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Tourists to the West Highland Line can now benefit from a guided tour as they travel by rail through the scenic route, thanks to a partnership between ScotRail, Geotourist, and the University of Dundee. The collaboration aims to enhance the travel experience by offering an engaging and informative audible tour that highlights the history, culture, and natural beauty of the West Highlands.

Breath-taking landscapes and iconic destinations

With its breath-taking landscapes and iconic destinations such as Fort William, Ben Nevis, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the West Highland Line is one of Scotland’s most beloved railway journeys, and it’s easy to see why many of the stops along the way have featured in high profile movies such as Local Hero, Trainspotting and Harry Potter. Recognising the importance of providing tourists, both foreign and domestic, with a rich and immersive experience, ScotRail has joined more than 20 other organisations, and teamed up with Geotourist to develop a captivating audio tour that will enhance customers’ understanding and enjoyment of the route. The audible tour, which is accessible on the ScotRail website and through Geotourist’s user-friendly mobile app, provides passengers with a unique narrative as they travel through the West Highland Line.

Scotland you can only see from the train

The content has been carefully crafted to offer historical insights, local stories, and interesting facts about the landmarks and attractions along the way. Whether customers are history enthusiasts, nature lovers, or simply seeking to learn more about the area, the audio tour will cater to their interests and enrich their journey. Alasdair Smart, ScotRail Tourism Manager, said: “We’re delighted that customers travelling on the West Highland Line can now benefit from a more immersive experience thanks to the new audio tour. From the hustle and bustle of Glasgow to peaceful and picturesque Mallaig at the end of the line, it’s a side of Scotland you can only see from the train, and a magical tour of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.”

Since 1948, the Glengarry Highland Games has welcomed over one million visitors to one of North America’s premier Celtic festivals. Home of the North American Pipe Band Championships™ and host of a spectacular Tattoo and Concert, the Games has welcomed some of the world’s finest Celtic entertainers to its stage. The moving massed pipe band performance at the end of the Games sees over 1000 pipers and drummers playing together on a field ringed with an awestruck audience. Along with the traditional Games events of heavyweights, highland dancing and Scottish fiddling, the Games has introduced several new attractions with the Highland Regiment Tug of War, a Kilt Run, a Harp Workshop, Scotch Tasting, a Wee Bairns Area and more. Each year, over 20,000 visitors flock to Maxville, Ontario to celebrate this Celtic tradition and participate in everything Scottish.

One of the world’s best Highland Games

Last year the Games made a triumphant return after a two-year covid hiatus and to its surprise had one of its record attendance years. Also, this past winter the Games was nominated by the Pipes and Drums magazine as one of the world’s best Highland Games and just recently was named as one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals and Events in the same category as Ottawa’s Bluesfest and the Stratford Festival.

This summer at the 2023 Glengarry Highland Games there might be as many hockey jerseys as kilts in the audience when the Games welcomes as Guest of Honour hometown boy John Wensink, an NHL hero most noted for his time as enforcer with the Boston Bruins. Wensink joins an illustrious group of Canadian celebrities who have filled the role of Guest including Prime Ministers, a Governor General, an astronaut and other noted Canadian figures.

Celtic music

The award-winning Celtic rock sensation The Derina Harvey Band (dHb) will be this year’s Friday night Tattoo headliner with traditional songs as well as their own brand of original tunes. Lead singer and band leader Derina Harvey’s vibrant personality takes center stage with humour, storytelling, and, of course, her world class vocals. dHb has been likened to a “rockier” version of Canada’s Great Big Sea if fronted by Adele, and has earned a reputation as a high-energy show that leaves many an audience out-of-breath and hollering for more. What is it about Celtic music that when its solid rhythms, upbeat tempos and catchy melodies start up, that people are compelled to clap their hands and tap their feet and start dancing. The Celtic bands of Glengarry are well known across North America and they all make sure they are home to play at the entertainment venues at the Games. From Gaelic singing to Scottish fiddle to favourite Scottish and Irish tunes, they will all be there with perennial favourites the Brigadoons, Hadrian’s Wall, Brandy and Port, the 2 Paddys and the County Lads along with Maritime talent Anna Ludlow and East Coast Experience.

There aren’t many Canadians who don’t immediately recognize the distinctive red uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and at this year’s Games there will be loads of opportunities to meet them up close as the Games salutes the 150^th Anniversary of the RCMP. From the Tartan Ball decorated with RCMP regalia to a special performance of the RCMP Pipes, Drums and Dancers at the Friday Night Tattoo, Games visitors will be able to say thank you to one of Canada’s historic policing forces.

Another colourful highlight of Friday night’s Tattoo will be the performance of Canada’s Band of the Ceremonial Guard with their scarlet tunics and bearskin caps, a symbol of Canada’s relationship to the monarchy and one of Ottawa’s most treasured icons. Daily during the summer, the Guard performs the Changing of the Guard on the lawns of Parliament Hill, one of the most recognized military traditions in Canada. As well, members of the Ceremonial Guard perform daily sentry duties at Rideau Hall, the official residence and workplace of the Governor General of Canada.

1,000 pipers and drummers

For many people, the Games is all about the pipes and anyone coming to the Games will not be disappointed.  Some of the best in North America piping descend on Maxville to compete for the prestigious Piobaireached Society Gold Medal(Canada), the many piping and drumming awards and of course, the North American Pipe Band Championship™. After two days of wall-to-wall competitions and entertainment, the Games wraps up with its culminating event, the famous Glengarry Highland Games massed bands where over 1,000 pipers and drummers take to the infield and perform in unison. It’s a moving moment when the last strains of Amazing Grace fade away on the wind and the crowd surrounding the infield is hushed and in awe. Whether you’re nine or ninety, there is something for you at the Games. The grounds are fully accessible and there are many indoor events in air-conditioned spaces while outdoors there is an abundance of shaded areas where you can gather to watch the piping, the heavyweights or cheer on the tug of war.

Check out the website, www.glengarryhighlandgames.com, our Facebook page or Instagram to find out more about the Games and to plan your visit. As they say, during the long weekend on August 4 and 5, all roads lead to Maxville.

By:Oscar Peterson, Joshua Holborn and Ryan Shine

Scotch College Pipe Band from Perth, Western Australia recently crossed the globe to take part in this year’s Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk, Virginia. Some of the students shared with the Scottish Banner on the incredible experience and the thrill of performing for US audiences.

On Sunday 9^th April 2023, 43 boys from the Scotch College Pipe Band assembled in Perth airport. Pipes in hand, drums in cases, the boys were ready for the trip of a lifetime, the Virginia International Tattoo. Months of preparation had led up to the tour. Auditions, early wake ups, lunchtime practices, but to say it was worth it would be an understatement. with no current member of the band ever having been on tour due to covid, the boys were ecstatic to see what it was all about.

New York City

Our tour started in the buzzing and vibrant streets of New York City, quite a culture shock for the boys coming from relaxed, costal Perth. We were treated to the full New York experience crammed into a few short but memorable days. Ice hockey, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Times Square to name a few. The last day gave the boys the freedom to use the day however they wanted, in which some interesting, rather chaotic stories were produced with a recurring theme of subway confusion and accent barriers making for some great tales. But in a flash our time in NYC was over, and it was time to head down to the capital, Washington DC. Whilst traveling to Washington DC, we made a short stop over at the Kitchen Kettle Village located in the rural areas of Pennsylvania in which we played a few of our favourite tunes for the village. 

Washington, DC

Our arrival in Washington saw us immersed in a broad range of popular destinations and tourist attractions, with the patriotic environment being a unique aspect of our journey. We visited the war monument in Arlington which featured the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Washington monument which included the famous Lincoln Memorial and then for one of the evenings, we attended a baseball game which further broadened our scope of American culture and tradition. The overall experience of Washington gave the group a key piece of memorabilia that entails lots of positive, humorous, and fascinating memories. Our next stop, Norfolk Virginia, where we will take part in the annual International Tattoo.

Norfolk, Virginia

For the next week, Pipes and Drums became our life. We were involved in countless hours of rehearsals for the Tattoo, led by Pipe Major Ross McCrindle, and Drum Major Rab McCutcheon. Our band was the largest that attended the 2023 Tattoo, pressuring us to play at our highest standard with which was made possible due to the thorough preparation by the Scotch staff in Australia. During our time in Norfolk, we performed at four schools as part of the outreach program, an Irish pub, the Pipe Bands competition day, a drumming battle against the Ukrainian Drummers on battleship Wisconsin, and several hullabaloos.

The group was kept very busy throughout the Tattoo week, with many of the boys balancing sightseeing, practicing, performing and study for the emerging exams in Australia. The Tattoo performance nights were exhilarating. The outstanding production and performers worked in harmony to produce a powerful atmosphere that is unforgettable to all of us. However, after one of the most memorable experiences of our lives, it was time to say goodbye to the friends we made from all around the world, and return to the other side of the globe. 

Scotland will mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla during Royal Week in Edinburgh on Wednesday 5 July.  The King will be presented with the Honours of Scotland at a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral following processions on the Royal Mile. Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay will also attend events. The Honours will be collected from Edinburgh Castle by a People’s Procession, involving around 100 people representing aspects of Scottish life.  It will be escorted by The Royal Regiment of Scotland , Shetland pony mascot Corporal Cruachan IV and supported by  cadet musicians from the Combined Cadet Force Pipes and Drums, 51 Brigade Cadet Military Band.

Historic occasion

The Royal Procession will travel from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the Cathedral. There will be opportunities for the public to view the People’s Procession and the Royal Procession along the Royal Mile. A 21-Gun Salute will fire from Edinburgh Castle at the end of the St Giles’ Service, before the Royal Procession travels back to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Scotland will welcome the new King and Queen in July with a series of events to mark the Coronation. A People’s Procession, a Royal Procession, a National Service of Thanksgiving and a Gun Salute will take place in Edinburgh. Representatives from many different communities and organisations in Scotland will take part in these historic events. People who wish to mark this historic occasion can get involved by watching broadcast coverage or viewing events in person.”

The Stone of Destiny will be in St Giles’ Cathedral for the service. There will also be a fly past by the Red Arrows following the event.

Main photo: Palace of Holyroodhouse. Photo: VisitScotland.

A 40-year-old family recipe never before trialled in competition has secured the first ever Haggis World Championship for North Lanarkshire butcher Coopers of Bellshill. Owner Laura Black admitted she entered the inaugural world title-chasing bid “in hope rather than expectation” as she lifted the coveted trophy at the Scottish Craft Butchers Trade Fair in Perth. And she couldn’t have been more delighted as she dedicated the win to her hard-working team who helped tweak and perfect the family recipe into a modern winner.

Near perfection

“It’s the highlight of my career,” she thrilled. “I’m absolutely delighted. The world title is coming to North Lanarkshire, coming to Bellshill and coming to Coopers.” Laura’s family favourite fought off stiff competition from nearly 70 other Scottish hopefuls bidding to become the first Haggis World Champion and head judge John Wilkin, senior lecturer in food science at Abertay University, Dundee, described it as “near perfection”. “If there`s better haggis out there somewhere in the world then I want to taste it,” he said. “Laura’s haggis is worthy of the World Championship title – it’s absolutely superb.” Judges praised the standard of entry in this first championship, sponsored by Hamlyn of Scotland, describing it as a delicious celebration of the country’s best haggis. But it was Laura’s family staple that proved the ultimate winner in the fiercely contested showdown.

First ever world championship

George Jarron, President of Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) which hosted the new competition, said the event had proved a showcase for the best in the business. “We have been running a Scottish Haggis Championship for the past 30 years, but this is the first ever world championship,” he said. “We decided that haggis was such an iconic dish the world over that it was deserving of a global championship title to let the world know we had recognised and rewarded the very best. And it was only fitting that the first world title for a product so quintessentially Scottish should be staged in Scotland. There are few producers of our national dish that wouldn’t want to have a World Championship to their name, and we congratulate Laura and the team at Coopers of Bellshill for securing the first place on the international roll of honour.”

By: Eric Bryan

The Glasgow tractor changed Scottish farming life in the early 20^th century and was the only tractor designed and built in Scotland. Production of this special tractor lasted just five years but still to this date remains Scotland’s only indigenous tractor, built for Scottish conditions, as Eric Bryan explains.

In the early 20^th century, imported mass-produced American-made farm tractors dominated the market in Britain. But these tractors were designed mainly to work the vast flatlands of the American Midwest, and weren’t ideally suited to operating on hilly and muddy Scottish farmlands. With an eye toward creating a tractor fitted for working in such British conditions, W Guthrie, in conjunction with John Wallace & Sons Farm Implements and the DL Motor Manufacturing Co of Motherwell, designed the Glasgow Tractor.

Drawn up specifically to be compatible with Scotland’s challenging terrain, the Glasgow was not only an all-wheel drive tractor, but was in a three-wheeled configuration – not as you’d expect with two wheels in the back and one in front as with a crop-row tractor, but with two in the front and one in the back. This layout, combined with its weight distribution and low centre of gravity made the tractor resistant to overturning. The three-wheeled AWD system offered more stability than did a four-wheeled configuration, as it was less likely that one of the wheels would lift clear of the ground on steep or awkward landscapes. As a Glasgow advertisement stated, ‘The secret of the “Glasgow’s” splendid work on steep gradients is its three-wheel drive.’

Improved traction

Each of the Glasgow’s wheels could be fitted with spuds for improved traction, while the machine’s even weight distribution reduced bogging. The tractor’s AWD, with all wheels powered and turning cooperatively, meant that if one wheel slipped in a rut or got stuck against an obstacle, the other wheels kept turning and helped to free the slipping or trapped wheel. More Glasgow advertising somewhat sensationally claimed, ‘The “Glasgow” will climb and pull a plough anywhere. It cannot turn over. It will not dig in, tip up, slip or skid – points of superiority, due to all its three wheels being driven.’

The Glasgow’s steering system, rather than turning the rear or front wheels, slowed one of the front wheels while the other wheels kept rotating at a consistent speed, causing the vehicle to pivot on the slowed wheel and so turn the tractor. The driver’s iron basket seat was positioned all the way at the back of the machine, behind the rear wheel. From this perch, the operator had a full view of the front wheels as well as of the hitching and lift mechanisms which were positioned below the seat.

The Scottish tractor

Debuting at the 1919 Lincoln Tractor Trials, the Glasgow made a strong and favourable impression. At this gathering, W Guthrie drove the tractor up a 1 in 7 grade and pulling four 12 x 10 inch ploughs which usually required four horses to drag, ploughed one acre per hour. The Commercial Motor reported that the Glasgow attracted much interest at the trials, and pulled impressively. ‘It was noted that in the case of the “Glasgow” Tractor that owing to its three-wheel drive no slip whatever occurred. This will tend to show that, especially in the case of small and light tractors, the all-wheel drive has certain advantages if properly designed, so that the effect of the skidding of one wheel will not take all the power from the others.’

