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Miscellaneous "Scottish Stuff"

Hee you will find information about Scottish heritage that does not fit into other categories on The Capital Scot

New items this week under topics marked

Famous Scots      Scottish Music and Song      Scottish Movies      Scottish and Celtic Names      Scottish Parliament      Libraries and Museums      Other Miscellaneous

Famous Scots

British Biographies & Profiles: Life in Britain has been shaped, from its beginning, by strong personalities and people of character. Not all of them have been British, some were not even real, but all have played a part in the making of the history, legend and literature of the British Isles. ... To access a biography, click from the 'Biographies' links in the left-hand column, use the convenient pull-down menu below, or click the A - Z List.  [Note: Popup windows on the home page!]

Ewan McGregor, actor, was born 31 March 1971 in Crieff, Scotland.  See Biography.

Bruce MacGregor Bruce MacGregor hails from Inverness and is a player equally at home with the rugged strathspey or the tender slow air, he has combined the qualities of both East and West coast styles in an invigorating and expressive individualistic style.

John McGregor, Alamo defender, was born in Scotland in 1808 and died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

Elvis Presley, a Scot? What started out as a simple PR idea by the Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board became a worldwide story ... such is the power of the name 'Elvis Presley'.  [Note: Popup windows on the home page!]

John Spencer - a native of Glasgow, Scotland.  The Colorado Rapids (Soccer) Team Captain and undeniable leader, has become the heart of the team with his unparalleled work rate.  In just three seasons with the club, Spencer has climbed to second place on its all-time goals scored list and is in third place on the all-time points scored list."

Scottish Ministers - Welcome to the Scottish Ministers web pages, many of my clients in the past asked where they could find information on the subject matter of their ancestors who were ministers of Scottish descent.  I would tell them the first port of call to find any Scottish Minister would be to try their local library, ask for the Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, by the Reverend Hugh Scott, which lists every Scottish Minister ordained in Scotland, although there are numerous volumes of the Fasti covering all the different districts in Scotland.  So because many of you cannot get to your local library or find a copy of the Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, here are two volumes for you to browse at your leisure and hopefully find your Scottish Ministers who may be your ancestors and their descendants and some of their families.

The Proclaimers http://www.proclaimers.co.uk/intro_main.html "Well, we always wanted to get our music across in our own way.  The fact that we're Scottish is incidental to some degree, but certainly we've never shied from letting people know that we were Scots; we felt good that we made it on our own terms without, as we would say, compromising on who we were and where we came from, so that was the main thing for us, and we're glad we did it that way ... when we were trying to make it before we ever got any breaks, you can get disheartened very often.  People would say, well maybe if you changed your accents when you sung, or you did this or you did that, you might get more chance at doing it, but ... we did it in the end on our own terms, which is what we wanted to do." (from an interview at SimplyScottish.com)

"Rob Roy on the Web" - a guide and web directory to some 75 sites about the Robert Roy MacGregor and his image in literature and film.  This site includes links to literature available on-line in full text.

Information on Scottish Saints

The Dumfries and Galloway Hall of Fame lists famous people from the south west of Scotland

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Scottish Music and Song

Ballad of a Great Scot

Waulking Songs - According to Silicon Glen Waulking is a process for fulling Harris tweed (making it more airtight).  The word 'waulking' is a Scots word from the 14th century meaning the same as 'full' in English.  The waulking process not only fulls the tweed but also shrinks it slightly.  The term 'waulking' was coined by a non-Gaelic speaker who saw a waulking done by the feet and modified the word 'walking'.  Waulkings were done by both hand and foot, but mor.  e usually by hand.  The Gaelic name for waulking songs is 'Orai n Luaidh'.  Luaidh translates to 'full'.  In Scotland, waulking was done exclusively by women whereas in Cape Breton both men and women did it - waulking is often seen in Cape Breton at 'milling frolics'. .. Waulking songs are rhythmic songs that were made up to accompany the work and coordinate the beating.  One person leads the group, like a shantyman on a ship, singing well-known verses or making up new ones on the fly.  The rest then come in on the chorus while the leader takes a breath.  A verse may be a single line or a couplet.  The refrain often has no or few recognizable words among rhythmic nonsense syllables called vocables.  The refrains are the most primitive part of the song and are the only relatively stable element in a very unstable body of texts, lines, and sections that were moved from one song to another during improvisation.  Modern recordings and texts have tended to stabilize the words, but different collected and printed versions of the same song are often found.

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Scottish Movies

Aberdeen - modern but not nihilistic; family, loyalty and redemption themes.

Axe Raiders is a trilogy about the adventures of the Warrior Fingal and the infamous band of Angle tribesmen set in Sixth Century Scotland. In the last of this franchise Fingal's death is avenged by his daughter Ethne (Rachael Sutherland).  She must overcome the intregues of King Roderich (Robert Zsemis) and his ally Tudwall (Jack St Clair) before she can rightly claim her inheritance.  Written and Directed by Robbie Moffat.

