Marmion

Marmion is the second of Scott's narrative poems published in 1808.
I am reading Sharpe's 1808 edition which is richly illustrated by Richard Westall.


Marmion is historically based on the battle of Flodden Field in 1513 in which King James IV was killed.

A very familiar quote from Marmion:

 O what a tangled web we weave
 When first we practice to deceive

Yes, Sir Walter Scott wrote this, not Shakespeare.  Surprising sometimes how some of Scott's quotes are attributed to other authors.

Homework assignment:  In which film does Danny Kaye quote this?

I thoroughly enjoy collecting films even more recent than this wherein I hear a Scott quote.  Scott's books may not be as popular as they were 200 years ago, but obviously someone is still reading them.

Speyside Whisky

Last night our scotch tasting/murder mystery evening included a sampling of the following single malts from Speyside:

Glenlivet
Glenfiddich
Cragganmore
Longmorn
Balvenie Double Wood
Balvenie Peat Week

The overall consensus was the Balvenie Double Wood was the best, but the complexity of Cragganmore was very interesting.

A  good time was had by all.