The Scottish tractor had an American Waukesha four-cylinder 27 horsepower engine, two forward and one reverse gear powered via nickel steel reduction gears, a Zephyr carburettor, and weighed 1636kg unladen. Its dimensions were 3.4m long, 1.7m wide and 1.9m high. Despite its promising start, the Glasgow Tractor was to face some daunting challenges. While the 1922 price tag for the Glasgow stood at £375 (and would swell to £450), the Fordson Tractor then available cost only £120. The Glasgow was also overwhelmingly noisy for the operator, and its motor proved to be a high maintenance unit. This combination of factors led to the demise of the Glasgow, then Scotland’s sole home-grown tractor, in 1924.

The National Museum of Rural Life

A surviving example of the Glasgow Tractor is on display at the National Museum of Rural Life, near East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire. Operated by National Museums Scotland, the Museum of Rural Life is sited at Wester Kittochside Farm and opened in 2001. The museum carries on and expands upon the collections and work done by the former Scottish Agricultural Museum, which was established in 1949 and based at Ingliston. The museum comprises the main building and visitor centre, Georgian farm buildings, and surrounding agricultural fields and hedgerows.

Scotland’s largest collection of combine harvesters, tractors and other agricultural machinery are housed at the museum. Indoor and outdoor exhibits present tractors from most decades of the 20^th century. Besides the Glasgow, other tractors in the collection are Fordsons, a Ferguson Brown, Ford Ferguson, David Brown, Field Marshall, and a Ferguson ‘Little Grey Fergie’. A modern Deutz tractor pulls the Farm Explorer which carries visitors to the farm. Wester Kittochside Farm is a working farm, and resident animals include Clydesdale horses; Tamworth pigs; Aberdeen Angus, Ayrshire and Highland cattle; sheep, hens and farm cats. Farm buildings visitors can explore are the Georgian farmhouse, bothy, small byre, stables, gig shed, threshing barn, dairy, milking byre, hay shed, Dutch barn, hen house, sheep pens, pig sty, and pig run.

Main photo: Glasgow Tractor on display at the National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride. Photo: Magnus Hagdorn, CC BY-SA 2.0.

By: Judy Vickers

She is the last of her kind in the world. In her heyday she carried British royalty and a US First Lady and in her hour of need she has attracted support from a princess, celebrities and a mysterious millionaire benefactor. This year the iconic Clyde steamer TS Queen Mary celebrates her 90^th birthday, having been constructed in 1933 by shipbuilders William Denny in Dumbarton.

And like any 90-year-old, she has seen ups and downs in her life, from the highs of carrying 13,000 passengers each week as “Britain’s finest pleasure steamer” to the lows of lying rusting in the English port of Tilbury and threatened with scrappage. Her next decade looks set to be bright though as a multi-million pound restoration aims to have her cruising again, for the first time since 1977, in 2025. Her anniversary year has started well with a £1 million donation from a mystery benefactor in April, taking campaign funds to almost half their £10m target.

The Glasgow boat

The charity which rescued the ship from Tilbury in 2015, Friends of TS Queen Mary, said at the time the “astonishing gift” would “turbo-charge” their efforts to ensure the much-loved vessel will sail again, added to a revival of a once-popular tradition – that of sailing “doon the watter”. From the early 19^th century, steamers carried thousands of city folk out and away from the factories and the industrial urban landscape of their Glasgow home for day trips to the scenic parts of Ayrshire, particularly during Glasgow Fair Week in July.

Sailing “doon the watter” – the “watter” in question being the Clyde – was a familiar part of holiday life for many until the latter part of the 20^th century when cheap airfares and package holidays abroad killed the trade. TS Queen Mary was the tenth (and final) turbine pleasure steamer built for Clyde service.  She was the largest and most luxurious in the fleet and is now the last in existence. She was known as “the Glasgow boat” and sailed “doon the watter” from Glasgow to destinations such as Dunoon, Rothesay, Millport and Arran.

From the beginning her history was full of quirks – in the spring of 1935, at the request of Cunard White Star Line, TS Queen Mary was renamed Queen Mary II, so as to release the name Queen Mary for the liner then under construction at John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank. She regained her original name in 1976 as the liner Queen Mary had retired from sailing.  She hadn’t been in cruising service for long before war interrupted – she was called into service providing a lifeline mail and passenger service to the Scottish islands. Her wartime passengers included King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), the future Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret and former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  She returned to cruising duty after the war but the 1960s and 70s saw a decline in Clyde steaming’s popularity and her final sailing was in September 1977 before she was moored up in Greenock.

Then comes her most traumatic years. She was sold to Glasgow District Council in 1978 with the idea of converting her into a museum but funds weren’t available and she was sold on again several times before she was towed to London in 1981. In 1987 she underwent a £2.5m refurbishment and was moored at Victoria Embankment in London as a floating restaurant. In 2009, she had been sold yet again and was taken to Tilbury in Essex near London, from where she was due be taken to begin a new life in France as a floating restaurant and fitness centre. Lack of funds scuppered those plans and she was left to rot – by 2015 she had prohibition notices slapped on her, barring her from leaving the port until hundreds of thousands of pounds in essential repairs were carried out. Scrappage loomed – but help was at hand.

An iconic part of Scottish history

Friends of TS Queen Mary had been formed in 2012 by a group of enthusiasts alarmed by developments and keen to save such an iconic part of Scottish history. When the Port of Tilbury put the vessel up for sale, the Friends’ bid, funded by businessman Jim McColl, one of Scotland’s richest men, was accepted.

And this wasn’t the only time the Queen Mary was able to rely on friends in high places. Once in the hands of the charity, a campaign to have her repaired was launched in December 2015, headed by Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane. The Rutherglen-born star was a huge supporter of the TS Queen Mary until his death last year.  “Robbie used to sail on the ship as a boy,” explains a spokesman for the Friends. “He had a very deep affection for the vessel.  What many people don’t know is that Robbie was a massive fan of Clyde steamers, as well as classic ocean liners – not just the vintage cars, which most people associate him with. Robbie came on board as patron before the ship was brought back to Glasgow. He was very good friends with Sam Neill (a fellow actor who was born in Northern Ireland before moving to New Zealand as a boy).  Sam also has an interest in ships and was delighted to become our Commonwealth patron, when Robbie approached him.”

Funds flooded in and the Queen Mary was towed back home to the Clyde in an epic voyage along the west coast of the UK. Repairs began in 2016 with the idea of turning her into a static heritage centre at Pacific Quay. But in April last year, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, who has been royal patron of the ship for four years, revealed plans to allow the ship to sail once again. The £1m anonymous donation will be used to construct new steel decks to ensure the ship complies with modern maritime safety requirements – one of the biggest structural undertakings of the ongoing work. Iain Sim, chairman of Friends of TS Queen Mary, said: “Our work continues to restore an iconic British ship whose proud history serving the Clyde rekindles many memories for tens of thousands of Scots and others across the world.”

Main photo: TS Queen Mary. Photo: David Millar.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has discovered the buried remains of a Roman fortlet that once stood next to the Antonine Wall in West Dunbartonshire. The fortlet was built next to the Antonine Wall, the frontier that the Romans constructed across central Scotland, and was thought lost in the mists of time. However, geophysical survey in an unassuming field near Carleith Primary School in West Dunbartonshire revealed details lost for hundreds of years. The announcement of the discovery comes on World Heritage Day (18 April), the international celebration of cultural heritage. The Antonine Wall is one of Scotland’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Previous excavations to find the fortlet were unsuccessful, but new technology has allowed HES’s archaeological survey team to find the buried remains. The fortlet was referenced in 1707 by antiquarian Robert Sibbald, who wrote that he had seen a fortlet in the area around Carleith Farm. Excavation teams looked for it in the 1970s and 1980s, but the exact location remained unknown. The survey team have now employed gradiometry, a geophysical surveying technique, to look under the soil without the need for excavation. Gradiometry measures small changes in the earth’s magnetic field to detect archaeological features otherwise invisible from the ground surface. This technique was able to identify the stone base of the fortlet, which remains buried underground. On top of this base, turf would have been laid to build a rampart about 2 metres high.

Important Roman monument

This newly discovered fortlet would have been part of several fortlets along the Antonine Wall. It would have been occupied by 10 to 12 Roman soldiers who were stationed at a larger fort nearby, likely to be Duntocher, and manned the fort for a week at a time before being replaced by another detachment. The fortlet would have been made up of two small wooden buildings to house the soldiers staying there and will have been used for the 20 years (142 CE – 162 CE) that the Antonine Wall was defended as the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. Commenting on the discovery, Riona McMorrow, Deputy Head of World Heritage at HES, said: “It is great to see how our knowledge of history is growing as new methods give us fresh insights in the past. Archaeology is often partly detective work, and the discovery at Carleith is a nice example of how an observation made 300 years ago and new technology can come together to add to our understanding.”

This discovery has led to HES reviewing the site’s designation to ensure the fortlet is recognised and protected as part of the Antonine Wall. The geophysical survey will help to better understand and protect the Antonine Wall. While up to 41 fortlets may have lined the Wall when it was built, only nine have previously been found. This discovery marks the tenth known fortlet and shows that there is still more to be discovered about this important Roman monument and its functions even after centuries of enquiry.

Main photo: A digital reconstruction. Photo: Historic Environment Scotland.

Crawick Multiverse, the spectacular artland and visitor attraction inspired by the science and mysteries of the cosmos, will host a week of family-friendly summer solstice celebrations.  This year the Multiverse, near Sanquhar on the Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire border, is partnering with The Open University (OU) in Scotland for a series of inspirational, educational and entertaining events and activities between 18-24 June.  On the longest day itself, Wednesday 21 June, the beautiful 55-acre site will open at 4am for visitors to gather in a truly breath-taking setting and welcome the dawn.

A Sunrise Ceremony will be led by Open University professor of religious studies, Graham Harvey and professional storyteller, Gordon MacLellan.   Gordon said: “Our Solstice Sunrise Ceremony will draw upon midsummer traditions from around the northern hemisphere, bringing together ancient British poetry with Scandinavian stories and more. Spiritual without being religious, this event will encourage visitors to pause and reflect upon their relationship with the world around them and appreciate this morning, this sunrise, one of the turning points of the year.”

The longest day

The longest day culminates with a Tilt Ceremony to mark the moment, at 3.57pm, when the sun reaches its highest point of the year in the sky.  Visitors will also be able to enjoy music, performers, sensory tours, guided tours, yoga sessions and Tai Chi demonstrations and more.  That evening will see the launch of Solstice Seminars; talks from leading specialists in space science from The Open University, including professors Monica Grady CBE, Stephen Peake and Mahesh Anand, in Sanquhar Town Hall.  The week will come to a close on the Saturday with a Midsummer’s Day Family Picnic complete with more entertainment and a pop-up exhibition.   

The solstice celebrations offer a superb chance to explore Crawick Multiverse (designed by the late Charles Jencks) with its giant conical grass mounds representing colliding galaxies, long avenue of standing stones and other spectacular features inspired by the sun, stars, and other wonders of the cosmos.  Cathy Agnew, Trustee, The Crawick Multiverse Trust said: “We’re thrilled to be inviting visitors and locals to mark the Summer Solstice in such spectacular surroundings. And it’s a huge pleasure to be working in partnership with The Open University in Scotland to offer a programme of events that will be fun and informative.”

Crawick Multiverse is a spectacular land art installation created by the late Charles Jencks and inspired by his thinking about space, astronomy and cosmology. Around 2,000 boulders were used to create Crawick Multiverse. The Sun Amphitheatre is at the heart of the Multiverse and can hold approximately 3,500 spectators.

For further information about Crawick Multiverse visit: www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk

Photos: Mike Bolam.

The new Aberdeenshire County flag was revealed at a special dedication ceremony held at The National Trust for Scotland’s Castle Fraser, Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, with invited guests and a large crowd gathered to witness the historic occasion. The chosen flag was based on the original designs of pupils from Newtonhill School, Stonehaven, and Elrick School, Westhill.

An important part in local identity

Accompanied by the Drums & Pipes of The Gordon Highlanders Association and an honour guard of Lonach Highlanders, the children presented the flag to The Lord-Lieutenant, Sandy Manson, at the castle doors. Following a dedication, the new Aberdeenshire flag was taken to the top of the castle tower and raised by the Lord-Lieutenant. Lone Piper, David Fraser, from The Gordon Highlanders Association Pipe Band played the famous march, Back o’ Bennachie and the assembled crowd gave a resounding ‘Three Cheers’. 

Mr Sandy Manson, The Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, said: “It is wonderful to see this splendid County flag now unveiled for all to see. For the children from two different local schools to produce such similar designs that were then brought together in the flag you see today, was remarkable. It’s clear to see why their design triumphed over hundreds of others from all ages and corners of the world: a bold flag that heralds our past and signals a confident future. Judging over 800 global entries by the panel was certainly not easy. The five designs chosen for the shortlist went to a public vote, encompassing the many traditions and characteristics we associate with our beautiful and historic county.  My congratulations to all the pupils involved in so creatively designing the winning flag. I hope all of Aberdeenshire will be very proud as our new flag flies over the county, playing an important part in our local identity.”

Scotland’s castle country

The pupils described their winning design, “Aberdeenshire is Scotland’s ‘castle country’ but also the strong royal association referenced by the crown. A quarter of Scotland’s arable land is in Aberdeenshire, with the gold representing the barley and the whisky that it makes, and the purple symbolises the heather of our mountains.” The project was initiated in March 2022, when the Lord-Lieutenant, Mr Sandy Manson, discovered through dialogue with the Lord Lyon’s office that while Aberdeenshire had a long-standing coat of arms, it did not have a county flag as was the case with most counties in Scotland.

Two Deputy Lieutenants, Mrs Jean Haslam and the late Mrs Miranda McHardy took this historic project forward, running an open competition to design a flag for Aberdeenshire. Workshops were run by Philip Tibbetts (Lyon Court Vexillologist for Scotland) during the first week in September 2022 in schools across the county. With the help of the Lord Lyon and Mr Tibbetts, a judging panel examined over 820 entries submitted in October, the largest ever response to a flag competition in Scotland. A short-list of five designs was selected that went to a public vote, with 4,208 votes cast.

Clans will gather at Kryal Castle to celebrate everything Scottish in August. Pipe bands, Highland Dancing, Games, Clan Tents, Scottish food and drink and unique historical entertainment. Thousands from the sizeable Scottish diaspora in the Ballarat region are expected to attend the event in the Central Highlands of Victoria, just one hour out of Melbourne for this inaugural event.  Chief of the Day will be Simon Abney-Hastings, the 15^th Earl of Loudon, who recently attended the coronation of Charles III and officially presented the golden spurs to His Majesty the King during the ceremony.

