and tell their stories, celebrating Glasgow’s rich heritage and culture, reflecting on its transformation, and inspiring future ambitions. Themes for the year include heritage, young people, diverse communities, climate change, culture, innovation, business, and skills. Central to the programme, are the ‘signature’ activities including Taste the Place, a scheme providing the chance for locals and visitors to learn more about the history of Glasgow’s hospitality scene by eating their way around the city, Clyde Chorus, a three-day music extravaganza in May, and People’s Palace pop-up exhibition running June to November.

Submissions for Where did you GlasGOw? can be made through an online form at: https://glasgow850.com/article/12243/Where-Did-You-GlasGOw. Celebrate Glasgow’s 850^th birthday, join in marking this milestone at:  www.glasgow850.com.

Main photo: Cllr Jacqueline McLaren, Lord Provost of Glasgow.

Britain’s only private regiment, The Atholl Highlanders, are about to commence an 11-day US tour marking the fourth time in its history it has embarked on a tour of the States.  The Atholl Highlanders, raised and commanded by the Dukes of Atholl, and based at their ancestral home of Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire, have announced that they are honoured to be leading New York’s Tartan Day Parade.

In what is the fourth tour of the States undertaken by the Atholl Highlanders in its long and proud history, and having last toured there as a regiment in 2012, the 62 strong contingent of Atholl Highlanders, including its Pipe Band and support staff, will visit Washington, Boston, and the Massachusetts town of Athol, which claims a historical connection to the Atholl Highlanders, along with New York City itself.

Parade marches

Having performed parade marches many times in the States as part of other US tours, the Atholl Highlanders have never marched in the Tartan Day Parade before, and, as such, are honoured to be not only taking part, but to be leading the parade. Their band, which consists of ten pipers and nine drummers, will lead the colourful procession and will wear the Clan Murray Tartan. The following day will see them parade at the British Embassy in New York. Touring the East Coast of America, to coincide with New York Tartan Week, was the idea of His Grace, The 10^th Duke of Atholl, who funded the very first trip in conjunction with the Murray Clan in 1987, visiting Boston, Athol, Concorde, the Loon Mountain Highland Games, New York, Washington, plus the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington and Williamsburg.

After the 10^th Duke passed away, and the title moved to John Murray in South Africa, an Atholl Highlanders Council was created, which went on to operate a Tour Fund. It allocated money that the Atholl Highlanders received as payment for Duties at the Keepers of the Quaich, and through the Atholl Gathering, towards overseas tours, which usually had a link to the Murray family and/or Blair Castle itself. Subsequent tours followed, in 2000 and 2012, visiting other destinations such as Quebec, Toronto, and Bermuda, along with the Massachusetts town of Athol, an approximate 90-minute drive from Boston.

Athol

In the mid-18^th century, Athol was chosen as the place to settle by an emigrating Scot, John Murray. Becoming a prominent businessman and landowner, he named the town Athol to remind him of his Scottish roots in Highland Perthshire.  Although his connection to the Murray Clan remains unfounded in Blair Castle archives, the town, has, since the Atholl Highlanders first American tour in 1987, developed close links with the Regiment, and Blair Castle. Following the Regiment parading at The State House, Boston, during its 2012 tour, a ceremony officially recognised the town of Athol’s 250^th anniversary, with June 6^th declared “Athol Day”. On this forthcoming tour, local Athol families will host pairs of Atholl Highlanders in their own homes for four nights, before the Regiment returns to Scotland.

Started three years ago, as a result of a special Atholl Highlanders organising committee reaching out to the local community to foster even closer links between them, the hosting provides a more personal experience than a hotel, and enables all parties to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s culture. Kindly transporting the Atholl Highlanders to parades, and other trips and activities during their time with them, such as this year, the Girardi’s River Rat Race, a canoe race on the Athol-Orange River, the Host Families are instrumental in organising cultural and educational visits to local schools and businesses in Athol and the surrounding area. Once again, as on previous trips, the Athol Highlanders will take part in the State House Parade in Boston on the 11^th April. Their packed itinerary also sees them parade at the British Embassy in Washington, attend a Black Rose Dinner in Athol, and enjoy a Legion Spaghetti Supper.  With Atholl Highlanders often recruited through their family lines, there are presently six sets of brothers in the regiment and its band, together with three sets of father and sons.

Incredible trip

RSM Graham Jack, an Atholl Highlander since 1977, and a veteran of three previous USA tours, commented on the forthcoming trip: “We are all really looking forward to this incredible trip. Although many of our members have been on a US tour before, each one always offers something new. This time, it’s the honour and privilege to lead the Tartan Day Parade, which came about through our previous Adjutant, John Bullough, planting the seed of the Regiment leading the Tartan Day Parade in New York. It will be an amazing experience for us all, one that we will never forget, and particularly poignant and memorable for the Atholl Highlanders attending for the first time with their sons, and for our many sets of brothers.”

Graham, who can trace his family ancestry regarding the Murray Clan back to the Battle of Culloden, went on to say: “On behalf of the Atholl Highlanders, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank the extremely hospitable host families in Athol who look after us so well. Many of us have become firm friends, with visits taking place outwith official tours, something we are sure will continue into the future.   This year’s itinerary in Athol will be particularly fun with some of our members taking part in the Athol Rat Race, a break from the formality of other tasks. We always welcome the chance to get right into the heart of the community through the school and business visits too.”

On a final note, Graham said: “We’d say to any of Americans who love their history, and who’d like to find out more about the Atholl Highlanders, to make the very worthwhile trip over to Scotland to visit us at Blair Castle. May is a fantastic time to come, as we have our annual Military Parade and take part in traditional Highland Games. It’s a true Highland spectacle not to be missed! The regiment was actually formed to fight American Independence on behalf of the Crown, which is another fascinating fact. However, they ended up in Ireland and never made it over to get involved in the conflict. Now, we are happy to say that we enjoy the best possible connections to the USA!”

 

Did you know?

-The Atholl Highlanders remain Britain’s only private Regiment, raised and commanded by the Dukes of Atholl, they are based at the ancestral home, Blair Castle, Perthshire where they parade every year on the last weekend of May. They wear Murray tartan, Murray being the family name of the Dukes of Atholl.

-The original Atholl Highlanders were a regular regiment in the British Army, the 77^th raised in 1777 for service in America.  However, after being stationed in Ireland, the war concluded before they had embarked for America and they were disbanded in 1783.

-The Atholl Highlanders, a band of local men, were first deployed in 1839, by Lord Glenlyon, later 6^th Duke of Atholl, to participate in a tournament at Eglinton in Ayrshire, Scotland’s celebration for Queen Victoria.  In 1842 the Duke entertained Queen Victoria on her first visit to Scotland and two years later she chose to stay at Blair Castle to rest after the birth of her second child. Throughout her stay the Atholl men provided her with a guard.   In recognition of this service she granted them the Queen’s Colours and the right to bear arms the following year.  This unique grant constituted the Atholl Highlanders.

-The Atholl Highlanders are primarily a ceremonial regiment, however during the two World Wars many of the men served in the regular British Army.

-During the first half of the twentieth century the regiment went into abeyance and was only revived by the 10^th Duke of Atholl in 1966.   Today, officers are drawn from the Duke’s relations and local lairds and the men are invited to join by the Duke, usually having an estate or family connection.  They wear the Murray tartan kilt, plaid and juniper as a cap badge. Their present 12^th Duke, Bruce Murray, hails from South Africa.

After several last-minute cancellations in recent years due to severe wet weather events, the Bonnie Wingham Scottish Festival is well and truly back on track for 2025. Previously held on Wingham Central Park, this year’s Festival will be held at the new location of Wingham Showground on Saturday 31 May, commencing at 9 am.

Also at a new location will be the always popular Bonnie Wingham Scottish Concert which will be held in the Wingham Services Club auditorium on Sunday 1 June, commencing at 1pm.

Auspiced by Manning Valley Historical Society Inc., for more than two decades the Festival has attracted thousands of visitors to Wingham and the beautiful Manning Valley over the years. The Festival has provided a wealth of first class, lively Scottish entertainment as well as attracting many, many, tourists to the area, who in turn, provide associated economic benefits for Wingham and surrounding communities.

“We have a great team of enthusiastic members on our organizing Committee who are working hard to present an outstanding Festival ,” says Committee Chair Heidi Lyon. “This year the Festival is going to once again be a spectacular event and one which everyone will enjoy, packed with family-friendly entertainment, stalls, massed bands, Highland dancing and Highland Games.”

For further information, to book stalls, become a sponsor or a volunteer helper please contact the committee via their website: www.bonniewingham.com or email: bonniewinghamscottishfestival@gmail.com

The Learned Kindred of Currie proudly announces its role as a title sponsor for the inaugural New York City Highland Dance Competition, set to take place during the city’s Tartan Week celebrations. This exciting new event will showcase the rich tradition of Scottish Highland dancing, bringing together top competitors and enthusiasts from across North America and beyond.

“We are thrilled that the Learned Kindred of Currie is sponsoring the inaugural NYC Highland Dance Competition during New York City Tartan Week,” said Emily Ritter, co-chair of the NYC Highland Dance Competition. “This event will give dancers from around the world a chance to showcase their art at its highest form and the public a chance to witness this key cornerstone of Highland dance culture.”

Cultural heritage of Highland Dance

The event will feature dancers of all ages and skill levels competing in traditional Highland dances, including the Highland Fling, Sword Dance, and Seann Triubhas. A judge will evaluate the dancers on timing, technique, and general deportment and medals will be awarded for the top places in each class. Held near Battery Park, the competition on April 6, 2025 will highlight the grace, athleticism, and cultural heritage of Highland Dance, a discipline deeply rooted in Scottish history.

“Last year’s Celebration of Highland Dance on Ellis Island brought together dancers from around the world for a massive tribute to the power of Highland dance,” said Alexa Smith, Director of Fling Together Collective, a co-sponsor of the NYC Highland Dance Competition. “This partnership between the competition and Tartan Day on Ellis Island offers dancers the amazing experience of performing in an iconic NYC location while enabling us to showcase the importance of immigration to America via an awesome cultural display at Ellis Island.”

Find out more at: https://nychighlanddance.com/competition

The President and Committee of the Bundanoon Highland Gathering are delighted to welcome and congratulate their first ever female Drum Major Chloe Cusack of Manly Warringah Pipe Band to lead the Massed Pipes and Drums at Brigadoon this month. Chloe first joined a band in 2002 at the age of 13. This was a new band, attached to the Army Cadet Unit she attended and after being given a pair of snare sticks and asked to repeat a simple score, and was assigned the role of tenor drummer.

Chloe went on to become Drum Major of the Perth band, the Swan Regiment Drums and Pipes, WA, in 2004 at age 16 and stayed with this band until moving to Sydney in 2014. Chloe joined Manly Warringah Pipe Band in 2014, and officially became Drum Major in 2019, after playing both tenor and bass, and acting as Drum Major, when needed.

Chloe’s international performances include the Virginia International Tattoo 2014, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2015, 2018, and Melbourne 2016, and the Basel Tattoo 2017 and 2024. Some of Chloe’s biggest highlights include marching across the drawbridge in Edinburgh, and leading the Sydney ANZAC Day massed pipes and drums and her favourite thing about pipe bands is seeing the emotion on people’s faces as they hear a tune special to them.

One her favourite aspects about being in the Manly Warringah Pipe Band is the welcoming, can-do attitude of the band members, of which they have a great range of ages, professions and backgrounds.  Similarly, the diversity of the jobs, including playing down the toilet aisle of a local Bunnings, and marching in the sand on iconic Sydney beaches for Surf Carnivals. Outside of the band Chloe lives with her husband and young daughter in Sydney’s Lower North Shore and works as a Program Manager with Transport for NSW.

