Robert McAngus
Sep 7, 2018 · 5 min read

The Daily Thistle — Historical and Archeological News From Scotland

Friday 7th September 2018

“Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. The first thing I will ask you to do, is SHARE this edition of The Daily Thistle as Facebook has restricted me once again from sharing to groups I do not control or am an Admin of… so please SHARE the hell out of this post… on a more Happier note they have been digging up the Queens garden and finding all sorts of stuff and as I get more information I shall let you know.. so read on and enjoy.. I’m going to have another cup of coffee..

QUEEN’S EDINBURGH RESIDENCE YIELDS 800-YEAR-OLD ARTIFACTS…. EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND — According to a BBC report, archaeologists have uncovered artifacts going back 800 years at the Palace of Holyrood House, Queen Elizabeth II’s official residence in Scotland. Discoveries include a twelfth-century jug fragment, a horse skeleton, and a medieval shoe, as well as a cache of oyster shells and wine bottles. The latter may provide insight into the diets of courtiers and ambassadors during the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI of Scotland, who became James I after being crowned king of England in 1603. Researchers also unearthed wine and spirit vessels, food remains, and fragments of children’s games, which belonged to families living in nearby tenements during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. “The survey has provided a unique opportunity to understand more about the fascinating development of the Abbey Strand and its surroundings,” says archaeologist Gordon Ewart, referring to the stretch of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile that culminates at the palace, “and to explore how the site has been the historic and symbolic bridge between the palace and the city of Edinburgh for centuries.”

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY…. This day in 1836 saw the birth of Henry Campbell Bannerman, the British Prime Minister. Born in Glasgow and educated at Glasgow and Cambridge, Bannerman became the Liberal MP for Stirling in 1868, a position he held until his death. He climbed the parliamentary ranks, serving as Secretary for Ireland during Gladstone’s administration in 1884 and entering the cabinet as Secretary for War in 1886, before becoming leader of the Liberal Party in 1899. Bannerman became Prime Minister in 1905 following Balfour’s resignation, and led his party to a landslide victory in the 1906 general election. His brilliant cabinet included Asquith, Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill. Ill health forced Bannerman to hand over the leadership to Asquith, and he died two weeks later in 1908.

GAVIN MAXWELL PASSED AWAY ON THIS DAY…. He lived from 15 July 1914 to 7 September 1969. He was a naturalist and author, best known for his work with otters. His most popular book was Ring of Bright Water, published in 1960. This described how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland. The otter, Mijbil, was eventually identified as a previously unknown sub-species of the Smooth-coated Otter, since named after Maxwell: Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli. The book went on to sell over a million copies and was made into a film. The sub-species Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli may have fared less well: following extensive drainage of its natural environment in Iraq it is feared to be extinct… I must at this point tell you he had nothing to do with a Silver Hammer..

IN THIS WEEK…. The Shetland Isles were mortgaged to Scotland for 8,000 florins as part of the marriage agreement between the future James III and Princess Margrethe of Denmark. For the most northerly railway in Britain, go to Thurso. For the “most northerly” of just about anything else, you need to come to Shetland. The name, sometimes in the past referred to as Zetland (hence the “ZE” beginning to postcodes), comes from the Norse name for the islands, Hjaltland. For accommodation in Shetland see the links in the “See and Stay” menu above. See the map below for an outline of Shetland and links to connecting areas. Because most maps of Scotland include Shetland in a box near the top right hand corner, not many people have a strong sense of where this archipelago of 100 islands and islets lies. It comes as a surprise to many to discover it is nearer Bergen than Aberdeen; that it is further north than Moscow or southern Greenland; and that Lerwick is as far as Milan from London. The population of Shetland is around 23,000. Shetland was Norse until 8 September 1468, when the islands were mortgaged to Scotland for 8,000 florins as part of the marriage agreement between the future James III and Princess Margrethe of Denmark. In 1472 the Scots annexed both Shetland and Orkney.

HUGH MACDIARMID PASSED AWAY THIS WEEK IN 1951….Hugh MacDiarmid, was the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve, who lived from 11 August 1892 to 9 September 1978. He is widely regarded as the most important Scottish poet of the 20th Century.
He moved with his wife to Biggar in 1951 and that was where died on 9th September 1978. In all Grieve/MacDiarmid published around 30 books and many shorter works and articles. The poetry he produced in his later life is often viewed as difficult and inaccessible, but brilliant. The two volume Complete Poems, published after Grieve’s death, ran to 1500 pages.

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of a peculiar nature or is that, nature at it’s most peculiar…?

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it’s always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of “Colombian” Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 7th September 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff….But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus
#Scotland
#News
#Spain

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