“The Kryal Castle Highland Spectacular will have all the familiar attractions that you expect from a Highland Gathering but we have included amazing performances from pivotal moments in Scot’s history. Scottish knights and their brave hearted steeds fighting for Scotland. We will see you ready for freedom on August 19^th and 20^th”, Mr Hamilton, CEO of Kryal Castle said.

The Kryal Castle Highland Spectacular has activities for all ages, including: Massed pipe bands, Highland dancing, Highland Games featuring strong men, clan tents to find out about your ancestry, a whisky dinner with all the Scottish trimmings, performances from Scottish history including the Warriors of Scotland, armoured knights and their mighty steeds and kids’ activities including knight’s school, archery, demonstrations, displays and hands-on learning.

Kryal Castle Highland Spectacular takes place August 19-20^th. Tickets are all-inclusive and on sale now. Ticket numbers are limited and are prepurchase only, no tickets will be available at the gate. Tickets are available at https://checkout.roller.app/kryalcastle/products/highlanderspectacular?date=20230819#/sessions. For more event information visit: https://kryalcastle.com.au/highland-spectacular.

The American Scottish Foundation (ASF) recently played a key role in celebrating the 25^th annual Tartan Day Parade in New York City. Events took place across the city including the Tartan Day Observance at Bryant Park and the parade with thousands of participants celebrating Scotland and marching down 6^th Avenue.

This year’s Grand Marshal was Scottish television personality Gail Porter. The 25^th edition of Tartan Week also included the first ever NYC Tartan Week Mòd, which was won by Cynthian Knight from Virginia. The ASF is proud to be a founding member of the National Tartan Day New York Parade Committee, helping to organize the Parade alongside the St Andrews Society of New York, New York Caledonian Club and Clan Campbell. The 2024 NYC Tartan Day Parade will be held on National Tartan Day, Saturday April 6, 2024.

For more information on the American Scottish Foundation see: www.americanscottishfoundation.com.

All images courtesy of the American Scottish Foundation.

Scotland’s Picts have long been viewed as a mysterious people with their enigmatic symbols and inscriptions, accentuated by representations of them as wild barbarians with exotic origins. But a newly published study by an international team led by researchers at the University of Aberdeen and Liverpool John Moores University is helping to shed new light on the origins of the Picts. The Picts were first mentioned in the late 3^rd century CE as resisting the Romans and went on to form a powerful kingdom that ruled over a large part of northern Britain, in present-day north-east Scotland.

Pictish genomes

In the medieval period, the Picts were considered immigrants from Thrace (north of the Aegean Sea), Scythia (eastern Europe), or isles north of Britain but as they left few written sources of their own little is known of their origins or relations with other cultural groups living in Britain. Archaeologists have conducted the first extensive analysis of Pictish genomes and their results have been published in the open access journal PLOS Genetics. The results reveal a long-standing genetic continuity in some regions of the British Isles, helping to build a picture of where the Picts came from and providing new understanding of how present-day genetic diversity formed. The findings also confirm descriptions by the great English historian Bede of the far-flung eastern origins of the Picts as one of myth and fantasy.

The researchers used Identity-By-Descent (IBD) methods to compare two high-quality Pictish genomes sequenced from individuals excavated from Pictish-era cemeteries at Lundin Links in Fife (Southern Pictland) and Balintore in Easter Ross (Northern Pictland) to those of previously published ancient genomes as well as the modern population. Dr Linus Girdland Flink of the University of Aberdeen, senior corresponding author of the study, said: “Among the peoples present during the first millennium CE in Britain, the Picts are one of the most enigmatic. Their unique cultural features such as Pictish symbols and the scarcity of contemporary literary and archaeological sources resulted in many diverse hypotheses about their origin, lifestyle and culture, part of the so-called ‘Pictish problem’. Using DNA analysis, we have been able to fill a gap in an understudied area of Scotland’s past. We aimed to determine the genetic relationships between the Picts and neighbouring modern-day and ancient populations. Our results show that individuals from western Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Northumbria display a higher degree of Identity-By-Descent (IBD) sharing with the Pictish genomes, meaning they are genetically most similar among modern populations.”

Anglo-Saxon heritage

This genetic make-up was distinct from areas of southern England where there is a greater relative degree of Anglo-Saxon heritage. Dr Adeline Morez from Liverpool John Moores University, lead corresponding author of the study, adds: “Our findings also support the idea of regional continuity between the Late Iron Age and early medieval periods and indicates that the Picts were local to the British Isles in their origin, as their gene pool is drawn from the older Iron Age, and not from large-scale migration, from exotic locations far to the east. However, by comparing the samples between southern and northern Pictland we can also see that they were not one homogenous group and that there are some distinct differences, which point to patterns of migration and life-time mobility that require further study.”

The analysis of mitochondrial genomes from Lundin Links has also provided an insight into another Pictish myth – that they practised a form of matriliny, with succession and perhaps inheritance going to the sister’s son rather than directly through the male line.

Dr Morez continued: “In a matrilocal system we would expect to find females staying in their birthplace after their marriage and throughout their life. At Lundin Links, diversity in the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA suggests this was not the case. This finding challenges the older hypotheses that Pictish succession was passed along the mother’s side and raise further questions about our understanding of Pictish society and its organisation.”

The present genetic findings not only provide new insight into Pictish population history, but serve to test directly various longstanding assumptions, and even myths, about Pictish origins and social structure.

The Australian Celtic Festival hit a record number of visitors in May with over 6,000 purchasing tickets and up to 7,500 adults and children attending various events held throughout Glen Innes, in the NSW New England region.

The Year of Scotland has traditionally been one of the most popular highlighted nations bringing in the crowds but this year has gone beyond Glen Innes Severn Council’s expectations. With all accommodation vacancies filled well before the event, many regional locals took advantage of heading out for the day, catching as much entertainment and atmosphere as they could. Glen Innes could not have had a better backdrop to the festivities then the National Celtic monument which became the focal point, full of sound, colour and excitement.

A standout event

Many of the visitors came to see the Street Parade, Jousters, Highland Games and an array of local, interstate and overseas artists including the Festival’s Honoured Guest international traditional fiddle player Paul Anderson, Scotland’s Kilted Yogi Finlay Wilson and from New Zealand, crowd pullers Clan Celtica who stirred the audiences with their processional pipes and drums. The Pipe Band competition was also very popular as well as the atmosphere of the clans. This festival is very important for the visitor economy, bringing in over 1.8 million dollars into businesses in the lead up, during and after the festivities.

Next year is celebrating the Year of Ireland and the Isle of Man and it is already gearing up to be another record breaker. Council would like to thank all the businesses who sponsored or supported the event as well as Council staff and volunteers for their contribution in making this year’s Australian Celtic festival a standout event in the region.

2-5 May 2024 are the dates for the next Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes Highlands, celebrating the Year of Ireland & The Isle of Man. For details: 02 6730 2400 or www.australiancelticfestival.com.

All images courtesy of Jim Barker, Twelve Points Photography and the Australian Celtic Festival.

The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada is excited to announce its signature summer show that promotes island culture, history, stories and songs. Highland Storm is an exhilarating evening of Celtic music and dance that will captivate the audience and transport them back to a pivotal time in PEI over 250 years ago, when three ships, the Annabella, the Edinburgh and the Falmouth, arrived having carried families from their homeland in Scotland to a new land with little more than the clothes on their backs. Highland Storm is the story of the Scots arriving on PEI and is a reimagining of their first year on the island.  

The story is performed by The College of Piping’s instructors and students and featuring fiddler Gilbert Arsenault, vocalist Christine Gallant and is directed by Peter Gallant. Prepare to sit tight and hold on… there is a Storm coming! Highland Storm runs July 13, 20, 21, 27 and August 3, 4 5. The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre is one of Canada’s best acoustic venues. It has a strong sense of community at its core when it comes to its stage promoting island schools, arts and culture. The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre is very proud of its signature production, Highland Storm.

For more details on College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada and Highland Storm performances see: www.collegeofpiping.com.

This month see the worldwide release of Outlander season seven. STARZ announced the June 16 return of its fan-favourite time-traveling drama series Outlander, confirming the upcoming seventh season will be split into two parts of eight episodes each, with the back half airing in 2024. It was previously announced that the seventh season would be an extended 16 episodes. Additionally, STARZ released several first look images of the new season to quench the ‘Droughtlander’ thirst. The series has already been renewed for an eighth and final ten episode season and a prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood centreing on Jamie Fraser’s parents has been greenlighted for a first season.

STARZ previously announced several new additions to the Outlander family, including Charles Vandervaart (Lost in Space) as William Ransom, Izzy Meikle-Small (Snow White and the Huntsman) as Rachel Hunter and Joey Phillips (Casualty) as Denzell Hunter, joining returning fan-favourites Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser, Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser, Sophie Skelton as Brianna MacKenzie, Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie, John Bell as Young Ian, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Caitlin O’Ryan as Lizzie Beardsley and Paul Gorman as Josiah and Keziah Beardsley.

Season seven will again feature Outlander’s iconic theme song the Skye Boat Song, which will be performed by Irish singer Sinead O’Connor.

In Season 7, Jamie, Claire, and their family are caught in the violent birth pains of an emerging nation as armies march to war and British institutions crumble in the face of armed rebellion. The land the Frasers call home is changing – and they must change with it. In order to protect what they’ve built, the Frasers have to navigate the perils of the Revolutionary War. They learn that sometimes to defend what you love, you have to leave it behind. As the conflict draws them out of North Carolina and into the heart of this fight for independence, Jamie, Claire, Brianna, and Roger are faced with impossible decisions that have the potential to tear their family apart.

One epic tale

The Outlander television series is inspired by Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books, which have sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, with all nine of the books gracing the New York Times best-seller list. The Outlander television series has become a worldwide success with audiences, spanning the genres of history, science fiction, romance and adventure in one amazing tale. Outlander spans the genres of romance, science-fiction, history and adventure in one epic tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945, who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 Scotland. When forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous young Scottish warrior, Claire’s heart is torn between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Christina Davis, President of Original Programming for Starz, said in a statement. “The hit series Outlander embodies everything about our initiative including a powerful female lead character and an amazing team of storytellers. We look forward to following the adventures of Claire and Jamie in America during the Revolution as well as more time travel during this next season.”

Matthew B. Roberts, Ronald D. Moore, Maril Davis, Toni Graphia, Luke Schelhaas, Andy Harries, Jim Kohlberg, Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan executive produce the new season, based on the book, An Echo in The Bone and will focus on the struggles of Claire and Jamie amid the American Revolution. Filming for Outlander took place mainly in Scotland, which doubles for North Carolina.

The highly anticipated seventh season of Outlander is set to premiere on Friday, June 16 at midnight ET on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms and internationally on the LIONSGATE+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. On linear, it will debut on STARZ on Friday, June 16 at 8:00 PM ET/PT in the U.S. and Canada. New episodes will be available to stream weekly on Fridays at midnight on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms and will air weekly on the STARZ linear platform. See: www.starz.com/us/en/series/outlander/21796

In Australia the seventh season of Outlander will premiere on FOXTEL.

All images cortesy of Starz.

Did you know?

Outlander

–Outlander features the story of Claire Randall, a Second World War combat nurse, who finds herself thrown back in time to the Jacobite Rising in 1743.

-The Outlander TV show is based on a series of nine novels by Diana Gabaldon which have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

-The Outlander novels have been published in 27 countries and 24 languages, so far.

– Diana Gabaldon was inspired to create Outlander by an episode of Dr Who.

-Author Diana Gabaldon had never visited Scotland before writing Outlander.

–Outlander was recently named the world’s ‘most bingeworthy’ TV show at a LA awards show.

-It has been reported that the Scottish actors do not wear anything underneath their kilts, in true Scottish fashion.

-The show has sparked a Scots tourism boom with visits to historical sites topping over five million visitors.

–Outlander is filmed in Scotland, primarily at the Wardpark Studios at Cumbernaud near Glasgow. -Author Diana Gabaldon was given in 2020 the “International Contribution to Scottish Tourism” award at the Scottish Thistle Awards, for the ‘Outlander Effect’ on Scotland’s tourism industry.

September 2-3, 2023 brings back the full experience of Celtic culture at Centennial Park in Canmore, Alberta – so you’ll want to witness the colours of the tartans and the thrill of the pipes at the 32^nd annual Canmore Highland Games. Here’s how you can awaken your inner Scot with some big fun – the Taste of the Highlands, the Canmore Highland Games and the Canmore Ceilidh, beneath the scenic peaks of the Rockies on Labour Day weekend.

Celtic culture

Sip the spirits, mead and ale at the Taste of the Highlands. Bring the whole family for the Highland Games – visit the clans, see the heavy sports, shop the Celtic market, watch the sheepdogs at work, observe the intense competitions of highland dancing and piping and drumming, enliven your palate with a Scotch tasting, sample the foods available, quench your thirst while enjoying live Celtic music in the beer garden, and discover the British automobiles on show. Let loose and expose your inner Scot at the Canmore Ceilidh – be ready to hit the dance floor! Headliners this year are Celtica Nova. Always entertaining and definitely unique, Celtica Nova are a blast of Celtic energy and won  the “International Celtic Artist of the Year” award at the 2019 Australian Celtic Music Awards!

“The Highland Games has become a signature summer event in our small mountain town. Every year we entertain the visitors to the Games while show-casing affordable Celtic culture in our communities. This creates economic support for all the local businesses who benefit,” says Three Sisters Scottish Festival Society president, Sandy Bunch.

Always an affordable event, there are advance tickets and bundles to choose from.Tickets and event information can be found at: www.canmorehighlandgames.ca. Email: [email protected]

Piping Live! will return for its 20th edition this summer with an eclectic calendar of events from Saturday 12th – Sunday 20th August 2023.

The world’s biggest piping festival annually attracts over 30,000 attendees to Glasgow and this year the Piping Live! team hopes to bring in even more visitors, as it celebrates two decades as a cornerstone on the Scottish cultural calendar. General tickets go on sale 10am, Friday 19th May.

The music is both steeped in tradition as well as forward-looking and innovative

Finlay MacDonald, Artistic Director for Piping Live!, said: “We are delighted to be launching the 20th edition of Piping Live! It’s incredible to think back on how much the festival has grown in the last 20 years. I’m extremely proud to be involved in the direction of what is now a major cultural and musical event for Scotland, and the global piping and traditional music scene. 

“Piping is more popular than ever, there are more people from diverse backgrounds playing, the music is both steeped in tradition as well as forward-looking and innovative. This rise in popularity is in no small part down to the continued support from our audiences and the dedication of the teams behind Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships. There’s a real energy in the piping and drumming scene in anticipation of Piping Live! this year. Glasgow is certainly going to be alive with music, friendship and camaraderie. 

