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On June 25th 1971, John Boyd Orr, biologist and Nobel Prize Winner, died.

John Boyd Orr's pioneering research led to millions of children across the UK being given free school milk from 1946 to 1971 when Margaret Thatcher, then education secretary, cut provision giving her the mick name Thatcher, "Thatcher, Thatcher, milk snatcher”

Boyd Orr was born in Ayrshire into a religious and highly literate family, and it was perhaps inevitable that he should be destined for a career in teaching after studying theology. However, his studies at Glasgow University also opened up new avenues for him. He became interested in the theories of Darwin, and this led to a fascination with zoology.

When he graduated with his MA in 1902, he was assigned to a teaching position in the Glasgow slums to fulfil the obligations required by his scholarship. He lasted only a few days before resigning and going back home to Ayrshire where he was reassigned to a school in Saltcoats. There he completed his teaching but left as soon as he could, saying: "though I liked the children, I hated teaching them”.

Boyd Orr returned to university to study biology and medicine, and he graduated with a BSc in 1910 and MB ChB two years later. He only practised for one month before returning to university to undertake nutritional research. His MD thesis in 1914 was awarded the Bellahouston Gold Medal for the most distinguished thesis of the year.

On the recommendation of his supervisor, he was asked to be the first director of a new research institute in Aberdeen, which would later become the world renowned Rowett Institute. At the time of his appointment, it did not exist, but he would spend the next twenty-five years raising both funds and the profile of nutritional research to make it a reality.

The initial work to build the institute was, however, interrupted by the outbreak of war. Boyd Orr enlisted in the RAMC and saw active service on the Western Front where he was awarded both the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order. Later he would never wear the medals saying that the truly brave men had all died.

In the interwar years, he travelled widely and published extensively, emerging as one of the country’s leading experts in nutrition. He first came to national attention in 1936 with the publication of Food, Health and Income, a report of a dietary survey by income group, which revealed that the cost of a diet meeting basic nutritional needs was beyond the means of half the British population.

This led to similar studies being conducted in nineteen other countries and prompted the creation of a Commission of the League of Nations, which tried to formulate a global food policy. It became the forerunner of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Boyd Orr would become the Director General of the FAO from 1945-48. These were important years because the predicted European post-war famine was averted in part by policies put forward by the organisation.

Boyd Orr was no stranger to the challenges of developing and implementing food policies, many of which are still with us today. He spent his later career trying to persuade governments and presidents, organisations and companies to rethink the way they did things. However, he would often bemoan the fact that while he could persuade farmers of the importance of the nutrition of their animals, he could not stir their interest “in the food of their ain bairns, far less in the bairns of ither folks”.

His was a life filled with honours and awards, from Gold medals at University to military decorations to honorary degrees and more. He was elected Rector of Glasgow University and subsequently became its Chancellor. He was briefly a British Member of Parliament, and in 1935 he was knighted for his services to agriculture. In 1949, after he was awarded the Nobel Prize, Prime Minister Clement Attlee ennobled him as Baron Boyd Orr of Brechin Mearns.

Reading of Boyd Orr’s long career it seems he had a series of false starts and perhaps even failures. But he was no dilettante. He combined a powerful intellect with an admirable work ethic to achieve a mastery in everything he tried. That he chose to move from a career in teaching to medical practice, to research, to politics and then to governance and policy making was not evidence of mere restlessness but of a constant desire to do meaningful work.

One of John Boyd Orr's key quotes highlights the interconnectedness of the world and the need for global unity, stating, "We are now physically, politically, and economically one world and nations so interdependent that the absolute national sovereignty of nations is no longer possible,"Sadly recent events show that the world is no closer to reaching that goal today..........

Boyd Orr was at heart a man with an ambitious vision for the world, and he firmly believed that real peace and prosperity would only ever be achieved when no one was hungry.

The citation for the 1949 Nobel Peace Prize read: “for his lifelong effort to conquer hunger and want, thereby helping to remove a major cause of military conflict and war”.

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June 25th is the feast day of Saint Moluag of Lismore.

Moluag, whose birth name was Lugaid, was of Irish birth. The monastery at Lios Mòr was founded sometime before his death, which is recorded in AU 592. While a full Vita for Moluag has not survived, there are strong suggestions that one did exist. This can be seen in some of the stories told of Moluag in the Aberdeen Breviary, which coincide very closely with stories in the Libellus de nativitate Sancti Cuthberti, a false Vita of St Cuthbert (this is said because additional Vitae of Cuthbert survive, which are in line with the knowledge of Cuthbert’s life). This includes miracles such as the forging of a bell, and Moluag’s miraculous transportation across the sea upon a stone.

