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.
MEMORY LANE - WARTIME
War and Children
A few years ago Don Fitzgerald was asked if he would prepare a message for the young Sunday School kids, about being a child in wartime - the piece here is what he said. The girl named Fiona in the article later became his wife and they've been married for over 50 years. See: War and Children
The Gun Site
Alistair MacDonald from Scotland had never seen an electric train when he blundered down an embankment looking for an anti-aircraft gun emplacement - and stepped on the third electrified rail used in those days to supply the train with electric power. He was lucky to survive the 10,000 volts! That story is also on Memory Lane - The Gun Site
MEMORY LANE - DANCING and DANCE HALLS
Jim Johnston (JJ) Dance Band
The items about Dancing and Dance Halls prompted Andrew Herriot to write in with a photo of himself with the Jim Johnston (JJ) Dance Band circa 1958. The band became well known, especially on TV in Scotland. Andrew meantime pursued an academic career but still pounds the keyboards in South Africa. See: Memory Lane - Jim Johnston (JJ) Dance Band
Dancing in Broughty Ferry and Dundee
A reader wrote in to advise that the dance hall in Broughty Ferry was called "The Chalet" and that item on the Dance and Dance Halls page has been updated accordingly.
LIGHTHOUSE LETTERS
It's a while since any of these articles were added to Rampant Scotland. They were originally written by Sharma Krauskopf from the lighthouse she bought at Eshaness in Shetland where she created many of the articles for her "Scottish Radiance" Web site. Here are some more of these "Lighthouse Letters":
Lighthouse Letters - Snow is Snow
Although Sharma was used to snow back Michigan, she was unprepared for the different types of snow encountered in the far north of Shetland! See: Lighthouse Letters - Snow is Snow
Lighthouse Letters - Home From Home
The advantages and the problems of having two homes 3,500 miles apart - Eshaness in Shetland is shown here from the air. Is the glass half full or half empty? See: Lighthouse Letters - Home From Home
Lighthouse Letters - The Cliffs
The cliffs on Shetland are high and dangerous and have to be treated with respect. See: Lighthouse Letters - The Cliffs
Lighthouse Letters - The Spinning Wheel
Having decided to put to good use some brown and black fleece Sharma buys a spinning wheel on e-bay - and even manages to get one that had been used for four or five generations by a family of Morrisons - and Sharma is a Morrison by birth! See: Lighthouse Letters - The Spinning Wheel
LIGHTHOUSE BEACONS from SCOTLAND
The number of individual lighthouses in this section (originally sourced from "Scottish Radiance" now totals nearly 60 locations in many remote parts of Scotland. Another two have been added to the collection:
St Abb's Head Lighthouse
Located on the coast of the Scottish Borders, The 300 feet cliff at St Abb's Head is often obscured by fog and the first siren fog signal in Scotland was established here in 1876. See: St Abb's Head Lighthouse
Stroma Lighthouse
Stroma Island is located in the Pentland Firth off the North Coast of Scotland near John O' Groats. Since automation in 1996 the island has been inhabited by sheep with an occasional human visitor. See: Stroma Lighthouse
Next Newsletter
The next newsletter is scheduled for 25 July and will focus on Tam's "Tall Tales" with a selection of current news items from Scotland.
Of course, if you have any Scottish memories which you would like to contribute to "Memory Lane" please send them in to Scottie@RampantScotland.com!
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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