Book Review: Scottish Folk Tales

Scottish Folk Tales published by Lomond Books

This collection has dozens of tales from unidentified authors (no editor is identified either!). Most of the stories involve supernatural creatures like fairies, brownies, merfolk, witches, and ghosts. Anthropomorphic animal tales, like "The Fox and the Wolf," are included along with the occasional poem. Some of the stories are written with a thick Scottish accent, making it a bit difficult for an American reader like me to comprehend what's being said. Saying lines out loud helped a bit but not always. I did have to look up some vocabulary for unfamiliar words like bairns (children). 

The tales have a lot of typical folk-tale content. The protagonists generally get the better of the supernatural creatures, unless they are the sort of folk who are bad and deserve to be carted off to the fairy realm for seven years or more. The tales are mostly charming and humorous with a lot of the typical moralizing. My favorites were "The Brownie O' Ferne-Den," "Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm," "Nuckelavee," and "The Tale of the Shifty Lad, the Widow's Son."

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Scottish Myths and Legends by Rosemary Gray

Scottish Myths and Legends selected by Rosemary Gray

Scotland has had a long tradition of telling tales of fairies and the fantastic. This book gathers dozens of stories centered in Scotland. They are all entertaining, some more so than others. Only one or two are written with a strong Scottish accent, giving the reader a taste of that style without making the whole book that style. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the diversity of the tales.

The book starts with myths that explain the weather, the seasons, and the geography. Beira is the Queen of Winter whose grip on the weather is only broken in the spring, when she leaves to a sort of Fountain of Youth to become young again. She has many children who helped make the mountains and lochs of Scotland and have many adventures.

The book has an assortment of stories about fairies, merfolk, brownies, witches, and other mystical beings. Mermaids are quite different from what Americans are used to--the Scottish variety can shed an outer skin to visit the surface world and it is a great woe to whatever merperson who loses their skin because they cannot return to the land under the sea. Brownies are like fairies but are always helpful. They don't want praise for doing good deeds and will leave if they are given gifts or other tokens of gratitude. Ghosts and giants also populate the stories.

Mixed in are some familiar tales of young boys going on quests (eg., do three tasks to get the girl), royalty mixing with commoners, and a few nautical adventures. Fantastical elements may or may not be part of the story. These are a lot of fun too.

The stories have a great mixture of history, humor, and horror.

Recommended.

Book Review: The Black Island by Herge

The Black Island by Herge

An unregistered plane landing nearby arouses Tintin's curiosity, but the pilot and passenger want no witnesses so they shoot him. Tintin recovers quickly and sets of in pursuit. Tintin is off on another adventure, eventually winding up on the eponymous fictional Scottish isle. The story moves from set piece to set piece almost too quickly--Tintin gets injured or put in jeopardy several times and recovers so quickly that he doesn't lose the trail of the bad guys. Even for a Tintin story, the pacing seems to be a bit of a stretch. Otherwise it's an enjoyable adventure and seeing him in Scottish clothing is fun.

Tantallon Castle, Scotland

On the Scottish coast of the North Sea is the ruins of a once-mighty castle built and kept by the Douglases. In 1354 William Douglas inherited his father's lands and those of his uncle too. He was made earl of Douglas in 1358 with his massive, fortified home, Tantallon Castle, already under construction. The castle was completed but the line of succession divided after William's death. Tantallon went to the younger son George, the "Red Douglas." He became the earl of Angus and the family had its share of political intrigues. The castle was besieged three times, first in 1491 and then in 1514. The castle did not survive the third siege by Oliver Cromwell in 1651 when the English cannons battered the walls. The earls didn't have the money to repair the castle and wound up selling it in 1699 along with the barony to Sir Hew Dalrymple (yes, that is the right spelling).  Only minor repairs happened in the coming centuries and the castle is maintained by Historic Scotland.

We had a long walk from the parking lot to the outer gate. The castle has an outer ditch with two small passages through. One is the Gun Tower (probably built in 1528) that was added to a short wall.

Walking toward the castle

Remains of the wall and gate

The castle itself is still impressive to see. A main ditch (like a moat) separates it from the field in front with only a small bridge crossing over into the middle tower of the castle.

