This year is the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the publication of his masterpiece, The Origin of Species. The inspiration he found in visiting the Galapagos Islands is very well known, but in the Editorial, ‘Darwin in Scotland’ by Dominic J. McCafferty (The Glasgow Naturalist-2009), we find that the time Darwin […]
Scottish lawyers are noticing a significant rise in the number of men seeking divorce in Scotland. Apparently they stand to benefit significantly from Scottish laws in which a “clean break” dividing of assets is the norm, as opposed to English divorce laws in which the non-earner is generally granted a lump sum plus a share […]
The Scottish Conservative Party has invited Barack Obama to mark his inauguration as US president by creating his own tartan. Apparently the new president’s roots can be traced back to William the Lion, who ruled from 1165 to 1214, through Mr Obama’s maternal ancestor, Edward FitzRandolph, who is said to have emigrated to America during […]
There is a fantastic new site: scotlandsimages.com which is an archive of Scotland’s national collections: The National Archives; The National Library; the National Museums; the National Trust for Scotland; and the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments. I have personally been very interested in the St Kilda images. Here are my pictures from when […]
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Earlier this month we were sad to see one of our long established manufacturers run into trouble. It’s the first of 2009 but probably not the last. The oncoming recession is going to hit Scottish businesses hard but who will be the worst effected? The last time this country faced a recession many people found […]
Bob Dylan’s music has inspired generations of music lovers. He has now named his own personal inspiration as our favorite Scots poet Robert Burns. When asked which lyric or verse had the largest impact on his life he chose the 1794 song A Red, Red Rose, which is mostly known as poem, it was originally […]
Pebbles based company Holland and Sherry are in the process of weaving what will be one of the worlds most expensive tartans. The tartan is to be woven from 100% Mongolian cashmere. This extraordinary fabric will cost around £200 a metre to the trade so it’s estimated that a kilt made in this tartan would […]
There’s a competition running down here in sunny Leith at the moment to find the greatest ever ‘Leither’. The historic port of Leith to the north of Edinburgh (though now part of the city) has had more than its fair share of characters and names such as The Proclaimers, Irvine Welsh, Sculptor Paolozzi and the […]
A brand new tartan has just been created for Japan. The colours reflect the spring blossom and the design also draws inspiration from Thomas Glover, the ‘Scottish Samurai’. Glover was born in 1838 in Fraserburgh, a north east Scotland fishing town, and became a leading figure in the industrialisation of Japan. He was the first […]
