News has just reached us of the sudden death of Charles Kennedy, the 8th Marquis of Ailsa and Chief of Clan Kennedy. Lord Charles passed away suddenly while over in Florida attending Central Florida Highland Games. He was 58. As well as being Marquis he was also 19th Earl of Cassilis, 21st Lord Kennedy, 8th […]
What now Scotland?….. Last Thursday evening I set my alarm for 2am and took to bed early, the fridge was stocked with snacks and beer and a bottle of wine sat in the kitchen, champagne seemed too much like tempting fate. I checked my phone just before 2.00 to find a message from a friend, Clackmannanshire […]
It could be any other lazy, late summer afternoon today in Aberdeen. Sunlight is attempting to squeeze its way through the clouds, seagulls are circling in droves, and ship horns are belching at the city’s bulging harbour. Right on cue, the haar has begun to roll in off the North Sea, making the crowd of […]
The world is watching Scotland this week. This is nothing new to those of us who know and hold our Alban ancestors in great respect. We have been keeping an affectionate eye on Scotland for hundreds of years. Like tens of millions of others across the globe, I am descended from those of Scotland’s children […]
Fans of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon have been voicing rave reviews about the new series featured on Starz. The show itself has proved to be as difficult to categorize as the books, but no matter which genre it falls into, Outlander season one has already proven to be a hit. Perhaps the main […]
Gruinard island is just off the mainland, in Gruinard Bay, along the A832 halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool. During WWII it became the focus of the UKs secret effort to find a weapon capable of defeating the Nazis. These experiments left the island so contaminated it was deemed out of bounds for almost 50 years. […]
There is an old Scottish tale behind the MacLachlan Coat of Arms. Legend has it that the reason behind the two roebucks (deers) supporting the MacLachlan Chief’s Coat of Arms came in 1249, when King Alexander II made his great show of strength in Argyll, he ordered the local chiefs to send their money (taxes) […]
On the 5th of August, 1388, the Battle of Otterburn took place. This was a skirmish between Scotland’s James, 2nd Earl of Douglas, and England’s Henry “Hotspur” Percy, the son of the Earl of Northumberland. This battle was part of continuous Anglo-Scottish border conflicts that were quite common at the time. It was a decisive […]
There is something about the North West coast of Scotland. Maybe it’s the ancient weather beaten rocks of the shoreline or the near perfect sandy beaches with their scattering of tiny tidal islands. Perhaps its the light or the remote locations. Whatever it is I always feel like I’ve ventured into another world, as if […]
Over the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of August, Scotland’s Tea Festival will be hosting a series of events in Laurencekirk and Auchenblae in Aberdeenshire celebrating tea and Scotland’s contribution to the tea industry, particularly focusing on the life of local born man James Taylor, who was known as the “The Father of […]
