Kristine Hughes's Blog, page 174

Do You Know About Monarch of the Glen?

No, not that Monarch of the Glen.
This Monarch of the Glen.


Monarch of the Glen was a BBC TV drama series featuring the exploits of an impecunious and somewhat dysfunctional Highland family in their efforts to keep the estate of Glenbogle going after Archie MacDonald, a young restaurateur, is called back to his childhood home where he must act as the new Laird. 

Adapted from the so-called "Highland" novels of Compton MacKenzie, author of Sylvia Scarlett, the series originally starred Richard Briers, Susan Hampshire, Hamish Clark, Alastair Mackenzie, Dawn Steele and Sandy Morton. The programme ran for seven series, from 2000 to 2006, becoming the longest running non-soap drama ever run by the BBC, beating Ballykissangel by one year.
In reality, Archie is not really the new Laird, as his eccentric father, Hector, is still alive, though increasingly unable, or unwilling, to fulfill the role. Archie's mother, Molly (Susan Hampshire, right) uses this as a crafty excuse to call her son home. In the first season, Archie resents his obligations as various problems arise at Glenbogle - not the least of which is that Hector's neglect of the estate has put it in dire financial straights. As the episodes progress, Archie finds himself increasingly attached to both the estate and it's inhabitants, including Lexie (Dawn Steele), the estate's sexy, street-smart cook; the shy and bumbling  kilt-wearing handyman Duncan (Hamish Clark), and a quintessentially Scots gilly named Golly (Alexander Morton). Archie is constantly tasked with making the estate profitable, or at least marginally solvent, and schemes for raising money include turning the estate into a museum, a wedding hall, a hotel and a wildlife park.  As the series goes on, we learn more about the lives of these characters, their connections to one another and their own reasons for wanting Glenbogle, and Archie, to succeed.  

Another of the stars of Monarch of the Glen is the atmospheric setting and gorgeous Highland scenery. The series was filmed around Badenoch and Strathspey - mainly in the Laggan, Newtonmore and Kingussie  area, and the fairy-tale like Ardverikie House, on the far shore of Loch Laggan, became Glenbogle Castle. Ardverikie is itself a grand Scottish estate which, through time, has faced many of the problems that underpinned the stories of the dramatized in the series.
Ardverikie was built in 1878 by local craftsmen and has been owned by the same family since then. It has had a rich history, almost chosen by Queen Victoria instead of Balmoral as her Scottish retreat and ironically used briefly in the film `Mrs Brown' for some scenes. English painter John Millais spent many months here on the estate sketching and drawing. Landseer's influence is also evident within the house, as well as in the adoption of his most famous stag painting for the title of the television series.

You can watch a bit of Monarch of the Glen here, but the series is widely available through Blockbuster, Netflix and local libraries.

It's a Dog's Life - Part Three

Suspense by Sir Edwin Landseer
As we have seen, the British, both royal and non, love their dogs, so it should be no wonder that they turned their minds to the benefit of canines at large. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed in a coffee shop in 1824 by a group of men that included the anti-slavery activist William Wilberforce. It was the first animal welfare charity to be founded in the world and sought to prevent the abuse of working animals, entertainments (cock-f...

It's a Dog's Life - Part Two

Queen Victoria owned many breeds of dogs over her long lifetime, including Pugs and Dachsunds and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
The Royal Collection © 2010,Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth IIRCIN 2105644
Looty, the first Pekingese dog in Britain, brought by Captain Dunne, 99th Regiment, from Yuanming Yuan, the Summer Palace near Beijing, as a gift for Queen Victoria in April 1861. Dunne had found Looty in the burned out remains of the Summer Palace at Pekin, curled up amongst soft shawls and rugs...

22nd Wellington Lecture - October 27th 2010

Imagining Wellington: From "Punch" to Pantheon
Southampton University, which holds the Wellington Papers in their collections, is hosting the 22nd Wellington Lecture with Dr. David Howarth on October 27th.  Established in 1989, from an endowment from the Spanish Ambassador, the Wellington Lecture is given each year on aspects of the life and times of the first Duke of Wellington.
Over the years, the University of Southampton has welcomed a host of distinguished speakers to present the lecture. ...

It's a Dog's Life

Queen Victoria was a devoted dog lover and owner throughout her life and raised more than 15 different breeds of canines.


Perhaps the most famous of these dogs remains Dash, who was her faithful companion during her childhood. The artist Sir Edwin Landeer first won Victoria's favour when he painted Dash, a King Charles spaniel. Dash had been presented to Princess Victoria in 1833 by the vile Sir John Conroy, personal secretary to her mother, the Duchess of Kent. No doubt Conroy hoped that Dash...

Do You Need a London fix?

Victoria here. Unexpectedly the other night, without any Netflix on hand, I found myself looking through the tv listings -- 700 channels and nothing to watch -- but WAIT!!!  What  about a good evening in London?

There it was -- Notting Hill. I saw it long ago (released in 1999), and was disappointed because Julia was SO beautifully Julia and Hugh was SO stutteringly Hugh. But this time, expecting nothing but watching London on my screen, I really enjoyed it. The reverse Cinderella story I gues...

Do You Know About Collectibles Direct and Acorn Media?

There are two great catalogues every Anglophile should be aware of, Collectibles Direct and Acorn Media. Each offer a variety of books, videos and more that will keep you connected to your favorite British shows and movies.

Collectibles Direct offers audio, video and books, including Mapping London which explores more than six centuries of London maps. And they've got unique gifts, such as the Jane Austen Writer's Companion Set - a 160-page Address Book populated with quotes and illustrations...

The Wellington Connection - The Battle of Hastings

Oh, dear. The historians at the town of Hastings made a major blunder in their PR copy in 2008, when the Battle Town Map and Guide, a brief introduction to the East Sussex town, described how the Duke of Wellington crossed the Channel in preparation for the famous showdown at Hastings - which took place on 14 October 1066. Apparently, no one caught the error and the guides were widely distributed. The irony continues in a Daily Mail article covering the mistake, which makes a blunder of its o...

Sotheby's Chatsworth Sale

What with Christmas just around the corner, we thought we'd let you know that you can probably pick up gifts for most of the lucky on your list at the upcoming Chatsworth Attic Sale to be held by Sotheby's London on October 5-7, 2010. More than 1,000 lots and 20,000 objects will be on offer from October 5 to 7, with estimates ranging from an alluring £20 to £200,000 for William Kent chimneypieces removed from Devonshire House in London before it was demolished in the 1920s. Here are the...

A Visit to Chiswick House, Part Two

Chiswick House, London

 Chiswick House is one of the most influential buildings in the history of British architecture. It re-introduced the Palladian style of neo-classicism and had a lasting effect on the future of buildings in Europe and the Americas. 

 To reiterate just a little from the previous post on Chiswick, the youthful Richard Boyle, Lord Burlington (1694-1753), together with a group of powerful and/or brilliant gentlemen and artists, created a magnificent villa based on the ideas...