“Scotland the Brave” (Scottish Gaelic: Alba an Àigh) is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. My cellphone ringtone is Scotland the Brave. At any rehearsal, everyone knows it’s my phone, if one is ringing 🙂 I posted a bit about that here: http://maryoblog.com/2015/08/ Below, the …
Tag: Scotland
Feb 07
Sean Connery
This video just came up on my Facebook feed but I hadn’t seen it before. This was a fantastic performance for Sean Connery in 1999. Sean Connery was honored at the Kennedy Center for lifetime achievements. The music consists of the Washington Pipe Band, Alasdair Fraser, Davidson School of Scottish Dance, Mairi Campbell and Dave …
Jan 25
It’s Burns Night!
Burns Night commemorates the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759. The day also celebrates Burns’ contribution to Scottish culture. Burns’ best-known work is “Auld Lang Syne”. We were at the Edinburgh Tattoo for this performance but I didn’t take this video. Haggis, …
Jan 14
Greyfriar’s Bobby Day!
When we were in Scotland a couple years ago, we walked to Edinburgh Castle and back from hotel a couple times. I had never heard of Greyfriar’s Bobby until our bus tour the second day although we had walked by the statue 3 times already! On our 4th pass-by, we saw several people taking pictures …
Jan 06
Today is…National Shortbread Day
Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert traditionally made with: 1 part white sugar (I use powdered) 2 parts butter 3 parts flour (I usually use rice flour) And a bit of salt Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture which is caused by its high-fat content, provided by the butter. “Shortening” is …
Jan 01
First Foot on Hogmanay
In Scottish folklore, the first-foot is the first person to enter the home of a household on New Year’s Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at …
Nov 11
Giving Thanks on Veterans Day
Giving thanks to our Veterans today I’m not sure how Veterans Day turned into a Monday holiday and a day to sell stuff, but then, most every holiday has turned into a day for stores to run “sales”. Possibly, the original intent was to give our veterans a break but it has sure morphed away …
Oct 15
Scotland ~ Living in Caves
Since we recently went there, I’m following all kinds of news items and blogs about Scotland. I found this one particularly interesting. Cave dwelling has stone age connotations for most people today , but in Scotland living in caves only ceased 100 years ago when it was outlawed in 1915. Alison Campsie looks back at …