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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I was contacted by the Clan Baird Society this week and have been promised some information from them in the near future. Also been getting in more information on the Appin Stewarts through an exchange of emails.
When I get contacted by clans I usually take that as an opportunity to check our page for them and update links to the clan if needed. I also make a point of seeing if there is any other information available and if found will add that to the site.
I've also been reading and researching information on the two world wars and in particular this week I was reading the biography of Australian/New Zealander Air Marshall Sir Arthur Coningham who fought in both wars. I really enjoyed this book and read it over 2 days and as a result have added it to the site for which more below.
On the Brexit front I confess to getting a bit tired of all the confusing information coming out daily from the news media. For example this week we got scare stores about chicken in a possible US-UK trade deal. In the news I have added a couple of links showing what the real situation is. However if you didn't read the information within those two articles you'd be very concerned. And even our politicians seem skewed to reacting to this type of news which certainly makes you think about how daft they are.
I also wonder why we have so many journalists that want to see Britain off when it comes to Brexit. I mean both the Tories and Labour seem to agree that we're leaving the EU, the Single Market and the European Court of Justice. So why aren't we accepting this and getting on with making a success of it. I mean even good news is somehow "Despite Brexit". To me it just doesn't make sense and no-one has yet explained to me why leaving the EU but staying in the single market and being adjudicated by the ECJ is better for us. It also means we wouldn't be able to do our own trade deals so why would this be good for us?
I am also coming to the conclusion that "Sturgeon the Whiner" time is up as the SNP need to look again at how to make Scotland an Independent country as right now all they are showing is incompetence in running Scotland. They need a whole new strategy which is why I think it's time for the SNP to find a new leader.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Archaeologists hit jackpot after sun uncovers neolithic markings
Neolithic butterfly-like markings have been discovered by chance in Orkney after they were illuminated by the early morning sun.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/peo...ings-1-4509215
Ancient Gaelic step dance tradition being kept alive
A 26-year-old dancer from Skye is helping to bring the ancient Gaelic tradition of step dance into the 21st century.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/regions/inve...live-1-4509166
5,000 years of Scottish history summed up in 25 objects
They are the objects deemed to have shaped Scotland’s history, ranging from a medieval football to Antarctic goggles and a dancing fiddle.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/5-0...ects-1-4508701
Orkney archaeologists excited by incense pot discovery
Archaeologists say they have unearthed the remains of a so-called incense pot at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...tland-40681085
Electricity shake-up could save consumers up to £40bn
Consumers in the UK could save billions of pounds thanks to major changes in the way electricity is made, used and stored, the government has said.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40699986
How Bite Beauty is building an all-natural lipstick business
When Susanne Langmuir faces a big problem at Bite Beauty she asks herself: What would Louis do?
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39970721
Honeymoon over for Macron as his approval ratings take a hit
French voters turned off by President Macron’s authoritarian and image-conscious streak have helped trigger a ten-point fall in his approval ratings in the past month.
Read more at:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...6a1d9e79577406
We have nothing to fear from American chicken
Today’s Brexit horror story has landed: we’re going to be inundated with chlorine-washed chickens. This is a great example of false news and here are two stories of why.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/we-have-nothing-to-f...rican-chickens and also
http://www.thinkscotland.org/thinkcu...ead_full=13241
Burghead dig unearths Pictish longhouse
Archaeologists have uncovered important new details of a Pictish settlement at Burghead Fort.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...tland-40709112
Scotland's waterways opened up to virtual visitors
Mobile 360-degree camera technology has helped open up 137 miles of panoramic views of Scotland's waterways to online visitors.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...ntral-40716996
Brexit means leaving the single market and the customs union. Here’s why
The 52% who voted to leave the EU would consider it a con if Britain was out of Europe but still subservient to its laws and institutions
Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...britain-europe
The abandoned island you can visit just one day a year
The isle of Eynhallow remains a time capsule in Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2017...ear?ocid=fbert
Meet the futuristic sex robot
Developers claim is ‘game-changer. This is the No. 1 trending story in the Scotsman.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/mee...nger-1-4514808
The last township that survived the Highland Clearances
Auchindrain in Argyll, a scattering of cottages and longhouses south of Inverary, was first recorded more than 500 years ago.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-las...nces-1-4514302
Electric Canadian
Out of the North
By Howard V. Sutherland (1913) (pdf).
