My heart’s in Scotland

In his 1789 poem, “My Heart’s in the Highlands”, Scotland’s bard Robert Burns (1759-1796) was declaring his love for the wild, natural beauties of the Highlands (see below). Naturally, these lines came to my mind when I was looking for the title of this theme. My attachment to Scotland, born from curiosity and nurtured by personal friendship, has deepened with my increasing knowledge and understanding of this fascinating country and its culture.

Since the Auld Alliance, there has been a special bond between France and Scotland, and I have experienced something like it, from my first trip to Scotland in May 2015 to my latest stay in the Highlands and Western Isles in June 2023, feeling welcome there. I have also been very lucky to meet a couple of Scottish friends a decade ago, who first introduced me to their part of the country and showed me many of its beauties.

In this theme, you’ll find a photo album of my first trip to Scotland in 2015, the travel diary of my recent journey in the Scottish Highlands and Islands (written in French, but I also supplied its summary in English… and the photos speak for themselves!) and some essays and research papers that may be of interest to foreign students or to any lover of Scottish culture: one about the Gaelic language and another about Scotland’s education system. I also posted an academic exercise, analysing three different works of Scottish art.

And at the bottom end of this page, in “Miscellaneous”, I recommend several websites, which gave me a wealth of information about Scotland and Scottish culture. I particularly enjoyed two MOOCs delivered by the University of Glasgow through Future Learn, one about the Scottish Highland clans and the other about Robert Burns.

What’s the link between…

The Alienated Manor, a drama written in 1798 by a long-forgotten Scottish author, Joanna Baillie, a photographic artwork created in 2015, Portrait of Charles Edward Stuart (after William Mosman) by the Scottish artist Calum Colvin, and a travelogue, A Tour thro’ the whole Island of Great Britain, written by Daniel Defoe in 1724-27? This “academic… Continue reading What’s the link between…

My first trip to Scotland

In May 2015, I had the opportunity to enrol in an intensive language course to improve my English. As I had never been to Scotland before, I chose a language school in Edinburgh, and extended the duration of my trip to do some sightseeing. With an English friend, I explored Edinburgh and the Loch Lomond… Continue reading My first trip to Scotland

My trip to the Highlands

Travel diary from 4 to 17 June 2023 (Traduction FR en bas de la page) When I prepared my luggage for this trip to Scotland, I thought that a quilted jacket and a windcheater would allow me to adapt easily to any sudden change of weather in the Highlands and islands… to any but the… Continue reading My trip to the Highlands

Is Gaelic becoming an extinct language in Scotland?

To what extent might the multicultural language policies introduced since 2001 by the British and the Scottish governments to “revitalize” the Gaelic language effectively counter its relentless decline? Before English became the main language spoken in Scotland in the 18th century, there were different languages and dialects spoken across the country: whereas Gaelic was the… Continue reading Is Gaelic becoming an extinct language in Scotland?

Miscellaneous

1) MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)

First, I would like to recommend two MOOCs offered by the University of Glasgow on Future Learn’s online courses website: The Scottish Highland Clans: Origins, Decline and Transformation (July 2023): https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/the-highland-clans, and Robert Burns: Poems, Songs and Legacy (July 2023): https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/robert-burns.

2) Books and DVDs:

I really enjoyed watching the BBC documentary series by Neil Oliver, A History of Scotland, and The Stuarts and The Stuarts in Exile by Dr Clare Jackson. For French people, I would also recommend Histoire de l’Ecosse, Des origines à nos jours, by Michel Duchein (Texto, 2020). Narrated by skilled writers and presenters, Scotland’s long and complex history becomes a fascinating “tale full of sound and fury,” surpassing any work of fiction.

As the excellent docudrama Culloden, by Peter Watkins (1964, remastered in 2003) may be difficult to find now, you can watch it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1TZq6DfKKA, or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW8bhB5oxQI&ab_channel=RickH

Though the 2018 Canadian movie Mary: Queen of Scots or Marie Stuart Reine d’Ecosse, is not a documentary, it explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) and her rivalry with the powerful queen of England, Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie). Its feminist perspective is poles apart with Stefan Zweig’s biography of Mary Stuart, written almost a century before and pregnant with the writer’s biased approach of the personalities of these two rival queens.

Thrillers and “feel good” books and DVDs:

Case Histories is an excellent detective series set in contemporary Edinburgh, adapted from Kate Atkinson’s best-selling novels for the BBC.

The Crow Road is the BBC adaptation of Iain Banks’ eponymous novel. “Seven years after Rory McHoan disappeared without a trace en route to visit his brother Kenneth, Rory’s nephew Prentice decides to find out what really happened to him. He attempts to decipher Rory’s inaccessible computer disks but must make various discoveries about himself and his family first”.

Ken Loach’s Angel’s Share is “a bittersweet comedy caper which proves that sometimes all you need in life is a little spirit. Escaping a prison sentence by the skin of his teeth, the wayward and disillusioned Robbie is given one last chance to turn his life around”. With three friends, he embarks on an adventure and discovers that the best malt whiskies in the world might just change their lives.