The cult of Moluag (cult here meaning the geographic range within which he was venerated) spread widely, across both the Isles and the Scottish mainland. Place-names associated with Moluag spread from as far as Kilmaluag on Harris in the west to Kildrummy in Aberdeenshire in the east.

There is an interesting story that was recorded by the Scottish Folklorist Alexander Carmichael about Moluag and Columba. According to this story, both Moluag and Columba had their eyes set on founding a monastery on Lismore. Lismore would have been a desirable location due to its size (it’s on the larger side compared to other Hebridean islands) and the amount of arable land that it had. In order to claim the island, they began to race against each other to reach it first and thus win the island for their own. As they raced across the loch they were nearly neck and neck, though Columba started to inch out ahead of Moluag. In order to beat Columba and thus secure dominion over the island, Moluag cut off his pinky finger and flung it from his boat onto the beach, thereby placing himself on the island first. It was after this failure to secure the island (according to legend) that Columba then founded his monastery on Iona, which is much smaller and with significantly less arable land.

Moluag’s foundation of Lismore itself was of high status and importance. This is evidenced through the survival of fragments of the Lismore Cross Slab, which may have stood as much as 2.89m in visible height when it was originally completed. The surviving fragments also show high levels of detail, which would have necesitated the employment of highly skilled craftsmen.

Of further interest is the survival of the Bachall Mór, or ‘Great Staff’ of Moluag, which was recently on temporary display at the National Museum of Scotland. This staff is claimed to have been Moluag’s own crozier, though it has been stylistically dated to the late eleventh or early twelfth centuries. The staff is in the possession of its hereditary keeper, the chief of the Livingstone family.

The staff itself is badly damaged, and of its original length, only 0.86m now remains. There is evidence that it was originally encased in metal, (perhaps of copper, silver, or gold), which which is now almost completely missing.

Lismore itself continued to be of high importance well after the death of Moluag. Upon the creation of the Bishopric of Argyll c. 1189, Lismore was the site of the cathedral. The cathedral was later reduced in size to become the current parish church.

A poem was written which mentions him in the Martyrology of Óengus:

Sinchell’s feast, Telle’s feast: Féil Sinchill, féil Telli, they were Ireland’s heights, bátir Érenn ardae, with Moluag pure, brilliant, la m’Luóc glan ngeldae the sun of Lismore in Alba. grían Liss mór de Albae.

Among the pics are Kilmaluag cemetery and St. Moluag’s Church ruins.

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25th June 1936 saw the birth of Roy Williamson, Scottish folk musician and songwriter in Edinburgh.

Williamson was brought up in comfortable surroundings in Northumberland Street in Edinburgh, his father was a lawyer and they had servants in the house growing up but tragedy struck the household in 1944 when he took his own life, this was kept from the children and it was only to come to light decades later.

Roy and his older brother were then sent to Gordonstoun boarding school, increasingly their mother couldn’t cope with them and they spent much of their early years in or around the school, even on their school holidays.

Roy went on to The Edinburgh College of Art where he became friends with Bill Smith, and Ronnie Browne. Roy went on to become an art teacher at Liberton High School, where he taught a friend of my father’s.

Roy founded the Corrie Folk Trio in 1962, alongside Ron Cruikshank and Bill Smith, they played their first gig in the famous Waverley Bar on St Mary Street, Cruikshank left the group within weeks of this due to illness which led to the arrival of Ronnie Browne, Irish singer Paddie Bell also joined the group who became the Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell for the festival gigs that year.

Early tv appearances followed on the Hoot’nanny Show and later The White Heather Club. After a series of arguments Smith and Bell left the group and they became The Corries as we know and love.

It was Roy who wrote Flower of Scotland, a song he didn’t rate at the time he was always the main musician, bringing sensitivity and technique together to lay the foundations of the group’s characteristic interpretation and arrangement of their material. Ronnie’s booming tenor singing gave the Corries their main vocals.

Flower of Scotland was first sung at a sporting event in 1974 when the winger, Billy Steele, encouraged his team-mates to sing it on the victorious Lions tour of South Africa in 1974, since then it has been increasingly used as our unofficial national anthem and sung in many stadiums throughout the world. As well as Football and Rugby internationals perhaps some of you will remember the song being belted out before Scottish lightweight world champion, Jim Watt’s bouts.

Flower of Scotland was voted tops in an online poll of over 10,000 people to choose a national anthem in 2006.

