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 style, there is now this regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site including "Scottie's Photo Diary From Scotland".
To receive a text version of this newsletter as a reminder to look at these Web pages when they are published, just send an e-mail to Scottie@RampantScotland.com with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
A Walk in the Scottish Countryside
You won't find Baldernock in many Scottish tourist guide books but I have created a special page for the area in the "Places to Visit" section of Rampant Scotland firstly because it is a typical area of Lowland Scotland. It is also within easy reach of Glasgow (you can see the spires of Glasgow University in the far distance) - and it happens to be an area I know very well, having walked there with my camera many times for over 30 years. The parish has its own castle - and there are lots of wild flowers, animals and butterflies there too. As a change from YouTube, the feature is a more conventional set of pages with thumbnails leading to larger versions of around 70 pictures. Or you can go from one picture to the next, using the directional arrows. For a year-round series of pictures on the parish of Baldernock, see: A Walk in the Scottish Countryside
Western Isles Hotel, Tobermory, Mull
This hotel enjoys pride of place overlooking Tobermory, the principal town of the island of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. A revue has been in the "Great Places to Stay" section of Rampant Scotland for over seven years. It is now under new owners and so it was time to sample the improvements which they have put in place. The reviewer's conclusion was that this hotel is special and offers its guests a unique experience. It is not like the normal contemporary hotel you would get in a city centre. There are a lot of references to a bygone age, but the standards of comfort and quality are what you would expect from such clearly competent hoteliers. See: Western Isles Hotel, Tobermory, Mull.
Scottish Place Names in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
In the light of feedback and further research, Ian Kendall has updated his article on Scottish-related place names in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has emerged as an American city that is particularly rich in Scottish place names, rivalling many Canadian and Australian cities in this regard. The city and its suburbs appear to have the highest proportion of uniquely Scottish names in any major metropolitan area in the USA. Of the names of the 755 suburbs and neighbourhoods in Greater Pittsburgh that have been identified to date, 186 (24.6%) are based, in whole or in part, on place names that can be found in Scotland, on Scottish family names, or on Scottish words. Of course, some of the names are used in other parts of the British Isles as well but at least 93 (12.3%) of these appear to be definitely Scottish, whether directly from Scotland or indirectly, e.g., Scots-Irish names that are ultimately of Scottish origin. For all the details, see Scottish Place Names in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Cultural Legacy of Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh
The update of the Scottish Place Name page reminded me of an earlier illustrated article which gave the background to the impact of Scottish born Andrew Carnegie on the city. Carnegie's philanthropy extends to many countries around the world (not least back in Scotland) but it was in Pittsburgh that he created much of his business success and his fortune, so it was appropriate that he endowed the city with so many fine buildings and a cultural heritage which have assisted Pittsburgh in its regeneration in recent years. See: Cultural Legacy of Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh.
Rampant Scotland Pictorial Calendar 2012
I've been producing a free online Scottish Pictorial calendar since 2002 and I'm currently creating one for 2012 - the biggest problem, as always, is deciding which pictures to include and which to leave out! As before, you will have a choice from four pictures for each month which you can print on your own printer. All going well, there will be a link to this 2012 calendar in the next newsletter, scheduled for 12 November.
Yours aye
Scottie
Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in an Archive. The Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here.
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