Bundanoon Highland Gathering takes place in the NSW Southern Highlands, Saturday April 5^th. For details see: www.brigadoon.org.au.

From our first performances at Bryant Park in 2012, the ASF Pipes and Drums on the Fountain Terrace has grown to be a central part of the New York Tartan Week event calendar offering free community programming to all. This year over 18 groups and performers will take part in programming between April 4^th and 6^th, with 12 of the performing groups journeying from Scotland to take part in New York Tartan Week and march in the New York Tartan Day Parade.

“We are so aware of the organizational and fundraising effort it takes for the young bands and performers to journey here to New York. Many tell us how it has taken them over two years to fundraise for their trip over. ASF are delighted to add to their experience of the NY Tartan Day Parade and all that is New York with a performance with us at Bryant Park” noted Camilla G Hellman, President, American Scottish Foundation (ASF). Participating youth groups include Oban Pipe Band, Renfrewshire Schools Pipe Band, Fettes Pipe Band, Falkirk School Pipe Band, ACT Scotland, the Denny High School Dance Academy.

Celebration of Scottish music

In addition to the great youth pipe bands, Songs for All Choir, the Highland Divas, Britain’s Got Talent winner Jai MacDowell will return for his second visit to NY Tartan Week. All of this comes together with help from celebrated piper Craig Weir and Gaelic award winning singer, Joy Dunlop. Joy is once again leading on the organizing of the third annual New York Tartan Week MOD and will perform with winners of the MOD in Bryant Park on Saturday morning. The programs on Saturday and Sunday mornings begins with Highland dancers coordinated by Shot of Scotch who organize for visiting dance groups to join them in a wonderful program

This year will also be an opportunity to hear close up Pipers and drummers from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo who will perform as part of the Tartan Day Observance on Friday April 3 and see a short performance from the Atholl Highlanders on Saturday April 4 prior to their joining the Parade. The celebration of Scottish music will be closed out on Sunday with a one-hour concert featuring Claire and Scott Mackenzie of Noisemaker, Calum Pasqua, Shot of Scotch dancers and the great sound of The Laurettes.

For more information, please visit the ASF website at:  www.americanscottishfoundation.org

The Learned Kindred of Currie is proud to announce that it will host the 23^rd annual Tartan Day on Ellis Island celebrations from April 4-6, 2025. This prestigious event honors Scottish heritage, culture, and contributions to America, bringing together Scots and Scottish-Americans from across the country.

Scheduled to perform this year are, The Force – championship drum major demonstration team; the Shot of Scotch Highland Dancers; pipers and drummers from the St. Columcille United Gaelic Pipe Band, Scottish juggler John Grimaldi and members of the Fling Together dancers and the McAngus School of Highland Dance.

Performances will take place every day between 10AM and 3PM in the great lawn facing the Manhattan skyline.

The Scottish spirit

Tartan Day on Ellis Island is a cornerstone of the broader National Tartan Day celebrations, which recognize the lasting impact of Scottish immigrants on the United States. Throughout the weekend, attendees will enjoy historical exhibits, cultural performances, and special presentations highlighting Scotland’s deep connections to American history.

“The Learned Kindred of Currie is honored to lead this year’s celebrations, continuing the proud tradition of recognizing the Scottish spirit that helped shape this nation,” said Robert Currie, Commander of the Learned Kindred of Currie and event producer. “Ellis Island serves as a powerful backdrop for this event, reminding us of the journey so many Scots took in pursuit of a better future in America.”

Highlights of the past festivities have included:

• Historical and genealogical exhibits showcasing Scottish immigration stories
• Traditional music and dance performances from acclaimed Scottish artists
• Keynote speakers and honored guests reflecting on Scotland’s influence in America

Tartan Day on Ellis Island is free and open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to don their tartan and join in the festivities. This program has been made possible in part from a generous grant from the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Government.

The Learned Kindred of Currie is a recognized Scottish heritage organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the history, traditions, and contributions of the Currie name and wider Scottish culture.

For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/TartanDayonEllisIsland

Main photo: The Force.

 

A University of Glasgow professor has uncovered 56 historically significant Gaelic manuscripts that had been missing for over half a century. The collection, which includes a significant number of important 18^th and 19^th century documents, was discovered by Professor Rob Ó Maolalaigh while examining a private collection. The manuscripts, which had been missing since the late 1960s, were originally part of the collections of two prominent Gaelic scholars: the Rev Dr Donald MacNicol, minister of Lismore (1735-1802), and Rev Dr Alexander Irvine, minister of little Dunkeld (1773-1824), both notable collectors of Gaelic poetry and song.

Professor Ó Maolalaigh, Professor of Gaelic based at the University’s School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan said: “These manuscripts represent a vital piece of Scotland’s literary and cultural heritage. Their absence created a significant hiatus in Gaelic scholarship over an entire generation, and their rediscovery opens up exciting new opportunities for research and teaching.”

A significant contribution to Scottish cultural heritage

Among the collection’s highlights is a unique notebook containing songs by the eighteenth-century Sutherland poet Rob Donn Mackay, recorded from his daughter Janet’s recitation in Edinburgh on December 22, 1800 in the presence of Duncan Ban MacIntyre (1724 – 1812) one of Gaelic’s most renowned poets. The manuscripts also include previously unexplored correspondence, sermons in both Gaelic and English, and an extensive collection of Gaelic poetry ranging from Ossianic verse to contemporary works of the period. Following their discovery in November 2022, Professor Ó Maolalaigh worked to ensure the manuscripts’ safe return to their rightful home at the National Library of Scotland, where they are now available for consultation by researchers. The collection comprises 33 manuscripts from the McNicol Collection and 23 from the Irvine Collection.

This discovery represents a significant contribution to Scottish cultural heritage and opens new avenues for research in Gaelic studies. The manuscripts are now accessible to scholars and researchers at the National Library of Scotland’s reading rooms, ensuring their preservation for future generations. Professor Ó Maolalaigh added: “These rediscovered manuscripts fill a significant gap in our primary resources for these periods. I am delighted that scholars and students will now be able to access  them once again for research and scholarship. They will enable us to gain further valuable insights into the role Gaelic and Gaelic scholars contributed to the broader Enlightenment period.”

Photo: The University of Glasgow.

Edinburgh City Councillors have formally agreed to introduce Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy scheme. Hailed as a ‘historic moment for Edinburgh’, the decision was taken during a special meeting of the Council held in January. From 24 July 2026, a 5% fee will be applied to the cost of overnight accommodation in Edinburgh, capped at five nights in a row. Businesses will need to apply the levy to any advance bookings made as of 1 October 2025 for stays on or after 24 July 2026.

The levy is projected to raise up to £50 million a year once established, for the city to invest in protecting, supporting and enhancing Edinburgh’s worldwide appeal as a place to live and visit. The final proposals for the scheme have been updated to provide accommodation providers and booking agencies with extra time to prepare systems for advance bookings ahead of next summer’s launch.

Historic moment for Edinburgh

Responding to the decision, Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “What an historic moment for Edinburgh. Introducing this ground-breaking visitor levy means realising a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest tens of millions of pounds towards enhancing and sustaining the things that make our city such a great place to visit – and live in – all year round. The scheme has been many years in the making and I’m grateful to Council officers, businesses and residents who have helped shape it, every step of the way. It’s introduction is declared today with a huge amount of backing, not least from local residents. At all stages we’ve listened to and taken account of the views of industry and other stakeholders. It’s in this spirit that we’ve also extended the amount of time hoteliers and small businesses will have to prepare for the changes that are coming in. It’s vital that we continue to work closely as we get ready to launch this scheme and deliver the many benefits it is going to bring. We’ve always said this is a city fund and spending decisions need to be taken with a whole city mindset, and we’ll soon be establishing a Visitor Levy Forum with an independent Chair.”

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act was passed in the Scottish Parliament in May 2024. It received Royal Assent in July 2024. The legislation allows councils in Scotland to tax overnight accommodation if they wish to do so. Glasgow City Council is currently holding a public consultation over also introducing a 5% visitor levy on overnight stays in Scotland’s largest city.

On the night of March 24, 1944, scores of Allied POWs crept their way through a cramped tunnel ten metres underground in one of the most incredible escapes of World War II, the ‘Great Escape’ from Stalag Luft III, in Nazi-occupied Poland. Scottish RAF pilot Alistair Thompson McDonald was amongst the 76 escapees and one of the few to make it home. Six decades on Neil Drysdale remembers these brave men who were unlike any other Tom, Dick and Harry.

He was the Scot who survived one of the most famous prison break-outs of the Second World War.  Indeed, there can’t be many people who haven’t watched The Great Escape since it was released in 1963, not least to marvel at Steve McQueen’s motorbike stunts.

Yet, the real-life story of the 76 Allied PoWs, who devised a daring scheme to tunnel their way out of Stalag Luft 3, was every bit as nail-biting. And it had a tragic climax when the Nazis murdered 50 of the escapees after they had been recaptured and only three eluded their captives and gained their freedom.

Alistair Thompson McDonald

Alistair Thompson McDonald was among those in the escape bid and despite his liberation being short-lived, he used his wits to escape yet again and safely returned to Blighty. Yet mystery still surrounds this tough-as-teak character, born in Bishopmills near Elgin in 1907. There are precious few photographs of him, nor tributes to his heroism. And, when he was killed in a commercial air disaster in 1965, there was only one brief obituary which failed to mention that he had been part of the original Great Escape. So, who was this enigmatic Scot with a passion for flight? The youngest of three children – with an older brother and sister, Ian and Mildred – Alistair grew up in Moray and relished playing rugby and golf, but had a restless streak. At just 18 years old, he enlisted in the Tank Corps of the Territorial Army, to whom he gave his occupation as apprentice land surveyor.

However, three years later, he set off on a P&O steamship called the Naldera bound for Malaya. At this point, he listed his occupation as civil engineer and worked on a tea plantation. But, soon enough, Alistair was back in Britain and, continuing this tale of the unexpected, became the manager of the Regal Cinema in Southport in the mid-to-late 1930s. We would probably still be in the dark about his activities after he joined the RAF in 1940, but for the meticulous research carried out by Scottish history teacher, Bill Robertson, whose own great-grandfather, John Conway, was also in Stalag Luft 3. Bill was fascinated by how McDonald lied about his age – claiming he was born in 1913 – so that he would be eligible to take part in flying missions against the Luftwaffe.

Craggy little Scot

He was transferred to Coastal Command where he flew Spitfires on reconnaissance sorties and rapidly made a name for himself for two distinct reasons. Firstly, he was a “hell of a pilot”. Secondly, he had the reputation of being a “craggy little Scot” who wouldn’t take nonsense from anybody. In March 1942, McDonald’s fortunes changed in the space of a few hours. On his way back from a mission, his unarmed plane was intercepted by a Messerschmitt (German fighter aircraft). He bailed out successfully in the last minutes before the aircraft crashed, but was picked up near a farmhouse and taken prisoner by the Germans.

He was escorted to the Luftwaffe HQ in Amsterdam and met up with a few other RAF prisoners. Then, after being kept in solitary confinement for 18 days, he was interrogated three times and transferred to Stalag Luft 3. Mr Robertson said: “As a P0W, he took part in nine escape tunnels and what he described as ‘an abortive gate crash.’ He also attempted to get out by cutting through the wire along with a New Zealand pilot called Ernest Clow. McDonald was active on the escape committee. According to the camp history, he was one of the prisoners who was involved in receiving and sending coded letters back to the UK. Prisoners asked, in coded letters home, for particular items that would help them to escape such as maps, money, and clothes.”

Tom, Dick and Harry

There was no shortage of ingenuity as the mass escape initiative cranked into gear. Cigarette packets were deployed to carry vital information. Radios were manufactured from basic materials. In 1943, under the leadership of Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, known as Big X, the PoWs started digging three large tunnels known as Tom, Dick and Harry. These were 30ft deep in an attempt to avoid German detection and were designed to run more than 300ft into woods outside the camp. The prisoners begged, borrowed and stole equipment that enabled them to line the tunnels with wood and ventilate the tunnels with primitive air conditioning. They also made civilian clothes, maps, compasses and German passes to help them escape.