This is a small selection of poems about the far north which you can read at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...ofthenorth.pdf
Aviation in Canada 1917-1918
Being a brief account of the work of the Royal Air Force Canada, the Aviation Department of the Imperial Munitions Board and the Canadian Aeroplanes Limited compiled by Alan Sullivan, Lt. R.A.F.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/forc...oninCanada.pdf
John Wallace Baird (1869-1919)
Professor of Psychology to out Makers of Canada section at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/make...ohnwallace.pdf
Conrad Black
I've always had a lot of time for Conrad Black and so as he writes from Canada on a number of issues of interest from around the world I'm intending to include links to his writings for you to view.
Moment of Truth for the Chief Western Democracies
http://www.conradmblack.com/1311/mom...rn-democracies
Electric Scotland
The History of Guilford County, North Carolina
By Sallis W. Stockard (1902) (pdf)
As there are many Scots in North Carolina I thought I'd bring you this history which can be read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...fguildford.pdf
Clan MacAlpine
Got in some history and the Lord Lyon Commission statement along with their current newsletter which I've added as pdf files to the foot of our MacAlpine history page. You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/webc.../macalpi2.html
MacAlpine or On Scottish Ground
Found this 3 volume novel which I thought might be of interest to some of the clan and others. Added it to our MacAlpine page at:http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macalpi.html
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The First Book of Maccabees - General Editor A. F. Kirkpatrick, D.D. with Introduction and Notes by The Rev. W. Fairweather, M.A. and J. Sutherand Black, LL.D (1897)
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bible/maccabees.pdf
Miscellaneous Botanical Works
By Robert Brown, Esq., D.C.L., F.R.S. (1866) in 2 volumes. Added a link to these books to the foot of the page at:http://www.electricscotland.com/agri...physicians.htm
Coningham
A Biography of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC by Vincent Orange (1992)
I actually read the entire book and was amazed at the information contained within it. The book is also quite critical of Montgomery who I had thought was an excellent Field Commander. He was born in Australia but saw himself as a New Zealander.
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../coningham.pdf
The Life of The Rev. Robert Baird, D. D.
By his son, Henry M. Baird, Professor in the University of the City of New York (1866) (pdf). Added a link to this book at the foot of our Baird page in the Scottish Nation.
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...tion/baird.htm
Spencer Fullerton Baird
One of the foremost American naturalists. This is a biography of him which I've added a link to from his entry in Scots in Science and Invention about half way down the page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...nts/chap18.htm
James MacLaren and Mrs Margaret Stewart
Got in a couple of pdf documents which I';ve added to our Appin page along with some correspondence generated by the content.
You can read all this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...loden/c21.html
Stewarts of Appin
Added a link to this book from our own Appin Stewarts page at the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...n_stewarts.htm
The Story
I have been spending some time recently looking at the two world wars and am quite amazed at my total ignorance of how they played out. It seems to me that a Canadian made a huge difference to the outcome of the first world war and an Australian/New Zealander likewise made a huge difference in the second world war.
I am also quite amazed at how poor many of our officers were in fighting both wars given that they had undergone appropriate training. I certainly hope the officers of today are far better trained. That said I remember the terrible attack on one of our ships in the Falklands war where an officer instructed a naval ship to carry Welsh troops around the island but ended up doing it in daylight where they were totally open to attack and where there ended up being many killed and wounded. I also remember the two frigates that were destroyed as they had been build in aluminum which is why they continued to burn. I hope we learned from that.
Then I always thought that General Montgomery was a real hero in the war but it seems he was something of a duffer and actually caused many deaths due to his incompetence.
The books that have made a difference to my thinking on the wars are:
Canada’s Part in the Great War
By Col. Geo. G. Nasmith, C. M. G., Toronto
http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/war_great.htm
This made me realise how important the Canadians were in the first world war and certainly while I knew the Canadians were involved I had absolutely no idea how important they were.
A Biography of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../coningham.pdf
This book to me demonstrated how much more important the RAF were other than the Battle of Britain and this biography shows how important this Australian/New Zealander was in the second world war.
I also have major sections for our Armed Forces on Electric Scotland at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotreg/
And Electric Canadian at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/index.htm
The two links above on Canada and Coningham will likely take most of a week to read so I hope you enjoy reading them.