“The team here at the National Piping Centre have been working tirelessly to deliver the festival this year, despite some substantial funding cuts across the cultural events industry, so we really need public support now more than ever – please purchase tickets, please donate what you can and please encourage others to come out and enjoy the world-class performances we will be showcasing this August. Never has your support been more vital in ensuring this iconic festival, and the scene it supports, continues to thrive.”

The Piping Live! Closing Concert will round off the 20th edition with performances by some festival favourites, including the hugely talented multi-instrumentalists Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton, who have been involved with Piping Live! since its earliest days. The duo will perform a double header show with Uilleann piper Jarlath Henderson, who performed at the first Piping Live! festival, and guitarist Innes Watson.

Full program of events

The Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge, Piping Live!’s flagship evening of solo piping, will be showcased at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall’s Strathclyde Suite this year. The competition will pit five top solo pipers against each other as they take to the stage to perform a 25-minute medley of their favourite tunes. Annually a sell-out success, performances this year will come from Angus MacColl, Stuart Liddell, Sarah Muir, Callum Beaumont and the 2022 champion Matt MacIsaac.

The International Quartet Competition will feature six of the top Grade I pipe band quartets in the world; Field Marshal Montgomery (Northern Ireland), Inveraray and District (Scotland), Manawatu Scottish (New Zealand), 78^thFraser Highlanders (Canada), Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia (Scotland) and People’s Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia (Scotland). Each of the six bands from across the world will send four of their best pipers to compete in this head-to-head challenge ahead of the World Pipe Band Championships on Saturday 19th August. There will be five hidden judges listening to an MSR and Medley event in the Strathclyde Suite on Tuesday 15th August. 

The show Canntaireachdwill also take place on Tuesday 15th August. This exciting new collaboration between multi-award winning singers and pipers Kim Carnie (vocals), Kathleen MacInnes (vocals), Brìghde Chaimbeul(small pipes and bagpipes) and Ailis Sutherland (small pipes and bagpipes) will join forces with the formidable collective Staran. Celebrating and exploring the relationship between piping and Gaelic song, the project will breathe new life into centuries old songs, tunes and stories with new material woven throughout.

Lowland and Borders Pipers’ Society presents inB –  a new and exciting collaboration that celebrates the rich sounds of the Uilleann pipes and Scottish smallpipes pitched in the beautiful key of B. Award-winning musicians from Scotland Brighde Chaimbeaul and Fin Moore will perform on Scottish smallpipes that have been handcrafted especially in B by Fin. On the Uilleann pipes, Ireland’s Louise Mulcahy and Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn bring their unique approach to this musical collaboration. The powerful sound of four sets of pipes playing in harmony creates a beautifully unique tonal texture. inB celebrates the important history and musical connection between Ireland and Scotland.

The annual Friday Night Folk gig will open the final weekend of Piping Live! when the progressive Scottish Traditional music trio Project Smok will perform at Stereo. Supporting this fantastic band will be former BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician Eryn Rae and her band. 

The Masters Solo Piping Competition will take place at the National Piping Centre, with this prestigious competition being the qualifying event for the Glenfiddich piping competition. This huge day of performance will see the best soloists from across the world compete in Piobaireachd and Light Music on Monday 14^th August.

Piping Live!’s avant Garde night of music, entitled Ceol Nua, will return to the festival when multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield and Estonian piper Caatlin Magi perform on Tuesday 15^th August. 

Piping Live!’s final day will showcase the internationally renowned Gordon Duncan Memorial Competition. This iconic event continues to celebrate Gordon’s links to Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. One Scottish, Irish, Breton and international piper will each play sets of Scottish, Irish and Breton music and the overall winner will be the best player of all three musical styles. 

A plethora of free day time events, which will primarily take place at the festival’s iconic Street Café on McPhater Street, will include the ‘Emerging Talent’ stage where daily shows will be performed by up-and-coming trad music groups, alongside performances by international artists from Brittany, Estonia and Ireland. 

The National Piping Centre’s auditorium will also host the Pipe Idol Final, when four solo players aged 21 and under will compete after winning their heat earlier in the week. The much-coveted prize is a set of Reelpipes from Fred Morrison Pipes.

Pipe bands from across the globe will perform on Buchanan Street from 12 noon each day of the festival, including artists from Canada, USA, Australia, Belgium and of course Scotland. 

The Gig in the Gallery series will return to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow’s stunning flagship gallery, which will host a daily recital featuring international styles of bagpipes. There will also be talks and book launches across the event, and a special gallery of photos from across the festival’s 20 years will also be showcased at the National Piping Centre for all visitors to enjoy.

World-class piping

Bailie Annette Christie, Chair of Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council Convenor for Culture, Sport and International Relations, said: “As a UNESCO City of Music, Glasgow is renowned as an outstanding destination for lovers of all types of music, and there’s certainly no better to place to experience world-class piping, with Piping Live! and the World Pipe Band Championships – the pinnacle of the piping competition calendar – both taking place in the city this August.

“These firmly established highlights of our vibrant summer events programme are extremely important to Glasgow. Attracting thousands of musicians, supporters and spectators from around the world, they showcase the city, boost its international profile and contribute greatly to its visitor economy. We are therefore pleased to continue our support of both global piping extravaganzas and look forward to welcoming audiences from near and far to this year’s exciting events.”

For 2023, Piping Live! is working with a new ticketing partner to make in-person ticket purchasing as smooth as possible. Customers will now be able to add all of their tickets into one basket, and there will be multi-ticket discounts available for the first time. General tickets are now on sale.

Live streaming will return to Piping Live!, with an exciting programme of live and premiered events and concerts to be announced.

Tickets and more information on where and when each performance is happening are available at www.pipinglive.co.uk.

The Robert Burns Scottish Festival (RBSF) Chairperson, Dr John Menzies OAM, is pleased to announce that festival is going ahead with a full weekend program, with several new events on offer. The RBSF volunteer committee has also created multiple Burns Bite events for the year, so please connect with them via their website and our Facebook page to stay up to date with what’s on, and when. For RBSF 2023 the festival is excited to headline Austral, an exciting young folk band who are infectiously toe-tapping, before they head overseas. They were winners of the Traditional Folk Album of the Year at the 2022 Australian Folk Music Awards.

Festival favourites; Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club and Hugh & Janet Gordon, are back. Big Fiddle Little Fiddle are new guests, their performances are energised by a sheer joy of playing music, not to be missed. Fiona Ross, a gifted interpreter of Scots song and winner of Best Folk Album: Music Victoria Awards 2020, is returning with Shane O’Mara. A line-up of talented local bands and musicians include Kyle & Merran Moir, The Twa Bards, Camperdown’s Lakes and Craters Band, The Warrnambool Pipes and Tuniversal Music Group Inc.

New events this year will include a Saturday Evening Soirée, to be held in the Killara Centre, and a Saturday Poetry & Ploughman’s Lunch with the Unicorn Tapestry, celebrating Scotland’s national animal. Also on Saturday there will be a show for kids, by entertainer Eric Read, that will be a fun filled, family-friendly highlight. The festival opens Thursday night with a movie at the Killara Centre, with ‘Falling for Figaro’, a delightful feel good, music rich, comedy. The Gala Dinner will be held at the Theatre Royal on Friday night.

Enjoy a sumptuous and authentic Scottish meal with an Address to the Haggis, and entertainment. Bookings essential as numbers are limited. Looking for historical context? Maree Belyea and Bob Lambell have organised four wonderful guest speakers for the Saturday Lecture Series, held at the Killara Centre. Topics include; Fiona Ross – ‘Burns as songwriter & collector, Stewart McArthur – ‘Waltzing Matilda’, Dr Rosalie Triolo – ‘Scots as ‘Sodgers’ & Teacher-Enlistees 1914-18’, Allan Willingham – ‘Portraits, Panoramas & Landscapes’.

Events and entertainment for all

Wee Stories will be at the library for the children, along with games, music and markets in the avenue. Highland dancers and pipers will activate the Clock Tower precinct. You might even get a photo opportunity with Rosie & Doge, two friendly Westies who will be in their tartan. If you have a West Highlander or Scottie dog bring them along… your dog might win a prize for the pooch with the waggiest tail! Choir Workshops will be held on the Saturday (TBC). The very popular Cookery Class (TBC) will be happening with Liz Patterson and Ruth Gstrein giving participants the opportunity to cook authentic Scottish food. The Robbie Burns Golf Ambrose Cup will be held at the Camperdown Golf Club.

On both Saturday and Sunday the Camperdown Heritage Centre and the Masonic Lodge will be open for folk to visit, along with a climb of the Clock Tower. Sunday morning brings music & poetry with The Twa Bards by the Statue, followed by the Festival Finale Concert at the Theatre Royal in the afternoon, featuring The Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club. NAIDOC week starts on Sunday the 2^nd of July, and the RBSF also aims to incorporate Indigenous connections in its program, as we seek to celebrate the unique heritage of where we love and live.

In 2023 we’re also celebrating a return of the school children’s program with primary and secondary aged events including art works, poetry, story writing and the popular shortbread baking competition. These activities will happen before the festival and delivered in the schools. Take a walk along the main street during festival week and see student’s work exhibited in local shop windows. Dr Menzies also said that schools can access resources from the Robert Burns World Federation website: www.rbwf.org.uk at no cost, giving students the opportunity to learn more about Robert Burns and Scotland. There’s plenty of things to see and do, for all ages and RBSF invites you to come and enjoy what’s on offer in 2023.

The Robert Burns Scottish Festival takes place June 29-July 2 in Camperdown, Victoria. Keep up to date at: www.camperdownburnsfestival.com.au and www.facebook.com/robertburnsfestival. Tickets available now: www.trybooking.com/CICVY. For further information please contact Catherine O’Flynn RBSF Co-ordinator on 0407 056 126.

Main photo: RBSF headline act, Austral.

Scotland’s best-selling cookbook author, Coinneach MacLeod, will be serving up the best of the Hebrides this summer at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. A seminar will be held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 6PM in the Flora MacDonald Gammon Memorial Platform(otherwise known as the whisky tasting seminar platform).

Each session is $45 and will include his new book, his singing, his story telling, tasting his special mix of cocktails, and enjoying a nibble of one of his ‘bakes’. To buy these tickets go to www.gmhg.org; select ‘All Tickets and Registrations Here’; scroll to the bottom left and select ‘Add-Ons’.

The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games takes place July 6-9, 2023. For further information: (828) 733-1333, [email protected], or www.gmhg.org.

By: Paul Hughes

The Scots College Pipes and Drums tour to New York was a unique and exciting experience for the 25 band boys involved. New York City has a rich history of Scottish and Irish heritage, and the sounds of the bagpipes and drums certainly add to the atmosphere of the city. The tour included performances at various venues throughout the city, such as parades, concerts, and cultural events and the band even took the opportunity to do a flashmob performance in Grand Central Station.  

The boys performed a 1-hour pipes and drums concert in Central Park. The band marched through Central Park gathering a huge crowd. Having the opportunity to see the boys perform in Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell was amazing. Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell is an original feature of the Park and has come a long way from its beginnings as a mere classical music arena. The site of both a speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. and a eulogy read for John Lennon, it has become a place of historical importance within the park. The band performed a range of traditional and contemporary pieces and our two youngest boys on tour performed a great duet of Flower of Scotland. The 300-strong audience who had just been passing and relaxing in the park stayed for the full concert and cheered the band as they finished the concert by marching back through Central Park.

Grateful audiences

Next for the band was a performance at the Buckley School. The boys performed a concert for the 400 Buckley students and staff. It was incredibly well received and both schools had a fantastic time together. The highlight for the Buckley School was certainly the drummer’s salute and the Drum Majors flourish. The Buckley students were fascinated with the band and we even managed to give the boys and staff the opportunity to try some instruments.  While in New York the band was honoured to be invited to perform for the Tartan Day organisers and performed two concerts in Bryant Park. With the most incredible backdrop of New York City the band performed for extremely grateful audiences. The band had a great opportunity to hear other pipe bands, folk bands and choirs which was greatly appreciated. As the Bryant Park concerts came to an end The Scots College and St Columba’s Pipe Band (Scotland) performed together and marched through the park. This was a great opportunity for both bands to combine and have a few tunes together.

Marched with great pride

While taking a stroll through the city after performing our second Bryant Park concert the band thought it would be a great idea to do a flashmob performance in Grand Central Station. The College Pipe Major struck up his pipes in the main terminal and instantly the public stopped to watch him. As more and more pipers joined in, we could see more and more passengers gather around the band. Once the drummers joined in and filled the main terminal with Waltzing Matilda the flashmob band had hundreds of commuters gathered around to listen to the band. This was a very memorable experience for all involved and was aired on Australian and American television shows.  

The band had the opportunity to visit some of the city’s famous landmarks and attractions, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square and many more. The boys also attend a number of sporting events in Maddison Square Gardens and Yankee Stadium.

In 1999, two pipe bands and a small but enthusiastic group of Scottish Americans, led by Grand Marshal and Academy Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson, marched from the British Consulate to the UN in the first New York City Tartan Day Parade. Since then, the annual NYC Tartan Day Parade has brought together thousands of people from across the globe providing meaningful connections through the celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. The Scots College, Sydney Pipes and Drums finished the New York tour by parading down 6^th Avenue as part of the NYC Tartan Day Parade. The parade was filled with great sounds and tartan uniforms. With thousands of supporters cheering on, our boys stood tall and marched with great pride.  The Pipes and Drums tour to New York provided our students with so many unforgettable memories and a deep appreciation for the city’s rich culture and history.

By: Neil Drysdale

Picture the scene: you’ve just left school and been offered the opportunity to join a professional football club, only to discover that one of your first assignments is cleaning your boss’s toilet. That was the unpromising scenario which confronted 16-year-old Neale Cooper in 1979 when, as a young hopeful at Aberdeen, he found himself tasked with keeping Alex Ferguson’s throne in pristine condition. It was a gruelling regime at Pittodrie, but the young Cooper, a keen-as-mustard ball boy and fervent football fan from his childhood, long before he had ever signed a contract, was ready to do anything he could to succeed at the highest level. He later recalled: “Before I made my Aberdeen debut, I was cleaning Fergie’s toilet. It was my job, looking after his room and the coaches’ room. Then, one day he came in and said: ‘When you have finished sorting that out, get yourself home’. I asked why. And he replied: ‘Because you are playing tomorrow.”