Everything went well for several months, but tunnel Tom was discovered by the Germans in September 1943 just as it had reached the woods. Dick was abandoned for storage, but the prisoners pushed on with Harry, which was ready in early 1944. And, on the night of March 24, 76 RAF personnel broke out of the camp. A few hours later, it was being discussed by Hitler and the German High Command. The Fuhrer demanded retribution. But what was McDonald doing amid this clamour?

In his testimony about the murders of the escapees, he subsequently confirmed he was one of the later men out of the tunnel which the prisoners codenamed Harry. Most of the PoWs headed to the nearest railway station, intending to catch trains from there, but several of their comrades resolved to see how far they could travel on foot. Unfortunately, the knee-deep, slushy snow forced the escapers onto the roads. Cold, hungry and disorientated, the majority were rounded up fairly quickly. McDonald said: “I was carrying false papers and wearing civilian clothes. I was recaptured by the Landwacht, who made a half-hearted attempt to beat me up.”

A sad postscript

These men were now in a desperate position. Hitler had been outraged on discovering the extent of the breakout and demanded swift retribution. It was obvious to many in the German ranks that their adversaries would never accept their incarceration and keep striving to escape: the latter was in the Allies’ DNA. Mr Robertson said: “The men were interrogated by the Gestapo and those who survived recalled the threats made against them. Other officers were told they would be made to disappear. For his part, McDonald said: ‘I was able to eat my false papers and sew RAF buttons onto my greatcoat (which meant he was regarded as a military prisoner); and this may have been the reason why I was not shot’.

After he was returned to the camp, McDonald was eventually evacuated along with the rest of the men to begin marching west ahead of the advancing Russians. After reaching Marlag Nord near Bremen, he managed to escape while disguised as a labourer, using clothes he had acquired from a French woman. She had supplied him with ‘a complete outfit of French worker’s clothing’. Suitably attired, he made his way to British lines where he was eventually picked up by a unit of King’s Own Scottish Borderers from the 52^nd Lowland Division in April 1945.”

He was able to return to Blighty to celebrate VE Day the following month and must have imagined life would never be as tumultuous again. But there was a sad postscript. For a while, he thrived on civvy street and rejoiced at being reunited with his sister and brother, the latter of whom had served with the RASC in the Middle East and Italy. McDonald married in 1947 and lived in Edinburgh, where he and his wife had three children and ran a self-service laundry business in Leith.

But, as Bill said: “In October 1965, he left Edinburgh to fly to London Heathrow aboard a Vickers Vanguard operated by BEA. There was reduced visibility due to fog at Heathrow. After two unsuccessful attempts to land, the pilot requested to circle the airport hoping for a break in the fog. At this point, the pilot and co-pilot made a series of errors, and the Vanguard hit the runway about 2,600 feet from the threshold. All 36 people on board were killed. McDonald’s participation in the Great Escape – which had recently become a big-budget success – barely merited a mention. The Coventry Evening Telegraph described him simply as a ‘Battle of Britain pilot’. He was shot down over Holland and helped organise a mass escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp.”

And that was it. Thankfully, 60 years after his death, this hero is finally being remembered.

National Librarian Amina Shah has announced plans to mark the National Library of Scotland’s 100^th birthday with a year-long programme of events and initiatives. The National Library was established by an Act of Parliament in 1925, and since then has amassed and cared for a collection of more than 50 million items spanning many centuries on behalf of the people of Scotland – all of whom are entitled to free access to the collections.

National Librarian Amina Shah said: “A century ago, we were established in the spirit of egalitarianism, where our founders – including Sir Alexander Grant – held the firm belief that the people of Scotland deserved a national library to call their own, one which anyone living here could access. The Act of Parliament states that we exist to collect and preserve the national collections, and make them accessible to the public through our reading rooms, exhibitions and other means of engaging people with Scotland’s culture and heritage. We increased our efforts to reach more and new people with the collections in recent years with great success, and our intention is to accelerate this during the year of our 100^th birthday by working in partnership with Scotland’s network of amazing libraries. And so, I’m delighted to announce our centenary programme – a nationwide libraries campaign, our major exhibition, our national tour – all of which have the potential to connect with every individual across the country. It is our ambition that the impact our centenary programme will have on communities throughout Scotland will continue far beyond 2025.”

When it was established, the National Library was endowed with the non-legal aspects of the Faculty of Advocates’ collections, ultimately making it the holder of the largest collection of antiquarian books north of Cambridge. The Library was also established as a ‘legal deposit’ library, meaning it has the right to claim a copy of everything published in the UK. This right remains today, and includes digital publications.

While the National Library was awaiting a home, it started life in the Faculty of Advocates building. Work began on the George IV Bridge site in the 1930s, but due to the Second World War, most of the building work took place in the 1950s. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the new National Library building in Edinburgh in July 1956.

A cornerstone of our nation’s cultural life for a century

Angus Robertson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, said: “The National Library of Scotland has been a cornerstone of our nation’s cultural life for a century, preserving and sharing Scotland’s remarkable and complex history. For 100 years, through successive Acts of Parliament and the continued support of the Scottish Government, it has safeguarded our written and recorded heritage, from ancient manuscripts to the digital content of today. With more than 50 million items in its expert care, freely accessible to everyone, the National Library is one of Scotland’s most precious national institutions. Supporting our languages, reflecting our communities, and protecting our past and present for all those who will come after us. As we mark this centenary, we celebrate not just a building or a collection, but a century of protecting our national library and sharing the knowledge, creativity, and memories of Scotland for generations to come.”

Now in its 100^th year, the National Library will use its centenary as a platform to celebrate and promote libraries of all kinds, beginning with a nationwide campaign encouraging people to support and champion their local libraries. Speaking about the importance of libraries, author and Centenary Champion Val McDermid, said: “My parents couldn’t afford books but they understood they were the passport to better life chances than they’d had. But it’s not just writers who have their doors opened to the wider world by libraries. Engineers, lawyers, builders, artists, geographers, mathematicians, musicians… the list is endless. Libraries open windows that let us all fly.”

Outwith: National Library around Scotland

The National Library will be hosting celebrations at its Edinburgh home on George IV Bridge, beginning on 28 March 2025 with a Curtain Raiser event. To mark the Library’s centenary with communities around the country, selected treasures from the collections will be leaving Edinburgh to go on display outside of the central belt. ‘Outwith: National Library around Scotland’ will begin in Aberdeen Art Gallery in September 2025 with a loan of an early edition of Scottish secular music, John Forbes’ Songs and Fancies, published in Aberdeen in 1682. This display will coincide with the 100^th  anniversary of the Art Gallery’s concert venue, the Cowdray Hall. Celebratory events for both cultural centenarians are due to be announced in the summer, along with an engagement programme taking place in and around Aberdeen Central Library with National Library colleagues and partners.

Then in January 2026, Mary Queen of Scots’ last letter will leave the National Library for the first time in a generation to go on display in the heart of the new Perth Museum, close to the Stone of Destiny. Written by Mary Queen of Scots the night before her execution on 8 February 1587 to her brother-in-law, Henri III of France, this nationally prized item was last publicly exhibited at the Library’s George IV Bridge building in 2017 where queues formed to see the item during its one-day display. Shetland Museum and Archives will also be taking part in the ‘Outwith’ programme, with island-related loans and other activities taking place from late March 2026.

To find out more about what’s on at The National Library of Scotland in its centenary year, please visit: www.nls.uk

Less than a year after launching the Robert Burns collection online, the National Trust for Scotland has revealed the five relics of the bard’s life that have most captured people’s attention. In Spring 2024, the conservation charity launched a new portal giving unprecedented access to more than 2,500 historic items in its Robert Burns collection, including manuscripts, archives and artefacts, which are held in store for their long-term preservation and protection.

The Trust cares for the largest collection of Burns artefacts, as well as the cottage he was born in, where the first Burns supper was held after his death.

The most interesting treasures in Burns’ life

After nine months of global access to some of the most interesting treasures in Burns’ life, the Trust has revealed the five most viewed items, which give a sense of the public’s fascination with Robert Burns the man and how he lived his life.

The top five items are:

• Wooden Box containing Jean Armour’s wedding ring, alongside two other rings: this box contains the wedding ring of Jean Armour, Burns’ wife, flanked on each side by two other rings, one containing a lock of Burns’ hair and a lock of Jean’s hair.
• Pair of Burns’ socks: a pair of blue woollen knitted socks with the initials ‘RB’ at the top, believed to have been worn by Burns. The size eight socks date to around 1770 to 1796.
• Auld Lang Syne: a fragment of the manuscript of one of Burns’ most famous songs, known and sung the world over, dating from around 1793. Only six manuscript copies of this song are known to still exist.
• Letter to George Sutherland: dated 31 December 1789, the letter to theatre-owner George Sutherland encloses a 34-line poem for Sutherland to use as a prologue at his New Year performance of the Dumfries theatre company in January 1790.
• Lock of Highland Mary’s hair: the lock of Mary Campbell’s hair was preserved in a Bible, tied to a piece of dark grey card.

The personal objects that resonate with people

Caroline Smith, the National Trust for Scotland’s Operations Manager at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, said: “This list features some of my personal favourites from our collection. It seems to be the personal objects that resonate with people, and that they help them form a connection with Burns the man, the ordinary guy who wore socks, just as much as the famous words he wrote. The box of rings is an amazing item as it was quite popular at the time to keep a lock of hair, but it’s very special that the rings have survived all these years. Jean’s wedding ring is a precious item symbolising Burns’ everlasting love, and it’s hard not to feel the sentiment behind this. I think the initialled socks are incredible – just imagine your socks being kept and displayed in a museum almost 230 years after your death! There’s something very humbling about them – they have clearly been worn and therefore mended a lot by someone, probably Jean, with a lot of care. It’s a simple object but when I see pictures of Burns amongst society in Edinburgh, I imagine him wearing these socks.

“Auld Lang Syne is probably Burns’ most famous song, and one of the collection’s hero objects. With only six manuscript copies of the song still known to exist, it is a significant piece of Scottish cultural heritage and one of great international importance too. The letter to Sutherland is most significant because of the bird doodles on the back, which I think shows Burns’ playful side. The Highland Mary story appeals to the romantic side of the poet. During a time when he had been banned by Jean’s father from seeing her, Burns forged a relationship with Highland Mary Campbell and had made plans to emigrate to Jamaica with her. However, the successful publication of the  Kilmarnock Edition changed his plans, and he stayed in Scotland and married Jean. Highland Mary’s lock of hair had been preserved in the Bible that she had given to Burns when they are reported to have exchanged Bibles on the banks of the River Ayr. It is said that Burns still thought very fondly of Mary, who inspired several poems. Thou Lingering Star was written around the third anniversary of Mary’s death.”

Preservation of Burns’ legacy

The Burns online collection was made possible thanks to the support of a member of the Trust’s Patrons’ Club and by donations from the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA. The Trust cares for other important sites in the life of Robert Burns, including the Bachelors’ Club and Souter Johnnie’s Cottage, where it is undertaking ongoing conservation projects to preserve these historic buildings. It will cost £330,000 to complete these works and the Trust requires £130,000 not currently covered by funding.

Donations from generous supporters will directly assist the vital preservation of Burns’ legacy at these iconic locations. The 18^th century Gregg Fiddle is also part of the Burns collection, which was recently heard by 7,000 music fans at Hoolie in the Hydro in Glasgow and will be played in front of thousands more in New York City this April as part of Tartan Week’s Hoolie in New York event.

For more information about these works, or to make a donation, please visit nts.org.uk/burnsappeal. The Robert Burns collection can be found online at https://www.nts.org.uk/collections/robert-burns-collection.