And that's it for this week and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I was contacted by the Clan Baird Society this week and have been promised some information from them in the near future. Also been getting in more information on the Appin Stewarts through an exchange of emails.
When I get contacted by clans I usually take that as an opportunity to check our page for them and update links to the clan if needed. I also make a point of seeing if there is any other information available and if found will add that to the site.
I've also been reading and researching information on the two world wars and in particular this week I was reading the biography of Australian/New Zealander Air Marshall Sir Arthur Coningham who fought in both wars. I really enjoyed this book and read it over 2 days and as a result have added it to the site for which more below.
On the Brexit front I confess to getting a bit tired of all the confusing information coming out daily from the news media. For example this week we got scare stores about chicken in a possible US-UK trade deal. In the news I have added a couple of links showing what the real situation is. However if you didn't read the information within those two articles you'd be very concerned. And even our politicians seem skewed to reacting to this type of news which certainly makes you think about how daft they are.
I also wonder why we have so many journalists that want to see Britain off when it comes to Brexit. I mean both the Tories and Labour seem to agree that we're leaving the EU, the Single Market and the European Court of Justice. So why aren't we accepting this and getting on with making a success of it. I mean even good news is somehow "Despite Brexit". To me it just doesn't make sense and no-one has yet explained to me why leaving the EU but staying in the single market and being adjudicated by the ECJ is better for us. It also means we wouldn't be able to do our own trade deals so why would this be good for us?
I am also coming to the conclusion that "Sturgeon the Whiner" time is up as the SNP need to look again at how to make Scotland an Independent country as right now all they are showing is incompetence in running Scotland. They need a whole new strategy which is why I think it's time for the SNP to find a new leader.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Archaeologists hit jackpot after sun uncovers neolithic markings
Neolithic butterfly-like markings have been discovered by chance in Orkney after they were illuminated by the early morning sun.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/peo...ings-1-4509215
Ancient Gaelic step dance tradition being kept alive
A 26-year-old dancer from Skye is helping to bring the ancient Gaelic tradition of step dance into the 21st century.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/regions/inve...live-1-4509166
5,000 years of Scottish history summed up in 25 objects
They are the objects deemed to have shaped Scotland’s history, ranging from a medieval football to Antarctic goggles and a dancing fiddle.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/5-0...ects-1-4508701
Orkney archaeologists excited by incense pot discovery
Archaeologists say they have unearthed the remains of a so-called incense pot at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...tland-40681085
Electricity shake-up could save consumers up to £40bn
Consumers in the UK could save billions of pounds thanks to major changes in the way electricity is made, used and stored, the government has said.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40699986
How Bite Beauty is building an all-natural lipstick business
When Susanne Langmuir faces a big problem at Bite Beauty she asks herself: What would Louis do?
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39970721
Honeymoon over for Macron as his approval ratings take a hit
French voters turned off by President Macron’s authoritarian and image-conscious streak have helped trigger a ten-point fall in his approval ratings in the past month.
Read more at:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...6a1d9e79577406
We have nothing to fear from American chicken
Today’s Brexit horror story has landed: we’re going to be inundated with chlorine-washed chickens. This is a great example of false news and here are two stories of why.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/we-have-nothing-to-f...rican-chickens and also
http://www.thinkscotland.org/thinkcu...ead_full=13241
Burghead dig unearths Pictish longhouse
Archaeologists have uncovered important new details of a Pictish settlement at Burghead Fort.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...tland-40709112
Scotland's waterways opened up to virtual visitors
Mobile 360-degree camera technology has helped open up 137 miles of panoramic views of Scotland's waterways to online visitors.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...ntral-40716996
Brexit means leaving the single market and the customs union. Here’s why
The 52% who voted to leave the EU would consider it a con if Britain was out of Europe but still subservient to its laws and institutions
Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...britain-europe
The abandoned island you can visit just one day a year
The isle of Eynhallow remains a time capsule in Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2017...ear?ocid=fbert
Meet the futuristic sex robot
Developers claim is ‘game-changer. This is the No. 1 trending story in the Scotsman.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/mee...nger-1-4514808
The last township that survived the Highland Clearances
Auchindrain in Argyll, a scattering of cottages and longhouses south of Inverary, was first recorded more than 500 years ago.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-las...nces-1-4514302
Electric Canadian
Out of the North
By Howard V. Sutherland (1913) (pdf).