It was a reminder of how swiftly the teenager burst into the spotlight. Some players make an instant impression; while others toil away for years, gradually stamping their imprint on the game. There was never any doubt in which camp Cooper belonged. He was the youngest member of the Aberdeen contingent who secured their fabled triumph over Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final on a rainy night in Gothenburg in 1983; an achievement which cemented their posterity for as long as people in the Granite City are talking about football. Yet, while others searched for superlatives, Cooper himself refused to buy into the hype or believe the headlines which emblazoned him as a star. Instead, he was always as happy chewing the fat with fans as he was impersonating his former manager. That philosophy was summed up by his reaction to the German maestro Franz Beckenbauer declaring – after the Dons had beaten Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals – “Young Neale Cooper is the closest thing I have seen to me at that age”. And the Scot’s reply? “That just shows that even the very best can talk sh***.”

Tattie

It’s five years since Cooper became the first of the Gothenburg Greats to leave us at the age of just 54 and, even now, there is tristesse at the fashion in which the youngest member of the team slipped away. The recent celebrations surrounding the Dons’ Class of 83 being given the Freedom of Aberdeen was tempered by the knowledge “Tattie” wasn’t involved in the thick of it.  But the tributes to him were fulsome and delivered with an emotional punch, as myriad former players and fans alike commemorated somebody they regarded as their best friend. Cooper, born in Darjeeling in India, prior to attending Airyhall Primary and Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, might have left his roots to pursue his playing and managerial career at Aston Villa, Rangers, Reading, Dunfermline, Ross County, Hartlepool United, Gillingham and Peterhead. But he was never more in his element with a spring in his step and a joie de vivre than when he was on the rampage with the Red Army cheering him on, while he and his colleagues marauded down the Beach End.

In the aftermath of his glory days on the pitch, during which time he collected league titles, Scottish Cup medals and European honours with the Dons, and added to his silverware at Ibrox  (yet, astonishingly, missed out on Scotland selection), Cooper proved he could cut the mustard at management level. He was – and remains – a cult figure in Hartlepool and was inducted as one of the most cherished members of the English club’s Hall of Fame. Yet, despite assuming a senior role at Victoria Park and steering Ross County to uncharted heights, he was happy to indulge in spontaneous impressions of those with whom he had worked.

Sky Sports presenter, Jeff Stelling, was among those who saw how skilful Cooper could be in the art of mimicry. He said: “I remember the first time I met him, we took a camera crew to the hotel in London where the team were staying to do an interview. I had heard about his reputation for doing a Sir Alex Ferguson impression so, not knowing him at all, the first thing I asked him was if he would do it – and he refused point blank, in the nicest possible way, of course. But ‘Tattie’ was the sort of guy who just couldn’t help himself, though – and five minutes later, he was in full, fluent Fergie mode and was excellent. I hope people in the football world know that he wasn’t just loved in Aberdeen, but was loved in Hartlepool as well, because it was his second home.”

It was a measure of the fun and flamboyance which ‘Tattie’ brought to his often action-packed life and times that there was still plenty of laughter amid the tears as Richard Gordon hosted the proceedings. Joe Harper, the all-time leading goalscorer at Aberdeen, gave one of the most touching appreciations of his close friend. He said: “In those winter nights, when you see the star twinkling, that is the star of the north and that is Neale winking at you.” He left us and his family prematurely. But he will never be forgotten.

People with grandparents from Orkney have a variation in a gene that could increase the chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer, research shows. One in 100 women who are descendants of families in Westray, Orkney, have the same change in the BRCA1 gene – one of the commonest genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer, according to the results. In Scotland, testing is currently available to people with a direct family connection to the BRCA1 gene, or who have a close history of ovarian or breast cancer in their family. As a result of these findings, plans for a pilot trial to widen testing to Westray people with a locally born grandparent, regardless of a family history of cancer, are being put in place by NHS Grampian and local cancer charity Friends of ANCHOR.

Viking Genes

If the pilot proves successful, it may be extended to anyone in Scotland with a Westray-born grandparent. Around one in 1000 women across the UK have inherited a variation to the BRCA1 gene. A team of geneticists from the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh repeatedly discovered the same single change to this gene in women from Orkney with breast and/or ovarian cancer. Edinburgh Scientists studied genetic information from more than 2,000 volunteers with Orkney grandparents in the Orkney Complex Diseases Study (ORCADES). They discovered the BRCA1 variant in 1 per cent of men and women with historic Westray ancestors. As the gene variant is hereditary can affect multiple members of families. Risk-reducing surgery, breast screening with MRI from age 30 and lifestyle advice can all improve health for women with the gene, experts say. This research, funded by the Medical Research Council, is part of Viking Genes, which aims to discover the genes and any changes in these that could influence the risk of disease.

Professor Jim Wilson, Professor of Human Genetics, University of Edinburgh, said: “The fact that one in a hundred Orcadian women carry a high-risk variant for breast and ovarian cancer highlights the value of population studies such as Viking Genes, without which we would not know this. It is imperative that Scottish island populations are represented in research, to allow equitable delivery of genomic medicine across the country.”

By: Judy Vickers

Everything about the Japanese Garden at Cowden is designed to slow visitors down, to calm the mind and encourage contemplation, even down to the uneven stones underfoot at the entrance arch, which is carved with the words “the place of pleasure and delight”. These days, the garden, near the town of Dollar, quietly hums with tranquillity and serenity – yet its history is filled with turbulence and drama. Created by one of the most extraordinary and pioneering Scottish women of the 20^th century, it has survived destruction at the hands of vandals and abandonment for more than 50 years to become restored to its former glory by one of her descendants.

This summer the final touches to the restoration of the main garden will be put into place, including a wooden sunshade, which is currently under construction. It will mark more than a decade of work by Sara Stewart, great niece of the garden’s creator Ella Christie, who inherited the estate in 2012. “I had Ella on my shoulders,” she has said of creating the plans to revitalise the 2.8-hectare site.  And Ella Christie would be quite a formidable, if inspiring, character to have watching over you.

Cowden Castle and Estate

Ella’s father, John, had made his money in coal in Lanarkshire and to seal his entry into the landed gentry, bought a big pile – Cowden Castle and Estate – in 1865. Four-year-old Ella moved there with her mother, brother and sister and grew up on the estate which had once belonged to the bishops of St Andrews. As a family they were fond of travel and Ella had already visited much of Europe by the time her mother died in 1894. Her brother had died at 12 and her sister, Alice, was married so she became her father’s travelling companion and the pair ventured further afield to Egypt, Palestine and Syria.

But this exciting lifestyle came to an abrupt end in 1902 when her father died. Lindsey Gibb, a Perthshire storyteller who was commissioned last year by Year of Storytelling funds to uncover more details about Ella’s extraordinary life, explains: “Ella was very much with her father a lot of the time but the day after he died there was a knock on the door. I always picture the man standing there in a trench coat with a clipboard. They [Ella and sister Alice] discovered only then that all their father’s money had been willed away from them and given to a charity that he had set up without them knowing. Alice was married and married well but Ella was left destitute. She had no money of her own and no home, overnight she had lost everything.”

There had been no sign of the rift between father and daughters before his death but Lindsey says: “He had had an illness before he died and his personality had changed,” and points to the possibility of some form of dementia. But even as the man from the charity left the shell-shocked daughters at the doorstep and proceeded to tour the house, cataloguing the furniture and family’s possessions as he went, Ella was forming a plan. “Ella, being Ella, doesn’t take this lying down,” says Lindsey. “She fights it in court and she wins a healthy settlement, the equivalent of several million pounds today and she manages to keep the estate and castle. The orphanage charity which her father had set up was also well provided for. Ella and her sister were very charitable themselves, so it must have been difficult for her to fight it.”

The most important Japanese garden in the Western world

With her future secure, Ella now embarked on her overriding passion in life – travel. With her trusty maid Humphries, she made journeys that few single Western women had even dreamt of in the early years of the 20^th century, through India, Kashmir, Ceylon, Malaya and Borneo. She banqueted with the Maharaja of Kashmir, camped in snow in the Chorbat Pass in Pakistan, trekked on foot for 60 miles in the Desoi mountains in the Himalayas and became the first Western woman to meet the Dalai Lama.

“She must have been incredibly charming, people just open doors for her left, right and centre,” says Lindsey. But it was when, after travelling through Korea, she took a boat to Japan, that another passion was ignited. “She just falls in love with the gardens in Japan – and handily she has an estate back home where she can recreate one,” says Lindsey.

That 1907 tip to Kyoto and beyond inspired her so much that when she returned to Scotland, she hired Taki Handi, a female Japanese garden designer, from the Royal School of Garden Design at Nagoya, but at that time studying at Studley College in England to create her Shã Raku En – the place of pleasure and delight. “She [Taki] became the first woman to create a Japanese garden outside of Japan and even in Japan it was rare,” says Lindsey.

She did an impressive job, melding views of the nearby Ochils Hills into the lines of the garden and using local plants as well as imported Japanese specimens and those grown from seeds Ella had snaffled while in Japan. “The garden was created on a marshy bit of the estate, they dammed a burn to create a loch because water is a big part of Japanese gardens,” says Lindsey. A tea house, lanterns and bridges completed the site which so faithfully reproduced the exquisite gardens which had inspired Ella in Japan, that in 1925, Professor Jiji Suzuki, the 18^th hereditary head of the Soami School of Imperial Design in Japan, called it the most important Japanese garden in the Western world.

He was a regular visitor, helping to maintain the trees and bushes, and from 1925, the garden was looked after full time by expert Japanese gardener Shinzaburo Matsuo who had lost his entire family in an earthquake in Japan. He found a new home in Scotland and he and Ella had long conversations about gardening plans – despite the fact he spoke no English and Japanese was not one of the four languages Ella was fluent in.

And for Ella it was indeed a place of pleasure and delight, where she held tea parties with her friends as she recharged from her latest travels – she continued to journey until a few months before her death from leukaemia in 1949. By then she was living in just a few rooms of the castle, crammed in with treasures from her globe-trotting.

Lives up to its name

After her death, the estate was inherited by her nephew, Robert Stewart, Alice’s son. The castle, Lindsey believes, must have been in a poor state, as attempts to sell it failed and it was completely demolished in the 1950s. The Japanese Garden remained however until 1963 when it was destroyed in a vandal attack by local schoolboys. “It was absolutely devastated, they burned everything that could be burned and destroyed everything that could be destroyed,” says Lindsey. “They never caught who did it even though they were seen leaving in their school uniforms. No one has ever been caught and no one has ever come forward as they got older to admit it, we don’t know if it was teenage high jinks or if there was something more behind it.”

Too expensive to repair, the garden was then left to slowly decay and become overgrown until 2012 when an ageing Robert passed the garden to his daughter, Sara. She began a fundraising campaign and created a trust to restore the garden to Ella’s vision. Helped by £750,000 from the UK government, funds from other sources and expert advice from Professor Masao Fukuhara, best known for restoring the Japanese Gardens at Kew in London, the garden was slowly revived.   

Now reopened to the public, the garden is once again welcoming visitors from near and far, just as Ella planned. Lindsey says: “It’s wonderful to walk around the corner and find a Japanese garden in this rural part of Scotland – it blends so well with the landscape. I find I instinctively relax as I go through that archway, you get away from all the busy-ness of life. It lives up to its name, it is a pleasure and a delight.”

For more information see: www.cowdengarden.com

Main photo: Japanese Garden at Cowden. Photo: Tom Langlands Photography.

From tiny Shetland ponies to the towering Shire horses, all Clydesdales great and small will be celebrated in the Scenic Rim over the weekend of June 17 and 18 for the hugely popular Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular. Now in its 11^th year, the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular is the richest Clydesdale Show in the Southern Hemisphere, where the grand champions of the breed are judged, the heritage of the breed is shared, and the history of the breed in Australia is toasted. In a major coup – an epic 11-horse team of Marlie Draught Horses is confirmed to attend. One of the largest teams in the country, they will pull a Bennett’s Wagon and perfrom twice daily. Known as the Gentle Giants of the horse world and recognised in Australia as ‘the breed that built the nation’, yet listed as ‘vulnerable’ internationally, Queensland has a long history with the Clydesdale.

“Our region owes much to the majestic Clydesdales which played a key role in establishing the Scenic Rim’s incredible agricultural base by clearing vast tracts of land, ploughing the paddocks and bringing in the harvest,” said Organising Sub-Committee Chair, Rick Stanfield. “While the advent of machinery saw a decline in the breed in the 1960s, the efforts of fan, breeders and this event committee to preserve and celebrate the 130-year history of these gentle giants here has resulted in the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular becoming one of Queensland’s most significant events.”  The event generates some $2.3 million for the region, generated 10,109 visitor nights over the weekend in 2022 and contributed to more than 13,000 visitor nights throughout Queensland. The full schedule of Clydesdale competition takes place in the main arena, while rare trades are showcased including  harness making, blacksmithing, wheelwrights, horse-drawn demonstrations & driving displays, whip plaiting and more. Additional highlights include the Queensland Whip Cracking Championships, World Billy Boiling Championships, wood chopping, working dog displays, Friesian Horse Troupe performances, artisan coopering & bush poetry.

Tribute to the Scottish descendants

In tribute to the Scottish descendants who moved to the region and brought with them their beloved Clydesdale, the event includes a stirring massing of Pipes and Drums, Calling of the Clans, the Clydesdale and Clan class and traditional Scottish caber tossing. There’ll be haggis burgers a whisky bar and Scots are encouraged to attend in their clan kilts!  Andy Scott’s Clydebuilt which sits proudly at the roundabout into Boonah, was built in a local Butter Factory workshop and a local economic development committee raised the funds to buy it after it had been displayed at the Swell Sculpture by the Sea Festival in Sydney. The sculpture is recognised by the Queensland National Trust.

“The event will feature some of the top Clydesdales in the country and shouldn’t be missed by anyone who has an interest in this magnificent breed, or anyone who loves horses, or for that matter anyone who wants a brilliant experience in the country where there is literally something to watch and experience at every moment!” said event organiser Greta Stanfield. The Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular will be staged in the middle of the region’s famous EAT LOCAL MONTH, creating just another reason to visit, stay and experience.

Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular 2023 takes place Saturday 17^th & Sunday 18^th June 2023 at Boonah Showgrounds at 8 Melbourne Street, Boonah. 8am until late both days. More information and tickets: www.clydesdalespectacular.com.au

Coming next month is the 2^nd annual Holland Celtic Festival. The festival was conceived by Craig Rich and Peter Grimm, along with a group of friends, who formed the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Holland Celtic Society. Highlights for this year’s event include: Friday Evening’s Cèilidh (Kay’-Lee) is a “21 & over” party in a huge “Irish Pub Tent” ($20 cover charge (tickets in advance). This features two bands: The Conklin Ceili Band and Detroit’s own Wakefire! Gates open at 6:00 PM. Music at 7:00. Close at 11:00 PM.