Main photo: Burns Cottage. All images courtesy of the National Trust for Scotland.

 

Recently unveiled in Adelaide on the first leg of an international tour, the first translation of a runic inscription on an arm ring from the Viking-age Galloway Hoard has cast fascinating new light on who might have owned the famous treasure.

Since its discovery in 2014, various theories and possibilities have been put forward, suggesting that the Galloway Hoard may have been buried by four owners based on four arm-rings inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes. Three feature Old English name elements, but the fourth and longest had confounded experts and remained undeciphered as there was no recognisable direct translation.

Communally held

However, a new theory proposed by the team at National Museums Scotland who have been studying the hoard runs, in translation, “this is the community’s wealth/property”.  Martin Goldberg from National Museums Scotland said: “This is another really interesting and significant development in our understanding of the Galloway Hoard. The idea that the wealth this hoard represents would be communally held is fascinating. It does still leave us with unanswered questions around the circumstances in which a community’s wealth would come to be buried, and also which particular community. Some material within the hoard, such as the pectoral cross and the rock crystal jar made for a Bishop Hyguald, would support this being a religious community.”

Carved inside the curved half of the arm-ring the runes read: DIS IS ЇIGNA ˑFˑ. The main issue was the word ‘ ЇIGNAF’, which did not correspond to any language spoken in early medieval Britain or Ireland. The discovery that the final rune, F, was marked out with puncts, or dots, to either side, indicating it could be understood as the name of the F-rune itself ‘feoh’ [wealth or property] unlocked the new translation. ‘ ЇIGNA’ could then be interpreted as the Old English word ‘higna’ [community] with the first letter spelled in an unusual but comprehensible way.

The first word also seems to be misspelled if as seems likely it represents “this” – perhaps it was pronounced DIS, much as it would be in some parts of modern Ireland. Despite these apparent spelling (or pronunciation) mistakes, the full inscription can be translated as “this is the community’s wealth/property” with the word ‘higna’ often used elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon documents to indicate a religious community.

Quite compelling

Leading runologist Dr David Parsons (University of Wales) who has previously translated other runic inscriptions from the Galloway Hoard said:  “This is a difficult and unusual inscription, and the proposed translation is challenging. There are a number of things which are technically ‘wrong’ when we compare it with what we know about ‘correct’ runic writing. However, if we think about both spoken and written English today, there are a huge range of regional and idiomatic variations and, if we allow for this, then it becomes possible to accept this as a plausible reading. And in the context of what can deduce about the Galloway Hoard it becomes really quite compelling.”

The new finding comes at the conclusion of a three-year research project, Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard, which was supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), led by National Museums Scotland in partnership with the University of Glasgow.

AHRC executive chair Christopher Smith, said: “It has been fascinating to see the succession of significant discoveries over the life of the Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard project, from the exotic origins of some of its star pieces to the presence of named individuals and now this latest exciting discovery. We’re delighted to have supported this work and in particular welcome the volume of public interest and engagement it has so frequently generated. It serves as a prime example of how the power of arts and humanities research to shine a light on past cultures and the people who lived within them resonates in our own world.”

Ancient world

The arm ring will be on display at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide as part of a new international touring exhibition, Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard, which opened in February.  The exhibition shows how the Hoard was buried in four distinct parcels and as the visitor is drawn further into this ancient world each parcel becomes richer and more unusual.

The top layer was a parcel of silver bullion and a rare Anglo-Saxon cross, separated from a lower layer of three parts: firstly, another parcel of silver bullion wrapped in leather and twice as big as the one above; secondly, a cluster of four elaborately decorated silver ‘ribbon’ arm-rings bound together and concealing in their midst a small wooden box containing three items of gold; and thirdly, a lidded, silver gilt vessel wrapped in layers of textile and packed with carefully wrapped objects that appear to have been curated like relics or heirlooms. They include beads, pendants, brooches, bracelets, relics and other curios, often strung or wrapped with silk. It was recently revealed that the origins of the vessel itself could be traced to the Sassanian Empire and indeed to a specific mine in modern-day Iran.

Decoding the secrets of the Galloway Hoard has also been a multi-layered process. Decorations, inscriptions, and other details hidden for over a thousand years have been revealed through careful conservation, painstaking cleaning, and cutting-edge research by a team of experts led by National Museums Scotland.

Many of the objects are types that have never been seen before in Britain and Ireland. Some had travelled thousands of miles to reach Scotland. Some items are now too fragile to travel long distances, particularly those which still have rare traces of textiles that have survived for more than 1,000 years. The exhibition employs audio visual and 3D reconstructions to enable visitors to experience these objects and learn more about the detailed research that is being done.

Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard is now on at the South Australian Museum to 27 July 2025. For details see: www.samuseum.sa.gov.au

The exhibition will continue its international tour with further venues to be announced.

Main photo: The Galloway Hoard. Photo:  © National Museums Scotland.

 

 

 

 

She grew up surrounded by stories and poems, which fired her imagination and piqued her curiosity during her early years in the Western Isles. So, it’s hardly surprising that Sorcha Groundsell is thrilled to be a key figure in what she describes as a “watershed moment” with the creation of a new high-profile – and expensive at £1 million an episode – drama An t-Eilean (The Island).

The four-part crime thriller, which will be shown later this year in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and the United States, has been shot mostly in Gaelic and the 26-year-old leads the cast as Kat Crichton, a young family liaison officer, who is assigned to look into the brutal killing of the wife of a local tycoon.

The murder investigation takes place on Lewis and Harris, from where Kat mysteriously fled 10 years previously. In that regard, there’s a sense of life imitating art, given how Sorcha’s early years were spent on Lewis, prior to her attending Glasgow Gaelic School and embracing drama classes at the Citizens Theatre and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. If you don’t know her name yet, the chances are you will have caught sight of her striking and subtle performances in a variety of different programmes.

She was the star of the Netflix series The Innocents; played Douglas Henshall’s daughter, Jane Muncie, in the ITV drama In Plain Sight about the horrific real-life crimes carried out by serial killer Peter Manuel; and subsequently made a memorable appearance, again with Henshall, as his character Jimmy Perez bowed out of Shetland. Her other credits include Grantchester, His Dark Materials and a recurring role in the BritBox adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Crime, so she’s no stranger to the dark side.

Gaelic enterprise

But there was none of that when we spoke – or not until later – about her involvement in what has been hailed as a genuinely groundbreaking new venture. She said: “It’s fantastic to be involved in this and it feels like a really big opportunity for the Gaelic language – which I love – so it’s a privilege to be part of it. We filmed for nine weeks, five in Harris and four in Glasgow, so it was like a home from home for me. I was familiar with all the landscapes and, personally, it gave me a wonderful excuse to be back there, though it was strange to be in a working capacity. But all the cast and crew were so committed, and we all felt the same way, so it was very enjoyable with a great atmosphere on set and everybody really invested in the drama. Across the world, we are seeing indigenous languages step confidently out from the shadows to enjoy the recognition they deserve. And I see our show as part of that wider movement; a celebration of all that makes us unique.”

If there was once a time when it might have been difficult to attract audiences for a Gaelic enterprise, Sorcha believes the climate has changed. A major part of that was the success of Scandi thrillers in the mould of The Killing, Borgen and The Bridge, where viewers weren’t deterred by foreign language content. And if we can watch Danish and Norwegian conversations, why not those in Gaelic – even though there will be sections of An t-Eilean which are in English.

She told me: “If I had to estimate percentages, I’d say that it’s maybe 70% (Gaelic) to 30% (English), because we have two strands of the story. The one about the people from the mainland (including her boss DCI Ahmed Halim, played by Sagar Radia) is more English language, while the family drama is in Gaelic. There’s no reason why people can’t handle subtitles, and everybody involved in the production got a lot of inspiration from these Scandinavian dramas you’ve mentioned. They really forged a path, and I honestly believe that subtitles are no longer an obstacle to an audience enjoying a series and we are much more tolerant of them these days. That has created a little window for us to expand our viewership. I certainly hope that is the case, because I am so proud to have been part of a production that is pioneering these new horizons for Gaelic. One showcasing the beauty, creativity and depth our language brings to the world.”

The dark side of human experience

A few days before I chatted to Sorcha, I watched her in Shetland where her character, Bryd Fleming, met a terrible end in a scenario which is unforgettably grim. As the police reach the scene, the camera closes in on her dead body and stares directly into her eyes. And then it lingers a little and there’s nothing. A void, a shell, an abyss.

She said: “I think you’re describing the episode of TV which has traumatised my entire family. A few people texted me after it was broadcast and asked: ‘Are you OK?’ It was challenging because I’ve never had to play ‘dead’ in anything before, and this was really dramatic with my body wrapped in plastic in the back of a car. It was intense, but in the best way. As an actor, you very often don’t have a full story arc, but the more they showed me, the more scripts I saw, the more fascinating that character became, and she had such a vivid secret life. I had been trying to find a way to connect with Shetland for a long time, because I was such a fan of the show, and I had previously worked with Douglas. So much of the intensity of that scene was down to his performance. He is the master of subtle emotion and one of the reasons why that is so moving was down to him.”

Of course, one might argue there has been an excess of “women in peril” plotlines and females being gratuitously murdered in TV history, but the tide seems to be turning. So, we have Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell in charge of Shetland inquiries, Lauren Lyle meeting and beating the men in “Karen Pirie”… and now, this latest thriller, where a strong woman has no qualms about getting her hands dirty. But what is this obsession with crime dramas? Why do so many love them so much? Sorcha said: “I think they showcase something in human psychology and we are all interested in the dark side of human experience. Crime drama provides a platform for that investigation and makes us think: ‘What part of the dark side do we all have?’ But – and this matters – they also bring us a very satisfying, problem-solving structure where, usually, there is a resolution at the end.”

Text by: Neil Drysdale. Main photo: Photo: Black Camel Pictures/BBCAlba.

Mark your calendars for the 13^th annual Tartan Day South Celtic Festival featuring four days of events from Thursday, April 3^rd to Sunday, April 6^th, 2025, at locations in Lexington, Cayce and West Columbia, South Carolina. “We’re proud to present events and activities for all ages which honors the traditions, culture and heritage of the United Kingdom – Ireland, Scotland and England,” said John Banks, event coordinator. “The rain or shine festival will offer great Celtic music, Highland Games showcasing athletic prowess, a classic British car show, sheep dog herding, birds of prey exhibits, Irish and Highland dancing, a pub tent, wee games for children, and much more.”

To capture the flavor of the Celtic lifestyle, vendors will highlight food and drink native to Ireland, Scotland and England, along with woolen clothing in tartan plaids, custom home decor, pendants and jewelry, accessories, leather goods, metalworks, blankets and throws, among other items.  There is a large display of local history that will begin to celebrate our countries 250^th birthday.  A Welcome Ceremony will be held during the main event at 12:00 noon on Saturday with a bagpipe and drum corp parade.

More than 25 clans will be participating, along with a number of Scottish societies and organizations.  While the main event, held on Saturday at the Historic Columbia Speedway, requires admission, other events are free including the Tartan Day South Kick Off Party at Steel Hands Brewing in Cayce on Thursday evening.  Drumsmoke on Saturday evening at the speedway campground and the closing ceremony, and Kirkin’ of the Tartans, at the West Columbia Amphitheater on Sunday. The admission fee for Friday’s Celtic Concert at the Icehouse Amphitheater is nominal. Tickets for all events can be purchased online. Tickets for the main event can also be purchased onsite. Main event parking is plentiful at the speedway at $5.00 per car, cash only.

Tartan Day South’s title partner is Culpeper Wood Preservers.  We proudly say that Tartan Day South is built by Culpeper Wood.  The festival is blessed with event funding from the City of Cayce, City of West Columbia, the Town of Lexington and Lexington County Tartan Day South annually draws more than 10,000 people. In 2024, guests traveled from 28 states beyond South Carolina. Overall, the festival generated an economic impact of $1.25 million dollars to the local economy last year.