To say that Roy and Ronnie as the Corries are a Scottish institution would not be a lie, I listen to Corries songs as regularly as any others and they will always have a place in my heart, I never got to see them live but my late mother and her friend did on several occasions.

I think the songs the Corries sang lent themselves to their voices, they didn’t need a lot of musical accompaniment, like in Loch Lomond, a little harmonica and the wee squeeze box, in others they just had the bodhrán, the songs were also part of the Scottish psyche, engrained in our history.

On August 12th, 1990 we sadly lost Roy Williamson he died from a brain tumour aged just 54 in Forres. RIP Roy, you brought our history to life.

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On June 25th 1897 the author Margaret Oliphant, Scottish novelist, died.

Margaret Oliphant was born on the outskirts of Edinburgh at Wallyford in 1828 and thanks to her mother she was given an excellent education, she wrote her first novel, Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland at the age of 17.

Over the course of her career, she published nearly one hundred novels. She became a lifelong contributor to Blackwood’s magazine in Edinburgh, and is known for writing domestic realism, historical fiction, and the supernatural. Blackwoods Magazine also published some of her best-received novels.

As well as her fiction, she also published a great deal of critical work, including A Literary History of Scotland, using sharp wit to expose the hypocrisy and injustices of Victorian society towards women.

She outlived her husband and all seven of her children, and went on to help her alcoholic brother and his family. By the end of her life in 1897, Margaret Oliphant had written more than 90 novels, 50 short stories, 25 works of nonfiction and around 300 articles.

A bronze memorial stone sits in St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile, commemorating the life and work of Margaret Oliphant which was unveiled in 1908 by her friend, and author, J.M.Barrie.

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Good Morning from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Firth of Forth sunrise at Fishermen’s Memorial in Pittenweem, Fife.

📸johnmurrayjnr/John Murray on Instagram

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24th June 1488 saw the crowning, at the age of 15 of King James IV, arguably the first effective monarch of the House of Stewart.

Described as 'courageous, more than a king should be' and 'of noble stature, and handsome', James IV was a popular king under whom Scotland reached its highest point as an independent nation.

If you remember my post on June 11th James was involved in the 1488 rebellion that saw his father, James III, killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn. As a 15 year old boy, it is not clear what he expected as the outcome of the rebellion but it seems clear that he carried the guilt of his father's death into his adult life. After the battle James did penance for his role in the rebellion and was to wear a celice – an uncomfortable metal chain – around his waist for the rest of his life.

Like his forefathers, James' reign was marked by the factional interests of the nobles in his court and, like previous Stewart monarchs, James fought to counter these to centralise power in his own hands.

James IV has been acclaimed by historians as the first true Renaissance king of Scotland. Under his rule, James patronised the arts and sciences and Scotland flourished as a result. It was during his reign that the first printing press was established in Scotland (1507)

During the same period James brought order to the Scottish kingdom. In 1493 he finished the work of previous Stewart kings in effectively ending the influence of the Lords of the Isles. From that date onward, the King of Scots would hold that title.

In 1502 he signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII of England that went some way to ease the traditional enmity between the two nations. To cap the new warm relations with the old enemy James married Henry's daughter, Margaret Tudor in 1503.

This was an important marriage for both nations. For Henry, the marriage into one of Europe's most established monarchies gave a patina of legitimacy to the new Tudor royal line. For James, the marriage raised the interesting opportunity of a future offspring of the marriage having a claim to the English throne.

The new peace and goodwill established between the two nations lasted until 1513 when international matters forced James to make the most difficult of decisions. As part of a long-running conflict in Italy, England and France ended up at war. Under the obligations of the Auld Alliance (signed by John Balliol in 1295) James was honour-bound to aid the French and invade England. This was naturally at odds with the Treaty he had signed with Henry VII in 1502.

James made up his mind. He declared war on England and led his army south. The campaign was a disaster. On the 9th September 1513 James led his army into battle at Flodden, Northumberland. The Scots were slaughtered with many of the Scottish nobility killed. James was one of that number.

As a final side note, James was the last King of Scots to speak Gaelic.

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On June 24th 1314, The Battle of Bannockburn entered it's second day.