Cycle is a modern thriller horror story about five students who are stalked by a murderer (Andreas Beltzer) in the Hightlands of Scotland whilst taking a break from their studies.  Unaware that one of them is a killer they are picked off one by one - the murderer's motive is to eat the brains of his captives.  A gruesome tale written and directed by Robbie Moffat.  Also starring Marnie Baxter, Rachael Rath, and Paul Cassidy.

Beam Me Up is a sci-fi adventure about four astronauts starring (Suzanne Harbison, Rachael Rath, Tony Streeter, Paul Cassidy), who believe their mission is to board a disused spaceship and bring it home.  It turns out that their mission is to take the ship to the end of the Universe.  As they begin to discover their fate, sexual tensions, jealousy builds between the two men and two women who are marooned on the ship.  A black comedy with a humorous pastiche of Stanley Kubrick's 2001.  Written and Directed by Robbie Moffat.

Greyfriar's Bobby: a Disney film based upon the traditional tale of a dog and his loyalty.

The Maggie: very traditional, good values.

Movern Callar: Samantha Morton carries the otherwise depressing wasteland.

My Life So Far: A coming of age movie set in early 20th-century Scotland.

Red Rose is about the poet Robert Burns.

Rain Dogs is a film about the heist of the famous Leonardo Da Vinci painting from a Scottish castle by four young crooks.

Rebus: 3-disc BBC series; worth renting but not as good as the books.

Sweet 16: The Glasgow accents are so strong that subtitles are necessary; depressing and violent but not on the scale of trainspotting.

Whisky Galore: a bootlegging classic.

The Wicker Man: interesting attack on Christianity from a pagan island perspective; very 60s; stars Edward Woodward (The Equalizer of US TV fame).

Winter Warrior and The Bone Hunter are the first two films about Fingal the sixth century Scottish Warrior.

Finding Fortune is a thriller about two women who embark on a quest to find a missing person.  It is a full of mystery and suspense - a good 'women in jeopardy' film.

Hawk and the Dove catalogues the incompetence of the lovable accountant Harry Gillespie, who infuriates his ex-prostitute girl friend into joining him in a killing spree against his clients.

Love the One You're With is a romance with a serious message about the difficulties faced by homeless people, seen through the eyes of a prejudiced business man.

For more information about these films see the (commercial) website Deevee Net.

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Scottish and Celtic Names

Last Name Meanings lets you find the ethnic origin and meaning of last names.  Surname dictionary and genealogy helps include names of Irish, German, English, French, Italian, and Jewish descent.  Among the selections of last names are British, Celtic, Gaelic, Hebrew, Irish, Saxon, Scottish,and Welsh.

Scottish First Names - This site includes Scottish names from traditional Gaelic to modern Scots.

Scottish Names Resources has some names articles, lists, and resources some of which were specifically prepared for people involved in historical re-creation or re-enactment, such those involved with Renaisance Fairs or the Society for Creative Anachronism SCA.  For more information on the complexities of names in Scotland, see Scottish Names 101.

Alphabetical list of Scottish names associated with clans and families - The subject of septs is a contentious one and one which is difficult to resolve with any degree of historical accuracy.  There are also endless variations of Scottish surnames and the list below is neither comprehensive nor definitive but is intended solely as a guide to the possible connections a name may have to a recognised clan or family featured in detail elsewhere.  Note that spelling of names have changed considerably over the years. For example when emigrating to America the name was often spelled as it sounded giving rise to different spellings.  The Highlanders when asked what their name was gave their parents name first as was the custom at the time and thus their own name was not recorded.  So all in all it is a bit of a minefield tracing your name to a clan but we hope this list and our associated septs list will be of some help.

Baby Names Of Ireland:  Unusual, even exotic sounding Irish baby names are becoming hugely popular but how do you pronounce these unfamiliar syllables, what do these Gaelic-rooted names mean and what are their English language equivalents?

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Libraries and Museums

The National Library of Scotland "brings you information on all the Library's services, including how to use the reading rooms, and gives you instant access to the Library's online catalogue.  You can also find out about the Library's fascinating collections of manuscripts, maps and rare books as well as their tailor-made information service for business and industry, SCOTBIS."

"Please let me introduce myself and congratulate you on a very nice site promoting Scotland abroad.  I am a Scottish website designer who is responsible for overseeing the work on the Scotweb Library.  Although it is still being developed I would like to encourage you to take a look at the site scotweb.co.uk.  The aim is to make it the best literary site in Scotland."

The National Museums of Scotland "show Scotland to the World and the World to Scotland through extensive collections built up over more than two centuries.  Displays of the collections can be seen at six sites, and research collections which contribute to our knowledge of the human and natural world are available for study." The site has links to various museums in Scotland.  Some museums specialize in topics such as country life, costumer, war, and flight.