Walking from the east tower (on right) to the mid tower (with the bridge)

Inside the tower

The constable (or keeper of the castle) would have lived upstairs but we were unable to visit his quarters.

Inside the tower

Can't go that way!

The castle has plenty of narrow slits (for both light coming in and arrows shooting out) that were a natural photo op.

Defender J

Defender L

We found some clear stairs and were able to go up on the roof. The view was nice though I worried about the children at such a height.

J with the view to the Bass Rock

L safely in the middle

J points to another tower he wants to visit

Behind the wall and towers is the inner close, an open field now but was probably full of small buildings for workers and animals. The field was originally surrounded by walls with a sea-gate providing access to a small harbor.

Walls from inside the close

The mid tower from inside

View and sign for the Bass Rock

The close also has the well for the castle, which is near to the east tower.

Castle well

We went inside the east tower and saw some of the smaller cannons that were left in the castle.

A long, small cannon

Cannon's view

On the western end of the castle is the Douglas Tower, which clearly housed the family, though the basement did include a prison area which L visited.

Inside the dungeon

After wandering around the castle for a while, we went back out to the outer close which has only one building remaining--the Dovecot. Built in the 1600s, it has over 1000 nesting boxes for pigeons. The pigeons were kept as an alternate source of food for those at the castle. It is still used by birds but they are no longer served for meals.

L by the dovecot

Last view of the castle

Burns Night Dinner Dance: The Dance

After we finished dinner at the Robert Burns Dinner Dance & Ceilidh Event last Saturday, the dancing began. The band was the excellent Cobblers Wax, a six piece band with fiddle, flute, accordion, keyboard, percussion, and caller. If you've never been to a folk or square dance, a caller is someone who riles up the crowd to get out and dance. More importantly, he guides the dancers by announcing the moves that go to the song. Our caller did a great job of getting people ready to dance, going over the moves, and then announcing the moves during the song so we could get them (mostly) right.

Calling all dancers!

The first dance was done in a group of four couples, which I don't remember that well. You may think I mean I don't remember the other couples, and you would be right. On the other hand, you may think I mean that I don't remember the name of the song/dance, and you would be right. Or you might think I don't remember the specific moves that we did in the dance. Again, you would be right. Odds are, whatever you thought I was referring to is a correct guess. Who doesn't love a multiple choice question where all the answers are right?

The next dance was called the Witch's Reel with five couples in a line. The head couple would sachet down the line and back, then everyone would cast down. The head couple makes an arch at the bottom of the line and the rest of the couples go through. Everyone joins hand except the head couple, making a horseshoe or U-shape. The top two men make an arch and the ladies go through followed by the men since everyone is holding hands. The second man spins around as the last to go through the arch. Then the top two ladies make an arch and the men go through with the ladies in tow. The second lady spins around and the set repeats with the new head couple sacheting down the line. Sound confusing? It was a little difficult to pick up but this video will show you the dance (except it has the ladies form the arch first!):



Our final dance before we had to head home involved three couples dancing together. After a set of moves, partners switch by shaking hands with the person across from you. The new couples promenade around the room in a random pattern. After a few bars of music, everyone forms new sets of threes with other couples and dance again. This goes on for a while, causing confusion for those not sharp enough or too inebriated. Also, the caller said it was very important to have three couples only, otherwise when partners switch you'd wind up with two guys dancing together. In my final set of three, somehow the two other guys wound up dancing with each other. I wish I could say that I wound up dancing with three ladies at once, but in truth I only had my proper partner. Two ladies became a couple. I'm not sure what went wrong. Still, it was a lot of fun, though I don't remember the name of that dance either.

We had to head home after that because our babysitters were only on duty till 10:30. Next year we will definitely arrange for later coverage.

From reports, the evening ended with drinking scotch and singing of Auld Lang Syne, written by that great poet of the Scottish race.

Happy Burns Night celebration to all!

Burns Night Dinner Dance: The Dinner

With my kilt on, we headed off to the Robert Burns Dinner Dance & Ceilidh Event last Saturday night. Naturally, the night began as you might imagine: a happy hour with drinks at the bar. After about 45 minutes (enough time for all the later comers and kilt-wearing-challenged people to arrive fashionably late), we were called in to dinner. 

