Successful Bid
Inverness Museum has outbid Edinburgh's National Museum of Scotland for possession of a rare brooch of a type worn by Mary Queen of Scots. The 400 year old gold ring brooch which has blue, white and green enamelling is one of only three discovered. The other two are in the national museum. It will go on display in the Highland Capital from the end of the summer. The brooch was found near ruined Ardvreck Castle on Loch Assynt by a man using a metal detector. The castle belonged to the MacLeods and was where the Marquis of Montrose was held after his capture in 1650. The archaeologist at Inverness Museum, Patricia Weeks, declined to reveal how much the brooch has cost, but the finder will be awarded the amount under the treasure trove law. "It is rare to find a Scottish ring brooch of gold with such detailed enamelling on both sides," she said. "They were usually made of silver or copper alloy and were fairly plain. To find a gold one with this sort of detail is quite unusual." The reverse side of the brooch carries the date 1600 and an inscription in old Scots "Feir (fear) God in Hairt (heart)", followed by the intials CMA.
Get Rural Areas on the Net
Highland MSP Fergus Ewing tabled several questions recently asking for Executive answers to breach the digital divide. Calling attention to an article in Scottish Business Insider that referred to rural regions as "no grow areas", Mr Ewing highlighted the quality differential between urban and rural Scotland. He said: "At a time when rural areas should be more connected than ever and when distance should mean less than it did in the past, rural areas are missing the competitive lifeline that could have saved numerous rural businesses in the dawn of e-commerce. "Small businesses, particularly tourist businesses, rely on internet communication to attract customers from throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. They are starting behind the 8 ball if they cannot compete with the latest technology."
Open Glen
The Scottish Landowners Federation is co-operating in plans to open up the Great Glen Way long distance footpath and help generate vital jobs in the Highlands. Working with Highland Council, which has been responsible for implementing the project from November 1999, owners of land have been identified whose agreement is needed to arrange for unhindered public access in livestock or wildlife areas vulnerable to disturbance or where occupiers have views over the effect on their privacy. The SLF has offered to check information held on a local authority database and, where possible, provide contact names addresses and phone numbers.Those responsible for the project initiated by Scottish Natural Heritage, have been glad of help from the landowners involved.
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Tradition Revival
One of the great traditions of the Royal National Mod is set to be revived at this years event. The crowning of the bard ceremony, last performed in 1977, is to be reintroduced as a feature of the Literary Day at the 2000 MOD. The ceremony aims to celebrate the work of the person who has contributed most to the Royal National Mod in terms of Gaelic poetry, prose and literature. The last winner of the Bardic Crown was the late Rev Roderick Macdonald who subsequently translated Robert Burns songs into Gaelic. Peter Macintyre, president of An Comunn Gaidhealach and a board member of the Royal National Mod Company, said: "This is an important step for Gaelic as it highlights a section of the Mod which is deserving of more prominence. Previous winners will be eligible for consideration and adjudication will be marked for the categories of poetry, prose and literature." The Royal National Mod 2000 takes place in Dunoon next month.
Parliamentary Gaelic
Work has started on a glossary of Gaelic terms in a bid to move towards a bilingual Scottish Parliament. The glossary, which will be completed by February 2002, will also be available for use by local authorities and other areas of public services and the private sector. The Glossary Project - Faclair na Parlamaid - has been pushed forward by development agency Comunn na Gaidhlig (CNAG) and is backed by the Scottish Executive, the Gaelic Language Promotion Trust and the Gaelic Society of Inverness. MSPs already hold some debates in Gaelic, with the use of translation headsets. Hugh Dan MacLennan, chairman of the steering group set to monitor the production, said he hoped that the glossary would mean a move towards a more secure status for the country's native language.
Mix Up
The strength of the penny - not the pound - was at the centre of a hilarious shopping incident involving a German holidaymaker in the Highlands recently. A coachload of tourists from Hamburg arrived at the Scottish Crafts & Whisky Centre in Fort William, and several visitors took a fancy to some very inexpensive children's rings. At 59 pence apiece the hematite jewellery items were a real bargain. But when one German woman handed over a 50p and a 10p for a ring, she was mindful of the instructions from their tour bus courier, "Always ask for your change to be in English money". So she requested, "English change please". Highly amused, Christopher Purdon, joint proprietor of the gifts store told her, "I'm sorry, but we only have Scottish pennies." The German woman solemnly put the ring back on the stand and left.
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