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Other Miscellaneous

Am Baile (Gaelic Village) "is a major learning and research resource.  The site offers learning opportunities for users of all age groups, abilities and backgrounds by drawing together unique materials and presenting them in a user-friendly and exciting way on the Internet." Readers can find out about the people, way of life and history of the Highlands.  The site presents the culture and heritage of the Highlands and Islands in the area's historical mother tongue, and provides a resource for Gaelic speakers and learners.  Visitors to the site may choose to navigate the site in Gaelic or English, and have the option of switching language at any time.  Am Baile accommodates differing needs: children, general interest, and research.  Readers may select the level of information they want by offering a variety of features, giving access to digitised source materials, detailed onward references, and links both within the Am Baile database and to external websites.

The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland is concerned with the protection, preservation, study and appreciation of Scottish buildings.  We have about 1500 members throughout Scotland and beyond, with six regional groups organising local activities and carrying out casework.  We have three publications, the annual journal 'Architectural Heritage', the Magazine and the twice-yearly newsletter, 'AHSS News'.  We have our own premises, providing offices and meeting rooms, the former Glasite Meeting House in the Edinburgh New Town.

HJ386 Scottish-American Heritage Month (2000).  This designates September as Scottish-American Heritage Month in Virginia, in honor of the many contributions of Virginians of Scottish descent.  Patron - Grayson

The lecture, Land, Democracy and Culture in Scotland by Professor David McCrone, Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh addresses, according to its author:  In this lecture I will explore why it is that land, democracy and culture in Scotland are intimately related, that 'land reform' is actually about a more general process of democratising Scotland.  The lecture outline is: Introduction, What Is The Land? Land And Culture, Discoursing On Land, Land And Sovereignty, Land And Property, Enter The Political, and References.

The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) "is an educational charity, established in 1999 to create the opportunity for each child in Scotland to learn about the countryside and to ensure a wider understanding of the environmental, economic and social realities of the countryside in Scotland.  RHET commitments are to provide a source of independent information about the countryside, food and farming by:
    Providing the opportunity for every schoolchild to visit a farm or the countryside
    Providing reliable and balanced information on farming and rural issues
    Supplying resource materials which will assist teachers and pupils in their studies of the Scottish countryside and its environment
    Promoting a better understanding of the changes taking place in rural Scotland"

Craig Cockburn's Home Page - Mr. Cockburn has been a most prominent and prolific provider of information about Scotland on the Internet since before the Web was born.

Scotland from the Roadside has lots of information about Scotland's culture, history, and geography with links to photos of many places.  This site will take you on a journey through Scotland and show you sights that can be seen from the roadside - visiting Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, Stirling, the Trossachs and Argyll to the Highlands and the Islands beyond.  Then heading through Glasgow and Ayrshire in the southwest, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders in the south and Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen in the northeast!

Link lists of Scottish topics:

• Things Scottish - a link list of various Scottish topics.  This page grows as the author find sites of general interest.
  
   
• Hi-Arts - For information regarding the arts and what's on in the Highlands and Islands.  [Capital Scot advisory: Lot's of graphic appeal.]
  
   

See http://www.predecimal.com/p12scottish.htm for information about Scottish Coins from a work "Coinage of Great Britain, Celtic to Decimalisation".

Scottish Culture - a site with weekly updates to information all sorts of topics pertinent to Scotland.

The article Saint Andrew is a profile of the "first-called" Apostle of Jesus and Parton Saint of Scotland.  This is one article on the site, Patron Saints Index which has information on patron saints, and profiles of those saints.  Profiles have portraits, biographical information, areas of patronage, prayers, links to related sites, readings, etc.  It is heavily cross-indexed.

Glasgow University Chapel Choir has probably been around, in one form or another, since Glasgow University was founded in 1451.  It was re-formed in its current format by Frederick Rimmer in the 1950s and currently resides in the University Memorial Chapel.  See more information about the choir at http://www.chapelchoir.org/.

Gatgeway to Scotland at http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/scotland.html - "the best starting-point for information about Scotland on the Internet."

Scottish Backhold Wrestling - "can be seen all over Scotland and the north of England from May to October, at Highland and Border Games.  The rules are simple, once the closed hold with the right hand under the opponent's left is taken, the referee shouts 'hold' or 'wrestle' to commence the bout.  The first wrestler to touch the ground or break their hold loses."

Scottish Screen at http://www.scottishscreen.com/ "develops, encourages and promotes every aspect of film, television and news media in Scotland.  Working with the Scottish Executive, our mission is to establish Scotland as a major screen production centre and project our culture to the world.  If you would like to request a copy of the Audit of the Screen Industries in Scotland please contact reception@scottishscreen.com" Information on the report can be found on the site.

