The thistle is the national flower of Scotland, much like the rose is the national flower of England and the United States. Today we’re going to look at two interesting things about this flower, the tale as to why it became the national flower and also the unofficial national anthem it inspired. There are several […]
For our families Summer holiday this year we decided to go to Denmark for a couple of weeks. I’ve always been interested in Denmark especially as it’s thought to be the happiest place on earth – and have also wanted to find out more about the Danish Vikings. I know that they shouldn’t really be […]
It’s interesting to learn that until 1996 the bagpipes were classified as a weapon of war. This does not simply mean an instrument played in battle, or a tool used to direct troops, it actually means a physical weapon, like a sword or a musket. The origins of this take us all the way back […]
The Royal Mile, one of the most famous streets in Edinburgh, runs from the castle all the way down to Holyrood Palace. When Edinburgh castle was first established this was the only accessible route, a natural ramp formed thousands of years ago gave access to a castle otherwise impregnable from the east. With the establishment […]
The Sgian Dubh is a small edged knife, usually 3-4 inches (~8-10cm) in length, that is worn as part of the traditional Highland dress tucked into the top of the kilt hose with only the handle visible. It’s origins are fairly unclear, although it is now a purely ornamental item, most communally applied with an […]
The quaich is a traditional Scottish drinking vessel which was used to offer a guest a cup of welcome and also a farewell drink, usually a dram of whisky. The quaich has a rich heritage in Scotland. Indeed, they are a uniquely Scottish invention, having no apparent connection to any other European drinking vessel. The word […]
Painting the Peats is a project that began when artist Damian Callan and his family started helping crofter Chris Spears stack his peats at his peat bank on North Uist. The experience led to a series of ink and wash studies that combined groups of working figures in the Hebridean landscape and were developed into […]
One of most common issues in genealogy is to understand the relationship between two people in a family. We’re all familiar with the relationship between our direct line ancestor and ourselves, but the other branches can get a little tangled. For example, most people are familiar with the concept of a sibling (brother or sister) […]
Happy Ramadan to our Muslim Friends 🙂 Wishing you four weeks of blessings. Scottish Muslims have a long history to celebrate. Scotland has been closely connected with Muslim countries as far back as the Middle Ages. In the 8th and 9th centuries pilgrims travelled to the Holy land and Scottish traders visited the Muslim countries […]
To understand the occurrence of Gaelic in place names in Scotland we thought it would be good to show a map and a breakdown of places and their Gaelic equivalent or the Gaelic the modern name is derived from. We hope you find this interesting: Roy Pedersen, Chair of Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba, and author of […]
