Category Archives: Scotland

Living in Scotland, issues and people and places.

Scottish/Italian Photo Tour

Posted on July 16, 2008 | 1 comment

I overreached. From left to right first is Glasgow Cathedral founded by St. Mungo in the 6th century. Next is Doune Castle (known to Monty Python fans as Castle Anthrax and others). Next is Rosslyn Chapel, followed by on the bottom row, the William Wallace Memorial in Stirling (see the castle), Melrose Abbey in the Borders and Santa Maria dei Fiore, the tallest building in Florence.

We went there for 24 hours on a cheapie fare. What can I say? We’re now globetrotters. Don’t get me started on Greece and its food and gorgeous waters. D

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Posted in Editorial, Scotland

The One O’Clock Gun

Posted on July 16, 2008 | Leave a comment

Every day in Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-burra) except Sundays and holidays the one o’clock gun goes off at Edinburgh Castle. It allowed city residents and ships in the harbor to synchronize their watches, so to speak.

It also allowed a little dog at Greyfriars Church on Candlemaker’s row to stroll from his master’s grave to the local pub where he got a free lunch. Parents and grandparents, get the book and movie “Greyfriars Bobby” for the little ones.

So why is it a one o’clock gun? Because the Scots are notoriously frugal and a 12 o’clock gun would have used up 12 cannonballs each day. Thus the one o’clock gun.

The restaurants and museums in Edinburgh were incredible. I’ll do a photo essay for you one of these days.

Take care and write in and let me know what you’re interested in.

I miss living in Scotland. I always told local residents that I’d never seen grass that green. They invariably said, it’s grass, it’s green. Big deal. D

Cranachan

Posted on June 9, 2008 | 2 comments

This recipe comes from The Open Arms Hotel in Lothian, Scotland

Cranachan is very Scottish, served traditionally at Halloween when charms with special significance were folded into the mixture. You might find a ring for marriage, a button for bachelorhood, a thimble for spinsterhood, coins for wealth, and horseshoes for luck. Unfortunately my Cranachan at the Open Arms contained none of these, but the flavor combination of lightly toasted oatmeal, cream, sugar, and whisky was Scottish!

• 1-1/4 cups (4-6 oz) pinhead oatmeal *
• 5 cups cream, beaten until thick
• honey
• whisky
• Strawberries or any fresh fruit in season
• Petticoat tails or shortbread biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C (350 deg. F)
2. Put the oatmeal in a baking dish and bake until lightly brown.
3. Mix the oatmeal and cream together, flavour with honey and whisky according to your taste.
4. Serve in individual glass dishes topped with strawberries (or other seasonal fruit) and garnished with a petticoat tail or shortbread.

* Pinhead oats are groats that have been chopped into small pieces. They’re chewier than rolled oats, and grain aficionados often prefer them for certain recipes.

Contributed by Carolyn Sherry

Thank you for sharing! Carolyn is a member of the Scottish Council and has urged her fellow members to share ancient family recipes with you.

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Posted in Recipes, Scotland

Saving the Scottish Wildcat

Posted on June 8, 2008 | Leave a comment

Like the Scots, this cat cannot be domesticated and will fight to the death to remain free. I just received this post from the local Highland group that I joined when we returned from living in Scotland last year.

http://wildcats.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_endangered_scottish_wild_cat contains interesting information about this endangered animal. It came to me courtesy of scottishcouncil@yahoogroups.com which is a publication of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scottishcouncil/

My interest in this subject comes from years of volunteering at monthly clinics of San Diego’s Feral Cat Coalition, which also has a very interesting website with complete instructions for spay/neuter clinics for feral cat colony maintenance at the Feral Cat Coalition.

Scotland

Posted on June 5, 2008 | Leave a comment

My husband and I were fortunate enough to be sent to Scotland for work for three months just last year. While no-one in the UK seems to be able to make a decent burger, there are other assets at hand.

We lived in a flat just off George Square in Glasgow and my US girlfriend and I toured twice a week and then we went on weekend jaunts as well.

Interestingly, the Scots make great Italian pizzas. Our favorite place was on Italian Square off George Square – Piazza Italia. Don’t go to the bar on the corner, but head in to the no-traffic street and look to your right and Rocco will be looking for you. He has great pizzas and mussels. Careful, Rocco is formerly a carabinieri in Florence. He’s also a sweetheart who treated us very well during the months we lived next door.

The Mussel Inn is a treat, mussels by weight, with your choice of sauce. Incredible. Just go and slurp mussels and eat French bread.

Pizza in the hole, is a downstairs eatery/brewery along the main streets, Republic Bier Halle. Check it out online http://www.qype.co.uk/place/136718-Republic-Bier-Halle-Glasgow.

During our time there this may be the best photo I took, inside Glasgow Cathedral, St. Mungo’s place. Do yourself a favor and visit Scotland. There is so much history in the castles (Stirling, Edinburgh) and churches (Melrose, Rosslyn) and museums that you’ll never want for something to do. You don’t need to golf to be amazed at the color of the grass and, in the spring, the rapeseed fields you’ll see on the train.

Make sure to visit castles Craigmillar, Doune (of Monty Python fame) and Linlithgow, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Enjoy!