Hi all, the wonderful world of Scottish history, culture and current happenings.. I particularly like the debate surrounding the naming of second crossing bridge on the Forth River "Strong Feelings on Bridge Name", I love one of the very odd suggestions, see below, maybe some of you have ideas for its name, have a go !! What would we do without ultra-sound in modern medicine, obstetrics and midwifery - to think a Scot invented it, publishing his research in 1958. Lastly, have a squizz a the last item, an offering of that great Highland philosopher, Lachlan McLachlan with a link to the rest of his musings. Cheers, Brenda (from a rainy summer's day in Hamilton, New Zealand) Begin forwarded message: > Rampant Scotland Newsletter - Issue Number 556, dated 8 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 > Next Week in Scottish History > December 9 1165 - King Malcolm IV died at Jedburgh Castle > December 10 1868 - Artist, architect and designer Charles Rennie > Mackintosh born. > December 11 1781 - David Brewster, inventor of the kaleidoscope born. > December 11 1928 - Charles Rennie Mackintosh died. > December 12 1574 - Anne of Denmark, wife of King James VI, born. > December 13 1585 - William Drummond, poet, born. > December 14 1542 - James V died at Falkland Palace. Mary Queen of > Scots succeeded him. > December 14 1896 - Glasgow District Underground opened, powered by > electricity. > December 14 1947 - Will Fyfe, music hall comedian, died. > December 14 1967 - University of Stirling instituted by Royal charter. > December 15 1936 - Zoological Society of Glasgow founded. A zoo at > Calderpark opened, after the Second World War, in 9 July 1947. The zoo > closed in August 2003. > Scotland Needs 20,000 Migrants Every Year > A report from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) > forecasts that by 2040 nearly one-third of the population of Scotland > will be aged 75 and over. The government-backed council predicts that > shortage of labour will drive up wages, make our exports less > competitive, and wreck the economy. To counteract this and save the > economy from collapse, it is argued that Scotland needs to attract > 20,000 immigrants a year. Their estimates are more pessimistic than > those published recently by the Registrar General for Scotland. These > estimated that the current population of 5.12 million would rise to > 5.37 million by 2031, with births peaking then at 57,600. But the ESRC > report suggests that the recent annual increase in population (which > the Registrar uses to estimate future population) may be a blip on the > long-term population decline which has prevailed for several decades. > The report examines the reasons why Scottish birth rates are the > lowest in the UK. It points out that Scotland is becoming a nation of > small families, because of the demands of work or worries about their > finances and living conditions. They are most likely to stop when they > have two children, compared with English women, more of whom go on to > have three or four. > Strong Feelings on Bridge Name > When the original bridge across the river Forth at Kincardine-on-Forth > in Fife was opened in 1936, there was probably no dispute about > calling it the Kincardine Bridge. The second crossing, a short > distance further up-river, is proving to be more problematic. After a > lot of lobbying, the new bridge makes its northern landfall in > Clackmannanshire, the smallest county in Scotland. The local council > there naturally believe that the crossing should be named the > "Clackmannan Bridge". Meantime, Fife councillors want it named after > their area as "Kingdom Bridge". The county is often referred to as the > "Kingdom of Fife" as it was at one time a Pictish Kingdom. Of course, > Falkirk Council at the southern end of the bridge has had to enter the > fray too. So the Transport Minister in Edinburgh is inviting people in > the three counties to make their own suggestions. Already, some odd > names have been put forward, such as "Bridge at Jones Diary" (If you > don't know the book and "Bridget Jones's Diary" that one will go right > over your head). Once names have been suggested, it will be up to the > Transport Minister to use the judgement of Solomon (or political > expediency) to make a decision. The new bridge won't be open till late > 2008, so he has plenty of time. > Vital Spark Returns to River Clyde > The Clyde "puffers" were small steam-powered vessels that provided > vital services to the towns and villages along Scotland's west coast > in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were originally designed to fit > the locks of the Forth & Clyde canal between Glasgow and Edinburgh and > the Crinan canal across the Mull of Kintyre peninsula. They were > nicknamed "puffer" because of the distinctive puffing sound from their > non-condensing steam engines. They became legendary