Hi all, more fascinating facts from Scotland's past and interesting items from the present. For those of you who may like to go to the 'Rampant Scotland' web page or have a weekly email sent, the details are below. I have found out lots over the years from this weekly email. Rampant Scotland Newsletter - Issue Number 555, dated 1 December 2007. Your weekly insight into what has been happening in Scotland, snipped from the Scottish media - plus some elements of Scottish culture. A Web version of this Newsletter, with some graphics and newspaper-style layout, is available at http://www.RampantScotland.com/letter.htm If you have been passed a copy of this Newsletter by someone else, but would like to receive your own free copy direct from Scotland, just send an email to Scottie@RampantScotland.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. Cheers, Brenda (from a wonderful summer's day in New Zealand) Next Week in Scottish History December 2 1848 - Mary Slessor, missionary to West Africa, born in Aberdeen. December 3 1894 - Robert Louis Stevenson died in Samoa. December 3 1906 - His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen opened and soon became the city’s leading theatre. December 4 1214 - King William I (Lion) died at Stirling and was succeeded by his son Alexander II. December 4 1423 - Treaty of London, releasing James I from his 18 years captivity in England. December 4 1795 - Essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle, best known for his "French Revolution" born in Ecclefechan. December 4 1937 - Cartoon character Desperate Dan first appeared in the "Dandy" comic. December 5 1560 - King Francis II of France, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, died. December 6 1214 - King Alexander II crowned at Scone. December 6 1745 - Charles Edward Stewart's entry into Derby, the most southerly point reached by the Jacobite Uprising.. December 7 521 - Day on which St. Columba was reputedly born in Donegal, Ireland. After being banished to Scotland, following battles over monastic possessions, he established a monastery on Iona. December 8 1542 - Mary, Queen of Scots, born Linlithgow Palace. Her father, on his deathbed said "It cam wi' ane lass; it will pas wi' ane lass" - a reference to the Stuart line starting when Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, married Walter, High Steward of Scotland. Distinctive Scotland Census After consultation with the Scottish Government ministers, the Registrar General has announced that Scotland will move away from the combined census system with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in England and Wales to allow a census that is more aligned to Scotland's needs. There have been calls for more questions tailored to record and reflect Scotland's individual demographic needs. Most questions will remain standard, but there is now room for new and separate questions if a need is identified. Since 1881, the census has included a question for Scotland on Gaelic, asking people if they can understand, speak, read or write the language. But the next census could incorporate questions on, for example, how many people consider themselves Scots, rather than Gaelic, language speakers, and questions on race and ethnicity may be more tailored to suit the pattern of immigration in Scotland. Carbuncle Crown for Coatbridge It's the contest nobody wants to win. A few years back, a minor architecture magazine that few had heard of before, launched an "award" for the worst town centre in Scotland. The candidates are nominated by the public and a short list is drawn up, with the winners selected by an on-line vote (often a dubious way of reaching a result). This year, the town that got the most votes was Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire. The "Carbuncle" award has previously been won by Cumbernauld (twice) and Airdrie - both also in North Lanarkshire. The local Member of the Scottish Parliament said that the award was an "insult to the good people of the town". She added "This is nothing more than a patronising publicity stunt. Those at Prospect magazine should get out of their ivory tower and come and tour my Coatbridge and see it's a great place." She was handed the award while being interviewed in Drumpellier Country Park, which is adjacent to Coatbridge. HISTORICAL AFFAIRS - Topical Items Relating to Scotland's Past ************************************************************************ ******* Edzell Castle Mysteries The garden at Edzell Castle in Angus, surrounded by a remarkable series of sculptured panels on its walls, was created in 1604 by Sir David Lindsay. His intention was to create a stimulus for both the mind and the senses with not just a selection of plants and flowers but niches for sculptures and flowers around the walls with representations of "Planetary Deities" and "Liberal Arts" as well as the "Cardinal Virtues". The sculptures were created by a Flemish Renaissance master Maarten de Vos which have become famous as one of Scotland's most remarkable feats of Renaissance art. But lots of questions about the 14 that depict the liberal arts and cardinal virtues could not be answered as nothing was known about the artistic source from which the stonemason drew inspiration. So there was no way of knowing what missing or broken panels might have looked like, or of explaining certain oddities about the carvings. For example, why are the scales of Justice tipped to the right when they should be evenly balanced and "Dialectic" looked as though she had a tiny man in her hand, who was poking a bird with a big stick! Now Historic Scotland has found copies of engravings of the original designs by Maarten de Vos in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. This work has revealed, for example that Music was supposed to be elegant, with long braided hair, and that Astronomy was young and beautiful. But although the missing details of the sculptures have been established, the meaning and intent of some of the designs still largely remain a mystery. Auchindoun Castle Reopens to Public Historic Scotland has recently completed a three-year programme of safety and conservation work at Auchindoun Castle, a medieval hill-top fortress near Dufftown, in Moray. The public have been unable to gain access to the building since the 1960s due to the danger of falling masonry. Skilled stone masons from Historic Scotland’s Monument Conservation Unit have consolidated the walls of the four-storey castle, using traditional materials and methods. The castle stands within the ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort and was built for John, earl of Mar, in the 15th century. But he was later murdered by his own brother, King James III. The castle then passed to Thomas Cochrane, one of the king’s favourites. He also came to an unpleasant end when he was hanged from Lauder Bridge in 1482 by jealous nobles led by Archibald "Bell-the-Cat" Douglas, earl of Angus. The castle later became a stronghold of the Gordons but was torched by the Mackintoshes in 1591. Although repaired, it was finally abandoned in the 18th century.