Tag: Scotland

Anniversary of William Wallace’s Death in 1305

Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, …

Continue reading

Today is World Photo Day.

  Today is another of those “Who Knew” holidays. I was recently talking to someone about our last trip to Scotland and she reminded me to take lots of pictures.  Then, she said to be sure to print them out so she could see them. Um, no way!  I haven’t printed out pictures since probably …

Continue reading

Happy Beltane!

  Summer in Edinburgh, Scotland, kicks off with an evening of whimsical revelry. Colorful characters parade atop a hill, dancing and marching to the beat of pounding drums. Fires blaze, warming the air with their bright, smoky flames. Beltane or Beltain is the Gaelic May Day festival. Most commonly it is held on 1 May, or about …

Continue reading

Culloden

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On this date, 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. 1250 Jacobites died at …

Continue reading

Today is National Tartan Day

We were in NYC April 6, 2019 for our daughter-in-law’s birthday and the Tartan Day Parade.  Look who the Grand Marshall was! I am so sorry we missed 2015 when Sean Connery was Grand Marshall Get ready to don your kilts and play the bagpipes – National Tartan Day is here, and it’s a whirlwind …

Continue reading

Ringtone: Scotland the Brave

“Scotland the Brave” (Scottish Gaelic: Alba an Àigh) is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. My cellphone ringtone is Scotland the Brave. At any rehearsal, everyone knows it’s my phone, if one is ringing 🙂  I posted a bit about that here: http://maryoblog.com/2015/08/ Below, the …

Continue reading

Sean Connery

This video just came up on my Facebook feed  but I hadn’t seen it before.  This was  a fantastic performance for Sean Connery in 1999. Sean Connery was honored at the Kennedy Center for lifetime achievements. The music consists of the Washington Pipe Band, Alasdair Fraser, Davidson School of Scottish Dance, Mairi Campbell and Dave …

Continue reading

It’s Burns Night!

  Burns Night commemorates the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759.     The day also celebrates Burns’ contribution to Scottish culture. Burns’ best-known work is “Auld Lang Syne”. We were at the Edinburgh Tattoo for this performance but I didn’t take this video.     Haggis, …

Continue reading

Greyfriar’s Bobby Day!

When we were in Scotland a couple years ago, we walked to Edinburgh Castle and back from hotel a couple times. I had never heard of Greyfriar’s Bobby until our bus tour the second day although we had walked by the statue 3 times already! On our 4th pass-by, we saw several people taking pictures …

Continue reading

Today is…National Shortbread Day

Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert  traditionally made with: 1 part white sugar (I use powdered) 2 parts butter 3 parts flour (I usually use rice flour) And a bit of salt Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture which is caused by its high-fat content, provided by the butter.   “Shortening” is …

Continue reading

Load more