The first day had been a success for the Bruces army, the defensive ditches had broken up an English cavalry charge, while two of Edward's experienced commanders, Sir Henry Beaumont and Sir Robert Clifford, attempted to outflank the Scots, the Scots commanders had envisaged this and Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray had lay in wait, hidden in the woods ready to counter the English. This is where the schiltrons came into play, this time they were used in an offensive maneuver, not like the Battle of Falkirk where the Welsh bowmen picked them off from a distance as they stood waiting for the English, also the English commanders had left their archers behind to protect Edward, and thirdly and most crucially Cliffords troops may have been skilled, even brave fighters but common sense would have been to withdraw and rejoin the main body of troops the bold English knight thought the Scots were there for the taking, a grave mistake

Bruce's army spent weeks , if not months training the schiltrons to stay together fight as one, the English general ordered an attack as the Scots moved forward, the schiltrons adapted, as one soldier fell another moved forward to take their place, these schiltrons also differed from 1298 in that they were more fluid, as the English tried to move to their sides the Scots formed a more circular formation, they fought off waves of English attacks who came upon what was a wall of spears, but try as they might they couldn't break into the enemy ranks. Eventually, after an hour or so of struggle, the exhausted riders began to falter.

Already looking defeated, the final nail in the coffin of the English was the appearance of more Scots joined the battle, under the command of The Good Sir James Douglas, Bruce's most loyal lieutenant, The English tried to regroup as Moray urged his men on and the Douglas joined the fray. This wasn't meant to be, the highly trained English horsemen were never meant to lose against foot soldiers, they had thought they would merely ride over the Scots and take the prize of Stirling Castle, it was not to be, as the sun set on the first day, the English made camp for the night in the Carse of Balquhidderock, but it would be an uneasy night for the English, rattled at the tenacity of King Robert the Bruce's army and fearing a night attack.

At dawn the Scots ate their breakfast and advanced out of the wood to face the enemy

As the Scot’s knelt in prayer, in full sight of the English across the burn their King Edward II is reputed to have said: “Yon folk are kneeling to ask mercy.” Sir Ingram de Umfraville, a Balliol supporter fighting for Edward, is said to have replied: “They ask for mercy, but not from you. They ask God for mercy for their sins. I’ll tell you something for a fact, that yon men will win all or die. None will flee for fear of death.” “So be it”, retorted Edward.

Bruce himself is said to have made a speech invoking the power of St Andrew, John the Baptist and Thomas Beckett. Then, according to the chronicler Walter Bower: “At these words, the hammered horns resounded, and the standards of war were spread out in the golden dawn.”

A duel between the archers followed, but instead of standing firm and defensive like that fateful day near Falkirk, Edward Bruce’s schiltrom advanced on the English vanguard, felling the Earl of Gloucester and Sir Robert Clifford, while Randolph’s schiltrom closed up on their left. The Scots had learnt from Falkirk, a moving force was harder to hit by the archers if it was moving towards them.

Edward ordered a major cavalry assault, the full force of his horseback men came to bare down towards the Scots, and rode right into hidden spiked pits prepared over the weeks before as Bruce had awaited this day. Knight after knight disappeared, swallowed up by the earth, those who avoided the spiked pits and caltrops now smashed into the lowered schiltron pikes. Weeks of preparation reaped the rewards.

The English knights now found themselves hemmed in between the Scots schiltrons and the mass of their own army they could bring few of their archers into play for fear of bringing their arrows down on their own men, some broke out on the Scots flank and rained arrows into the Scots ranks, but Bruce had left his own cavalry in reserve and led by Sir Robert Keith the archers were easily dispersed. With the archers presence annulled hand to hand fighting broke out amongst the infantry of both sides, Bruce now played an ace and sent his own schiltrom into play, made up of the Gaelic ferocious warriors of the Highlands and Islands, a cry arose as the English were driven back into the burn.

The battle’s momentum was for the English over.

A reluctant Edward II was escorted away. As his royal standard departed, panic set in. The Scots schiltrons hacked their way into the disintegrating English army. Those that fled the field met their own men trying to make their way towards the battle, the arena Bruce had chosen worked well, too small for Edward to unleash his vast army at once, if you think back to Stirling Brig, where Longshanks army should do nothing as they were caught by the narrow passing, this was a similar effect.

The battle was over. English casualties were heavy, thousands of infantry, at least 100 knights and Earl of Gloucester with six barons lay dead on the field.

This was not the end of The First War of Independence and it was a major defeat for Edward II and he was never again to set foot in Scotland, he like his father before him must have cursed us Scots!!

It would be six more year before Scotland would issue The Declaration of Arbroath, a landmark event and another 6 year before the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton was a peace treaty signed in 1328, bringing to an end the first wars of Scottish Independence.

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24th June 1777 saw the birth of Admiral Sir John Ross.

Ross was the son of the Reverend Andrew Ross of Balsarroch, Minister for Inch Wigtonshire and Elizabeth Corsane, daughter of Robert Corsane, the Provost of Dumfries.