after being > immortalised in a series of books by Neil Munro about Para Handy, the > captain of the puffer "Vital Spark". So there was a special interest > this week when one of the last surviving vessels - carrying the name > "Vital Spark" - arrived at Bowling on the river Clyde to mark the > 150th anniversary of the launch of the first of its kind. The first > puffer - named "Glasgow" - was built at Kelvin Dock, Maryhill, on the > Forth & Clyde canal, in 1857. The present "Vital Spark" is one of the > last surviving Clyde puffers. It was previously named "Eilean > Eisdeal," and is normally berthed at the Inveraray Maritime Museum in > Argyll. > HISTORICAL AFFAIRS - Topical Items Relating to Scotland's Past > Arbroath Bid for Return of Treasure > Many of Scotland's historical artefacts are displayed in national > museums or galleries in Edinburgh. In some cases, they have strong > local connections and in recent years efforts are sometimes being made > for their return from the Capital. The latest such attempt is by the > Angus County Council member for Arbroath who has written to the > National Museum of Scotland and Historic Scotland in a bid to bring > the 800-year-old Monymusk Reliquary back to Arbroath. King William the > Lion entrusted the rectangular casket to the Abbot of Arbroath in > 1211. The reliquary was to be kept available to bless the royal army > before battle - and was said to have been used to good effect before > the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The casket is made of wood, covered > with thin sheets of copper and silver and is decorated in a > characteristically Pictish manner with animals against a stippled > background. It was said to have at one time housed a bone relic of St > Columba, who brought Christianity to Scotland in the 6th century. It > is unlikely that the National Museum would allow the casket to be > displayed permanently in Arbroath, so the aim would be to have it > displayed there for short periods. It is argued that moving the casket > and providing safe keeping would be far easier than for that other > historic item associated with the town - the Declaration of Arbroath > which is a delicate parchment. > SCOTTISH INVENTIONS > With a relatively small population, Scots have been responsible for > many inventions over the centuries - something that we take great > pride in telling anyone who will listen! There are many well-known > Scottish inventors and inventions (like Alexander Graham Bell who was > the first to patent the telephone and Alexander Fleming's discovery of > penicillin) but some are less well known: > Use of Ultrasound in Obstetrics - Ian Donald (1910-1987) > Ian Donald served with distinction as a medical officer in the RAF > during the war and it was a conjunction of experience of radar and > echo-sounding, a visit to the research department of engineering firm > Babcock and Wilcox and what he described as "a continuing childish > interest in machines, electronic and otherwise" that led him to > develop ultrasound devices to scan internal organs. Prior to this they > had been used in such areas as detecting flaws in metal. As Regius > Professor of Midwifery at the University of Glasgow it was natural for > him to use the devices to scan unborn babies. Early experiments were > disappointing, but after diagnosing an ovarian cyst, there was no > turning back. Donald's article "Investigation of Abdominal Masses by > Pulsed Ultrasound", published June 7, 1958 in the medical journal The > Lancet, was one of the defining publications in the field. Ultrasound > devices allowed doctors to monitor the growth and development of > foetuses and have now become an every-day part of ante-natal care in > particular. Mothers-to-be who see the ultrasound pictures of their > babies moving before they are born are also delighted with the > machines. > SONGS and POEMS of SCOTLAND > For the index of all the poems and songs included in previous > Newsletters > see: http://www.RampantScotland.com/poetry/blpoems_index.htm > http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_index.htm > SCOTTISH HUMOUR > Lachlan's Laws - # 52 > That great Highland philosopher, Lachlan McLachlan, propounded a > number of irrefutable laws of life, the universe and everything, > usually after a "bevvy" in the Auchenshuggle Arms on a Saturday night. > Here is another example: "Women don't make fools of men - most of them > are the > do-it-yourself types." For the first 50 laws, see > http://www.rampantscotland.com/humour/blhumlachlan.htm > Yours aye > Scottie > ******************************************************************* > Rampant Scotland - the largest directory of Scottish links. > http://www.RampantScotland.com > And 3,500+ illustrated feature articles. > http://www.RampantScotland.com/features.htm > ********************************************************************