This is a small selection of poems about the far north which you can read at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...ofthenorth.pdf
Aviation in Canada 1917-1918
Being a brief account of the work of the Royal Air Force Canada, the Aviation Department of the Imperial Munitions Board and the Canadian Aeroplanes Limited compiled by Alan Sullivan, Lt. R.A.F.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/forc...oninCanada.pdf
John Wallace Baird (1869-1919)
Professor of Psychology to out Makers of Canada section at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/make...ohnwallace.pdf
Conrad Black
I've always had a lot of time for Conrad Black and so as he writes from Canada on a number of issues of interest from around the world I'm intending to include links to his writings for you to view.
Moment of Truth for the Chief Western Democracies
http://www.conradmblack.com/1311/mom...rn-democracies
Electric Scotland
The History of Guilford County, North Carolina
By Sallis W. Stockard (1902) (pdf)
As there are many Scots in North Carolina I thought I'd bring you this history which can be read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...fguildford.pdf
Clan MacAlpine
Got in some history and the Lord Lyon Commission statement along with their current newsletter which I've added as pdf files to the foot of our MacAlpine history page. You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/webc.../macalpi2.html
MacAlpine or On Scottish Ground
Found this 3 volume novel which I thought might be of interest to some of the clan and others. Added it to our MacAlpine page at:http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macalpi.html
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The First Book of Maccabees - General Editor A. F. Kirkpatrick, D.D. with Introduction and Notes by The Rev. W. Fairweather, M.A. and J. Sutherand Black, LL.D (1897)
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bible/maccabees.pdf
Miscellaneous Botanical Works
By Robert Brown, Esq., D.C.L., F.R.S. (1866) in 2 volumes. Added a link to these books to the foot of the page at:http://www.electricscotland.com/agri...physicians.htm
Coningham
A Biography of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC by Vincent Orange (1992)
I actually read the entire book and was amazed at the information contained within it. The book is also quite critical of Montgomery who I had thought was an excellent Field Commander. He was born in Australia but saw himself as a New Zealander.
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../coningham.pdf
The Life of The Rev. Robert Baird, D. D.
By his son, Henry M. Baird, Professor in the University of the City of New York (1866) (pdf). Added a link to this book at the foot of our Baird page in the Scottish Nation.
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...tion/baird.htm
Spencer Fullerton Baird
One of the foremost American naturalists. This is a biography of him which I've added a link to from his entry in Scots in Science and Invention about half way down the page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...nts/chap18.htm
James MacLaren and Mrs Margaret Stewart
Got in a couple of pdf documents which I';ve added to our Appin page along with some correspondence generated by the content.
You can read all this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...loden/c21.html
Stewarts of Appin
Added a link to this book from our own Appin Stewarts page at the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...n_stewarts.htm
The Story
I have been spending some time recently looking at the two world wars and am quite amazed at my total ignorance of how they played out. It seems to me that a Canadian made a huge difference to the outcome of the first world war and an Australian/New Zealander likewise made a huge difference in the second world war.
I am also quite amazed at how poor many of our officers were in fighting both wars given that they had undergone appropriate training. I certainly hope the officers of today are far better trained. That said I remember the terrible attack on one of our ships in the Falklands war where an officer instructed a naval ship to carry Welsh troops around the island but ended up doing it in daylight where they were totally open to attack and where there ended up being many killed and wounded. I also remember the two frigates that were destroyed as they had been build in aluminum which is why they continued to burn. I hope we learned from that.
Then I always thought that General Montgomery was a real hero in the war but it seems he was something of a duffer and actually caused many deaths due to his incompetence.
The books that have made a difference to my thinking on the wars are:
Canada’s Part in the Great War
By Col. Geo. G. Nasmith, C. M. G., Toronto
http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/war_great.htm
This made me realise how important the Canadians were in the first world war and certainly while I knew the Canadians were involved I had absolutely no idea how important they were.
A Biography of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../coningham.pdf
This book to me demonstrated how much more important the RAF were other than the Battle of Britain and this biography shows how important this Australian/New Zealander was in the second world war.
I also have major sections for our Armed Forces on Electric Scotland at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotreg/
And Electric Canadian at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/index.htm
The two links above on Canada and Coningham will likely take most of a week to read so I hope you enjoy reading them.
And that's it for this week and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair