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.

Fair Maid of Perth

The Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club is tweeting this novel.  Should be interesting how they tweet 3 volumes.  I have not read this one yet so I will read the original text then see what they do with the tweet version.  Somehow I think something will be missing.  More on this later.

Campbeltown

When I purchased the Mull of Kintyre cheese at the local grocery store, I was unaware that I was delving into popular culture.  I thought it was just a cheese from Scotland.  When I discovered Paul McCartney wrote a song with that name and he lived on the Mull of Kintyre, I decided Campbeltown Scotch whisky would be a good choice for last night's murder mystery/scotch tasting evening. Campbeltown has a unique geography which provides very interesting malt whiskys.  We sampled the 10, 12 & 15 year old Springbank, Hazelburn, Longrow and Kilkerran single malts.  Kilkerran was one of the twelve apostles of Ireland who studied under St. Finian making this whisky even more interesting.  Here is a link to a recording of Paul McCartney's song with some impressive imagery of Kintyre.  https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrDQ2oEeSZbSVgA4Y40nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBzdmtvYW9lBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMjA-?p=mull+of+kintyre&vid=794af4058d881f996c09996bc17ae9dd&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.gtXPuCRgVKk3Z245ylacFwEsCo%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D168%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F61221966&tit=Mull+Of+Kintyre&c=19&h=168&w=300&l=271&sigr=10qmq2don&sigt=10f3a4osb&sigi=12r79sf7t&age=1362620841&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-prodege-prodege_001&hsimp=yhs-prodege_001&hspart=prodege&tt=b

Lammermuir Hills

One of Sir Walter Scott's finer novels and still popular thanks to the operatic repertoire that repeatedly performs Lucia di Lammermoor.  Scott was very ill while writing this book and almost destroyed it when finished.  Happily he changed his mind  A must read for a Scott fan.
Lammermuir Hills is also the title of a Scottish Country dance.  Unfortunately most Scottish Country dancers ignore the inspiration for the titles..  This dance was created by one of the more talented choreographers.  Scottish dancers miss a great deal by passing through the countryside and history of Lammermuir without enjoying the scenery.   https://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/video/lammermuir-hills.html

Heart of Mid-Lothian

It has been almost 200 years since Scott published this highly readable novel based on a true story about a young lady who walked from Edinburgh to London to save her sister's life.  As usual many musical plays were produced including an 1819 production featuring music by Henry Rowley Bishop.  Operatic creations included Jeanie deans by Hamish MacCunn which was broadcast on BBC in 1968. 

Guy Mannering

Now reading Sir Walter Scott's Guy Mannering for the third time and am focusing on musical plays that immediately followed its publication..  I find it amusing that Daniel Terry's version flooded the stages with hundreds of songs not from Scott.  Henry Bishop's overture was highly popular and the production frequently concluded with an audience participation song There's nae luck about the house.  In spite of the marvelous characters Meg Merrilies and Dandie Dinmont, no film has been produced and I can only find one BBC radio drama.