He joined the navy in 1786 and yes, that is correct he was only 9 years old!!! He served in the Mediterranean until 1789 and then in the English Channel. In 1808, he acted as a captain of the Swedish Navy and in 1812 became a Commander. In 1818 he went in search of the Northwest Passage but turned back after exploring Baffin Bay. Financed by Sir Felix Booth, he commanded a second search expedition, when he located the north magnetic pole on Boothia Peninsula, now called Prince of Wales Island.

One of Ross’s final voyages, which he undertook in 1850, was a trip to discover the fate of explorer John Franklin, who had gone missing on an Arctic voyage. Ross was unable to find any sign of Franklin or his crewmates and the deceased members of Franklin’s voyage were eventually discovered in 1854 by Dr John Rae.

While he had been searching for Franklin, Ross was promoted to rear admiral. Retiring to Stranraer, Scotland, he never sailed again. His knowledge of the Swedish and Danish languages saw him consulting for the government about the Baltic regions as tensions with Russia increased and his later years were spent writing. He published several pamphlets, including one critical of the efforts to rescue Franklin.

John Ross died on 30th August 1856 while visiting London, where he is buried a Kensal Green Cemetery in London.

The drawings are Ross’s own from his expeditions.

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Good Morning from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Beautiful Plockton at dawn

📸lochgmarcp/Marc Pickering on Instagram

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The Scottish singer Kenneth McKellar was born on June 23rd 1927 in Paisley

McKellar's father owned a grocery shop, although there were no musicians in the family, Kenneth's father and uncles sang in the High Kirk and his parents would often listen to opera on their gramophone. Kenneth was soon entertaining family friends by impersonating his favourite singers. But his greatest pleasure in his early years was exploring the Scottish Highlands. The depletion of Scotland's forest reserves during the World War II left him with a burning desire to help restore them, and after leaving the John Neilson school, Paisley, he took a Science degree from Aberdeen University and joined the Scottish Forestry Commission. Over the next two years he took part in a research and survey programme on the woodlands of the British Isles, travelling by horseback up and down the Scottish countryside.

At university, Kenneth McKellar had joined the student choir. The university's director of music was so impressed that he gave him lessons, and McKellar went on to sing solo roles with the university choir. An audition with the Carl Rosa Opera Company landed him, to his surprise, a job as a principal tenor. During this time McKellar made some recordings for Decca, including a disc of Handel arias, and "The Messiah" (with Joan Sutherland) that is still one of the sought-after renditions of Handel's masterpiece.

Giving up opera after 1954, he concentrated on popular and standard Scottish works. (There was to be one return to his old medium when, in 1965, Benjamin Britten talked him into performing "The Beggar's Opera" at Aldeburgh and in Paris). A regular on Scottish radio and television, he became well known to English viewers with "The White Heather Club", a Scots-themed variety show that aired on the BBC from 1958 to 1968. McKellar retired in the late 1990s leaving a legacy of around 35 albums made mostly for Decca, some of which remained available on CD at his death. He died a few days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, in 2010, his funeral was in his native Paisley.

I've decided to post the comedy song The Midges, written by the man himself, one because it mentions midges being the reason we won that day is The Bruce let loose Midges on the English, also for my wee sis, Sandra who will be up on The West Highland Way this weekend and no doubt will encounter a few million of the wee ferocious insects!! Brownie points to those that recognise the location in the video.

Here are the lyrics

The midges, the midges, I'm no gonnae kid ye's,

The midges is really the limit,

Wi teeth like pirhanas, they drive ye bananas,kenneth m

If ye let them get under yer simmit!

1. The Lord put the Garden of Eden on earth,

And it's north of the Tweed, we believe,

Aye, Scotland's the place, and the whole human race,

Started of with MacAdam and Eve!

In six days or under, he finished this wonder,

Except for the Forth and Tay Bridges,

Then always a bloke for a practical joke,

He made Scotland the home of the midges!

2. Back in 1314, proud Edward was keen,

To take Scotland into his care,

But he made a U-turn when he reached Bannockburn,

Just a few weeks before Glasgow Fair!

The midges let loose by King Robert the Bruce,

Straight into the English they tore,

So they ran off in tears, and for six hundred long years,

They've been blocking the A74!

3. Now never forget, when the sun's going to set,

And the midges arise on Loch Eck,

Like the vampires you see, played by Christopher Lee,

They'll give you a pain in the neck!

You can smack them and whack them; in vain you'll attack them,

They know every move that you make,

If you manage to kill yin, another half million,

Are ready tae come tae the wake!

