Scotland

Scotland, in my mind, is one of the most wondrous places in the world, both for its sheer beauty and the fact that it is steeped in a turbulent and fluid history. A history that, at times, will chill you to the bone and bring out the rebel in the most timid of people.

It is also famous for its men in the kilt, its bagpipes and not forgetting its scotch whiskey that warmed its many famous warriors and poets.

Ron Dennis gives us a description:

"When entering the city of Edinburgh the first thing that hits your senses is the smooth aroma of its breweries that fills the air like a mist falling down around you and as you enter princess street you are greeted by the wonderfully haunting sound of the bagpipes being played in the distance, slowly as your eyes lift to take in the view you are filled with awe as you see the sheer majesty of Edinburgh castle which fills the skyline as it watches intently over every Scott in the city below

Stirling with its formidable and dark mountain backdrop looks like something from a Scottish fairy tale, with the Wallace monument towering out of its low lying mists and Stirling castle standing steadfast protecting the valley below.

I live between these two great places close to the old capitol city of Scotland Dunfermline, again a place full of history and magnificent architecture and stories of the burning of witches and Celtic Christianity"

Before the time of the Celt it was populated by the picts however, in Ireland there was a Celtic clan know as the Uí Néill. This Celtic family launched colonies across the Irish Sea.

This is when Celtic Scotland was founded, as it was these Uí Néill that the Romans called Scotti, not the original Picts. It was this Celtic Expansion that brought Christianity to Scotland in 563 AD. Headed by St. Columba, who was a member of a powerful family in Dál Riata and in order to keep his ties in both Scotland and Ireland he settled on an island that was close to them both, this place was named Iona.

St Andrew is Scotland's patron saint and the St Andrew's Cross (or Saltire) is Scotland’s Flag. (The Roman historian Diodorus tells us this, of the European Celts) Their aspect is terrifying...They are very tall in stature, with rippling muscles under clear white skin. Their hair is blond, but not naturally so: they bleach it, to this day, artificially, washing it in lime and combing it back from their foreheads.

They look like wood-demons, their hair thick and shaggy like a horse's mane. Some of them are clean-shaven, but others - especially those of high rank, shave their cheeks but leave a moustache that covers the whole mouth and when they eat and drink, acts like a sieve, trapping particles of food...

The way they dress is astonishing: they wear brightly coloured and embroidered shirts, with trousers called bracae and cloaks fastened at the shoulder with a broach, heavy in winter, light in summer. These cloaks are striped or chequered in design, with the separate checks close together and in various colours.

Scotland’s tartan has a different history however; we can see some similarity here in the old Celtic culture and the Celtic history of Scotland. On 6th April, America now annually celebrates Tartan Day and the number of Americans with Scottish ancestry is currently estimated at about, 11 to 15 million. The same is true of Canada, Australia and New Zealand Like myself they are tied to this land through its rich blood lines and Celtic cultural history.

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