10 ways Scotland influenced the USA!

10 ways Scotland influenced the United States of America – An infographic with some great facts about how Scotland and her people helped to shape the United States…

Read More

Drumnacoub – A Bloody Battle in the Far North

Battle of Drumnacoub (between 1427 and 1433) This battle was an internal feud among the men of Clan MacKay but also involved some Sutherland men. A disastrous battle, it led to the loss of many senior members of the clan and most of the belligerents on both sides. The origins of the battle begin with […]

Read More

Watching Scotland: A peek at the Scottish Green Party

In the last Watching Scotland blog we took a look at the Scottish Conservative Party, or (from an American point of view) the somewhat unfortunately nicknamed “Tories”. From a right of centre perspective we now swing over and investigate what is going on over on the left with Scotland’s fourth largest political party (out of […]

Read More

Lady Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, 1909-2013

On January 14th of this year Lady Malcolm Douglas Hamilton died at the incredible age of 103. Along with her husband, Lord Hamilton she helped set up the American Scottish Foundation which has over the years been a cornerstone in building relationships between Scotland and America. Born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, to Major Nathaniel B Wales […]

From Norway with Love

When asked to give the name of his nearest mainline rail station on a Parliamentary expenses questionnaire, former liberal MP for Orkney Jo Grimond gave his reply as Bergen, Norway. This facetious response turned out to be correct, as Bergen’s rail station is situated 340km from the Orkney constituency, compared with the Highland Main Line […]

Chanel’s Scottish Inspiration

French fashion powerhouse Chanel recently hosted it’s annual Metiers d’Arts show at Linlithgow Palace just outside of Edinburgh, showcasing a contemporary interpretation of traditional Scottish crafts and tartan. Creative director Karl Lagerfeld’s collection combined elements of gothic grandeur with tartan, tweed, sporrans, argyle socks and brogues, coloured with a rich earthy palette. The show ended with […]

Clan MacKinnon gets a new Chieftan

Clan MacKinnon have a new lease of life – not only have they appointed a new Chieftan but have a shiny new website. This will serve as a great resource to the widespread MacKinnon Clan. They want everyone to know they are very much alive and active. There has been a change to the organizational […]

Scottish Register of Tartans Criticised

The Scottish Register of Tartans has been criticised for including designs in their repository by Disney, a German Pipe Smokers group and Peter Rabbit. The Government register, which provides a definitive resource for protecting and promoting tartans, has come under fire by Scottish Members of Parliament, claiming the approval process needs to be changed to […]