4. Now Torquil the piper's a giant of a man,

With a sporran as long as your arm,

And in Oban he's known, for the sound of his drone,

And a pibroch of real highland charm!

But they're sighing and sobbing, the ladies of Oban,

Torquil is not what he was,

Since a midge in Glenbranter, got hold of his chanter,

And carried it off in its jaws!

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Margaret of Denmark was born on 23rd June 1456, the daughter of Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and Dorothea of Brandenburg.

The country we know as Scotland today, was largely completed in 1468 with the marriage treaty between Margaret of Denmark and Norway and King James III of Scotland. In addition to a new Queen, Scotland also received the Orkney Islands and Shetland, and permanently secured the Hebrides and Isle of Man--for which they had previously been paying a hefty annual sum to the Norwegians.

Margaret was 13 when she married, and her 15-year-old husband was just leaving the control of regents to rule Scotland on his own. As was often the case in Scotland, his reign was a bit rocky. His ineffectual leadership did not help. So, it should come as no surprise that his younger brothers teamed up with those traditional enemies, the English, to oust James from his throne. The displacement was temporary--one brother was mysteriously killed and the other fled the country.

The big question is where Margaret fit into all of this family squabbling. Their relationship, although it produced three sons, had always been somewhat cool. Many believe that Margaret was more interested in preserving the rights of her children than assisting her husband. James seems to have gone a bit further, believing that Margaret was consorting with his enemies. Whatever the truth, their cool marriage turned even colder. It is not even clear whether they ever saw each other again after his restoration to power.

Margaret died only four years later, aged 30. She had been very popular among the Scots, who felt she was beautiful and sensible--and might have made a better king than her husband. Whispers of poisoning surrounded her death; an unpopular king is thought capable of many evil things, after all. Guilty conscious or not, James did apply to have his later wife canonized, an odd move considering his lack of affection during her life.

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Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was born in Edinburgh, on June 23rd 1940.

As a youngster Sutcliffe's father moved the family to Liverpool, where Stuart grew up.He attended Park View Primary School, Huyton, and Prescot Grammar School where he developed a love and aptitude for art.

While earning money as a bin man, he attended the Liverpool College of Art and was regarded as one of the best painters in his class, working mainly in an abstract expressionist style.

It was at college that he met fellow student John Lennon, who became his flatmate. After one of Sutcliffe's paintings sold for the then-massive sum of £65, Lennon convinced him to buy a bass guitar — which he could barely play — and join the band Lennon had formed with his friends Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

The band’s name had already changed numerous times. Upon joining, Sutcliffe and Lennon lit upon the idea of "beetles" as a nod to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Over the next few months, that name evolved into the Silver Beetles, then the Silver Beatles, and finally to the Beatles.

Along with hastily recruited drummer Pete Best, Sutcliffe and the Beatles traveled to Hamburg, Germany to play clubs and hone their skills. There, Sutcliffe fell in love with photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who became his fiancee just two months after meeting him. She gave him the mop-top haircut the rest of the band would soon adopt.

In 1961, Sutcliffe left the Beatles to focus on his painting and life with Astrid. He won a postgraduate scholarship to attend the Hamburg College of Art, eager to study under Edinburgh sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi.

His artistic career was cut short, however, when after a series of increasingly severe headaches, he died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage on April 10, 1962, at the age of 21.

His fiancee and former bandmates were devastated. Sutcliffe’s face can still be seen on the far left side of the album cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

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On June 23rd 1952 Salvador Dali’s painting “Christ of St John of the Cross” went on display in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

There was a public outcry when Dr Tom Honeyman, the then director of Glasgow’s museums and art galleries, spent the city’s entire annual purchasing budget of £8,200, Dali had painted it the year before and the catalogue price was £12,000 so he got it on the cheap. It is one of the jewels of the city’s art collection, and indeed the whole of Scotland and has proven commercially remunerative, with displays and reproduction fees covering the original cost several times over. I looked around online to get an up to date value on it and the nearest date was 2009 when an estimated value of more than £60 million was quoted!!

Dalí needed a model who could dangle for extended periods of time, because he wished to paint the crucifixion from an angle that no artist had ever attempted before. The completed painting, which looks down on Christ on the cross floating above the Earth, proved equal parts groundbreaking and controversial. So controversial, in fact, that the work was vandalized not once but twice while on display at the Kelvingrove.

n 1961, a man attacked Christ of Saint John with a stone, slashing the lower end of the large canvas before ripping an eight-foot tear that took months to repair (you can see traces of tear on the painting’s surface from certain angles). The second vandal reportedly shot at the painting with a rifle or air rifle during the early 1980s, hitting the acrylic glass installed after the previous assault. Religious zealots in Glasgow, who'd have thought it.