Tartan Day South is produced with and for The River Alliance (a 501c-3).  The driving force that develops projects that continue to improve the access to the incredible 90 miles of rivers that are the greatest natural resource in the heart of the Midlands of South Carolina.  The River Alliance is busy with great new projects that will totally change our access to the rivers and life along the waterfront.  The Second Phase of the Saluda Riverwalk is progressing. It will connect the Columbia Canal to Riverfront Park.  At that point you can walk or bike from the Zoo to the State Museum and Edventure at the Gervais Street Bridge.

For more details see: www.tartandaysouth.com

 

HMS Unicorn, one of the most historical ships in the world, has taken a major step towards securing her future thanks to a vital £796,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. As wider fundraising continues to raise a crucial additional £650,000 by April 2025 to unlock grants worth £10 million, the Heritage Fund grant will support urgent preservation work with a potential further £3.3 million later in 2025.

The initial award from The National Heritage Lottery Fund will go towards the total cost of moving and securing HMS Unicorn within Dundee’s repaired East Graving Dock, ensuring a stable environment for the long-term preservation of Scotland’s oldest ship. This move is an essential part of the Unicorn Preservation Society’s vision of Project Safe Haven, an ambitious plan to help transform Dundee’s historic docks with a purpose-built visitor centre that will enhance community engagement and celebrate HMS Unicorn’s maritime heritage.

Work has already begun to safeguard the future of the 200-year-old vessel, run as an accredited museum and popular visitor attraction, returning strength and robustness to HMS Unicorn’s hull. This will be achieved by cutting edge structural reinforcement, improving her resilience at her current berth and readying her for her move to the East Graving Dock.

A symbol of Dundee’s rich maritime history

To realise the pressing need to move HMS Unicorn to Dundee’s dry East Graving Dock, the Unicorn Preservation Society urgently need to match The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s investment by April 2025. This will unlock some £10 million of strategic grants required to finance this work, including from Tay Cities Region Deal. The necessary and vital work includes the emptying of the dock, repairing it with a new caisson and making it structurally sound and refilled to receive HMS Unicorn floating over a supportive cradle. The delivery of this work is expected to support further funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund of up to £3.3 million, ready for the next stage of Project Safe Haven.

Executive Director, Matthew Bellhouse Moran, said: “This incredible pledge from The National Lottery Heritage Fund is a massive boost to our fundraising efforts; finance is urgently required to secure the future of this 200-year-old ship for future generations to enjoy. This grant is both a recognition of HMS Unicorn’s immense historical significance and a vote of confidence in our vision to secure her future, namely Project Safe Haven. However, the clock is ticking. We urgently need the support of individuals, businesses, and organisations to raise the finance needed for the next stage of Project Safe Haven, moving HMS Unicorn into Dundee’s East Graving Dock, ensuring she doesn’t succumb to the wear and tear of time. £650,000 is required to unlock £10 million of strategic grants for the next stage of works to save this national treasure and create an inspiring legacy for future generations. Without support, HMS Unicorn, a symbol of Dundee’s rich maritime history, may not survive.”

Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland, said: “HMS Unicorn is a spectacular surviving relic of our maritime heritage. Holding nearly 200 years of history within its hull, it is not only the oldest ship in Scotland but one of the oldest in the world, and incredibly one of the last remaining warships from the age of sail, still afloat. We are extremely proud to support the Unicorn Preservation Society to take their ambition plans forward. Making vital progress to creating a permanent Safe Haven for this historic vessel and developing its potential as a major heritage attraction for Dundee and Scotland.”

Project Safe Haven is one of the most ambitious maritime conservation projects in Scotland. To donate to help the Unicorn Preservation Society raise the necessary £650,000 by April 2025 to unlock £10 million of critical funding, please visit: www.hmsunicorn.org.uk

Main photo: Project Safe Haven Visitor Centre Concept. Photo: LDN Architects.

 

 

Warwick Thistle Pipe Band, an inspired group of musicians from the Southern Downs, is preparing for the adventure of a lifetime—the most momentous journey in its illustrious 100-year history. Known for their impressive performances at events such as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (REMT) in Sydney, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Parade, the Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes, and as a key partner and performer at CelticFest Warwick, the band is now ready to entertain audiences on the world stage.

In 2019, the Warwick Thistle Pipe Band transformed from a small band, struggling with numbers, into a proud ensemble of 50 musicians performing at the Sydney Olympic Stadium for the REMT Saturday main event. With members ranging in age from 10 to over 80, the band became the largest single group in the opening ceremony’s massed band—a truly inspiring display of passion, dedication, and community pride.

Now, the band is gearing up for its biggest performance yet. Pipe Major, Chris Donaldson, has announced that the band has been invited to take part in Piping Live! 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. He says it is the world’s premier piping festival, drawing over 30,000 attendees during a music filled, week-long celebration in August. But that’s not all. In addition to Piping Live!, Chris is excited to share that the band will perform at iconic Scottish venues such as Stirling Castle, the Crieff Highland Games and The Kelpies, showcasing the band’s talent.

Drum Sergeant, Alexander Manfield, said that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity isn’t just about representing Warwick on an international stage, it’s also about honing the skills of our musicians, fostering a legacy of excellence, and sharing the vibrant culture of the Southern Downs with the world.

Part of the fabric of the Southern Downs

The band is quite special, as it is very much a family band where we have all ages and even several generations from a number of families represented, says Pipe Sergeant, Megan Mauch. However, turning this dream into reality comes with significant costs, shared Megan, with band members having tirelessly fundraised over the last couple of years. She said they shall continue to fundraise until the trip especially with the current state of the exchange rate. To shine on this global stage, the band requires additional uniforms and essential gear, including Inverness rain capes, moisture control systems for pipes, durable travel cases for instruments, drum skins, chanter reeds, and specialised equipment. On top of this, transport to airports and within Scotland adds to the financial challenge.

For a century, the Warwick Thistle Pipe Band has been a part of the fabric of the Southern Downs’ community, performing at cherished events like ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day commemorations, the Killarney Bonfire Night, Apple and Grape Festival Parade, Untamed Border Run, Allora Christmas festivities, and more. Now, the chance to represent Warwick in Scotland is a shining moment of pride for this community band punching above its weight.

Celebrating Marion Campbell, Lady Evelyn Stewart Murray, and Dorothy Marshall.

Popular depictions of archaeology would have you believe that it’s the quintessential man’s game – look no further than the archetype of Indiana Jones, or the renowned stories of the men who discovered the likes of the city of Troy, Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, or the Sutton Hoo burials.

However, right from the field’s inception women have been among the most influential and important contributors to it. Far too often these formative figures have been overlooked, and it was not until well into the 20^th century that many professional societies even permitted women to join as members.

Scottish archaeology, and the related field of ethnography, has benefitted from the grit and genius of pioneering women working at all levels since day one.  Three in particular have emerged again and again in my own research into Scotland’s past, and it is they I wish to celebrate here – Marion Campbell of Argyll, Lady Evelyn Murray of Perthshire, and Dorothy Marshall of Bute.

Marion Campbell (1919 – 2000)

Kilmartin Glen is among the most significant archaeological landscapes in northern Europe, and no one has done more to reveal and revel in its wonders than Marion Campbell. Marion’s own life is a history book in itself. She served in the Second World War and suffered an injury from the bombings of the Clydebank Blitz, which left her in often acute pain for the rest of her days. This did not stop her from carrying out tireless manual excavations of archaeological sites throughout Kilmartin Glen and Mid Argyll, often in very hard to access places. She served as a district councillor for the Scottish National Party for twenty years, and her donation of various discoveries established the invaluable collection now held at Kilmartin Museum.

Along with Mary Sandeman, with whom Marion lived at Kilberry Castle for forty years, she identified over 350 sites of interest in the first systematic survey of Kilmartin Glen. Their work together created a blueprint for future research in Mid Argyll, including investigations into key sites like the hillfort of Dunadd, the Nether Largie standing stones, and the extraordinary Neolithic rock art panel of Achnabreac. Marion possessed not only a gift for scholarship, but of lyrical writing.

Her description of the vast peat bog of the Mhòine Mhór as “…a quaking salt-bog barely above the tidemark” has stayed with me ever since reading it, as has the description that follows: “…the name has the sough of winds in it. Veils of sleet drive over withered grasses and hang in cold walls of glass around the highest rock.” She wrote several children’s books, a rare feat for someone so involved in academic research. Each morning, Marion woke early to feed the animals in her garden, who she referred to as “the friends”. If we all aspire to even half the talent, determination, and kindness which Marion embodied, the world would be a much better place, indeed.

Lady Evelyn Stewart Murray (1868 – 1940)

Lady Murray’s life on paper sounds a fairytale. Daughter of the 7^th Duke of Atholl based at Blair Castle, had she walked a conventional path for someone of that status she could have led a very charmed and untroubled life. However, her fierce will and intellect compelled her to completely eschew the social expectations of the time – marriage, childbearing, and the social graces – in favour of adventure and obsessive study.

In all seasons and weathers, the young Lady Murray could be found wandering Highland Perthshire in search of stories told in Gaelic, which was then fading from everyday use. She collected 241 tales told by native speakers, many of which had never been written down before. Her work is a veritable treasure trove of ethnology, folklore, and historical memory, some of it preserving a local dialect of Gaelic which does not survive anywhere else.

In her teens she suffered a severe illness, likely typhoid, whose symptoms followed her throughout her life, leading to periods of severe physical and mental distress including partial paralysis in her legs and arms. Still, Evelyn refused to limit the hours of her studies, often working late into the night at breakneck pace. She worked so assiduously that, fearing for her eyesight, her caretaker (for her parents had long since given up trying to reign her in) forbid her from reading and writing by gaslight – which she continued doing anyway.

My own lived experience has given me great admiration for Evelyn’s impassioned spirit. Chronic health issues have sometimes waylaid me, but despite this I have visited thousands of historic sites across Scotland and have put a few oral historians’ tales to writing for the first time. A calling is a calling, and whenever I need a little inspiration in the face of limitations, I think of Lady Murray and all that she achieved in spite of them.

Dorothy Marshall (1900 – 1992)

Dorothy Marshall is to archaeology in Bute what Marion Campbell is to it in Kilmartin Glen – definitive. Her parents, Jean Binnie and John Marshall, encouraged all their daughters to pursue higher learning in the sciences. Dorothy’s sisters, Margaret and Sheina, were awarded OBEs, and Dorothy was awarded an MBE in 1981. Dorothy served as a ‘Lumberjill’ in the Women’s Timber Corps during the First World War before studying archaeology in London and excavating in Cyprus, Jericho, Petra, and Jerusalem. She served as a multi-time President of the Buteshire Natural History Society, delivered Meals on Wheels well into her 80s, and participated in excavations in Bute right into her very final years.

Her most famous excavation was of the cist burial of a high-status woman on the island of Inchmarnock off Bute dated to around 2,000 BCE, whom Dorothy dubbed the ‘Queen of the Inch’. Her grave yielded a stunning jet necklace, a type of status symbol found in elite graves throughout Argyll. Other excavations include the Norse houses at the hillfort of Dunagoil in southwest Bute, the Neolithic cairn of Glenvoidean in rugged northwest Bute, and numerous finds of the ever-enigmatic prehistoric carved stone balls. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, of which Dorothy was a Fellow, awards the Dorothy Marshall Medal every three years to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to Scottish archaeology.