The dinner began with the ceremonial presentation of the haggis. Three men came in. The first was a bagpiper. The second carried the haggis on a plate. The third followed him with two bottles of scotch (at least I assume it was scotch) which he would rotate in the air as if cranking a bicycle pedal. Arriving at the presentation table, the second man recited from memory Burns's Address to A Haggis. Burns calls the haggis "Great chieftain o' the puddin-race" among other praises in this poem. Check the link above for the complete text (which also provides a "translation" into contemporary English). He then cut it open with a great slash of his sword. The three men each had a shot of scotch. They then marched the haggis back out, presenting it to the delighted crowd.

Address to a Haggis

Exit of the haggis, smelling nice

Next came grace, also composed by Burns:

The Selkirk Grace

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.

The meal was served in three courses. The first course had a choice of Scotch broth or Scottish smoked salmon. My wife and I both chose the salmon. It came with a salad and brown bread and was excellent.

The second course was the main entree. We had a choice of chicken breast stuffed with haggis or braised beef in rich onion gravy. We wimped out and got the beef. I feel justified since I had haggis in Edinburgh a few months back. Following on my principle of trying out new things at least once, I had fulfilled my haggis duty back in November (I also had it five years ago on a previous trip to the British Isles). It tastes alright but conceptually it's, shall we say, hard to swallow. We might buy some this week to serve on Wednesday, but I wouldn't bet anything valuable on it. A medley of vegetables were served, along with boiled potatoes and roasted potatoes.

The final course was dessert, with a choice of chocolate and macaroon flan or the more traditional cranachan (toasted oats, raspberries, honey and whiskey bound with cream). My wife had the flan and I had the cranachan. We shared tastes of the desserts. The usual coffee and tea was provided.

The meal was excellent, though for us it took too long because we wanted to get to the dancing. For a three course meal, I thought it was served quite efficiently considering the size of the crowd (about 150 people).

If you want to host your own Burns Night supper, check out the guidance here. They have recipes for the menu and advice on music, poems, toasts, and tartans.

Burns Night Dinner Dance: The Outfit

This past weekend we celebrated Burns Night by attending the Robert Burns Dinner Dance & Ceilidh Event. Our party was on the 21st of January, though the actual Burns Night is January 25, the poet's birthday. The dress code said either formal evening wear or Scottish Traditional dress. Of course, Scottish Traditional means a kilt. Our friend (and the event organizer) Colleen encouraged me to rent the whole kilt outfit from one of the local stores.

I considered the options. I own the tuxedo I was married in, so it would be very easy to just wear that. All I'd have to do was iron the tux shirt, everything else was ready. BUT, this might be a once in a life time opportunity to try out wearing a kilt. Most guys I know wouldn't be caught dead, alive, or, most importantly, on film in what looks like a skirt. I realize it's not a skirt and the kilt has a fine and long tradition among unquestionably manly men. What made the final decision for me is my principle to try out new things at least once as long as they are not morally questionable. So I toddled off to the nearby department store to rent a kilt.

The lady at the store was very nice but not very familiar with her new computerized system for ordering formal outfits. She had a hard time getting my account set up and selecting all the different pieces I needed. The outfit includes about a dozen items, several of which needed measurements. The lady measured me with her tape. Jacob was worried I'd get a paper cut from her tape, just like he got a paper cut at Ikea from their tape measure. I was uninjured by the measurements.

The next week, I picked up the outfit. I tried the jacket and kilt to make sure they weren't too small. They seemed fine, so I left the store with the whole outfit, which weighed seemingly fifty or sixty pounds. Luckily we had driven to the store otherwise it would have been a long walk home.

The next day was the dance. As I opened the garment bag and took out all the parts, I realized I had no idea how to dress myself. The lady at the store never mentioned anything. You'd think they'd have some handout or small book or pamphlet to get a guy started.

I couldn't unsheath the Sgain Dubh (little knife)--bummer!

YouTube came through for me. This video shows how to put on a Prince Charlie outfit (the style that I rented). It was very useful for me!



