Blethering Skite

Lochaber tree, named after the ceilidh band that discovered it, now in running for European Tree of the Year contest

An ancient oak named after a ceilidh band has won the UK’s tree of the year competition and will now compete in the European edition.

The Skipinnish Oak in Lochaber, Scotland, was discovered by chance by members of the band of that name who were playing a nearby gig for the Native Woodland Discussion Group.

It is in the middle of a sitka spruce timber plantation and expert delegates from the discussion group registered it in the ancient tree inventory.

The Skipinnish oak is one of the largest trees of its kind in the region, which has been populated by nonnative timber forests. It is a fragment of the ancient ecosystem, and provides a home to diverse lichens including the rare black-eyed Susan.

Carbon capture and storage project will generate FIVE times more emissions than admitted

A fossil fuel and an energy company have vastly underplayed the emissions that a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at a gas power station in Scotland will spew out. New research has exposed that the Peterhead Power Station CCS project could in fact produce five times more than developers have admitted. This means it will generate up to a staggering 31 million tonnes of carbon emissions across its lifetime.

It will throw a spanner in the works for the UK government’s flagship plan to drive down greenhouse gas emissions. This is because it brings into sharp relief how CCS is a sham climate crisis solution and smokescreen for maintaining the polluting fossil fuel industry. In other words, it exposes that Labour’s love-in with the technology is little more than a ploy to keep the powerful sector on side, while doing little to address the climate crisis.

Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

Scotland :

Compliance with the requirement to sample all Regulated supplies annually has decreased across Scotland from 66% in 2022 to 65% in 2023. A notable drop in performance was observed in the Argyll and Bute Council area, where compliance dropped from 96% to 59% (although their Regulated supplies have increased from 522 to 764). Compliance from Perth and Kinross Council also fell from 72% in 2022 to 55%. Highland and Dumfries and Galloway Councils have both slightly increased their compliance, and Scottish Borders and Aberdeenshire Councils have been consistent with good compliance.

OP: @[email protected]

Up the close an doon the stair Ben the hoose wi Burke an Hare Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief Knox the boy who buys the beef

—cheery wee 19th-century Edinburgh children’s skipping rhyme

Mary, Queen of Scots spent almost 20 years in captivity. She was held in various locations across Britain from 1568 until her execution on February 8 1587. 

Mary was aware that her letters were routinely read by her jailers and passed on to be scrutinised by Elizabeth I’s closest advisers, notably William Cecil. At times, she was forced to rely on clandestine techniques, including writing in invisible ink. She wrote that “although such artifices be very hazardous and vulgar, they will serve me in extreme necessity”.

Mary also used complex ciphers to disguise the contents of her correspondence, especially when she wished to discuss plots designed to set her free. Hundreds of her coded letters survive in different forms (as copies, translations, and originals), many of them from supporters who were directly involved in schemes including the Babington plot of 1586, which aimed to assassinate Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary.

Halloween is now celebrated globally, but its origins and customs come from a wide range of cultural influences.

Trick or Treat

There are conflicting theories on the origin of this popular tradition. The truth is likely to be a combination of all of these. Firstly, during Samhain, food would be left out as offerings to wandering souls who walked the earth at night. In time, merrymakers began to dress as these spirits in exchange for small food offerings. The German-American tradition of belsnickeling also saw people dressing in ghoulish costumes and going door-to-door. In this tradition, those who answered would have to guess who was disguised and then give a small offering if they were wrong. 

This is reminiscent of the Scottish practice of ‘guising’ (or ‘souling’). Mostly children (although poorer adults were recorded to have taken part also) would go door-to-door, in costume, offering prayers for the dead on All Souls’ Day. Over time, the prayers evolved into jokes, tricks, songs and other entertainment in return for money or food. The practice of trick-or-treating remains popular today, particularly in the United States.

New research has revealed the "most haunted" cities in Scotland based on factors such as reports of paranormal activity - and first place is neither Edinburgh or Glasgow.

According to the experts, Aberdeen is the most haunted city in both Scotland and the UK. The port city was found to have 233 memorials and 41.1 vacant properties per 10,000 people.

Alan Boswell Group found that the Granite City has had 20 reports or paranormal activity, or 0.11 per 10,000 people. The experts also state that Aberdeen has 118 homes that were built before 1918 for every 10,000 residents.

In terms of particular spooky buildings in Aberdeen, the 19th-century Norwood Hall Hotel has earned a reputation amongst locals and visitors alike for strange goings-on. According to legend, the ghosts of former owner James Ogston, his wife, and his mistress roam the hotel — in particular its dining room and main staircase.

OP: @[email protected]

The Scotland Channel

Believe in Scotland in a nutshell - We campaign for Scottish independence.

We are a collaborative movement of 142 local and national independence campaign groups. A fully democratic campaign with 33 elected members to our National Campaign Steering Group truly representative of the grassroots Scottish independence movement.

