Ivanhoe

Did you know an American was the model for the heroine of Scott's Ivanhoe? Read the blog post at http://blog.loa.org/2010/07/washington-irving-and-model-for-rebecca.html

Brownie of Bodsbeck

The Brownie of Bodsbeck is James Hogg's first novel and is set in the 17th century when the Covenanters were hiding from the king's forces during what is know as the killing times. This book not only depicts an important period of Scottish history but also provides an excellent portrait of rural life and folklore.
Brownies are peculiar to Scotland and England and can be very helpful if treated properly. Feed your brownie cookies and milk and your housework will be done for you leaving you time to read this excellent book.

The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott

The works of Sir Walter Scott spawned plays, operas and musical works which filled theaters around the world in the nineteenth century. The plays themselves were similar to the musicals of the 1950s with songs and sword play which could still appeal to the current audiences if only a playwright or screenwriter would be so inclined (Rob Roy was immortalized by Scott and the most recent film about this highland rogue had one of the best sword fights in the history of film). The Jacksonville Scottish Country Dancers will celebrate Scott's birthday in August with dancing, food, piping and a film based on The Talisman.

Hebridean Weaving Lilt

A few years ago the Scottish Country Dance teacher in Jacksonville moved. Even though I had many years experience as a professional ballet dancer and as an open level Highland Dancer, my experience with this form of dance was very minimal. Nevertheless, I volunteered to teach classes while learning the formations, patterns, music, etc. Fortunately my wife had a music degree from Columbia University and gradually took over the bulk of the teaching as I developed my knowledge of this form of dance. We now have a growing class which frequently has enough dancers weekly for two sets and there are three teens who are earning school credit by taking our classes.
The Hebridean Weaving Lilt was the first dance I learned 25 years ago while performing in Scotland. This was long before I ever took Scottish Country Dancing and did not realize it had very unique characteristics and seldom appeared on dance programs. I saved it from the dance wraith yesterday by teaching it in Jacksonville.

James Hogg

The University of Stirling would be pleased to hear that their edition of Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner is now available at The Jacksonville Public Library in Florida. Will this classic receive the attention it deserves or will it sit on the shelf for a couple years then be discarded to make room for lesser works that are more popular?

Marbh & Uisge Beatha

Jacksonville's piper Bill Stewart conducted our first Scottish Whisky tasting session on Friday, February 6th. Several fine single malts were sampled with guidance from Mr. Stewart and Michael Jackson's book, Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch which is available at The Jacksonville Public Library. The malts were sampled after each round of a Murder Mystery game along with dinner and dessert.
The diversity of malt sampled during the evening:
Speyside-12 year old
The lowland Auchentoshan Select
The Islay Bowmore-12 year old
The Highland Glenmorangie/Quinta Ruban-port cask non chill- filtered

Do murder & Scotch go together? The Bookwraith says, "Yes." The Bookwraith also won the game.

Murder

Sir Walter Scott received Sharpe' s permission to include "The Murder of Caerlaverock" in his effort to preserve those ballads surviving through oral tradition. It was also printed as "The Murder of the King of Scott's" by Percy and collected by Childe as "Earl Bothwell." Murder is a literary gift that keeps on giving and is found throughout Scott's works indicating Scots were a somewhat less than peaceful people.
Read Scott's works to learn from history. Read my next entry which provides an account of the first meeting of Jacksonville's "Marbh & Uisge Beatha." Do murder and whisky go together. The bookwraith says, "Yes."