It was almost completely useful, except that I also had a belt. This video, you may have noticed (if you watched the video), mentions nothing about a belt. You'd think a belt would be no problem, but a kilt doesn't have belt loops. YouTube came to the rescue again!



Even with all this help, it took a long time to get ready. Tying the brogues (shoes) was not tricky but was time consuming. The laces go around the calves a few times, though the effect was lost on me since I had black laces on black hose. Also, getting the sporran to hang right took a little effort. I think this was the first time it took me longer to prepare to go out than my wife. She did not give me a hard time about it. I have the best wife ever!

The babysitter came over and took our photo just before we headed out to the dinner dance.

My Scottish look, sans my bride

Oh, and I didn't go as an authentic Scotsman, if you were wondering. More on the dinner and the dancing in the next posts!

The day after the dinner dance, my wife and my son Jacob had this conversation at snack time:

J:  When I'm a grownup I'm going to wear a kilt and go to the Scottish Dinner Dance like Daddy!
M:  That's a great idea!
J:  But I'll go with the person that God knows about.  You know, you said God already knows about the person who'll be the Mommy.
M:  ?
J:  When I'm a Daddy she will be the Mommy.  You said God already knows who she is.
M:  (wipes tear) Yes!  God already knows who you will marry and go to the dinner dance with.
J:  (chomp chomp on graham cracker, unconcerned)

Frankenstein's Pub, Edinburgh

On our last night in Edinburgh, we wanted to go to a local pub for a fine meal. We try to go to the Greyfriars Bobby Pub. Alas, no tables were available and no one seemed like they'd be getting up soon.

We walked back up the street and the World Famous Frankenstein Pub was just opening its doors for dinner. We went in and found plenty of tables available. We sat in the corner by the fire. As the name suggests, much of the decor is centered around Mary Shelley's classic novel and the many movies it inspired. Many electric arcs streamed up the walls just like the equipment in the Boris Karloff classic. Some posters from more modern films, like from Hammer Studios and the Kenneth Brannagh version, can be found. In the corner is the monster himself.

Lucy was the only appropriately skeptical one!

Since this was the last night in Edinburgh, I felt I should try something of the local flavor, especially since we did mall food court fish and chips and chain restaurant Italian the two previous nights. First, I ordered a special drink off the menu, the Doctor Frankenstein.

Better than a zombie?

The drink was sweet and seductive and satisfying. But the real local flavor was the meal I ordered: haggis, neeps, and tatties.

I'm sure many readers have heard of haggis, which is infamous for being made up of "leftover" parts of the animal. I had one friend who used to say, "hoofs and eyeballs," which I don't think is true. On our previous trip to Scotland (six years ago), we had dinner with my cousin and her husband. He ordered us haggis, which we ate politely. The next morning, we told our bed and breakfast host that we had haggis. Her reply, "You can't get real haggis ever since they passed those laws!" Frankenstein's haggis wasn't too bad but is on the low end of tasty meat products.

What about the other parts of my dish? Neeps is basically mashed yellow turnips, which made a fine side dish. Tatties sounds really naughty, but is in fact merely mashed potatoes. They were well done.

We enjoyed the atmosphere and, as usual, Jacob liked the potty. It seemed like the pub was a bit of a club, but early on a Sunday night there wasn't much action. We did hear The Automatics' hit single Monster, which is famous for the lyric: "what's that coming over the hill is it a monster? is it a monster?" That was thematically nice to hear.

We headed back to our hotel for our final rest in Edinburgh. The next morning would be our escape, if we could navigate the downtown roads to get beyond the city limits. On the way south, we visited one more castle, a romantic, windswept, seaside fortress which would fit naturally nearby Whitby Abbey. But more on that in a future blog.

Edinburgh Castle

Sunday morning we headed out early to go to Edinburgh Castle and have the most time possible to visit this best-of-all castles we have visited.

Model of the castle

We took a bus across town and had to walk up the Royal Mile to reach the castle. We got to see some sights along the way to the front gate.

Lucy is a big girl!

Street view of a church turned to a festival center

Lucy, Auntie Rosemary, Jacob and Mommy

The gatehouse that lets people into the castle was built in 1888 and is flanked by statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace. We were excited to go in and see so many different things.

