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Upon the death of Scottish Doctor and Suffragist Elsie Inglis, Winston Churchill remarked that Inglis and her band of nurses would ‘shine in history’. From a Lady who raised rebel troops, to a seafaring businesswoman, here are five real-life heroines who have shone against the backdrop of Scottish history: Dr. Elsie Inglis – Surgeon and […]
A Braveheart impersonator has been charged with firearms offences after police received a complaint about “a man with a blue face firing a gun”. Adam Watters, who performs dressed as William Wallace in Edinburgh’s tourist hotspots, insists that his weapons are blank-firing replicas and that he has been the victim of heavy-handed policing. Police in […]
In 1545 the aptly titled War of Rough Wooing was in full, ruthless swing. In order to gain Scotland’s allegiance to England, King Henry VIII employed the curious tactic of scorching and pillaging Scotland into submission. In retaliation, approximately 2,500 Scottish soldiers were raised by the Chief of Clan Douglas, Archibald Douglas 6th Earl of […]
A handwritten, unpublished work by a Scottish music hall performer known as the world’s worst poet is set to fetch thousands of pounds at auction. Edinburgh-born William McGonagall, won notoriety in the 19th century as an extremely bad poet, and to this day is regarded as the worst in English literature. His works were so […]
It has been recently suggested that the centuries-long rivalry between Scotland’s capital and Scotland’s largest city all started over bread. It seems to have begun in 1656 when the Glasgow town council spoke of their worries about the low quality of bread its local bakeries were producing, and two bakers from neighbouring Edinburgh cheekily offered […]
The Most Ancient and Noble Order of the Thistle is one of the oldest orders in the United Kingdom; its conference is in the personal gift of the sovereign and not under advice from her government; and has a very exclusive and limited membership. Earlier this month a new knight was added: Prince William, Earl […]
Field Marshal, the Earl Haig was born in Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square in 1861 and would gain fame and noteriety as the Supreme Commander of the British Forces during the First World War. Haig replaced Sir John French in 1916 as the conflict deteriorated into a war of attrition. At this time, the French were under severe pressure at the Battle of Verdun, so Haig launched the Somme offensive to drive back the German army. The battle lasted a little over 4 months, by which time the casualty figures had exceeded a million. Little gain was made, and Haig and his generals were blamed in many quarters for their ineptitude, and Haig himself became known as the Butcher of the Somme. A year later at the Battle of Passchendaele, huge losses for little success was repeated, but both battles had severely damaged the German army and their resilliance. In November 1918 Haig made the final breakthrough and effectively won the war.
Following the war, Sir Douglas Haig was promoted to the peerage as the Earl Haig; he was then instrumental in setting up the British Legion and the Poppy Appeal – two institutions with the purpose of raising funds and providing help and welfare for soldiers and their families, which is very much the legacy of this most controversial of Scotsmen.
English comedian Nick Helm won the best joke award at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the worlds largest arts festival. His one liner from his show “Dare To Dream” – “I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” – was considered the funniest by the voting public […]
Scotland has four World Heritage Sites, and perhaps the least well know, New Lanark, has its own very interesting tale. To me the story of the enterprise village is part and parcel of the change that embraced Scotland during the Industrial Revolution, and Enlightenment period.
Most people have a fixed idea of what a Scottish accent is, thanks to film and television; and, generally it’s sort of Glasgow-ish, with a hint of Edinburgh. This is no coincidence, as nearly two thirds of the Scottish population lives in the Greater Glasgow – Edinburgh corridor, and this kind of accent prevails. That’s […]
