Thursday, November 22, 2012
Walmart Bingo
Friday, November 16, 2012
A Moment To Remember
Watching The Fog In The Fog
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A Time Remembered
Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, named after Irish Saint, Bishop Donan, is recognised as one of the most famous castles around the world and is one of the most visited castles in the Scottish Highlands.
Strategically located on an island at the point where three great sea lochs meet it was first inhabited around the 6th century by the Picts. Since then, at least four different versions of the castle have been built and re-built as the feudal history of Scotland unfolded through the centuries.
The first fortified castle was built in the mid 13th century and stood guard over the lands of Kintail. At this time, the area was at the boundary of the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross.
In 1539 Iain Dubh Matheson, chief of the Clan Matheson, died whilst defending the castle against the Clan Macdonald of Sleat on behalf of Clan Macrae and Clan Mackenzie.
Supporters of the exiled James Stewart, the "Old Pretender", sought new support from Spain and led to the Jacobite uprising of 1715. An advance party of 300 Spanish soldiers arrived in Loch Duich in April 1719, and occupied Eilean Donan Castle. The expected uprising of Highlanders did not occur, and the main Spanish invasion force never arrived.
At the beginning of May, the Royal Navy sent ships to the area. Early in the morning on Sunday 10 May, HMS Worcester, HMS Flamborough, and HMS Enterprise anchored off Eilean Donan and sent a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate. When the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat, it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more. The next day the bombardment continued while a landing party was prepared.
In the evening under the cover of an intense cannonade, the ships' boats went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. According to Worcester's log, in the castle they found "an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a sergeant, one Scots rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot".
The naval force spent the next two days demolishing the castle, which took 27 barrels of gunpowder. The Spanish prisoners were put on board Flamborough and taken to Edinburgh. The remaining Spanish troops were defeated on 10 June at the Battle of Glen Shiel.
Eilean Donan lay in ruins for the best part of 200 years until Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and proceeded to restore the castle to its former glory. After 20 years of toil and labour the castle was re-opened in 1932.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The Path To Scottish Independence
David Cameron will meet Alex Salmond in Edinburgh following months of negotiations about the ballot, expected to be held in autumn 2014. Salmond's deputy Nicola Sturgeon said the agreement would allow opposing campaigners to focus on the issues at the heart of the debate.
Sturgeon told Sky News: "The good thing about getting the process issues out of the way, which we'll do tomorrow, is that we can get on to that substantive debate about why Scotland would be better as an independent country."
The ballot is likely to be limited to a single Yes-No option. Suggestions of a second question on further devolution, short of independence, were firmly opposed by the UK Government.
The referendum is expected to be open to 16 and 17-year-olds as supported by the Nationalists.
"If you consider issues over the timing, the question, the franchise, all issues which at the start of the year David Cameron was making noises about...all of these things will now be determined by the Scottish Parliament. I think that is a very good outcome," Sturgeon told the Murnaghan show. "Over the next couple of years we will set out all of the answers to the questions people rightly are asking about independence. We will make it abundantly clear what people will be voting for if they vote 'yes'. But of course the responsibility also lies with those advocating a 'no' vote to say what voting no would mean. As far as I can see it would mean the continued dismantling of our welfare state and the continued squandering of Scotland's resources."
Moore said the agreement would produce a referendum that would be "legal, fair and decisive".
The Liberal Democrat told BBC One's Sunday Politics show: "I think it's a good agreement. I believe it will now allow us to put up in lights the big issues about the big debate...on what is best for Scotland.
"I believe that when we look at the economy, at defence, at our place in the world, on all these big issues people across Scotland will continue to support Scotland being in the United Kingdom. Independence is about Scotland leaving the UK, becoming a separate state, taking on all the burdens and risks that go with that and losing the benefits and opportunities that we have as part of the UK. Any detail about who is voting and who isn't has to be in the referendum bill that the Scottish Government will put to the parliament in due course. As a Liberal Democrat I don't have a problem with 16 and 17-year-olds being involved in elections or referenda. I accept that at a Westminster level there's no consensus and you'd need that to be able to move on."
Saturday, October 13, 2012
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