Saturday’s family-friendly festival is $10 admission, with children 12 and under FREE. Also free to those with their Friday evening wristband. Gates open at 9:00 AM, music starts at 10:00 am. Close at 10:00 PM.  The day features: Live music all day (10:00 AM to 9:30 PM) featuring eight performances by: Toby Bresnahan, Selkie, Mona Shores Fiddlers, Uneven Ground, Ironwood, Leprecons, CrossBow and Barley Saints. In addition, there will be five Scottish and Irish dance schools: Ardan Academy of Irish Dance, Auburn Glen School of Scottish Dance, McClintic School of Highland Dance, Michigan Irish Dance Academy and Scoil Rince Ní Bhraonáin.

Other highlights include: A full schedule of Highland Athletic Competition (caber tossing, heavy weight throwing for distance and height, hammer throwing, etc.) with 70 athletes in kilts! A Scottish Clan “village” featuring 20 Scottish Clans. Genealogy assistance in the Genealogy Tent, Celtic goods vendors and Celtic food booths, Hands-on Celtic Cricket (learn to play!), Beer, wine, seltzers, scotch & whiskey in the Irish Pub Tent, Pipe and Drum bands, a “Keltic Kids” area, Hugh Irwin, the Kilted Magician and Liam, the Extra Large Leprechaun.

The Holland Waterfront Celtic Festival & Highland Games takes place on June 23 & 24, 2023 at Ottawa County Fairgrounds, in Holland, MI (A new location due to road construction around our downtown site.). For more information please see: www.HollandCelticFestival.org

Main photo: The McClintic School of Scottish Dance.

By: David C. Weinczok

Twelve years after my arrival in Scotland from Canada, I have more than made up for the lack of true castles in the country of my birth. To date, my Scottish castle count stands at 443, almost all of which I have reached by foot, bicycle, and public transport.  To answer the two very reasonable questions that spring to mind upon reading that number: yes, that’s an awful lot of castles (being a touch obsessive does help), and no, they don’t all start blending together. Each castle carries a distinct history and character, though I concede that some leave a more lasting mark than others. There are many reasons why people still visit these ruins of the past – a fascination with history, a sense of awe, an ancient family connection, or just a way to entertain the kids or grandkids. Each is valid, with no shortage of possibilities.

With so many castle experiences behind me, my list of favourites changes every time I try to compile one. It’s worth declaring my biases first. Perhaps thanks to seeing brooding ruins in films such as The Lord of the Rings during my childhood, I have a strong preference for ruinous castles rather than fully intact and still inhabited ones. I also rule out anything built much later than 1600 AD, as the social structures which made castles a possibility and necessity were by then heavily eroded and making way for the Early Modern era. Grandiose non-defensible country houses with dozens of rooms filled with gold-framed portraits and fancy furniture hold little appeal to me. If said ruin is on the coast, even better – the juxtaposition of a crumbling tower and a body of water sates my inner Romantic.  With all that said, the following five castles are ones which I love for very different reasons and want to share with as many fellow castle aficionados as possible.

Kisimul Castle, Barra

Sometimes it really is the journey that makes a place. Five hours into the ferry sailing from Oban to Castlebay, having passed through a gauntlet of Highland shores lined with crumbling castles and crossed the open sea, Kisimul Castle at last comes into view. With waves lapping directly against its walls, Kisimul is the embodiment of a ‘galley castle’ – a type of castle found throughout coastal Scotland, but especially in the west and north, whose power is inextricable from seaways and the ships that sail them. Indeed, the Hebrides are too often referred to today as ‘remote’, when for most of their history they formed an ‘aquapelago’ with rich seaborne connections between and beyond the island chain.

Kisimul was, and still is, home to the MacNeils of Barra, a family synonymous with Barra itself. The medieval MacNeils made their reputation as marauders and pirates, and Kisimul Castle has seen everything from sieges to kidnappings. Many MacNeil descendants now reside in my home Canadian province of Nova Scotia, where the surname is common. The castle fell into ruin after a fire in 1795 and further degraded during the depredations of Barra’s absentee landlord, Colonel Gordon of Cluny, in the 1830s, being used as a herring curing station and stripped of much of its masonry for ballast. It was restored by Robert Lister MacNeil and gifted to the nation in 2003, for the annual rent of £1 and a bottle of Talisker whisky.

Dunnottar Castle, Aberdeenshire

Scotland is spoiled by way of incredibly impressive castles, but none of them can quite compete with the ‘wow factor’ of Dunnottar, near Stonehaven. Built atop a promontory lined on all sides by steep cliffs, it would not be at all out of place in an epic fantasy film. In fact, it was one of the major inspirations for DunBroch Castle in the Disney/Pixar film Brave, and was shortlisted in 2013 to be named as the 8^th Wonder of the World. There was a fort here long before the stone castle was built. In the Pictish period it was known as Dùn Fhoithear, ‘the fort on the shelving slope’. It has seen major action in every period of its history. A siege by an Orcadian fleet is recorded here in 681 AD, and in 934 AD Athelstan of Wessex laid siege as Constantine II of Scotland defended it.

In 1296 the castle submitted to Edward I of England, but William Wallace retook it the next year and allegedly burned the garrison alive within one of the thatched buildings. Montrose attacked in unsuccessfully during his campaigning in 1645, and in 1651 Cromwell’s soldiers bombarded it with cannon in an attempt to capture the Honours of Scotland held within. The Honours were secreted away by beyond enemy lines, and did not emerge again until Walter Scott rediscovered them in a sealed chamber within Edinburgh Castle in 1818. Though the castle complex itself is fairly standard with its towerhouse and stone outbuildings, the power of Dunnottar’s location elevates it into the stuff of legends.

Duffus Castle, Moray

There’s just something immensely satisfying about motte-and-bailey castles. I’m not sure if it’s their typically circular form, a shape long associated with aesthetic perfection, or the way they rise artificially yet congruously from their landscapes. Whatever the precise nature of their appeal, Duffus Castle near Elgin is the best example of its kind in Scotland. Duffus’ history speaks to two crucial stages in Scottish castle history: the ‘upgrading’ of many timber castles into stone ones in the 13^th and early 14^th centuries, and the arrival of powerful Norman, Flemish, and other Northern European knights in the late 11^th  and early 12^th centuries.

The first castle here was a timber one begun by Freskin, a Flemish mercenary, and completed by his son, William, who took the surname ‘de Moravia’, which eventually became ‘Moray’ (modernised into ‘Murray’). The later stone keep is only partially intact, with several fragments slipping down the earthen slope and giving the appearance of some great, destructive act – though the ravages are of time rather than of any siege engine. The broad top of the stone-lined bailey feels a bit like an overgrown amphitheatre, focusing the roar of jets overhead from the nearby RAF Lossiemouth airfield. One can only wonder what Freskin would make of these ‘dragons’ circling his castle!

Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh

I have now visited Craigmillar Castle at least twenty times, and I would not hesitate to visit twenty more. The reason? It is simply so much fun to explore! With neuks and crannies galore, two layers of curtain walls surrounding a central tower, astonishing views across Edinburgh and the Lothians, and enough architectural features to occupy even the most expert eye for days, it’s the kind of place where you always discover something new with each return. It doesn’t hurt that Craigmillar is one of the best-preserved medieval castle ruins in all Scotland, with a roof still over its great hall.

It dates from at least the mid-14^th century, and was a favourite escape for Mary, Queen of Scots from the toxic mix of medieval Edinburgh’s unsanitary streets and political machinations. Not that such machinations entirely eluded Craigmillar – the ‘Craigmillar Bond’, which set out to assassinate her husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was formed here. Mary’s involvement in the Bond remains open for debate. In recent years Craigmillar has joined Doune Castle as a well-known star of the big and silver screens, having been used as a filming location for the likes of Outlander and Outlaw King. It’s also dog-friendly, amazing for kids (and adults who want to unleash their inner child with foam swords on the ramparts), and endlessly entertaining to wander through.

Monimail Tower, Fife

By far the least well-known castle on this list, Monimail Tower near Cupar, Fife, is the castle a hobbit would build if they ever had the inclination. Part of its petite charm lay in the fact that it is the only surviving fragment of the much larger Palace of Monimail, a country residence of the Archbishops of St Andrews. All that is left of this grand palace is a corner tower, surrounded by a volunteer-run community garden.

The vibe of Monimail Tower is somewhere between Hobbiton and Woodstock. A sign made from fragments of multi-coloured tiles welcomes all visitors. Its hall, always left open, is stuffed with binders, information panels, and interactive activities. Artists’ brushes, only recently set down, lay about in the tower’s dedicated arts room. Even the cheerful yellow colour of the tower itself exudes warmth and happiness. This very distinctive and warm atmosphere is thanks to the Monimail Tower Project who run activities on-site, from apple juicing and scything workshops to mini-concerts in the garden. Many castles can feel stripped of the human element that once made them what they were, and are firmly part of the past. Not so with Monimail, where people continue to reinterpret and reinvigorate it as a place for people present and future to enjoy.

Do you have a favourite Scottish Castle? Share your story with us by email, post, or online at: www.scottishbanner.com.

Main photo: Dunnottar Castle.

Did you know?

• Get ready for two hours of heart pounding, fast paced family entertainment when the 10^th annual Okanagan Military Tattoo returns to Vernon, British Columbia on July 29 & 30, 2023.
• The Tattoo is an event that will stir the heart and feed the soul.  It’s Vernon’s largest annual indoor event and western North America’s only Military Tattoo.
• Traditionally, Military Tattoos have provided an opportunity for civilians to witness the precision and professionalism of those who have dedicated their lives to the defence and security of their country.  In recent times, Tattoos have become more inclusive with civilians participating in athletics, bands, dancing and choirs.
• The term Tattoo evolved from a European tradition dating back to the 17^th century when the Low Country innkeepers would cry “doe den tap toe” meaning “turn off the taps!” as the fifes and drums of the local regiment signalled the soldiers to return to their barracks.
• Headliners for the 2023 Tattoo include the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy, the regimental band of the 15^th Field Artillery, and the RCMP “E” Division Pipes and Drums as we celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the establishment of the RCMP.
• The annual “tribute to the veterans” will commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the Sicily Invasion and the start of the Italian Campaign.
• Tickets are now on sale with significant discounts for seniors, current and former members of the Military, RCMP, First Responders, Health Care workers and groups of 10 or more.
• For more information check out the Tattoo website at: www.okanagantattoo.ca

By: Wade King

Would you like to see someone slain with a Lochaber axe? How about seeing someone slashed from shoulder to hip with a highland broadsword? If you have someone in mind who deserves either of those fates, you should take them along when Highland Rose is doing their thing. The Highland Rose Jacobite Living History Reenactment Group is located in New South Wales, Australia. It is a small group specialising in re-enacting the 17^th and 18^th century “Jacobite Era”, the period from the 1689 uprising of Bonnie Dundee to the 1745 Rising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. They cover all protagonists of this period, Government and Jacobite, but most of its members focus on the Jacobite forces of the 1745 Rising, in particular, the brave Highlanders who fought for the Bonnie Prince and for Scotland at the Battle of Culloden in April, 1746.

The Jacobite army at Culloden included clan regiments, like the Frasers, Camerons, MacDonalds and MacPhersons, amongst others, and regiments raised in local areas of Scotland, like the Atholl Brigade recruited in Athol and the Forfarshire Regiment (Ogilvy’s) from the lands of Angus. There were also non-Scottish forces such as the Royal Ecossais (French), and the Irish Piquets. Most wore their own clothing, their tartan kilts, although some were issued tartan uniforms. Many wore blue bonnets with white Jacobite cockades.

Most carried a broadsword, a dirk and a spiked targe. Some carried Lochaber axes, sharp blades fixed to long poles. Some also carried muzzle-loading firelock muskets and pistols. Many carried their own weapons. Full stands of arms (musket and accoutrements, bayonet, sword, etc.) were brought from France and issued to Jacobite forces. Many weapons were captured from Government forces, particularly after the battle of Prestonpans. Men armed thus confronted British Government troops arrayed in drilled regiments armed with muskets and bayonets, and swords, and heavily supported by artillery firing grapeshot. The Jacobites used the tactic of the Highland Charge to close with Government troops so as to use their bladed weapons to advantage.

Centuries-old Highland culture

The men of Highland Rose carry and demonstrate Jacobite weapons. Some show the use of broadswords, dirks and spiked targes. Others display Lochaber axes, the sweep of which could cut an enemy in two. Some exhibit the use of muskets and pistols that were discharged at the enemy, then hurled into enemy ranks in the hope of knocking Government troops down. The women of Highland Rose preserve the old Highland culture by setting up a period-accurate camp, and practising historical crafts like spinning, weaving and embroidery, historical woodwork, metal- and leatherwork, sewing, cooking and more, and by giving talks and demonstrations.

Together, the men and women of Highland Rose give a faithful representation of the centuries-old Highland culture, which was swept away in the years after Culloden by the English in the Highland Clearances, an awful process of ethnic cleansing. The Clearances left much of the Highlands empty of people and fit only for sheep; they also brought many thousands of cleared Highlanders to places like Australia where their descendants celebrate their Scots heritage in annual events like the Bonnie Wingham Scottish Festival (where Highland Rose will perform on Saturday, 3rd June). Highland Rose members perform at Highland Gatherings and at schools or anywhere else they can share their knowledge and skills with interested members of the public. 

The Highland Rose Jacobite Reenactment Group is always looking for new members. It welcomes all with for a passion for this period of Scots history, those of any age, gender or experience level, as long as they have open minds and willingness to learn. Living history reenactment is rewarding but it requires commitment. Like most hobbies it is not cheap, but the group does its best to help new members get started. If this sounds like it interests you, please contact the group via Facebook Messenger or email, or come to an event and say hello.

If you are organizing a Highland Games or Gathering, a Medieval Fair or any other community event that you would like Highland Rose to attend, please get in contact to discuss details at: www.facebook.com/TheHighlandRoseJacobites or [email protected].

The 2023 Bonnie Wingham Scottish Festival will take place on Saturday 3^rd June, 2023. For details see: www.bonniewingham.com

Centre offers gateway to UK’s largest rewilding landscape, boosting jobs and supporting re-peopling.

The world’s first rewilding centre has been opened near Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands by charity Trees for Life – showcasing how large-scale nature recovery can give people inspiring experiences, create jobs and benefit rural communities. The Dundreggan Rewilding Centre in Glenmoriston celebrates rewilding and the region’s rich Gaelic culture and offers a gateway for visitors to explore the 10,000-acre Dundreggan estate, where Trees for Life is restoring the Caledonian forest and its wildlife. “For 15 years, Dundreggan has been a beacon for rewilding our landscapes. Now it will be a beacon for rewilding people too,” said Steve Micklewright, Trees for Life’s Chief Executive. “This is a place of hope. We want to breathe life into the huge potential of the Highlands to help nature return in a major way – providing people from all walks of life with fantastic experiences while supporting re-peopling, boosting social and economic opportunities, and tackling the climate and nature emergencies.”

