by Ray McHatton One of the first direct taxes levied upon the American colonies by the British crown was the Stamp Act. It was passed through Parliament on March 22nd, 1765 to take effect on November1st of that year. This act placed a fee on just about every paper transaction in every day use, such […]
The Black Dwarf, also known as The Black Tinker (C’eard Dubh) is now almost forgotten, a character who was once highly feared, written about by Sir Walter Scott, and played a large part in legends from all across Scotland. The Black Dwarf is known on Islay and there are many stories about him in the Scottish Borders […]
These days Scottish politics seems to be all about the left. Indeed there is a lot of energy and a smorgasbord of political choice left of Scotland’s “centre”. Meanwhile it can be hard to find signs of life over on the right. Yet there are living breathing “right of centre progressive conservatives” in Scotland. Many […]
By Ray McHatton Clan Mackintosh of North America Flight Lieutenant Wallace McIntosh was considered the most successful WW2 air gunner in Bomber Command, having downed eight enemy aircraft during his career with the RAF. In a single mission the day after D-Day, he took down three German night fighters, which were radar-retrofitted, and much coveted […]
August 29th is the 85th anniversary of the last people leaving St Kilda. For most people, St Kilda is remote and mysterious, a windswept outcrop in the North Atlantic which against all odds supported human habitation for more than 2,000 years (some say this is more like 4,000 years). This lonely island sits in the outermost […]
A report by Paul Macdonald, Swordmaker Further to presenting a talk at Culloden House in April of this year on the topic of Scottish Swords of Legend, I was advised that the Clan Donnachaidh Museum housed a sword with Culloden provenance. As this was on the return route to Edinburgh, stopping in to study the […]
By John W. Patterson, Editor of the Lion’s Face, Clan Farquharson UK This is a personal account on my trip to the Culloden Battle Field and visitor centre. I visited Culloden on August 12th of this year. For those who have never visited, it is a very solemn place. Culloden is a historical site managed […]
A most amazing thing has been happening in Scotland in the year since the Scottish people rejected independence. The Scottish National Party has emerged from its Independence Referendum defeat to dominate the Scottish political world and it is on a trend toward a practical exclusivity that has some Scots a wee bit concerned. SNP membership is up by […]
BBC Scotland is on the lookout for Scottish-Canadians descendant from two 1920s emigrant ships for a new documentary series looking at the aftermath of the First World War. Within two weeks in 1923, two ships carried approximately 600 people from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland to their new home in Canada. At the time most […]
Construction workers have discovered a 121 year old time capsule buried in a bridge near Kingussie in the Highlands. The tin box, roughly the size of a shoe box, was deeply buried inside the Ruthven road bridge, and contained what appears to be a bottle of whisky, a paper scroll, and a newspaper dated Saturday, […]
