The Rampant Scotland Newsletter - your weekly insight into what has been happening in Scotland, snipped from the Scottish media, for Scots in Scotland and abroad, bringing you news, events plus a Scottish magazine section. Printed with 100% recycled electrons.Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in the Archive> and the Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here>.
The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that format there is now a regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site and also "Scottie's Diary" on an intermittent basis, To receive this, kust send an e-mail to Scottie with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
|
Historical Affairs - Topical Items from Scotland's Past
|
|
Scots Abroad
In the First Division, Hamilton lost to St Johnstone last Saturday, but are still 4 points ahead of Dundee, with Saints 6 points further back.
In the Second Division, Ross county are comfortably in the lead by 9 points, with second-place Airdrie having played one more game than the northern club. Raith Rovers, who had been challenging at the top earlier in the season, are only two points adrift from Airdrie but have played two more games than the North Lanarkshire club.
In the Third Division, East Fife are out of sight at the top, 25 points ahead of Montrose.
In the Scottish Rugby Premiership there have been no matches since the start of February so positions are unchanged - Boroughmuir sit 26 points ahead of Watsonians and Dundee remain at the foot of the table.
The "Magazine" section includes songs/poems of Scotland, Scottish humour and brief descriptions of Scottish Culture items added recently to the Rampant Scotland Website - with a link to the page where you can find the full feature, if you find the subject of interest to you.
Scottish Inventions and Discoveries
Waterproof Clothing - Charles Macintosh (1766-1843)
Scottish Place Names Around the World
Adelaide, Australia
From time to time, new sites being added to the Rampant Scotland Directory links sections catch my eye:
Scotavia Images
Anne Hume (1742-1821) was the wife of John Hunter, one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. Her songs are said to "evince a delicacy of thought, combined with a force and sweetness of expression." This short, simple song of lost love displays these characteristics.
The Season Comes When First We Met
The season comes when first we met,
O! days too sweet, too bright to last,
In fancy stop their rapid flight,
Never Expires
Lachlan's Laws - # 59
For the first 50 laws, see Lachlan's Laws.
Tillietudlum Gazette
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
Scottish Culture Around the World
The main focus of the Scottish Snippets is news items, usually about Scotland. But the "Scots Abroad" section, invites folk to write in about Scottish-related events in their part of the world. It allows publicity for them and an appreciation by others of just how much Scottish culture is perpetuated in every corner of the globe.
NY Giants Kicker for Tartan Day Grand Marshall
Lawrence Tynes, the Greenock-born kicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL), will participate as Grand Marshal for New York City’s Tenth Annual Tartan Day Parade. Tynes will swap the Giants uniform for his kilt as he kicks off the Parade, leading more than 2,000 bagpipers, clans and Scottish enthusiasts up Sixth Avenue through Rockefeller Center on April 5, 2008. The Parade, sponsored by the National Tartan Day Committee, is the largest Scottish Parade in North America and features the highest concentration of bagpipers in any New York parade - as well as 101 West Highland and Scottish Terriers, the largest contingent in any parade. Tynes was the first Scottish-born player to participate in the Super Bowl earlier this month - when he kicked the Giants to the title.
Florida Scottish Games And Festival
The Northeast Florida Scottish Games & Festival is always held on the last Saturday of February - this year it's on 23rd of the month. It is well-known for rigorous competition amongst Scottish athletes, Bagpipe & Drum Bands & Highland Dancers. Other events include Battle Axe Throwing, Scottish Foods and Wares, Children‘s Games, Falconry, Fencing, Ham Radio to Scotland, Gaelic Language instruction, Traditional Scottish Music, Archery, Small Pipes demonstrations, Tartan Museum, Harp Competition, Fiddle Competition, Scottish Country Dancing, Scottish Clans & Societies, Scottish Animals, Sheep Herding - and much more. See also www.neflgames.com.