The centre, eight miles from Loch Ness on the main road (A887) to the Isle of Skye developed in consultation with the local community, the free-to-access centre has been made possible thanks to the generous support of major funders. Visitors, families, schools and those with specific needs will be able to enjoy year-round events and experiences, discover how rewilding benefits wildlife such as golden eagles, red squirrels and wood ants, and learn about Gaelic culture and its deep connections to the landscape. The centre features a stunning tree sculpture of reclaimed metal, created by acclaimed artist Helen Denerley, and offers a gateway to the wild forest, with fully accessible trails, child-friendly forest experiences, and more adventurous walks. Displays in English and Gaelic introduce rewilding and the Gaelic language, and a storytelling bothy showcases local history and heritage.

Affric Highlands

A café and events space offer locally sourced food and drink and entertainment areas, while a purpose-built and accessible 40-bedroom accommodation building allows people to stay for longer experiences. Twenty new jobs have already been created, employing local people, and the multi-million pound investment will generate an ongoing economic boost for local suppliers and services. The period of design and construction has already involved local businesses from architects to plumbers.

Laurelin Cummins-Fraser, Dundreggan Rewilding Centre Director, said: “Whether a visitor has just an hour for a quick visit or wants to stay with us for an immersive rewilding experience, our centre will welcome people to discover stunning landscapes, unique wildlife and Gaelic culture, while connecting with the wonders of the natural world. The Rewilding Centre is embedded in the landscape and the community. Its design is inspired by Gaelic heritage and history, and by the Caledonian forest – with verticals representing trees, changing light to reflect how light plays in woodlands, and materials and colours conjuring up bracken and forest bark. It’s a really special place for people to enjoy.”

Dundreggan is part of Affric Highlands, the UK’s largest rewilding landscape which will potentially cover over 500,000 acres – restoring nature while strengthening land-based livelihoods and creating economic opportunities. Trees for Life launched the Affric Highlands initiative in 2021, in partnership with Rewilding Europe and an initial coalition of communities and landowners.

For more details see: www.visitdundreggan.co.uk.

Main photo: Glen Affric. Photo: Grant Willoughby.

Tickets are now available for CelticFest 2023, to be held in Warwick, the Celtic Capital of Queensland, at the Warwick Showgrounds on Saturday September 30 and Sunday October 1, 2023. The highly-anticipated event, which last year attracted almost 5,000 attendees, will bring back favourites such as the highland games heavy events, The Gathering Irish band, the medieval village, pipe band and highland dancing displays, Irish dancing, Celtic-themed markets, Celtic animals, the gathering of the clans, Celtic-inspired bar and food – and much more.

CelticFest 2023 will run over two days, comprising a St Patrick’s Day themed evening of music on Saturday 30 September on the Celtic Connections stage at the Showgrounds, when The Gathering Irish band will headline a night of foot-stomping, rock-on Celtic music. Gates will open at 4pm and supporting acts and other program inclusions will be announced over the coming months. Sunday 1 October will then comprise a full-day of Celtic-themed celebrations at the Warwick Showgrounds, running from 9am-4pm.

This year, CelticFest will play host to the Highland Games Heavy Events national titles, and visitors will again be able to watch professional strongmen and women as they perform many feats of strength, including putting the stone, the farmer’s walk, and the perennially popular caber toss. The medieval village will be open for CelticFest attendees to stroll through, providing a window into a bygone era, including battles between knights of yore, graceful dancing displays of women through history, and the daily life of those who lived in feudal times.  Visitors will also be able to watch displays from pipe bands and highland dancers, wander through Celtic-themed markets, marvel at the gloriously gentle Highland cows, trace their genealogy, and feast on Celtic-themed food and drink.

CelticFringe

In an exciting addition to the 2023 CelticFringe – CelticFest satellite events which are separately organized and/or ticketed, and which will run at various times and venues from Friday 29 September through Monday 2 October – the Scots PGC College will host the Inaugural Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships on Saturday September 30. More than 20 talented pipe bands from around Australia are expected to descend on Warwick to battle it out for pipe band supremacy.

Southern Downs residents and visitors will be able to see these bands in action during the Warwick Thistle Pipe Band Centenary Street Parade down Palmerin Street on Saturday morning. The street parade is also an added CelticFringe event for 2023, starting at 8.30am on Saturday 30 September. Medieval re-enactors, strongmen and women and others will join pipe bands – including the Warwick Thistle Pipe Band, which this year celebrates its centenary, and competitors in the IAJPBC – in what is sure to be a stirring spectacle to open the CelticFest weekend.

Other CelticFringe events will include the return of last year’s very popular Celtic line dancing workshop at the Club Warwick RSL, which will also host Celtic bands; the Southern Downs Explorer Heritage train, which will run tours on Friday night and Saturday lunch time, Celtic music and themed dinners at venues including local cafes and restaurants, and the opening of other historic local Celtic buildings including Pringle Cottage and Glengallan Homestead.

On a sporting note, the Queensland Gaelic Football and Hurling Association and the Warwick Redbacks AFL Club will co-host a Gaelic Football match, and Warwick parkrun will host a Celtic-themed parkrun on the banks of the Condamine River on Saturday 30 September – including a kilted dash! More CelticFringe events will be announced over the coming months.  Earlybird pricing for CelticFest tickets for adults and pensioners are $15 for Saturday night, $20 for Sunday full day, and $30 for weekend (Saturday night and Sunday full day). Tickets for school-aged children (between 5-17) are $5 for Saturday night, $5 for Sunday full day, and $10 for the weekend (Saturday night and Sunday full day). Children under 5 are free. Earlybird pricing will be available until midnight Friday 30 June.

For more information, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram at CelticFest Warwick, or visit our webpage: www.celticfestqld.com.au.

Every Highland Games around the world comes with special touches that make a visit unique. Jenna Morton, Event Manager for the Greater Moncton Highland Games & Scottish Festival in New Brunswick, Canada, shares five things to watch for at their event, June 13 – 17, 2023.

1. Catch a surfer on the Tidal Bore

A what now? It’s a Maritime phenomenon. The Tidal Bore is the name given to a massive wave that makes its way down the Petitcodiac River twice a day, thanks to the immense tides of the Bay of Fundy. These are the highest tides in the world! The Petitcodiac River rises as much as 75 metres (or 25 feet) in a short burst of time, creating an epic wave that flows through between the City of Moncton and the Town of Riverview – right behind the Hal Betts Sportsplex, where the annual Greater Moncton Highland Games & Scottish Festival are held. The Tidal Bore is known to attract adventurous surfers from around the world!

2. Brandish a Broadsword or a Longbow

Merida might not be on site, but there will be archers with bows at the ready for you to try. This is always a favourite stop for young and old! There are also fly-tying demonstrations and a chance to give fly-casting a try, too. If you own your own broadsword, please don’t bring it to the field – unless you’ve signed up for the Maritime Sword School’s competition, of course! This organization is working to bring back a centuries-old practice of learning the art of swordsmanship with the introduction of single stick training and competitions locally. They were very well received at the 2022 event and we’re excited to welcome them back for 2023.

3. Throw a Tree Trunk in the Air

We know, the Caber Toss and the rest of the Heavy Events aren’t necessarily unique to these games. But the Greater Moncton Highland Games & Scottish Festival is a great training ground for would-be athletes with high expectations. The Moncton Games has hosted the Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation’s Open Professional and Lightweight championships, as well as the 2022 SMAI Masters World Championships. Come see if you could join the ranks of the strongest men and women in the world with our ‘Give it a Try’ workshop on Friday night – including a chance at the Caber – then watch the veteran competitors on Saturday!

4. Cheer on the Sheep

Or maybe you’ll cheer for the dogs! Each year local sheep dogs show off their herding skills on site, with demonstrations ongoing throughout the day. You can follow the process from sheep to shawl, with shearing and weaving demonstrations on site, too. (PS: Don’t forget to visit the nearby petting zoo, including our Highland Cows, and enjoy a horse and wagon ride around the grounds – all included in the price of admission to the grounds.)

5. Eat Haggis, Drink Local, and Sing Loud

Whether it’s the Haggis Poutine or an Alma Lobster roll, you’re sure to find something purely Scottish Canadian to enjoy at the Greater Moncton Highland Games! Our Pub Tent, located next to the food vendors, offers some of New Brunswick’s best ales, wines, and spirits — and the Highlands Stage is hopping with music with the likes of Gaelic singer Patricia Murray, fiddler Ivan Hicks, Cape Breton’s Nathan Bishop MacDonald, the Landry Highland Dancers, and more!

The 17^th annual Greater Moncton Highland Games & Scottish Festival takes place June 13 – 17, 2023. There are free community concerts, flag raisings, a ‘try it’ heavies event and pub night Friday, and a full day of entertainment and competitions on Saturday. Visit the petting zoo with Highland cows, sign up for the 5KM Tartan Run, watch the dancers, pipers, drummers, swordfighters, blacksmith, spinners, weavers, sheep herders and shearers, and enjoy wagon rides, bouncy castles, and more fun for the whole family. Admission is just $10/person or $25/family, with children 12 & under free. Held on the third weekend in June, the Greater Moncton Highland Games & Scottish Festival is a great way to kick off your Maritime summer!

For more information or to keep up with the Greater Moncton Highland Games & Scottish Festival see: www.monctonhighlandgames.com or www.facebook.com/monctonhighlandgame

Main photo: On parade. Photo: Heidi-Lyn.

New photographs of the Declaration of Arbroath have been published by National Records of Scotland (NRS), ahead of the famous document going on display in June 2023. These never-before-seen photographs are being made available to mark its 703^rd  anniversary, which took place in April. The Declaration will be displayed for the first time in 18 years from 3 June–2 July 2023 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The Declaration of Arbroath is a letter to the Pope sent in 1320 from the barons of the Kingdom of Scotland seeking his recognition of Robert the Bruce as the country’s lawful king.

National Records of Scotland preserves the document as part of the national collections.  

Head of Conservation Linda Ramsay said: “The Declaration of Arbroath is over seven hundred years old, so it is not only precious and historic but very fragile. The National Records of Scotland Conservation team care for the Declaration and we are working with archivists ahead of this rare opportunity for the public to see it for themselves, to ensure its preservation for future generations.”

Scotland’s medieval past

NRS Chief Executive Janet Egdell said:  “NRS is proud to help display the Declaration of Arbroath, one of the most prestigious documents in our collections, a record of a key period in Scottish history. The Declaration is striking but at 703 years old, it’s fragile and can only be displayed occasionally to ensure its long-term preservation, under the care of our conservation experts. I hope that these new images released today bring this key period in Scottish history to life for people and as many as possible take the chance to see the Declaration for themselves from 2 June.”

Dr Alice Blackwell, Senior Curator of Medieval Archaeology and History at National Museums Scotland: “We’re delighted to be able to present this rare and fragile part of Scotland’s medieval past in a free exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland this summer. Its evocative sentiments have given the Declaration of Arbroath a special distinction, not just in Scotland but around the world.  We are looking forward to inviting visitors to learn more about this fascinating document and to enjoy a rare opportunity to see it first-hand.”

The Declaration of Arbroath will be displayed at the National Museum of Scotland from 3 June until 2 July. Admission is free and the exhibition will be in Gallery 2, Level 3, 10:00 – 17:00 daily. Further information on the Declaration and its history is available at: www.nrscotland.gov.uk/Declaration

All images: Mike Brooks © Queen’s Printer for Scotland, National Records of Scotland, SP13/7.

Save the date of Saturday 1^st July 2023 for the Aberdeen Highland Games, at Jefferson Park in Aberdeen, Upper Hunter Valley, NSW. Gates will open at 8.00 am, with the Opening Ceremony at 9.00 am. Get to the ground early to ensure you don’t miss the magnificent Massed Band display. Our Chieftain of the day is the Hon. Simon Abney-Hasting, 15^th Earl of Loudoun. Now residing in Victoria, the Earl holds several patronages and governorships and is also a strong supporter of Scottish culture.

This day will be full of all things Scottish including The Kilted Warriors will be there so come and see their feats of strength lifting the Stones of Destiny as well as the return of the Caber Toss. Childrens novelties will be in full swing with the addition of the barefoot tug -o -war, so get some friends together for this. Don’t forget the best dressed laddie, lassie and best dog. These dogs are getting smarter and in out fits. There will be a multitude of stalls including clan societies and Scottish outfitters. 2023 will also see the return of the Ceilidh.

A note for your diary will be the change of venue, this year sees a move to the Muswellbrook RSL 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The Boatmen will be suppling the music. For bookings visit www.aberdeenhighlandgames.com and follow the links to TryBooking.

For more information contact: Scone Visitor Information Centre 02 6540 1300, or [email protected]

Scotland’s most famous fashion show, Dressed to Kilt (DTK), celebrated its 20^th anniversary with a massive sold-out show in Washington with over 65 looks. The show took place on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, exactly 20 years to the day of the first show in New York City on April 1, 2003. This year’s theme is “Country Cool- Fashion for the Outdoors” highlighting looks inspired by hunting, shooting, fishing, camping, riding, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

A number of Scotland’s top designers participated in this show including Calzeat, Glenisla Kilts, Harris Tweed Hebrides, House of Cheviot, Kinalba Scottish Cashmere, Lorna Gillies, Strathmore Woolen Mills, Slanj, Totty Rocks and Walker Slater. Several American designers that utilize traditional Scottish fabrics that are not only suited for the catwalk but also the outdoor country lifestyle were also included in the show. The big winner here was Scottish cashmere, tweed, and tartan.

The show featured fabulous kilts and tartan looks worn by notable, celebrities and acclaimed professionals from Scotland, the United States, and various parts of the globe. Models who graced the runway included Edward Beyers, SEAL Team Six and US Congressional Medal of Honor recipient; Taylor Winyard, Scottish rower who holds a record for rowing across the Atlantic; Lesley Paterson, Scotland’s latest heroine and 2023 Oscar winner for All Quiet on the Western Front; and Lucy Sophia Thompson, current Miss Scotland. And for the first time ever, the show included a member of the clergy. The Rev. Canon Dana Corsello, the Vicar of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., made her runway debut wearing the World Peace Tartan kilt. Other models included former Navy SEALs, high-profile athletes from both sides of the Atlantic, news anchors, politicians, several fearless female veterans, and a few furry friends including a Scottish terrier and a live falcon and a former Navy SEAL carrying a huge Scottish salmon down the runway.