Many defenders before the official opening time

Almost immediately inside we came upon some of the guns on the Argyle Battery that protected the castle. Jacob was pretty excited about the guns.

Jacob wanted to take one home!

We did get accosted by a photographer who took our picture and gave us a number for buying pictures of ourselves on the way out. I'm happy to report that was the only Disneyesque part of being in the castle. We proceeded up the Lang Stairs to see St. Margaret's Chapel.

St. Margaret's Chapel was built in the 12th century by King David I as a private chapel dedicated to his mother, who died in the castle in 1093. It is small and charming and is the oldest building in Edinburgh.

Jacob and Lucy in the chapel

awesome stained glass!

The beautiful altar

Defending St. Margaret's Chapel is the famous medieval siege gun, Mons Meg. The gun was one of a pair of guns given to James II as a wedding gift. The gun weighs a ridiculous six tons and shoots gunstones weighing 330 lbs. It was used in wars with England for a while but eventually was used only as a saluting gun since it was so difficult to transport. In 1558 it fired a salute for Mary Queen of Scots' wedding. The gunstone was found almost 2 miles away. On 14 October 1681 it was fired for the last time when the barrel burst. The damage wasn't too bad and you can see some of the burst bands if you look closely (though not in my photos, sorry!).

Jacob: Wait, can I take THIS one home?

We also saw the Half-Moon Battery, where the guns for the Remembrance Day salute were stationed.

Below here is the ruins of David's Tower (named after the son of Robert the Bruce), which had some interesting cellars that we wandered through. Also, Jacob found the toilets there, which is always a highlight for him wherever he goes.

From here, we entered the Royal Palace where the Honours of Scotland are housed. The Honours are the crown, sceptre and sword of state for Scotland and are the oldest royal regalia in the UK. They were used for the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots and for many others. They were hidden from Cromwell and eventually locked away after the 1707 treaty uniting England and Scotland. In 1818 Walter Scott recovered them and they have been on display here for quite some time. Also, the Stone of Destiny is here, which had served as the seat for enthroning Scottish kings until Edward I removed it from Scone Abbey near Perth in 1296. It became a part of the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey for the English royalty. In 1996 it was returned to Scotland and will only ever leave if there is another coronation in Westminster. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. Trust me, they were very impressive.

We also toured the Great Hall, which has very many displays of historical weapons. Why won't my wife let me decorate this way?

This is tasteful for a home, right?

We might have difficulty collecting enough swords for a display like this.

We went for a snack at the Red Coat Cafe. All the baked goods are made in the castle and the scones are quite good. While we were here, they fired the Remembrance Day cannons though we did not hear them. The castle is quite big and we didn't see many things, like the Scottish National War Memorial or the Prisons of War exhibit. The children's energy was flagging, so we headed back down the pathways and through the portcullis to find our bus and some lunch before nap time struck again.

No one had the energy to pose, so here are some strangers at the Portcullis Gate

The end of our Edinburgh trip was soon. More in a future post!

Royal Oak Pub, Edinburgh

Saturday night we went to Pizza Express in Edinburgh, because we wanted to go somewhere where we were sure the kids would eat. For the American readers, it's much more like an Italian restaurant than like Pizza Hut, which you might guess from the name. The food is good and they are child-friendly. We had a nice dinner. Afterward, we headed back to the hotel for bedtime.

Rosemary wanted to see some live music while in Edinburgh, specifically some Celtic music. Consulting our guide book and the waiter at our restaurant, we had a few leads to follow after the children fell asleep. My wife gladly stayed behind to get some rest too.

We checked a few pubs on the Royal Mile but couldn't find any with music. It was about 9 p.m. so we thought they'd at least be setting up if not already playing. One other possibility was The Royal Oak, which turns out to be an award winning pub. The awards they won are for being a fantastic live music venue. The room wasn't that big, maybe fifteen by fifteen feet. The bar is in the back and the piano is on the wall next to it. Some bench seats go around a corner by the front. That's where the musicians were set up.

The first guys playing were some mellow fellows who sang and played mostly folk tunes like Simon and Garfunkel, along with occasional traditional Scottish ballads. The main singer seemed to have already dipped substantially into the tip jar for beers. He was a good singer and did a great job.