Many in Bute today fondly remember Dorothy, for she was no ivory tower-bound researcher but an active and beloved member of the community. This was illustrated to me most vividly while conducting research at Bute Museum in Rothesay. I asked curator Anne Spiers, who knew Dorothy personally and worked closely with her, to describe her legacy. “The spirit of Dorothy is very much with us here”, she said. “She loved the idea of what future technologies would make possible, excavating a site without laying a finger on it. Any time something is found here in Bute, I wonder what Dorothy would make of it.” When I asked Anne what Dorothy’s favourite archaeological site in Bute was, she gave an answer which will ring true for anyone who finds inherent joy and meaning in their vocation: “Whichever one she was at, at the time!”

Text by David C. Weinczok.

Main photo: Glenvoidean Cairn in Bute excavated by Dorothy Marshall.

This January the National Galleries of Scotland kicked off the 250^th birthday of much-loved artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775- 1851), with a special celebration.  Visitors to the treasured Turner in January exhibition marvelled at a new selection of over 30 watercolours that had never been seen before in Scotland, in an exchange with the National Gallery of Ireland. The most famous British artist of the 19^th century, Turner’s career spanned over 50 years and the Turner in January exhibition is popular annual tradition that has been taking place since 1901, as David McVey explains.

The Scottish National Gallery occupies an imposing and complex building rising out of Princes Street Gardens, with the castle soaring nearby and trains rattling past from Waverley Station. The building dates from 1859 but has frequently been modernised and freshened up. As recently as 2023, several bright new galleries for displaying Scottish art were opened. The Gallery works closely with the adjacent Royal Scottish Academy, the impressive classical building that opens out onto Princes Street.

In the National you can marvel at paintings by Titian, Rembrandt, Constable, Gainsborough, Monet and van Gogh alongside local lads like Raeburn and Allan Ramsay. For the pleasure of viewing these works that are of quite incalculable monetary value, you won’t pay a penny. This is the National Gallery. It belongs to us, and so do the works of art. And the same is true of the satellite galleries; the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in nearby Queen Street and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, a short bus journey away.

The Vaughan Bequest

Of course, charges sometimes apply when special exhibitions are held that bring in works of art from other places and cost a great deal to put on. However, there’s one annual show that you can view at no additional cost; the Vaughan Bequest, featuring watercolours by the great English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851). At the beginning of January these 38 works are put on display and then at the end of the month put in storage again. Why?

To find out we need to know a little more about the man behind the Vaughan Bequest. Henry Vaughan was born in the London borough of Southwark in 1809. He came from a wealthy philanthropic Quaker family: his father was a manufacturer of hats – in an era when everybody wore hats. Vaughan inherited a huge fortune from his father and never needed to work. When he died in 1899 he left £237,000; unimaginable wealth for the time, even though, for much of his life, he had tried to give away as much as he could.

Vaughan also spent considerable sums of money assembling a breathtaking collection of art. He acquired and displayed (in his home at Cumberland Terrace near Regent’s Park) works by Rembrandt and Michelangelo and Rubens, and was particularly known for his holdings of works by Constable and Gainsborough. But he also collected contemporary art – and he was a contemporary of Turner. In particular, he accumulated a large number of Turner’s watercolours, buying them from art dealers.

It’s likely that he never actually met Turner. Much of his collection he bequeathed to public galleries. Of his Turner watercolours, six went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, 23 to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square (although they are now displayed in Tate Britain), 31 to the National Gallery of Ireland, and the biggest hoard, 38, to the National Gallery of Scotland. Turner visited Scotland several times and found a great deal of inspiration here.

Turner watercolours should be treated especially carefully

Vaughan looked after his art and his bequests stipulated that the Turner watercolours should be treated especially carefully. Yes, they should be freely accessible to the public, but they should only be exhibited in the dark, gloomy month of January to protect them from the harsher lights of spring, summer and autumn. And that’s why his bequest is displayed in the Scottish National Gallery for only a month at the gloomiest time of year.

The examples bequeathed to Edinburgh cover a wide geographical range of subjects from Italian lakes to English rivers. There are views of historic cities such as Durham, Venice and Heidelberg and also harbour and seafaring scenes, as you’d expect from the artist of The Fighting Temeraire. Among the Alpine scenes are three views of the Falls of Rhine at Schaffhausen, but there is also an affecting view of the humble Falls of Clyde and two scenes from near Sir Walter Scott’s home of Abbotsford. Perhaps the most striking and Turneresque of the Scottish watercolours is Loch Coruisk, Skye which communicates the wild grandeur of the scene with characteristic drama and colour. Oddly, there are no views of Edinburgh in the SNG’s bequest.

In January 2025, the Edinburgh Vaughan Bequest exhibition was different. To mark the 250^th anniversary of Turner’s birth, items from the Edinburgh bequest were displayed in the Irish National Gallery in Dublin, while examples from the Irish collection (which includes a watercolour of Edinburgh from 1801 that has never been displayed in the city before) appeared in the Edinburgh exhibition. The Edinburgh show took place in one of the rooms of the Royal Scottish Academy building. The Dublin collection actually includes a view of Edinburgh, so it seemed a rather fitting exchange.

So popular was the 2025 Edinburgh exhibition that the waiting time to even get into the room was sometimes ninety minutes or more! Obviously, the appeal of seeing a different selection from the usual had brought out the crowds. I tried to visit on two occasions but I had meetings to attend and couldn’t spare the waiting time. Disappointing, perhaps, but it was also encouraging to see so many people excited about seeing art.

Next January, the Scottish National Gallery’s own Turner watercolours from the Vaughan Bequest will all be back on display. If you’re in Edinburgh then, they will provide a great escape from the bleak January streets. But I recommend that you get there early…

Main photo: Scottish National Gallery. Photo: Eoin Carey.

Clan MacLennan Australia are proud to announce Clan MacLennan has been nominated as Honoured Clan at the Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival on 23^rd March at Eastfield Park, 119 Eastfield Road, Croydon, Victoria. Carol Davis, Clan MacLennan Australasia’s Chief’s Commissioner has been appointed Chieftain of the Day. Calling all MacLennans/McLennans to gather at the Melbourne Highland Games & Celtic Festival on Sunday 23^rd March and show their Clan pride!

Visit the Clan tent and meet Clan Genealogist, Bruce McLennan, who’ll be there to answer your family history questions.  Clan MacLennan Australia will also have a special offer for new members who join our Clan association on the day.  Wear your MacLennan tartan with pride as you to participate in the Parade of Clans as the Honoured Clan.  Dum Spiro Spero!

For full details on this month’s Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival, the Chieftain of the Day and Honoured Clan please visit:  www.melbournehighlandgames.org.au

For more information on Clan MacLenna Australia visit: www.clanmaclennan-worldwide.com/aust

 

 

The Scottish Banner speaks to Skerryvore’s Alec Dalglish

Scotland’s Skerryvore are bringing their reinvented traditional Scottish sounds and high energy performances to audiences across the world. Lead singer Alec Dalglish took time to speak to the Scottish Banner about the bands 20^th anniversary celebrations, the importance of live performance and Scottish traditional music.

For those that do not know can we begin by you telling us what Skerryvore means?

AD:  Skerryvore is a famous lighthouse, which is a few miles off the coast of the Isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Tiree is where two of our band members are from, the brothers Daniel and Martin Gillespie. The band started with the four of us, the two Gillespie brothers, me and Fraser West the drummer. And that is kind of what we’re known as, two of us are from Livingston in West Lothian and two from Tiree. Tiree is a very beautiful and interesting place to be from, and Livingston’s not quite as interesting a place to be from, so we are kind of known as being a Tiree band.

To be honest we had been a band kind of casually, and doing it for fun for a while and then we started to get a bit more serious and we were getting ready to release our first album We literally needed to call ourselves something because we were going to have an album and we really honestly couldn’t think of anything until another friend of ours suggested, why not Skerryvore?  It is a really majestic and interesting name that really links us to Tiree. So, we went ahead and chose Skerryvore, and that has worked well for us. However few people really know what we’re saying when we say it, which is part of the mystic of the name.

Skerryvore has won 3 times Scotland’s Live Act of the Year award. For those who have yet to see the band live what can they expect at your shows?

AD:  Our music’s kind of a fusion of a few things. We obviously have the traditional Scottish element that’s kind of there in the sense that we do some sets which are completely instrumental with bagpipes, fiddles, accordions and whistles and stuff like that, which is fused with a more contemporary pop/rock sound.

At the same time, our songs are essentially a kind of pop or rock sound which incorporate an element of the Scottish sound through them as well. These are the kinds of things we try to fuse together in a sort of stylistic sense and our live shows certainly showcase that.

Skerryvore have grown from their early, four-piece, ceilidh band origins and now perform as an eight-piece outfit. Can you tell us how traditional Scottish music has played a part in the Skerryvore story?

AD: That’s how we started. We were a ceilidh band to begin with, so we played all music from the repertoire of traditional music. We didn’t even write our own tunes at that point and that definitely sort of forged what we’re like as a band.

We always said that we as a band would keep our roots and we might do things that are more pop sounding because we like pop music, but we will always have that West Coast of Scotland ceilidh band as part of our DNA. That’s what we really are and how we started, and that traditional sound is definitely really important to us.

The band’s song Take My Hand was featured during the finale of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2024, how did that make you feel to have your music incorporated into one of Scotland’s most iconic live events?

AD: We were incredibly proud and as the songwriter, I was just chuffed to bits that our music was being put on such a huge platform. It’s a really big deal, people all over the world that know something about Scotland seem to know that there’s this big thing called the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It is

such an event and such a spectacle, and it attracts people from all over the world. So, we were really proud to have our music featured and be a part of such a incredible Scottish global production.

Trad music is incredibly popular today around the world. What is it about incorporating traditional instruments and rhythms to your modern sound that you feel has found so much appeal?

AD: I kind of wonder that sometimes myself, because it does seem to be true that our Scottish traditional music and Irish traditional music, really does capture people. I think if someone brought certain types of other native music it just wouldn’t be quite as popular. Like English folk music, for example, is not necessarily anywhere near as popular as the Irish and Scottish stuff is. I think partly it is the rhythmic sound about Celtic music because it was all originally to be danced to. It’s literally in the rhythm of the tune for you to be able to dance to it, which is always appealing to humans, I suppose.

And on a really specific musical sense, it’s almost always pentatonic the scale made-up with five notes, and really that that sort of scale is ingrained into people. It is a really primal sort of scale and most of our tunes are made up of that, so it is really easily musically accessible to most people’s ears. Traditional songs also tell a great story and there’s loads of songs that tell a really interesting history about Scotland and Ireland. All the horrible things that have happened to people, people can understand the heartache through the music.

2025 is the bands 20^th anniversary and you have a special concert lined up at Floors Castle in the Scottish Borders. This will be your biggest show to date, can you tell us more about this milestone performance?

AD: We are really excited for it. We did a similar thing, a special a one-off event for our 10^th anniversary and that really sort of shocked us as to how big it gets and it kind of grew arms and legs. We thought we were going to manage to get a couple of thousand people there and ended up with five or six thousand. We are really excited to do something like that again and make it even bigger. We have grown through the years and to be able to make this happen is special for us. I think we are also just kind of shocked that the time has gone by so quickly and I can’t believe that we’re all old enough to have been in a band for 20 years as adults-it doesn’t seem quite right!  We are incredibly grateful to have fans that have supported us for that long and kept the whole thing going. And it’s an exciting prospect to do our own show to that scale and on home ground.

The early days of Skerryvore had the band working out whether the west coast ferries could actually deliver them from one island to another in time for the next gig. Today the band travel across the UK and Europe and are regular visitors to North America and are now returning to Australia. How important is touring for the band and how much do you enjoy connecting with your international fans?

AD: The touring part is a major part of us as a band.  We have made albums, but we really are mostly a touring band. That is where we feel like we can get things across the best, we have always really struggled, especially stylistically, with what we do to capture that energy on an album. So, I think it’s really important for us to be a touring band and get to connect with Scottish communities all over the world and it is amazing just how homesick Scottish people get abroad and how proud they are to be a part of our shows.