The largest and most prestigious Scottish fashion event in the world

Mid-show the attendees were treated to a special performance by Scottish singer and Tik Tok sensation, Nati Dredd. This year’s show also remembered three of Scotland’s greatest supporters, Queen Elizabeth II,  Sir Sean Connery, co-founder of Dressed to Kilt, and Dame Vivienne Westwood, a huger supporter of Dressed to Kilt. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation. During the after-party the founders of the event received a serious invitation to hold the next Dressed to Kilt outside of the United States for the first time ever.

From its genesis in 2003, DTK is now the largest and most prestigious Scottish fashion event in the world, and one of the highest profile fashion shows in the United States. They believe that fashion, without the enrichment of diverse cultures, becomes hollow. The show is produced by the Friends of Scotland charity which was co-founded by Sir Sean Connery in 2002.

In addition to supermodels, this show highlights very accomplished men and women on the runway and it is also filled with A-List celebrities and athletes from both sides of the Atlantic. In recent shows Sir Sean Connery, Gerard Butler, Alan Cumming, Kiefer Sutherland, Kyle MacLachlan, Chris “Mr. Big” Noth, Mike Myers, Brian Cox and Craig Ferguson have all walked the runway. The charity has raised significant sums for the families of wounded veterans.

For more information, please visit www.dressedtokilt.com

Main photo: Miss Scotland, Lucy Sophia Thompson.

Glen Affric tartan goes on display for the first time at V&A Dundee Tartan exhibition.

New scientific research has revealed a piece of tartan found in a peat bog in Glen Affric around forty years ago can be dated to circa 1500-1600 AD, making it the oldest known surviving specimen of true tartan in Scotland. The Scottish Tartans Authority commissioned Dye Analysis and Radiocarbon testing on the woollen textile to prove its age. The first investigation was dye analysis carried out by analytical scientists from National Museums Scotland.  Using high resolution digital microscopy, four colours were visually identified for dye analysis: green and brown and possibly red and yellow.  The dye analysis confirmed the use of indigo/woad in the green but was inconclusive for the other colours, probably due to the dyestuff degradation state. However, there were no artificial or semi-synthetic dyestuffs involved in the making of the tartan, which pointed to a date of pre-1750s.

The oldest-known piece of true tartan found in Scotland

Further clarification on the age of the tartan involved radiocarbon testing at the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory in East Kilbride. The process involved washing out all the peat staining, which would have otherwise contaminated the carbon content of the textile.  The Radiocarbon testing results identified a broad date range between 1500 and 1655 AD, with the period between 1500 and 1600 AD the most probable. This makes it the oldest-known piece of true tartan found in Scotland – the Falkirk ‘tartan’, dating from the early third century AD, is actually a simpler check pattern woven using undyed yarns. The Glen Affric tartan, which measures around 55cm by 43cm has gone on display for the first time at V&A Dundee’s Tartan exhibition. The piece will be the oldest exhibit among more than 300 objects. The exhibition examines tartan’s universal and enduring appeal through iconic and everyday examples of fashion, architecture, graphic and product design, photography, furniture, glass and ceramics, film, performance and art.

Peter MacDonald, Head of Research and Collections at The Scottish Tartans Authority, said: “The testing process has taken nearly six months, but the effort was well worth it and we are thrilled with the results! In Scotland, surviving examples of old textiles are rare as the soil is not conducive to their survival. As the piece was buried in peat, meaning it had no exposure to air and was therefore preserved. The tartan has several colours with multiple stripes of different sizes, and so it corresponds to what people would think of as a true tartan. Although we can theorise about the Glen Affric tartan, it’s important that we don’t construct history around it. Although Clan Chisholm controlled that area, we cannot attribute the tartan to them as we don’t know who owned it. The potential presence of red, a colour that Gaels considered a status symbol, is interesting because of the more rustic nature of the cloth. This piece is not something you would associate with a king or someone of high status; it is more likely to be an outdoor working garment.

National and historical significance

John McLeish, Chair of The Scottish Tartans Authority, said: “The Glen Affric tartan is clearly a piece of national and historical significance. It is likely to date to the reign of James V, Mary Queen of Scots, or James VI/I. There is no other known surviving piece of tartan from this period of this age. It’s a remarkable discovery and deserves national attention and preservation. It also deserves to be seen and we’re delighted that it is to be included in the Tartan exhibition at V&A Dundee.”

James Wylie, curator at V&A Dundee, added: “We knew The Scottish Tartans Authority had a tremendous archive of material and we initially approached them to ask if they knew of any examples of ‘proto-tartans’ that could be loaned to the exhibition.  I’m delighted the exhibition has encouraged further exploration into this plaid portion and very thankful for The Scottish Tartans Authority’s backing and support in uncovering such a historic find. To be able to exhibit the Glen Affric tartan is immensely important in understanding the textile traditions from which modern tartan derives, and I’m sure visitors will appreciate seeing this on public display for the very first time.”

Tartan at V&A Dundee is on until 14 January 2024. For details see: www.vam.ac.uk/dundee

Main photo: John McLeish, chair, Peter MacDonald, tartan historian, of The Scottish Tartans Authority and V& A Dundee curator James Wylie. Photo: Alan Richardson Pix-AR.

By: Alaistair Saunders

It’s taken 5 attempts to hold our 43^rd Brigadoon Gathering, beaten by Covid 19 for two years and in 2022 defeated by the horrendous weather, but once again old mother nature had the last say, it rained, just a fine Scotch mist, but heavy enough to be uncomfortable. Mother Nature may have tried but nothing was going to stop Brigadoon from going ahead as 11,000 visitors participated in a wonderful day to celebrate all things Scottish.

The Chieftain of the day was The Rt. Honourable the 15^th Earl of Loudoun, the honourable Simon Abney-Hastings. Simon Abney-Hastings is an Australian Earl who is the current holder of one of the oldest Scottish noble titles, Earl of Loudoun. Earl of Loudoun is named after Loudoun in Ayrshire, Scotland. The Campbell’s of Loudoun are the oldest branch of the house of Argyll. The Earldom was originally granted to the 1^st Earl of Loudoun, John Campbell – Lord Chancellor of Scotland, by King Charles 1^st in 1633 and has since passed down to Simon Abney-Hastings though the laws of succession when his Father Michael, the previous Earl of Loudoun passed in 2012. The Title is one of the oldest Scottish noble titles and it carries with it the right to carry the Golden Spurs (the emblems of knighthood and chivalry) at the Coronation of a British Monarch.

Our special guest for the day was His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia accompanied by his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley. They enjoyed Brigadoon so much in 2019 (when he was Chieftain) that they couldn’t resist returning to enjoy another day of Brigadoon. The Street Parade was sight to behold with 1,000 participants, starting at 9.15am and featured 28 pipe bands, with some joining the more experienced pipe bands to gain confidence and self-esteem and they were wonderful. There were three newly formed pipe bands participating, our own Bundanoon Pipe Band, Presbyterian Ladies’ College Pipes and Drums, Sydney, and Granville Boys High School Pipe Band, Sydney. It was a wonderful experience for all of them accompanied by decorated children’s floats and marching Clans.

At 10.00am, the Chieftain of the Day officially opened the gathering. During the opening ceremony, spectators are treated to a massed pipes and drums display with 550 bandsmen and women participating. The sheer magic of this moment with traditional Scottish music and the swirling of a myriad of coloured tartans has to be experienced to be believed. As usual we had all our favourite events, Games, Scottish Country Dancing (you can even join in to the Dashing White Sergeant) Scottish Highland Dancing (Joy Reiher School of Highland Dance) Southern Highlands Kennel and Obedience Club, Bonnie Bairns and of course our Fiddlers Tent a very comprehensive and enjoyable list of events, something for everyone. A family friendly fun day out.

Bundanoon Stones

The Clans attending were Clans attending Brigadoon 2023 were: Clan Donald, Clan Buchanan, Clan Henderson, Clan MacNeil, Clan Cameron, Clan Davidson, Clan Malcolm, Clan Young, Clan Farquharson, Clan MacEwan, Clan Edmonstone, Clan Gregor, Clan Campbell (15^th Earl of Loudoun), Clan Fletcher, Clan MacLennan, Clan MacCallum, Clan Maclean, Clan Hope and Clan Sutherland. The Pipe bands performed individually throughout the day at 3 locations situated around the oval for the entertainment of the public. This is a time when the pipe bands can go out and let their hair down and play to entertain without having to comply to competition rules.  

The Kilted Warriors were lifting the Bundanoon Stones. Modelled on the MacGlashen Stones. The stones used for the current competition are 115kgs, 120kgs, 125kgs, 140kgs and 165kgs. The stones are laid out five metres apart lightest to heaviest with each competitor having to lift all five stones on top of a wooden barrel four feet in height. The person who can lift all five stones on top of the barrels in the fastest time is declared the champion of the day. The history of the stones goes back over one thousand years to the highlands of Scotland when a boy was considered to have reached manhood when he could lift two stone in weight from the bare ground onto the top of a stone dyke or fence as we know it. Most villages took part in this exercise and the stones varied from village to village. In the late 1970’s the lifting of the stones was brought back to life in Scotland with the introduction of the MacGlashsen Stones.

Bundanoon Stones Results 2023: 1^st Sean Gillen- Brigadoon Champion, 2^nd Tyler Helm, 3^rd Andrew Fraser and 4^th Macauley Tinker. Australian Highland Heavy Weight Championships involved an outstanding field of heavy weight competitors. Events included the Caber, Stone Putt, Weight for Height, Weight for Distance and Hammer throw – five events fiercely contested to produce just one overall champion. Australian Highland Heavyweight Championship results: 1^st Terry Sparkes- Brigadoon Champion, 2^nd Macauley Tinker, Joint 3^rd Kurt Livens & Lance Holland- Keen and 5^th Jamie Muscat.

The closing ceremony is really quite spectacular lasting about 30 minutes (a real mini tattoo) with the finale of the Lone Piper and the Chieftain closing the gathering for another year, Brigadoon then fades back into the mists ready to reappear on 6 April 2024. Bundanoon is a comfortable 2-hour drive from Sydney and Canberra and the South Coast, which makes it the ideal location for travellers who just want to pop in for the day or for others who wish to stay and enjoy “Brigadoon” and the hospitality and culture of the Southern Highlands. With such an influx of people coming into the area, local businesses and the hospitality trade in particular have thrived to the point where there is hardly a room available and in most cases all accommodation is booked a year in advance.

The Bundanoon Highland Gathering is a non-for-profit registered charity. Once all our costs are taken into consideration and after appropriating a management budget for the following year all surplus monies are distributed back into the local community coffers. The committee ensures that it recognises the commitment of those local volunteer and charities groups who give countless hours of labour to the gathering by disbursing monies raised on the day on a proportional basis to each organisation. To date Brigadoon has disbursed about $1.4 million back into the local community.

For more details see: www.brigadoon.org.au

Main photo: Brigadoon Clans. Photo: Melissa Venture.

Innovative methods have revealed new information, including previously unrecorded markings and further evidence of the Stone’s provenance.

Cutting-edge digital technologies and scientific analysis have revealed more of the story of the Stone of Destiny, the ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy which has long held fascination and intrigue due to the mystery of its earliest origins.  Historic Environment Scotland (HES) – who care for the Stone of Destiny on behalf of the Commissioners for the Safeguarding of the Regalia – have been carrying out the work at the Engine Shed, Scotland’s national building conservation centre. This is part of their role to prepare the Stone for the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in May, where it will be placed in the Coronation Chair for the ceremony.

A new digital 3D model of the Stone has been created, allowing the Stone to be viewed from different perspectives in higher detail than ever before. This has revealed previously unrecorded markings on the Stone’s surface, which have the appearance of Roman numerals. The digital imaging has also improved visibility of the geological features of the Stone, such as cross-bedding, which is indicative of the geological conditions in which the sandstone was formed and which is characteristic of sandstone of the Scone Sandstone Formation. The many tooling marks evident from original working of the stone and areas of wear and tear can now also be seen more clearly, as well as further details of the 1951 repair.

An object unique and important to Scotland’s history

The digital scanning has also been used to create an exact scale 3D printed replica of the Stone, which has been used to help preparations for placing the Stone in the Coronation Chair. Ewan Hyslop, Head of Research and Climate Change at HES, said: “It’s very exciting to discover new information about an object as unique and important to Scotland’s history as the Stone of Destiny. The high level of detail we’ve been able to capture through the digital imaging has enabled us to re-examine the tooling marks on the surface of the Stone, which has helped confirm that the Stone has been roughly worked by more than one stonemason with a number of different tools, as was previously thought. The discovery of previously unrecorded markings is also significant, and while at this point we’re unable to say for certain what their purpose or meaning might be, they offer the exciting opportunity for further areas of study.”

Harnessing a wider range of forensic techniques than available in the past, new scientific analysis has also uncovered additional information about the Stone. This has enhanced the results of the previous investigation in 1998, when fragments from the Stone underwent detailed examination by the British Geological Survey. This work identified the Stone as being indistinguishable from sandstones of the Scone Sandstone Formation, which outcrop in the area around Scone Palace, near Perth.  The new examination has provided further evidence for the Stone’s origins, while also unearthing more of its post-quarrying history. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis was undertaken to determine the elemental composition of the Stone, leading to the discovery of traces of copper alloy on the top surface of the Stone that coincide with a dark stain near its centre. This suggests a bronze or brass object has been in contact with or placed on the Stone at some time in its history.

The Coronation of King Charles

Microscopic traces of gypsum plaster were also found to be present, infilling pores in the sandstone at various places around the Stone, possibly traces of a plaster cast that was taken some time in the past.  Ewan continued: “The scientific analysis we’ve been able to undertake using cutting-edge techniques that weren’t previously available to us have offered some intriguing new clues to the history of the Stone. We may not have all the answers at this stage, but what we’ve been able to uncover is testament to a variety of uses in the Stone’s long history and contributes to its provenance and authenticity.  The Engine Shed is one of very few places within the heritage sector globally to offer this kind of cutting-edge digital and science work, and we’re delighted to be able to demonstrate the potential of these methods to enhance our understanding of such an important piece of our past as the Stone of Destiny.”

The Stone of Destiny will be included in the Coronation of King Charles III, where it will be placed within the Coronation Chair for the ceremony, before returning to Scotland. A number of different teams within HES, with a range of specialist expertise, are involved in preparing the Stone for its move to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation, working in partnership with the Conservation team at Westminster Abbey.

The 3D digital model of the Stone of Destiny is available to view on Sketchfab: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/stone-of-destiny-edinburgh-castle-4d46d1df627d41a2adc65f6550b2fa9c

Main photo: Member of the HES Digital Documentation & Innovation team digitally scanning the Stone of Destiny at Edinburgh Castle.