Friday 14th March 2008
Scotland is becoming more and more of a destination for weekend breaks - be that for golf, a spot of whisky-tasting, some retail therapy or to enjoy Scotland's fantastic landscape and visitor attractions. More and more airlines are offering direct routes to Scotland from around the UK, Europe and further afield so we've decided to explore some of the essential travel information visitors might need. As many of the short-haul flights come into Glasgow Prestwick, that's where we've started. That video and links to all this week's new videos can be found below. This week we've the next instalments from the Mitchell Library, Edinburgh Old Town Weaving Company and the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming.
FAMILY HISTORY AT THE MITCHELL LIBRARY - Part 4
The Glasgow City Archives at the Mitchell Library include some really interesting collections for the Scottish family historian. This week, Dr Irene O’Brien, senior archivist at the Mitchell Library, reveals more of the useful resources available to anyone wishing to find out more about their Scottish ancestors. Dr O’Brien explains the Church Archives, which include large numbers of baptismal registers from before 1855, as well as the family and estate archives, which provide information on the landed families and their tenants. Finally, Irene reveals another fascinating resource, the Kirk Session Minutes. The Kirk Session was composed of elders of the church and was responsible for the administration of church affairs in each parish. The Session kept records and investigated many different kinds of offences including witchcraft and theft.
Discover:Ancestors
MORAG OF DUNVEGAN & THE SKYE BOAT SONG
Another rehearsal performance by the pipe band from the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming in Edinburgh. This week, the band rehearses two Scottish traditional tunes: Morag of Dunvegan, a traditional Scottish air, and The Skye Boat Song, which recalls the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie after his defeat at Culloden in 1746. The lyrics are believed to have been written by Sir Harold Boulton to an air collected by Miss Annie MacLeod in the 1870s.
Experience:Bagpipes
PRESTWICK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT to Glasgow
Getting to Glasgow from Prestwick International Airport is so easy, even Richard from our Scotland on TV team can do it! This video guide shows how to travel from Prestwick to Glasgow Central Station, using the SPT train service from Prestwick International Airport railway station. The train journey will take around 45 minutes from Prestwick to Glasgow, and this guide will show you how to get to the station directly from the airport. The train station is serviced by trains running between Glasgow Central and Ayr - a Glasgow-bound train passing by the station roughly every half an hour Mondays to Saturdays, and hourly on Sundays. Additional information is available from screens on the platforms, and a call button which can be pressed. On the route to Glasgow Central Station, you will pass through the following stations: Prestwick International AirportTroon (with golf course views)BarassieIrvineKilwinning (Interchange station)GlengarnockPaisley Gilmour StreetGlasgow Central (where it terminates)Happy travelling!
Discover:Visit
A VIEW FROM LEITH DOCKS
As the main seaport for Edinburgh, Leith's docks have played a major role in the history of Scotland’s capital. Situated just north of the city on the Firth of Forth, this area is slowly transforming itself, after years of industrial decline left it a shadow of its former self. Luxury residential developments are now springing up, offering panoramic views across the water to Fife, but older features like the sheltered haven of Newhaven Quay still remain. Scotland on TV visited Leith on a bright spring day and braved the fresh northerly breeze. In this view, we move from the harbour to look out across the Firth of Forth, and then to the docks (now called Ocean Terminal), where the Royal Yacht Britannia is moored.
Discover:See Scotland
EXHIBITION AT THE QUEEN'S CROSS CHURCH
Scottish artists, Dai and Jenny Vaughan have recently exhibited their gesso (pronounced jess-oh) panels at the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Church in Glasgow. Inspired by The Seven Princesses, a piece of gesso work originally produced by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh in 1906, this commissioned art work was exhibited in the historic Glasgow church. The original gesso panels were commissioned by Fritz Warndorfer, for his music Room in Vienna. Margaret and her husband, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, designed the panel especially for Fritz in 1902. The panel represents the play The Seven Princesses, a work written by Maurice Maeterlink who was one of the Mackintoshes' favourite authors. Gesso is an artist's medium made up primarily of Plaster of Paris and its use dates back as far as ancient Egyptian times, when it was used to prepare wooden panels for painting from about 2000BC. For more information on Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and her work, or to order prints, visit http://www.art-works.co.uk/
Discover:Culture
A SHORT HISTORY OF TARTAN - The Edinburgh Old Town Weaving Company
With over 200 clan and family tartans, as well as bespoke patterns, woven on the premises, the Edinburgh Old Town Weaving Company is the busiest working weaving mill left in the city. Having walked and talked us through the tartan weaving process last week, we continue our series with Howie Nicholsby of the Geoffrey (Tailor) dynasty, and hear his thoughts on the history of tartan itself: that fabric so distinctly Scottish. Or so many of us believe… Woven woollen material like tartan and tweed may have its place in Scottish history, but the muted colours our ancestors wore are a far cry from the vibrant colours of ‘tartan’ we know today, itself a product of the Industrial Revolution and Victorian Age. Howie is certainly the man in the know when it comes to traditions changing through the ages - next week we look at the kilt making process, and also how Howie, with his company 21st Century Kilts, has evolved this Scottish icon into a modern fashion.
Experience:Kilts
FROM THE ARCHIVESCOTLAND'S LARDER - The Taste of Tain
Catherine Brown is in Tain where she visits a scampi factory and a traditional bakery, and David More shares with us the inner secret of a good Scotch pie. Later, Catherine uses the produce from the Tain farmers market to demonstrate how to liven up root vegetables plus how to cook a lamb steak stew. And a visit to a local farmer enlightens Catherine to what makes a happy hen.
Experience:Food
POLITICS NOW - Thursday 13th March, 2008
This week, Michael Crow examines Alex Salmond's handling of Donald Trump’s Golf Resort application with MSPs Bob Doris and Des McNulty. The debate over the government’s extension of electronic tagging is also discussed. Also debated in this episode are Alistair Darling’s first budget, a controversial scheme allowing MSPs to use public money to buy second homes in Edinburgh, and the possibility of replacing the Council Tax with a local income tax.
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