The accordianist is eclipsed by the base player

The main guy for the second set was a big bloke with a beard and mustache who looked like he was ready to change into the old clothes and fight with Robert the Bruce or William Wallace. He had a bellowing voice that filled the room. When he started his set, he gave a disclaimer: "If you want to listen to music, you've come to the right place. If all you want to do is talk, there's 700 other pubs in Edinburgh, including the bar downstairs. Please go there if you don't want to listen. That's all I have to say on the subject." Then he played. He had a few other people helping him play and sing.

Another customer had a kazoo and he would play along on a lot of the tunes. He would make jokes about having a KMD, or Kazoo of Mass Destruction. He had a lot of funny jokes along that line. At least, I supposed they'd be funny if you'd been drinking for a while. The band members didn't seem to mind him being there. They loved people singing along.

The violinist at one point played a solo of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" that got everyone singing. Other popular tunes were "Sound of Silence" and some ballad about a Scottish lass that we didn't recognize, but all the locals did.

We had a great time and headed home around 11. The next morning we'd be off to Edinburgh Castle, perhaps one of the best castles in the world.

National Museum of Scotland

After having a snack, we set off for the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street in Old Town Edinburgh. It was a very short walk. In fact, it was little more than across the street.

We went in the Tower Entrance and asked how to get to the green gazebo in the main hall. The helpful guide sent us on our way. As we walked down, I saw my cousin! After hellos and hugs, we walked over to the science and technology gallery on level one, where lots of interactive exhibits kept the children entranced.

Jacob's favorite exhibit by far was the robotic arm (the "white robot" according to him). A touch screen let you type in your name and the arm would pick up wooden blocks and spell the name on a little rack. We must have played it fifteen times, using different names and words.

The arm spells "train"

Across from the white robot was a demonstration of efficiency of maglev trains. One model train had wheels on a track, the other was supported on a cushion of air. Lucy would push the first and it would go a small distance. She would push the other and it would go all the way across! It's a great demonstration of how friction can eat up energy.

Faster! Faster!

Another display popular with children and adults was "Rocket Power" at the back of this hall. A crank would build up power to launch a rocket. The longer you cranked the wheel, the more power it would have. The guide wire for the rocket reached up two stories, but we could hardly get it up to the first story no matter how much we cranked or thought we overcranked it. A small dial showed how much energy was stored and went from yellow to green to red. We all took turns spinning the wheel. First we got it in the yellow area and the rocket only launched a foot and a half up the wire. Then we cranked it to green, getting maybe three feet. Finally, we tried to get the dial to "red line" but that still only yielded about five feet of vertical lift. It was fun but a little disappointing.

We tried out some other exhibits and then walked through the main hall to the Animal World, where all the stuffed animals and skeletons of animals are kept. I'd never seen a moose skeleton before which was pretty neat. Lucy loved identifying the animals--lions, snakes, sharks, etc. Dinosaurs were mixed in, too, which was lovely. Andrew, my cousin's husband who's a native Scotsman, said this hall was getting a bit dusty until the recently completed overhaul of the museum. It only reopened at the end of July this year (2011, for those reading the blog in the far distant future).

We also walked through the nearby space exhibit and saw some meteors and a thousand-year old astrolabe. Then we went upstairs to see the costume and musical instrument exhibit. Jacob and Lucy had fun playing on the demonstration instruments with their second cousin. Or is he a first cousin once removed? I still haven't figured out that complicated family tree dynamic. Maybe the museum should have an exhibit on that!

Lucy, Jacob, and Thomas enjoy this percussion instrument.

We also saw the impressive Millennium Clock in the main entrance. We didn't plan properly to hear it chime the hour, but I'll bet it is impressive. At this point, Jacob and Lucy were ready for lunch and nap time. And they let us know it too, fortunately just by telling us verbally, not by having a fit or falling asleep on someone's shoulder.

Time's up! Also, this is much taller than the rocket would go.

We didn't get to see everything I would have liked to, like the famous Lewis Chessmen. But that gives us an excuse to come back some day. And since the museum is free, why not?