What makes us different is that we are 100% non-party political and focussed on reaching outside of the social media Yes bubble, reaching the undecided with positive messages on independence. 

Our Goal is to make Scotland become an independent nation. We believe that independence is the only way to make Scotland a fairer, greener, wealthier, healthier, happier and more successful country.

Our Mission is to help the grassroots movement professionalise, to educate and engage, raise funds, and access materials that will help them reach both undecided and open minded No voters. 

Here are just a few of the highlights of Believe in Scotland’s independence campaigning and educational activities in the last twelve months.

In Arthur and the distinctive genre of literature that had grown up around the celebration and adaption of his mythical exploits, King Edward I of England found not only a role model but a political tool every bit as puissant as the legendary king himself. Through the conscious emulation and glorification of the Arthurian ideal, King Edward would come within a hair’s breadth of matching Arthur’s legacy, the unification and domination of the British Isles. In chasing the specter of a manifest destiny swathed in the trappings of Arthurian iconography, Edward formalized and enshrined the hegemonic and imperial inclinations of his predecessors, fundamentally altering the way in which England related to its neighbours.

The Ministry of Defence has blocked the Scottish Government’s environmental watchdog from releasing information about radioactive pollution from the Clyde nuclear bomb bases for the last nine years.

Emails released under freedom of information (FoI) law reveal that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) asked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) not to publish information about “environmental issues with radioactivity” at Faslane and Coulport near Helensburgh to protect “national security”.

A Team Of Archaeologists Uncover Scotland’s Oldest Pictish Fort | Digging For Britain

Edinburgh’s High Riggs and Leith jobcentres are breaking benefits law! They are flouting “Transitional protection” provisions for disabled and sick claimants on Employment and Support Allowance.

All claimants are being transferred from “legacy benefits” like Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit. By law ESA claimants keep their “not fit for work” status and automatically receive disability-related payments in Universal Credit. But through our solidarity activity in accompanying claimants, ECAP has learnt that High Riggs jobcentre in Edinburgh have been illegally trying to force such claimants to obtain a “Fit Note” from their GP and then go through a “work capability assessment”. (The Work Capability Assessment decides whether a claimant is to be judged fit to seek employment or not.)

Claimants report Leith and High Riggs jobcentres are both doing this – and it is very likely that jobcentres Britain-wide are denying ESA claimants’ rights in this way. This potentially affects over a million claimants on ESA.

OP: @[email protected]

Robert Burns called Robert Fergusson (1750–1774) “my elder brother in the Muse”. In this podcast, Prof Rhona Brown & Dr Amy Wilcockson share their insights into Fergusson’s life, works & legacy – listen free online, & hear extracts of his work read by Billy Kay & James Robertson

This alert is for coastal flooding. Due to high water levels and some waves there is a risk of flooding from the sea to low lying areas from Thursday evening onwards. The situation is likely to worsen at the week end. Remain vigilant and remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. Advice and information is available…

Scotland is on the brink of discovering if a just transition away from fossil fuels will be a reality or just a slogan. There is a plan for Grangemouth, Scotland’s only oil refinery, to become a world-leading hub for sustainable aviation fuels.

But the biofuels market doesn't yet exist at scale. It requires the UK government to shape it, providing a price floor for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, so as to reduce investor risk.

If Scotland were an independent country it would be able to focus on this as a national priority. As it is, the Scottish government has no power over energy regulation. It has to sit on its hands and wait for Westminster, which has so often shown itself indifferent to Scotland’s needs, to act

OP: @[email protected]

Scotland’s ferries are a national disgrace, right? We know because the #Media, especially the #BBC, constantly tell us so. But wait a moment. Take a look at some comparisons on pricing, age of fleet, reliability & public subsidies. Read this piece & you might start to think the media are being very economical with the truth.

OP: @[email protected]

Robert Burns called Robert Fergusson (1750–1774) “my elder brother in the Muse”. In this podcast, Prof Rhona Brown & Dr Amy Wilcockson share their insights into Fergusson’s life, works & legacy – listen free online, & hear extracts of his work read by Billy Kay & James Robertson

Created by Tina Ross, this map details the kingdoms and states that existed in Europe at the beginning of the 11th century. While the Holy Roman Empire was the major power in Central Europe, other powerful states include the Caliphate of Cordoba and the Bulgarian Empire. Many smaller states also existed, including the kingdoms of Strathclyde and Naverre. The map also details the important cities and towns that existed in the year 1000.

Friday 13 October, 1307, is a date that echoes across history, spawning a deep-seated superstition about any Friday 13th. On that day, Philip IV, King of France, arrested hundreds of Knights Templar in France. Philip had been out to get the Templars since 1302. This had nothing to do with the global mythology that has since grown up around the Knights Templar, and it especially had nothing to do with the Holy Grail: it was simply that, as one of the richest organisations in Europe, the Templars had turned down a demand from Philip for a loan he needed to further his military adventures.