Our congratulations to you Alec as you won Composer of the Year at the recent MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. What does it mean to you to be recognised at Scotland’s most prestigious night of traditional music calendar?

AD: I was delighted and surprised, to be honest. I am so used to being part of the band, and that’s usually where all the success is, it’s all about Skerryvore. It’s not usually about individuals, so it was nice to have something that was in my own name that I’d been given an award for. The Scots Trad Music Awards is a really special night that is important to the Scottish music community. It’s not really just like a wee token, it’s kind of a big deal for those who are part of it, I have always written our music by myself, and I am chuffed to have been recognised in this way.

Skerryvore are touring Australia now and the US in March & April. For full details see: www.skerryvore.com/tour

Main photo: Skerryvore at Floors Castle. Photo: Kevin Kerr.

Scottish Canals have launched Scotland’s newest visitor attraction – The Kelpies Experience.  The canal custodians have partnered with Zone Events to bring participants a unique opportunity to climb safely to the top of the inside of The Kelpies.  The Kelpies – the world’s largest equine sculptures who stand 98 feet tall against the Falkirk skyline, are ready to share their secrets.

The Kelpies Experience will challenge participants, of all ages to tackle a 25 metre aerial climb, taking them straight to the horse’s mouth.  The inspiring experience will also tell the fascinating story of the Clydesdale – the horse that powered the industrial revolution around the world.

As well as testing visitors on the specially-designed climb expert guides will share the history of Scotland’s canals, the vital role played by the Clydesdale Horse and how this inspired internationally renowned sculptor Andy Scott.  The Kelpies Experience is a premium, aerial visitor attraction while immersing participants in Scotland’s fascinating industrial history, awe-insuring art and world class engineering.

The experience involves ascending 25 metres to the mouth of Baron (the head up Kelpie in Falkirk) using a series of ladders, cable crossings, suspended platforms and nets before descending, by abseil, or quick flight, a thrilling option that gives the feeling of free falling before gently lowering you to the ground.  The highlight of the climb is reaching the Kelpie’s mouth and being rewarded with stunning panoramic views of the Forth & Clyde Canal, the nearby Helix parklands and on a clear day you might even catch a glimpse of the distant hills and the town of Falkirk.

A triumph of design and engineering

Since their launch, Helix Park has welcomed over seven million visitors from all over the world; The Kelpies play a huge role in contributing to a £85 million tourism spend in the Falkirk region annually. Scottish Canals’ Chief Executive Officer John Paterson said: “We are incredibly excited to create this unique challenge. This is a truly amazing experience and will allow visitors from across the world to step inside our magnificent Kelpies and discover the secrets that lie inside all while experiencing a 25-metre aerial journey straight to the horse’s mouth. Those who enjoy this epic experience will undoubtedly leave with a memory of a lifetime.”

Scottish Canals commissioned internationally renowned artist and sculptor Andy Scott to create the awe-inspiring Kelpies and he says he is looking forward to others getting to see his artwork from a different perspective. He said: “I believe the experience will give an even greater understanding of just what an incredible achievement these structures represent both as artworks and as iconic landmarks.”

The Kelpies are a triumph of design and engineering. Each Kelpie weighs a massive 300 tonnes (the same weight as 350 Clydesdale Horses) and is constructed from more than 18,000 individual components.

For more details on how to book the experience log onto: www.Kelpies.co.uk  

All images courtesy of Peter Sandground.

Read our 2024 interview with the creator of The Kelpies, Andy Scott, at: www.scottishbanner.com/2024/08/24/celebrating-10-years-of-the-kelpies

From the 1830s to the early 1900s, railways were built across Scotland at an astonishing rate. Some served industry, others carried commuters or long-distance travellers while others were specifically aimed at tourists. Many survive while many others have gone. However, some of those aimed at tourists still attract them, even where trains no longer run.

The Blane Valley Railway and its extension, the Aberfoyle Branch, were designed to provide scenic journeys from Glasgow to the southern edge of The Trossachs, countryside that appealed especially to readers of Sir Walter Scott’s novels. As early as 1848, a branch line came off at Lenzie on the main Glasgow – Edinburgh route, and pushed through Kirkintilloch to Lennoxtown on the southern slopes of the Campsie Fells. It was extended as the Blane Valley Railway through Strathblane to Killearn in 1867.

Eventually, in 1882, the route was complete through to Aberfoyle. Aberfoyle remains a tourist honeypot, though, sadly, few visitors today have read any Scott. Both Waverley and, especially, Rob Roy had links to the Aberfoyle area. Visitors used to flock to the Baillie Nicol Jarvie Hotel in the village, named after a character in Rob Roy. It’s now been converted to flats, but a caricature of Jarvie can still be seen on the gable end.

Changing onto a branch line

Motor road transport was the death knell of the railway. Beyond Kirkintilloch, all passenger services stopped in 1951. By 1966 the whole system had gone. Slowly, however, the potential for gentler forms of travel began to be recognised. Paths for walkers, cyclists and horse riders were developed on the former trackbed. Today you can walk, ride or cycle from Aberfoyle to Buchlyvie, crossing the famous Flanders Moss, using the former railway. The West Highland Way long distance footpath runs along another stretch of the route, in the scenic valley of Strath Blane. And then, running from Strathblane village to Lenzie, there is the Strathkelvin Railway Walkway. Lenzie Station remains open, so that when you alight from a train there, intent on walking or cycling to Strathblane, there’s still a sense of changing onto a branch line.

Old railways make great paths. The gradients are easy and even on the urban stretch through Kirkintilloch there are trees and greenery. Two miles on, at Milton of Campsie, local volunteers have transformed the platforms of the former station into an attractive public space with seating and sculptures and floral displays. The route continues roughly westward, following the Glazert Water upstream, with the Campsie Fells occasionally seen through trees to the north.

Beyond Lennoxtown the route runs through the grounds of the former Lennox Castle estate. Lennox Castle, actually an 1840s mansion, is now a ruin but Celtic Football Club’s main training facility occupies part of the grounds. A branch track runs off right along the banks of the Glazert to Campsie Glen, where the burn tumbles out of the hills in a series of wooded waterfalls. It was a real holiday spot in days gone by and hundreds of people would disgorge from Campsie Glen Station (actually nearly a mile’s walk from the glen) on summer Saturdays.

The main route continues through the Lennox Forest, but when it emerges from the trees the views become breathtaking. At last, the Campsie Fells are seen at their most spectacular. As a local resident I often cycle out this way and I still have to stop here and look and marvel. I like to think it’s the equal of any view in the Highlands or Lake District. And I can never stop myself from wondering what it must have been like to travel here by train. Of course, we shouldn’t romanticise rail travel in the steam era. A choking cloud of smoke would have accompanied every train, and passengers would emerge under a fine coat of dust!

Very much still there

A highlight on the final run to Strathblane is a stone bridge that carries the access road to Craigend Farm over a small burn as well as the railway, with a separate arch for each. It’s a beautiful structure, still doing its job 65 years after the last train ran underneath it. The obvious wooded gorge visible to the north on the Campsie slopes is the Ballagan Glen, which is a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve for the window it opens on the geology of the Campsies.

To the south of the railway is the curious little lump of Dunglass, a volcanic plug (for the Campsies were volcanos back in geological time!). Notice that some of its crags are formed of columnar basalt, like Fingal’s Cave or the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

As you enter Strathblane the line has been built over, so a path takes you up to the A891 near Strathblane Kirk. The Kirkhouse Inn, at the junction of the A891 and A81 will welcome you as will Milne and Byrne’s Coffee House further along the A81; but there’s plenty more to do here. The Campsie Fells beckon, and there are other paths to try – the John Muir Way, which follows the Strathkelvin Walkway from Kirkintilloch, continues west while the Pipe Track leads you along the western flank of the Campsies.

The West Highland Way and Mugdock Country Park aren’t far away either. If you’ve had enough, there are buses back to Glasgow from here. They stop at Milngavie Station, and after experiencing the work of Victorian railway builders, you may want to alight there and continue your journey to Glasgow on a surviving railway.

The Blane Valley Railway has long gone, yet for locals and visitors alike it’s very much still there.

Main photo: Walkers and a cyclist where the walkway emerges from Lennox Forest.

The President and Committee of the Bundanoon Highland Gathering are delighted to announce that Lord Strathspey has accepted their offer to be the Chieftain of the Day in 2025. Sir Michael Grant of Grant, Lord Strathspey, 34^th Chief of Clan Grant was born in Edinburgh in 1953.  A Chartered Surveyor by profession, Sir Michael has enjoyed a career in Project Development, Asset Management, Sales and Lettings. He has travelled extensively, working on projects throughout Europe, the USA, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Now retired, Sir Michael’s interests span a wide range of subjects including property, design, architecture and art. As a person who likes to travel and connect with people, Sir Michael’s vision is to “Think Global” when it comes to building and growing the Clan Grant community. His wish is to promote the Clan traditions throughout the world, strengthening bonds and preserving the Clan Grant history – for this generation and the next.  As the Chief of Clan Grant, Sir Michael takes particular pride in the Clan Grant history.

The Grant 1714 tartan

Inspired by two 18^th century paintings of the Grant Champion and Piper by the artist Richard Waitt, he has reintroduced the Grant 1714 tartan, one of the earliest tartans on record. The Grant 1714 is one of the earliest tartans on record and has recently been reintroduced and authorised by Sir Michael Grant of Grant. In July 1704, Alexander Grant, the eldest son of Ludovick, Chief of Grant, instructed his tenants and clansmen to be prepared to muster in Heighland Coates trewes and short hose of tartaine of red and Greine sett broad springed.” This directive was recorded in the Court Book of the Regality of Grant. Whilst there is no surviving remnant of this Strathspey red and green tartan, there are strong clues as to the specific sett (pattern) of the time.

In 1714, Richard Waitt–an artist who travelled the highlands, accepted a commission from the Laird of Grant to paint life-sized portraits of William Cumming, the Laird’s Piper, and Alister Mohr Grant, the Laird’s Champion.  Both portraits depict highlanders in ceremonial tartans of red and green, which were almost certainly woven by the same weaver. Described by Waitt on his invoice as advivum pinxit (Latin for “painted to life”), they were large scale and presented exactly as he saw them. The new tartan has been registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans and Design Registry in the name of the present Chief, Lord Strathspey, 34^th Chief of Grant.

Bundanoon Highland Gathering takes place in the NSW Southern Highlands, Saturday April 5^th. For details see: www.brigadoon.org.au.

The division between ‘Highlands’ and ‘Lowlands’ is so essential to most peoples’ understanding of Scotland that we rarely dwell on what those terms really mean. It is tempting to focus on the cultural differences – the exuberance of Highland hospitality versus the alleged, relative coldness of Lowland city-dwellers; accusations from medieval Lowland scribes about the misdeeds of “wyld, wikked Heilan’ men” versus the derisive insults of Highlanders against “soft Southrons”; and the predominance of Gaelic in the Highlands and of Scots and English in the Lowlands.

Yet, what fundamentally makes the Highlands the Highlands and the Lowlands the Lowlands is far more primordial and elemental than all that. What really defines them, both in their own right and relative to the other, lay in the very land itself. A closer look leads to plenty of assumption-shattering surprises.

One of the best ways to understand the Highlands and Lowlands is to look at a map of Scotland which shows terrain features, such as an Ordnance Survey map or Google Maps on your phone or computer with terrain enabled. At first glance, what you see appears to confirm expectations: the Highlands are the hilly regions in the north, and the Lowlands are the flatter regions in the south. Simple, right? Not so fast. Look as far north as you can go on the Scottish mainland and you’ll arrive in Caithness, where flat peatlands and fertile fields have nary a hill in sight. Now, look as far south as you can go to the Borders, where the Lammermuir and Cheviot Hills rise up as rugged and daunting to the traveller as most any Highland glen. Look to the west coast and then to the east. On the same latitude as the iconically-mountainous Isle of Skye are the mellow breadbaskets of Moray and Buchan, where – purely in terms of the landscape – you’d be forgiven for thinking you had somehow stumbled several hundred miles south into England.