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Scottish Parliament

UK Devolution:  This site provides information and links to all the Devolved parliaments, political parties, interest groups and campaigns linked to UK Devolution.  "This site was created in May 1999 as a guide to UK devolution on the Internet.  It was created by Jason Thomas Williams, a International Politics and International History Graduate of the University of Wales Aberystwyth.  Jason was secretary of the Conwy 'Yes for Wales' Campaign during the Welsh devolution referendum."

The Scottish Parliament - This official site lets you visit the Parliament, contact the Parliament, and find out about its history and how it works.  Wednesday, 12th May, 2004, was the 5th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament's first ever sitting.  To help commemorate this we have re-organised and updated our historic archive, to we hope reflect well upon the Parliament's activities over these first 5 years.  New films are being added all the time.

There is now a page for the latest excavation at the site of the new Scottish parliament.

There is a website for the Scottish Parliament Project.  This is not connected to the new parliament in Scotland.   It is a project based at St Andrews University involved in producing a new edition of the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland before the Union of 1707 (last published in the early 19th century), to me made available on CD-ROM and the internet.  They are also involved in research and publication into all aspects of Scottish Parliamentary History.

Visit "SiliconGlen.com".  "Silicon Glen, Scotland - Where more computers are made per head of population than any other country in the world.  Silicon Glen is the name given to the region of Central Scotland broadly encompassing Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Livingston, Linlithgow, Glenrothes, East Kilbride, Dundee and areas between.  However, it is also used in a broad sense to mean the Scottish computing, internet and high technology sector as a whole."

The FAQ for soc.culture.scottish is hosted here.

The Scottish Christian Notice Board - Here are some of the Christian events being held in Scotland.  Where available, contacts are listed for obtaining further information.

New words in the dictionary - "Scots are being encouraged to open their geggies to get more of the country's words in the Collins English Dictionary."

The story of The Royal Scot - "The Royal Scot is a train with a tradition that began nearly seventy-three years ago.  It Was on June 1, 1862, at 10 a.m., that the great express first left its southern terminus for Scotland, and ever since it has drawn out of London at the same hour."

The Scottish Orange Order - "After the death of King William III his memory and the sentiments of the Glorious Revolution were kept alive after the death of King William III his memory and the in Scotland by the 'Old Revolution Club' and the 'Boyne Society' until Orangeism, as we know it, came to Scotland at the end of the 18th century."

Scottish Heavy Athletics - The Scottish Highland Games are annual festivals that celebrate Scottish culture.  They are quite popular in Canada and in the United States, as well as in Scotland, of course.  Read on!

"Rampant Scotland Directory"

"Crivvens"

Anything and Everything Scottish

The Order of St. Andrew

Scots in Nova Scotia

The Scottish Rural Community Gateway highlights a selection of rural stories from the Scottish local press, local websites and community newsletters.

Scottish Heritgage Society

Tell it to the Marines! This well-known World War II expression has its origin in the novel Redgauntlet (1824) by Sir Walter Scott: "Tell it to the Marines - the soldiers won't believe it."

July 22, 1998 - Many thanks to the Visitor Services Manager at St. Giles', for corrections in fact and for updates to the text based on the results of an archaelogical dig under the church and a re-examination of historical documents which both refuted some long held ideas and changed past understanding of the events relative to the church.

The Scottish Office

You might be interested in the new Crown Estate web site, which has a large section on the Scottish Estate.  There is much information about agriculture, fish farming, marine, land reform, etc.  The Crown Estate is property owned by the sovereign of the United Kingdom "in right of the Crown" with origins dating back almost 1000 years.

Scottish commercial property for sale

Comments on these FAQs should be addressed to the author.

 FAQ for soc.culture.scottish

 FAQ for soc.culture.celtic

From one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland, the West Coast Highlands, Pamela MacKinnon writes Letters from Argyll about life in and around the village of Strachur.

Visit the Church of Scotland.

The University of the Highlands & Islands Project - "After more than three hundred years of recorded aspirations, a university for the people of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland is at last beginning to take shape." The mission is "To establish for the Highlandsand islands of Scotland a collegiate university which will reach the highest standards and play a pivotal role in our educational, economic, cultural, and social development."

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Selections

You may select a general topic from the list below to view both information on those topics and links to related sites.

Select a topic here.
Archaeology in Scotland
Scottish Authors
Castles in Scotland
Scottish Cooking
Franco-Scottish Sites
Germano-Scottish Sites
Heraldry
Scottish Magazines On-Line
Scottish & Celtic Newsgroups
Miscellaneous "Scottish Stuff"
Radio-TV
Scottish Newspapers On-Line
Tartan & The Kilt
Robert the Bruce
Scottish Serendipity
Technology in Scotland
Web Cameras in Scotland

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