Scottish Snippets

8 March 2014

Number 655



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".

HotTo 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.


Take a Dash of Malt - Whisky Connoisseur Recipes


Spice up your recipes with a dash of whisky! Whisky Connoisseur Arthur J A Bell advises on how you can tenderise meats, enhance flavours, and add subtle differences to your cooking of many dishes with a dash of malt with a number of recipes and advice on pouring whisky over haggis (very popular at Burns Suppers). See Take a Dash of Malt

Life After Death - Whisky Connoisseur



The rebirth of Benromach distillery 15 years after it had been closed. And it was Prince Charles (known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland) who did the honours - and had a dram of the liquid gold as a reward!. See: Life After Death.

Lighthouses - Beamer Rock

Beamer Rock light was built in 1826 on a small rocky hazard in the Firth of Forth between Lothian and Fife. The tower was taken apart in 2011 as the rock is to be used as a support for one of the towers in the construction of the second road bridge across the Forth. The article includes a graphic showing an artist's impression of what the three crossings (rail, first and second road bridges) will look like. See: Lighthouses - Beamer Rock

Lighthouses - Inchkeith



Inchkeith island lies roughly between Leith and Kinghorn and has fulfilled many roles in its long history including a Seat of Pictish Kings, a base for early Christian Evangelists, an isolation colony for the plague stricken, a medieval fortress and a site for heavy guns during two world wars. The lighthouse was built in 1803 and first operated in September 1804. See: Lighthouses - Inchkeith

Lighthouses - Kinnaird Head Castle

16th-century Kinnaird Castle was converted in 1787 for use as the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, the first lighthouse in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights. The structure was rebuilt in 1824 when internal alternations were made to the tower to accommodate a new lantern and additional buildings were constructed for the Lightkeepers. See: Lighthouses - Kinnaird Head Castle

Mystery Plane - Lighthouse Letters



As a frequent traveller by plane between North America and Scotland, here are Sharma Krauskopf's observations on the joys and tribulations of such journeys, particularly flying eastwards. See: Mystery Plane - Lighthouse Letters

Capercaillie - Lighthouse Letters

Rarely seen despite the male being the size of a turkey, the population plummeted from a high of 10,000 pairs in the 1960s to less than 1000 birds in 1999. Includes a link to a David Attenborough YouTube Video showing a Capercaillie defending its territory against another bird - and against an intrusion by David Attenborough himself! See: Capercaillie - Lighthouse Letters

The Shetland Trows - Gaelic and Celtic Customs



One of the creatures most often a part of the customs of the Shetland Islands were the trolls, known in the Shetlands as trows, --- little people who lived in underground caverns in the hills To learn more about them so you know how to avoid them getting annoyed at you, See: The Shetland Trows - Gaelic and Celtic Customs

The Njuggle and The Brownies - Gaelic and Celtic Customs

Two more creatures from the folklore of the Shetland Islands. See: The Njuggle and The Brownies - Gaelic and Celtic Customs

Ninian, A First Apostle? - Scottish History to 1400


The dates and nature of Ninian's career are a matter of speculation - Ninian is a saint for whom it would be difficult even to give the right century with any confidence. See: Ninian, A First Apostle? - Scottish History to 1400

Heirs of Ninian - Scottish History to 1400

The Pictish Church had to cope with the customs and saints of not one tradition but three: a Romano-British tradition which went back to Ninian, a new Roman cult of Peter, and the powerful, fast-growing reputation of Columba's Iona. By the eighth century a new, still more exotic addition would be added to the communion of saints of the Pictish Church - Andrew, the Apostle (sculpture pictured here). See: Heirs of Ninian - Scottish History to 1400

Next Newsletter

The next newsletter is scheduled for 22 March.

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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