The Highland Boundary Fault

From a geological standpoint, there is a dividing line – the Highland Boundary Fault. This tectonic fault line runs from the Isle of Arran in the southwest to just shy of Stonehaven in the northeast. It’s stunningly obvious on a map. Look north of Glasgow, Stirling, Perth, and Dundee, and the land to the north of those cities quickly rises up and crinkles with contour lines.  But, as we’ve seen with the above examples, it’s not as simple as everything north of that line being the Highlands and everything south of it being the Lowlands. There are Lowland-style landscapes within the Highlands and Highland-style landscapes within the Lowlands. Geologically, Highlands are generally in the north and the west, and Lowlands are generally in the south and the east. Just look at how the Cairngorms extend almost all the way to the sea in the east, only to cut back north and west leaving a Lowland-style fertile strip all along the coast.

Highlands and Lowlands are not just defined by where a parcel of land is located. Even more crucial is how that land is used, and what types of historical communities it fosters. Huge swathes of the Highlands have elevations higher than 1,000ft above sea level, the point at which crops are less capable of growing even in optimal conditions. Highland soils tend to be more acidic and thinner than Lowland soils, often barely covering the underlying stone which, in some areas, is the oldest exposed stone in the world, exposed by millennia of wind, rain, and glaciation. Wind and rain especially scour the higher grounds, creating conditions wholly unfavourable to most crops and even to many trees.

The nature of the soil

This, in turn, means that fewer intensive crops can be cultivated in Highland areas, which reduces the likelihood of abundance and therefore of stable surpluses and population growth. The nature of the soil is why Highland societies from the Neolithic right up to today are more reliant on pastoralism – mostly with cattle, and in more recent centuries with sheep – than on agriculture, though there are of course localised exceptions.

Pastoral societies rarely develop large, concentrated population centres, and instead tend to have more spread-out, low-density settlements. The population of the Highlands was in fact equivalent to that of the Lowlands until the 18^th century, but rather than clustering in towns and cities the Highlanders were in countless small farmsteads scattered all around the glen floors and lower slopes. The lone city in the Highlands, Inverness, is immediately next to the incredibly fertile region of Moray and could not have grown beyond a township without it. Otherwise, the Highlands have no cities and very few towns anything like even a mid-sized town in the Lowlands.  The kin-based clan system is a natural unit of social organisation in such conditions. Equivalents can be found among historical tribal groups in Scandinavia, indigenous America, and Afghanistan. In the Lowlands, by contrast, there is much more scope for interactions with people not from your immediate community and outwith your kin group. Such places tend to develop more complicated social hierarchies and relationships, with many strangers wittingly or unwittingly involved in the production of goods and development of institutions. In the Highlands, by contrast, a stranger was known as one on sight, such was the tightness of the pastoral societies in the days before mass transport and globalisation.

Contrast this with the Lowlands, where pastoralism existed alongside widespread intensive agriculture capable of producing, in the good times at least, enough of a surplus to support specialist trades and urban growth. The relative predictability of agricultural yields and resultant capacity for growth could sustain booming populations (to a point) and serve as the basis for more decentralised forms of social power. This is part of the reason why feudalism became entrenched in the Lowlands while it largely failed to take root in the same way in the Highlands.

Understanding the Highlands and Lowlands

All these factors determining what the land is capable of supporting are far more important to understanding the Highlands and Lowlands than simply how far north, south, east, or west the land is. They are certainly more important for understanding the types of communities that grow within them.  For the vast majority of history, a farmer in Aberdeenshire, for example, had much more in common with a fellow farmer in Midlothian or Ayrshire many miles to the south than with a Highlander much closer to home in the Cairngorms or Highland Perthshire. Someone from the Isle of Lewis would have instantly recognised the basic flow of life for a drover or crofter in Argyll or even the hillier regions of Dumfries & Galloway, while the ways of town-dwellers in Stirling or Peebles would have been quite alien.

So, what makes the Highlands and the Lowlands? Of course it’s the people, the history, and the culture – but none of things would be what they are if the land beneath them all were different. In many ways, the stories of the Highlands and Lowlands were written many years before there were people to tell them.

Text by: David C. Weinczok

Main photo: Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, where a fertile valley floor gives way to thin, peated upland soils which defined settlement patterns since the Mesolithic period.

The Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival (MHGCF) has been hosting this event in Maroondah for over 57 years and is a highlight of the Scottish Australian calendar.  This day-long celebration showcases the best of Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage that echoes the original games that took place centuries ago in Scotland.

International Heavy Games Championships

This year’s event on Sunday, 23^rd of March 2025, will be MHGCF first truly international Games as they will be hosting the International Heavy Games Championships. The competition will be held in partnership with Events Victoria and the International Highland Games Federation (IHGF) with the support of Highland Muscle in Australia. The Games will have up to sixty athletes and officials from Australia, North America, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan to compete in a traditional Scottish Heavy Games Competition.

With the international competition there will be a film crew filming this event live for their overseas audiences. The film crew will be here for the week leading up to the Games filming Maroondah and the surrounding districts and places of interest.

Another addition to this multicultural event will be a Welcome to Country by Wurundjeri Elder Wandin followed by the Smoking Ceremony drawing strength from the Land for our Scots Warriors, spectators and indigenous peoples in attendance.

Scottish and Celtic traditions

There will also be all the other expected attractions such as dancing, pipe bands, clan tents, community organisations, displays, food stalls and retail vendors. There is something for everyone at this family-friendly (and dog-friendly) event. With an expected 7,000 attendees expected this year, the festival plays a pivotal role in preserving Scottish and Celtic traditions among the Victorian diaspora and fostering connections to ancestral roots for younger generations.

After nearly 60 consecutive years, the Games have demonstrated resilience against economic challenges, including a successful transition to an online format during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Games Committee are very grateful for the support of our Patron, The Right Honourable Simon Abney-Hastings, 15^th Earl of Loudoun, and our Ambassador, The Honourable Mr Ted Baillieu AO. The Committee is pleased to welcome our Chieftain of the Day, Carol Davis, Chief’s Commissioner and President of Clan MacLennan Australia, to preside over the event.

This event is made possible through the many sponsors, stallholders and supporters. The Games would especially like to thank Maroondah City Council and Bendigo Bank in Croydon and Ringwood East for their ongoing support to our Games. The committee hope to welcome you at this upcoming international event. Please come and join in for a wonderful day of celebration, culture, and friendship. Slàinte Mhath!

Tickets are available on the day or by pre-purchase through TryBooking:  www.trybooking.com/CYEUA . For further information please visit the official website at: https://melbournehighlandgames.org.au/whats-on. 

All images courtesy of the Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival.

Is your surname Murray? Born a Murray? Married to a Murray? Is there a Murray in your family tree? All those people bearing the name Murray, or one of the surnames (septs) associated with the Murray Clan, are invited to join the Murray Clan Society in Scotland and the UK.

The Murray Clan septs include Balneaves, Dinsmore, Dunbar, Dunsmore, Fleming, Moray, Murrie, Neaves, Piper, Pyper, Smail, Smale, Small, Smeal, and Spalding, and variations of these surnames.

One of the great families of Scotland

The Murrays are one of the great families of Scotland. As soldiers and statesmen, ambassadors and lawmakers, they have been close to the heart of Scottish affairs for centuries. The progenitor (ancestor) of the Murrays, Freskin de Moravia, or Freskyn, was a 12^th century Flemish nobleman who was granted land in the area east of what is now Inverness. This region came to be known as Moray (Murray). The Dukes of Atholl at Blair Castle in Perthshire and the Earls of Mansfield at Scone Palace in Perth are both descended from Freskin. The Murray Clan has the exceptional honour of counting among its number a real live saint. Saint Gilbert de Moravia, Bishop of Caithness from 1223 to 1245 and the founder of Dornoch Cathedral, came from the Freskyn family.

St. Gilbert of Dornoch was recognised as ‘one of the noblest and wisest ecclesiastics the medieval church produced’ and the last Scotsman canonised by the Roman Catholic Church. Gilbert died in his palace at Scrabster on 1^st April 1245, his feast day. “Clan Societies have existed since the seventeenth century. They provide invaluable machinery for a clan-fund, repository for records and treasures, and virtually form the Civil Service of the clan” – Agnes Mure Mackenzie – 1949.

The Murray Clan Society was instituted by the 13^th Lord Elibank, Alastair Erskine-Murray, at the inaugural meeting which took place on the night of Wednesday 17^th January 1962 at the Royal Overseas League, 100 Princes Street in Edinburgh, to promote social links among people bearing the name Murray and to stimulate interest in the history, culture, and traditions of the Murray Clan and in the work of those who have borne the name Murray. The Murray Clan Society has now been revived as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) by Keith Murray-Hetherington FSA Scot, in whose own veins runs the blood of the Murrays.

The Head Trustee (Chairman) belongs to a family that has intermarried with the Murrays for many years, and he is a Murray through his mother, who first sparked his deep interest in the Murray Clan and his long-standing connection with the Murray Clan Society. In October 1981, he became a life member of the Murray Clan Society during the International Gathering of the Clans in Edinburgh at the young age of 17 years and served as Convenor between 1987-1990. He designed and matriculated the Society’s Coat of Arms with Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Forward With Fortune

Two of the main charitable objects of the rejuvenated Murray Clan Society are (1) to further the education of members of the clan and septs who show promise, and (2) to provide financial assistance to those of the clan and the septs recognised by the Society who are in need. Students who are Murrays (or with mothers who were Murrays), who are pursuing particular interests or studies in Scotland and the UK, may be able to take advantage of the Society’s scholarship which will each year award a bursary (educational grant).

Keith told the Scottish Banner: “I decided to revive the Murray Clan Society, after it lay dormant for so long during many years of inactivity, for future generations to enjoy and learn about the Murray Clan’s rich history. My vision is to attract family groups – young and old – to join a modernised, dynamic society, and to provide a focal point for all members of the Clan from all walks of life – wherever they may be and whatever their background. I simply want to ensure the survival of the Society by attracting younger Murrays to carry forward to a new era the legacy of the most excellent men and women who laid the foundation, thus fulfilling the official motto which adorns the Murray Clan Society’s coat of arms: “Forward With Fortune”.

Associate Membership and Life Membership of the Murray Clan Society is available for anyone with an interest in the history, culture, and traditions of the Murray Clan or who simply wants to stay in touch helping them feel closer to their ancestors. Student Membership is available for those studying and registered on an academic course; and Family Membership for a family including spouse and children under 18 years. The modernised Murray Clan Society has already recruited Murrays from Scotland, England, Wales, and South Africa. Keith explained: “Thriving transatlantic clan societies have set a wonderful example to their overseas cousins and they are understandably disappointed that for some years they have had no counterpart or point of reference in their spiritual homeland. They see the Murray Clan Society in Scotland as the trunk of the tree from which the branches spring. Members in other parts of the world look to the “Home Society” as the centre of our worldwide clan. We also maintain a very cordial relationship with our sister society Murray Clan Societies in North America; New Zealand; and Australia”.

The people serving on the board – the charity trustees – bring a wide range of skills and experience and there is a good balance of ages. The 15^th Lord Elibank, Robert Francis Alan Erskine-Murray, is patron of the Murray Clan Society, thus continuing his family’s long-established association with the Society since his ancestor, the 13^th Lord Elibank, founded the Society.

For more information, contact themurrayclansociety@hotmail.com or go to the Society’s website www.clanmurray.spanglefish.org which has a great deal of information about the history of the Murrays and other items linked to Murray families.

Main photo: Blair Castle.