Today, the painting is roped off and surveilled by four video cameras.

If you haven’t seen it go do so and think of how much it is worth, a shrewd purchase indeed.

The five-month loan, from November to the end of April 2024, saw Dalí's masterpiece ‘return home’ to The Dalí Theatre and Museum in Dalí’s home town of Figueres, in Catalonia, Spain. It is the first time the painting was displayed in Dalí’s home town in over seven decades since 1952, when it was purchased by the City of Glasgow.

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June 23rd 1795 saw the death of Scottish architect James Craig.

Due to the amount of smoke that covered Edinburgh, which could be seen for miles, the city of Edinburgh earned the nickname "Auld Reekie", there was also serious overcrowding, rich and poor lived side by side with the more affluent taking accommodation on the upper floors of the tenements, leaving the lower floors to the poor.

Edinburgh was one of the most densely populated areas in the world at that time.

It was not uncommon for buildings to collapse and the overcrowding also brought disease to the City. Something had to be done so a competition was held to create a New Town in Edinburgh. James Craig, a young Architect aged 22 was the winner in 1766 with his design of a grid system and an area was chosen to the North of the old Town. It is by and large these streets you walk along nowadays, from St Andrews Square to the east, to Charlotte Square in the west.

Despite winning this and being well respected as an architect Craig was not a good businessman, records show he was a regular in the courts for people chasing unpaid bills and others wanting loans repaid.

Aged only 55, James Craig died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1795, he is buried in his unmarked family plot in Greyfriars, the family were not well off and with the death of James the line ended, his goods and books, drawings and equipment were sold at auction to pay creditors in the same year, with their matters for finally settled three years later.

In 1930 The Saltire Society honoured him when they paid for a memorial on the grave, the footpath between the old St James's Centre and Register house is named James Craig walk in his honour, he was also responsible for the planning of James Square, most of which was swept away in the sixties to accommodate the aforementioned St James's Centre.

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On June 23rd 1832 Sir James Hall, Scottish geologist, died.

Although not as well known as Geologists, Hutton, Miller and Lyall, Hall was one of Scotland’s pioneering geologists, James founded the field of experimental geology. Born at the family estate of Dunglass, East Lothian, to Sir John Hall and Magdalen (Pringle), he studied at Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Brienne in France (alongside Napoleon Bonaparte). While studying in Edinburgh he attended classes taught by Joseph Black and John Walker.

Towards the end of the C18, many theories regarding the origins of Earth’s rocks circulated among the scientific community, one of which focussed on igneous rocks. One school of thought believed they had been deposited in primeval oceans (Neptunists), while another thought the process involved the intense heat and pressure of volcanic activity (Plutonists).

James was initially of the Neptunist persuasion but after spending time with James Hutton (a Plutonist) he set out to help prove Hutton’s theories by designing and building a furnace in which he heated basalt and limestone, and showed that basalt returned to its original structure, while limestone cooled into marble. He went on to demonstrate through various experiments, the extent of the effects of volcanic activity and pressure upon rock formation.

After succeeding to the Dunglass baronetcy aged 15, James was M.P. for St Michael’s in Cornwall in 1807 & 1812, and President of The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

After a “lingering illness” of three and a half years, Sir James died at Edinburgh on the this day, 1832, he is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard his grave, one of the most modest in the cemetery, lies against the western wall of the original churchyard, backing onto George Heriots School.

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On 24th of June 1314 Scotland rose as a nation to repel the English invaders at The Battle of Bannockburn.

The First War of Scottish Independence had say sporadic fighting since Edward I of England led a force into Scotland in the spring of 1296 to strip King John Balliol of his crown. During the next decade or so the likes of Andrew Moray, William Wallace and Simon Fraser among others had fought a guerrilla war against the English. Some of the nobility, Robert the Bruce and John Comyn included had chosen to fight with Edwards Armies at times, Moray died of his wounds some time after The Battle of Stirling Bridge, Wallace was executed in London after betrayal by he Scottish nobleman Sir John Menteith in the autumn of 1305, Longshanks must have thought the resistance was crushed but a year later The Bruce, after killing John Comyn at Dumfries, seized the Scottish crown, and so began a chain of events that would see a smaller Scottish Army defeat the English Army of Edward II on the fields at Bannockburn near Stirling.