His campaign against the Templars extended to kidnapping Pope Boniface VIII in September 1303, and possibly poisoning his successor, Benedict XI in July 1304. In 1305 Philip finally got a Pope who would see things his way, when a Frenchman who had been a childhood friend became Pope Clement V. By 13 October 1307 Philip felt his position was strong enough for him to move against the Templars in France, arresting their members and seizing their treasury and assets.

Confessions of heresy and a wide range of other invented crimes forced out of the arrested French Templars gave Philip IV the ammunition he needed to try to persuade Pope Clement V that the Order should be suppressed worldwide. Clement V finally succumbed to the pressure, and issued an Edict to dissolve the Templars after the Council of Vienna in 1312. Templar properties and assets in countries previously sympathetic to them were seized, in many cases being transferred to the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. At the same time, many Knights Templar who had not already gone to ground were put on trial and executed. It had taken ten years for Philip to get even with the Templars, but get even he certainly had.

In Scotland, King Robert the Bruce, himself under excommunication from the Church after his murder of the Red Comyn, was less inclined than most European monarchs to rigorously enforce all aspects of the Papal Edict dissolving the Templars. As elsewhere, their Scottish lands and properties, such as Temple itself and the church at Tullich, were transferred to the Knights of St John, but there was little persecution of individual members of the Order in Scotland, and many Knights Templar were allowed simply to become Knights of St John.

Since they had first been established in Scotland by David I in 1153, the main Scottish base of the Knights Templar had been 15 miles south of Edinburgh at a place called Balantradoch. Here they had a monastery on the east bank of the River South Esk. In 1312 ownership of the monastery was transferred to the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John, and became part of the property they administered from their Scottish headquarters at Torphichen Preceptory near Linlithgow.

During the 1500s Balantradoch came to be known as Temple, reflecting its earlier history.

Named after the Irish monk Saint Donan, who is believed to have lived here in the sixth century, Kildonan lies at the south-eastern extremity of the Isle of Arran. Reached via a loop of minor road dropping to the shore, the village stands out for two reasons.

The first is that it is home to an excellent beach which offers stretches of sand, a relative rarity on Arran. The second is more immediately obvious as you approach it. The views south over the village to the Ayrshire coast and the islands of Pladda and Ailsa Craig are simply superb.

Kildonan also boasts a castle, standing out on the old raised beach behind and above the village. It was once, with Lochranza Castle and Brodick Castle, one of three fortresses guarding Arran's strategically important position in the approaches to the Clyde. Today's Kildonan Castle is only a shadow of its former self, but still reflects its origins as a 13th Century keep.

The castle was originally built by the Lords of the Isles, but by 1406 was in the ownership of Robert III, who in that year passed it on to his illegitimate son, John Stewart of Ardgowan. In 1544 it was acquired by the Hamilton family, the Earls of Arran.

How can it be that millions of Scots are struggling to pay essential bills?

It could be because economic growth as measured by GDP was never designed as a yardstick of a society’s success or otherwise. It only really measures financial flows (it’s the same in GDP terms whether you spend £10 billion to build affordable, quality social housing or on bagging yourself a gold-plated SUV with diamond-inlaid wheel trims, but one might just possibly be better than the other).

GDP growth is, however, constantly touted as a proxy for societal success – most often by those with money and power, because they seem to be profiting very nicely from the status quo, thanks very much.

In fact, growth-focused neoliberal economic policies are strongly linked to Scotland’s poor health, poverty and mortality indicators over the past 30 years, earning it the title of “the sick man of Europe”.

These indicators have worsened due to the ‘austerity agenda’ of reduced public spending, tax rises, and the privatisation of public services and/or the responsibility for care being transferred to individuals that has been UK government policy since 2010, and which continues to this day.

The CNR is derisory to Scotland, equating English city Mayor’s – the combined budget of which is just over £2b with Scotland’s elected FM with a budget of £60b. But it’s not really about numbers is it? It’s comparing apples and pears and deliberately equating a region with a nation which is insulting. As Dr WE Bulmer puts it:

"The ‘Council of Nations and Regions’ has one Scottish and one Welsh representative out of 18. This shows the ridiculousness of any scheme that treats the nations of Scotland and Wales on a par, not with England, but with individual English city-regions.”

But it’s worse than that. Because Labour are on the one hand undermining the devolution settlement they themselves created, while on the other hand presenting the bogus version of devolution they have created in England.

The CNR has no real powers, no legal basis and no autonomy.

OP:@[email protected]

By Bernie Bell

Through this year’s final dig at The Ness of Brodgar, one of the Artists in Residence - Jeanne Bouza-Rose - has been doing sketches of the people as well as the structures. These quick impressions appealed to me as they ‘catch’ the people, and the moment. With Jeanne’s permission, I’ve copied a couple of them from her Newsletter