Alan's comments (member since Feb 01, 2008)

Alan's comments from the Good Readers of Scotland group.

I'm sure there is a MacDonald genealogical site on the island of Skye. I've never been but I'm told its a pretty sort of place...

Thumbs up for 'The Testiment of Gideon Mack' from me, too.

Recently I read Iain Bank's Compicity, which was also pretty decent. I'm not sure I fully got the use of the second person in part of the narrative, however. I must have missed something, but don't want to give any of the plot away.

There are so many places.

Check out these sites (I found them through Google) - thought you might like to choose a place for yourself:

http://www.scotlandview.co.uk/
http://www.scotlandphotos.net/sea_views_...

Oh, and St Andrews has good cliff top views too - if you can avoid the golfers.

Slightly different but on a similar theme: My favourite journey in Scotland is the road that goes from Rannoch Moor through Glencoe and up to Mallaig via Fort William. There's a beach near Arisaig that has white sand and clear blue water, and islands out in the sea. It's so remote its quiet even in high summer. Anyone else got a favourite spot.

The sgian dubh is sheathed, too, which is quite handy. I don't think it would be very safe having a naked blade against your leg?

Interesting that people have been finding sporrans not made of seal skin - the shops around me all insisted that seal was the material used, and we had to do a fair bit of searching to find a sporran that was made of something else. I only bought the kilt a few years ago, but maybe demand has forced suppliers to look at alternatives. That would be good news.

As for who wears t'he kilt at formal functions: I get the sense that this is a 'new' tradition. Its more the younger guys who wear it, although some of the older men do as well. It seems to go down well with the ladies, too!

I've got a kilt I put on for weddings too. It's not uncomfortable at all.

It's becoming more and more common for guys to wear rather than a morning suit. At least with a kilt you can be a bit individual - the suits are all very similar I think.

My sporran is made of plastic - my other half didn't want me using anything made from seal's skin. The sgian dubh is plastic too - a real one is probably classed as offensive weapon these days!

The Highlander/Lowlander thing is a bit complicated - both groups seem to have treated the other with suspition and contempt in the past.

People often think of the Highlands as if it is Scotland - but there's a lot to the Lowlands, too. There's a great deal of history in these parts though I think most of that can be overlooked when confronted by the tartanalia of the kilt - something, I'm told, that was largely introduced to Scotland by Walter Scott during a visit from the King (one of the Georges, I seem to remember, who resided in England and didn't come north often). And then the whole romantic Highland thing took legs when Queen Victoria fell in love with Deeside, and it became fashionable in London to copy the Queen's taste for a Highland retreat. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, folks, I'm not an historian.)

Language-wise, Gaelic is still alive and kicking, and, I think, quite similar to Irish, but there are precious few Gaelic speakers where I'm fron (near the Scotland / England border). These are not the same as Welsh, which is also still alive and well, though they come from the same root.

There's a bit of debate as to whether the way Lowlanders spoke in the past, or speak now, is a dialect of English, or is a distinct language. It is usually called Scots, or Lallans. It was often seen as the language of the common folk and frowned upon by the intelligentia who needed to speak English to appear educated. There are differences with English, for example with the surname Menzies, which is pronounced Mingies.

If you are interested in the history of the Lowlands one of the books I've read about the border area that is particularly good in The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser. ISBN is 0002727463. That gives a good flavour of Scottish / English rivalry and an indication that the clan system was not only a Highland thing.

There are many different historic periods to look at if you really get in to it.

I'm working my way through volume II of James Hogg's Ettrick Shepherd's Tales. The books got a really old fashioned typeface which I find I can only concentrate on in small doses and - I'm ashamed to say - some of the Scots dialect escapes me, even though the characters are mostly from around my area. There a some chilling tales in the collection, dealing with assorted spirits, brownies and devils, and all in all, its worth the effort, and I'll get to the end of it eventually.

I've also started reading Ben Okri's 'The Famished Road'. It took me a few pages to get to grips with some of the imagery - I kept trying to imaging the 'people' that were surrounding the narrator and it took me a while to accept the reality of the narrative. It is good so far though, and I really like the way it slips seemlessly between the real and spirit world and jumbles it all up. I'm working my way through volume II of James Hogg's Ettrick Shepherd's Tales. The books got a really old fashioned typeface which I find I can only concentrate on in small doses and - I'm ashamed to say - some of the Scots dialect escapes me, even though the characters are mostly from around my area. There a some chilling tales in the collection, dealing with assorted spirits, brownies and devils, and all in all, its worth the effort, and I'll get to the end of it eventually.

ps I'm posting this from work - my ancient PC won't let me submit anything for some reason.

Hello everyone

I'm Alan and I'm from Dumfries.

I've nearly always got my head in a book of some description. My long time favourite genres being fantasy or sci-fi. Recently I've been trying out works from outside my 'comfort zone' and I'm finding that quite rewarding.

Other interests: Well, I write a bit as a hobby, but I've not felt it good enough to show to anyone except family and friends. I also enjoy watching the odd DVD or two.

Look forward to seeing what other people in the group are reading, and hopefully picking up one or two recommendations on what I should read next...