Alabama Celtic Association
On February 15th, the Alabama Celtic Association hosted a Celtic Evening: Music and Dance from Scotland and Ireland at Bottletree Café in Birmingham. The evening featured a host of area musicians and dancers, including Russell Hopper, Rick Cunningham, The Alabama Academy of Irish Dance, Celtic Harpers, B'ham Irish Set Dancers, Scottish Bagpipers, The Drake School of Irish Dance, Jasper Coal - and more! Profits go towards the Alabama Celtic Association scholarship fund. See also www.celticalabama.net.
Douglas County Scottish Society
Douglas County Scottish Society members proudly made a display window for the Roseburg, Oregon Public Library for the month of February. It featured pictures that Therman and Lenora Sprock (seen on the left of this picture) took while hiking the West Highland Trail in Scotland. Therman is in his 80s! See also www.dcscots.org.
League Tables
Rangers are four points ahead of Celtic, with both clubs in action on Sunday - Rangers host Gretna while Celtic are way to St Mirren. Motherwell lost by the only goal in the match against Hearts on Saturday but have established themselves firmly in third place in the SPL (with the prize of a place in next year's Uefa Cup beckoning), three points ahead of Dundee United, but with two games in hand.
Celtic Lose at Home
Celtic have a formidable home record in the European Champions League, having won their last three home matches in the competition. Faced with Spanish club Barcelona, they began well enough, with a goal by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink after 15 minutes, only for Lionel Messi to clip home an equaliser three minutes later. Barry Robson gave the home side the lead again before half-time but Barca drew level with a goal by Thierry Henry in the second half. The Spanish side dominated at this stage and Messi tucked in a 79th minute winner. Celtic have a poor away record in Europe - but this is football and anything can happen in the second leg on Barcelona. The eventual winners progress to the quarter-finals of this season's European Champions League.
Rangers in Last 16 of Uefa Cup
Rangers won through to the last 16 of the Uefa Cup by drawing twice with Greek side Panathinaikos. The Ibrox club had only managed a 0-0 draw in the first leg at home and then went a goal down in the 12th minute in the away game in Athens. Panathinaikos dominated much of the play and it was only thanks to great goalkeeping by Alan McGregor that they didn't score again. Then in the 81st minute, Nacho Novo levelled the score. The match ended 1-1, but the "away goal" rule means that in the event of a tie, away goals count double. So Rangers now go through to the next round of the competition.
Aberdeen Defeated by Bayern Munich
Aberdeen's opponents in the Uefa Cup last 32 match were Bayern Munich, currently the leaders of the German Bundesliga and one of the favourites to win the Uefa competition. But Aberdeen's players were motivated with reminders of the occasion 25 years ago when the club defeated Bayern to take the European Cup Winners' Cup. This time, in the first leg at Pittodrie, they achieved a very creditable 2-2 draw - with the German club having to come from behind twice. However it was a different story in the second leg, which Bayern won convincingly, 5-1.
Six Nations Rugby
After losing 30-15 to Wales last weekend, their second defeat in this year's Six Nations rugby tournament, Ireland had a comfortable 34-13 win over the Scots at Croke Park, Dublin on Saturday. Scotland had much of the early possession but could not seriously threaten the Irish try line. By half-time, however, Ireland had taken control and were 14-6 in the lead. By the end of the match, Ireland had scored 5 tries with Scotland managing just one. Scotland now face England at Murrayfield on 8 March. Barring any miracles, the following weekend, in the final game of the series, they will be contesting the wooden spoon with Italy when they travel to Rome.
Andy Murray's Highs and Lows
Scottish tennis star Andy Murray has sometimes been criticised for a lack of consistency and that was reinforced over the last couple of weeks when he first of all won the Open 13 indoor tennis event in Marseilles. The result meant that he was back in the top ten world rankings again (at number 10). But a few days later, Murray crashed out of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Robin Haase, ranked 84 places below him in the world rankings.