After nearly a decade of fighting, by 1314 Robert the Bruce was in control of most of Scotland. Stirling Castle was the only major castle left in English hands, and so he sent his only surviving brother to Stirling with orders to take the castle.

However, his brother made a deal with the English commander: if the fort wasn’t relieved by mid-summer 1314, the English commander would surrender the castle to the Scots.

So far, Edward II of England had stayed well away from the fighting in Scotland. But even he couldn’t ignore the challenge of relieving Stirling Castle. He marched an army north to Scotland, stopping a couple of miles south of Stirling Castle, near a stream called the Bannockburn.

Meanwhile, Robert the Bruce had gathered together all of his fighting troops, and had arrived at nearby St. Ninian’s before the English. This gave him time to prepare the ground for the mother of all battles.

There are only about four hours of proper darkness at midsummer in Scotland. For the English army crossing the boggy ground beneath the town of Stirling, that was just enough time to feed and water horses and men, clean equipment and wonder what lay ahead of them once the sun rose. Morale was low. The foot soldiers were exhausted, having been forced to march as quickly as they could from Edinburgh 30 miles away in order to meet the midsummer deadline agreed for the relief of the castle.

Yesterday I touched upon the first day of the battle where the English had failed to best their Scottish enemies in a series of encounters including the infamous attempt by Sir Henry de Bohun to kill the Scottish king.

Nevertheless, Edward II was prepared. What he did not expect was the Scots to fight, for it was their habit to disappear into the hills when confronted by an English army. Preferring to fight on their own terms, the tactics Wallace had used and Bruce also in his battles.

As dawn crept into the sky on June 4th, Edward could see the Scots across the burn, seing them kneel, legend has it that the English KingI, called out “Ha! They kneel for mercy!” misunderstanding their intent. The Scots then stood up and marched in their schiltrons down the hill, straight towards the massing English knights, under cover from their own archers.

The English archers reacted swiftly, however, and quickly drove the few Scots archers from the field. Beneath a ridge was a line of casualties where the two armies first clashed. The well drilled Scottish lines held at the impact of the poorly organised English cavalry, however, then began driving back the English in a relentless, murderous, crushing slog. The lines were packed so closely together that English support from their archers quickly became impossible.

TheEnglish general The Duke of Gloucester had been stung by accusations of cowardice from his own king the day before. Subsequently, upon seeing the Scots’ advance, he hastily formed up the vanguard of the English cavalry and charged without even pausing to don his own surcoat. With great bravery, he charged the Scottish lines but went down under the spears of Edward Bruce’s men. Without his surcoat, he was not recognised as a potentially valuable hostage and was killed by the rampaging Scots.

The English had redeployed their now redundant archers across the Pelstream Burn, on the Scots’ left flank, where they wreaked total havoc amongst the Scotsmen under the command of the Black Douglas and Walter the Steward. But the Bruce had foreseen just such a development and deployed the Scots light cavalry under Sir Robert Keith in a circuitous movement to dispatch them. Unseen by the English, they tracked swiftly through the concealing countryside to take the English archers by surprise and drove them from the field.

It was at this point that the Bruce deployed his own schiltron, with support from Angus Og MacDonald and his highlanders, who he had previously held in reserve. As they smashed into the thick of the battle, the English began to lose heart. They were being driven back mercilessly and yet most had been unable to reach the front line to strike a blow. They could not manoeuvre effectively in the tight confines and on such broken terrain. Many fell beneath the crush, never to rise again and panic began to surge through their ranks.

English King Edward was persuaded to leave the field by his advisers as order in the English ranks collapsed and he fled for nearby Stirling castle with his escort. Upon seeing the Royal Standard, three golden leopards on a scarlet background, leaving the field, the English collapse became inevitable.

The Scottish archers returned to the field to wreak havoc upon the fleeing English. The “small folk” abandoned their reserve position by Coxet Hill and took to the field. It is unlikely that Robert the Bruce ordered this charge, but its effect was devastating upon the already retreating English forces. Seeing these hundreds of figures rush into battle carrying workmen’s tools as weapons and waving homemade banners, the English mistook them as another Scottish reserve force entering the fray. Subsequently, they totally disintegrated and fled the field, pursued in every direction by vengeful Scots

The English King eventually reached Stirling Castle but was refused entry by the castle commander, Sir Philip Moubray, as this would only have resulted in the King’s ultimate capture. He and his retinue were pursued relentlessly south and east to Dunbar by the Black Douglas, leaving his army to be slaughtered.

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Good Morning from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Sunrise over Suilven from Achnahaird Bay.

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