UK Slacklining Masters Competition
Slacklining is an exciting new sport where competitors traverse lengths of nylon between two points. The nylon, unlike a tightrope, is flat so competitors can walk on the surface and is secured loosely enough to allow them to bounce, twist and turn on the line, performing awesome tricks and stunts. Slackline distances can be as long as 500ft or as high as a staggering 5000ft - fortunately, competitors have a safety line connected to the tightrope, so they don't fall far. The UK Slacklining Masters Competition takes place at the Lochaber Leisure Centre, Fort William, on 23 February. The 10-metre slackline requires immense skill and concentration not just to stay on, but to do the best tricks too. Competitors are judged on who can walk the furthest in an allotted time and perform the best trick. The event is part of the Fort William Mountain Festival, which has been taking place from 15 to 23 February.
Photo of Jon Ritson slacklining by Iain Ferguson.
Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
It was announced this week that the 2009 Commonwealth table tennis championships are to be staged at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow. The prestigious event has been held in Glasgow just once before - in 1997. Some of the UK's top table tennis players come from Drumchapel in another part of the city.
The son of a well-known dyer, Macintosh took an early interest in science. In 1786 he started work in a chemical factory and in 1797 he opened the first alum works in Scotland. Together with Charles Tennant, he invented an easily carried bleaching powder which made a considerable fortune for the two men. But it was his researches in chemistry and as the inventor of waterproof clothing which added his name to the English dictionary. While trying to find uses for waste products generated by gasworks, he used naptha, a by-product of the distillation of coal-tar, as a solvent for rubber. This was applied to two pieces of cloth which were then pressed together. Despite early problems with the strong smell of rubber, the patent he took out on the process in 1823 meant that by 1836 "Macintoshes" were much in demand. Macintosh was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1823.
Picture of Charles Macintosh via Wikipedia.
As a result of feedback and further research the article on Scottish-related place names in Adelaide, Australia, has been expanded.
Of the names of the 416 cities and suburbs in the Adelaide-Gawler-Stirling-Port Noarlunga Metropolitan area, 109 (26.2%) are based wholly or in part on place names that can be found in Scotland, on Scottish family names or on Scottish words. Of course, many of the names are used in other parts of the British Isles as well but 45 (10.8%) of these appear to be unique to Scotland or are readily identifiable with places in Scotland that are based on the same names. For all the details of place names of areas in Adelaide, see Scottish Place Names, Adelaide, Australia.
Scotavia Images provides a quality aerial photography service for Scotland. Hundreds of their excellent photographs, largely of the north of Scotland and the Highlands, have been included in their site. They give a unique aerial view of castles, golf courses, glens, Highland scenery, towns and villages, stately homes, events, archaeology, events - and oil platforms. The number of graphics on view has recently been significantly increased. Prints from the large gallery are also available for purchase. If you have ancestors with a Scottish Highland origin, they can provide an aerial view of the area they came from! See Scotavia Images.
But you return no more;
Why cannot I the days forget,
Which time can ne'er restore?
Are you, indeed, for ever past?
The fleeting shadows of delight,
In memory I trace;
And all the past replace;
But, ah! I wake to endless woes,
And tears the fading visions close!
Jessie noticed that her husband Davie had been reading their marriage certificate for well over an hour. Touched by such sentimentality, she asked Davie "What are you doing?" Jerked out of his reverie, Davie replied "Oh, nothing really." Jessie was not satisfied and commented "You've been reading our marriage certificate for over an hour." Davie looked up again and explained at last: "I was looking for an expiry date..." He is recovering well in the Southern General Hospital.
That great Highland philosopher, Lachlan McLachlan, propounded a number of irrefutable laws of life, the universe and everything, usually after a "bevvy" in the Auchenshuggle Arms on a Saturday night. Here is another example: "Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience." (Lachlan had married four times...)
Local newspapers in the smaller Scottish towns often have a section where items for sale can be advertised. The Tillietudlum Gazette is like that, but sometimes the words don't quite turn out the right way. Like these classics: