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Celtophile Monday, Halloween Edition

Cassandra the Village Witch


Backyard Quidditch
A great game for a Halloween party! Click here

Traditional Scottish Halloween Recipe
Cloutie Dumpling
A traditional Scottish recipe for a steamed pudding, steamed in a cloth or 'clout', which is normally served at celebrations such as Christmas, New Year, Halloween and also other special occasions. Click here for recipe.

Traditional Halloween Legends and Lore
Interesting article from mysteriousbritain and scotland.org Click here and here.

Scottish Ghost Stories
How and where Mary Shelley was inspired to write "Frankenstein"; dastardly doings at Greyfriar's Kirkyard, and more. Click here

Halloween Horrors of Edinburgh
Things that go bump in the night on the Royal Mile! Click here

Ghost Cams
Craig-y-Nos Castle, Powys, Wales

Spiritfinders Scotland
TAPS in kilts? What's not to like? Click here

If You Can't Get Jiggy With This...

...there's simply no hope for you. :) Thanks to my friend Vaerna for the link!

Celtophile Monday

Something To Make You Smile on a Monday!
Scottie, the master of RampantScotland.com, was kind enough to share some photos from his son's recent wedding on the shores of Loch Lomond. Men in kilts, lovely ladies in love. What could be more romantic? Thanks, Scottie!

Scottie writes: "In the last email to subscribers I mentioned that the Culzean feature had been delayed in part due to my son's wedding and the slide shows I created as a result of it. Of course, I have had requests to let readers see some of Martin and Nicola's wedding photos and I've created a short slide show in response. The wedding took place at Luss parish church on the banks of Loch Lomond and the reception was at Ross Priory, also at Loch Lomond. The weather was dry but misty, as can be seen in the photos. Nicola is from Wales - hence the Welsh and Scottish flags. Martin and most of the ushers wore kilts for the occasion - the one exception had a good excuse - he had flown in from Texas to be there. Included in the slide show is also a picture of "Cariad" - a Welsh love spoon made of chocolate." Click here for video!

Celtophile Monday

Some of the Lewis Chessmen which were found on a beach in the Western Isles more than 150 years ago are being reunited for a tour of Scotland. A total of 30 of the 93 pieces will go on display at locations including the island of Lewis, where they were found. They are thought to have belonged to a 12th Century merchant who visited Lewis as he journeyed from Ireland to Norway. Read more







UK Mammals Have "Celtic Fringe"
DNA tests on British populations of small mammals show a genetically distinct "Celtic Fringe", say scientists at The University of York. Voles, shrews, mice and stoats in northern and western areas have different DNA from their counterparts in other parts of the British Isles. The paper, in Proceedings B journal, says the different populations arrived at the end of the last ice age. The authors say the work sheds light on the origins of the Celtic people. Click here for complete article by Judith Burns

Scottish Families Set 50-Mile Food Target
An experiment is under way in the Scottish Borders which will see 50 people try to source all their food from within a 50 mile radius of home. The Tweedgreen initiative centres on Peebles and will last throughout the month of October. Organisers hope it will show how eating local food can help to do "the least possible damage" to the environment. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/8282846.stm

Writer Says Scots Fiction Stifled by Mediocrity
A row has broken out among Scotland's leading authors on the state of fiction north of the Border. James Kelman, the influential Glasgow writer, accused the literati of favouring populist offering such as JK Rowling's Harry Potter, and detective novels, such as Ian Rankin's Rebus, over encouraging new innovative talent. Mr Kelman, who won the Booker Prize in 1994, derided Potter as "upper middle class" at the Edinburgh Book Festival and accused Scotland's literary establishment of rewarding mediocrity. He also accused it of failing to encourage contemporary literature by being anglocentric. He said: "Praise and position is given to genre fiction in Scotland. If the Nobel Prize were given to a Scot, it would be given to a f****** crime writer, or a children's writer who writes middle-class books about a child magician." Read article by Fiona MacLeod

All Things Whisky!
The Scotsman's definitive guide to uisge beatha, Scotland's national drink. Read more

Test Your Knowledge of Scotland
How well do you know Scotland? Put it to the test with this quick quiz from the website www.scotland.org. Click here

McNappy Tartan
In a bid to get more parents to "switch from bin to pin", Real Nappy supporters came together last week to launch the McNappy Tartan diaper. Click here for story by Kirsten Johnson

Sea Eagle Numbers in Scotland Soar to 150-Year High
The number of sea eagle chicks hatched in Scotland has reached its highest level in 150 years, according to the RSPB. The charity said that 36 chicks were successfully hatched in 2009, eight more than last year. Two new breeding pairs of the sea eagle, the largest bird of prey in the British Isles, were seen during its annual survey. Click for more

Wales Photo Galleries
Digital photographs of Wales submitted by BBC Wales readers. Click here

Kilt Candy

Please join me and other Beyond the Veil blog authors on the Samhain Cafe from 7-9 tonight for a chat and book giveaways! Click here.

And now, the real reason you're here. Something to start off your weekend! These are from kiltmen.com. Most of these guys are just normal men who love their kilts, and it shows. Who can resist?? Enjoy!

Kilted paintball, anyone?


Yup, just normal guys...why don't they live on MY block??


Love the shirt (it says "men in kilts do it better")


Is that a horn in your sporran or are you just happy to see me??


A man and his dog...


With a bit of a gladiator flair...


Chestnuts roasting on an open fiiiire...Jack Frost nipping at my-- uh, never mind.


Red-shirted guy: "I told you we were underdressed."
Suit: "Shut up and smile for the camera."


Semper fi!


Have a good weekend!

Celtophile Monday

What Glass Ceiling?
Founded in 1908 by three women who were denied access to male-dominated climbing clubs, the LSCC has been going strong for over 100 years. Among their accomplishments are first ascents of several rock climbs in Glencoe, and the first all-female expedition to the Himalayas in 1955. Click here. Related site: Mountaineering Council of Scotland

For My Fellow Horse Lovers
All things horse are explored in articles and video on BBC Scotland. Horses at work, play and show and the people who love them! Click here.

How's That Again?
Let Scottie of RampantScotland.com lead you through the twisting of the Gaelic tongue in this lighthearted look at how to pronounce Scottish place names. Suffice to say what you see definitely isn't what you speak. Click here.

Scotland Above and Below the Waves
Diver Helen Hadley;s photographic tour of Orkney and Shetland. Click here.

Weatherman Walking!
Derek Brockway's blog about his travels and observations of the natural world of Wales. Click here.

Ireland's National Archives
Are you a history or genealogy nut? This site is a treasure trove of historical documents, with a searchable online database. Click here.

Annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest Winners!

It's here! It's here! The one contest that makes me proud to be a writer. The only contest where bad is good, and worse is better. Enjoy!! Click here

**Disclaimer: Not responsible for damage caused by spewage. :)

It's here! It's here!

Celtophile Monday

Scotland's Earliest Face Found
A carving believed to be Scotland's earliest human face, dating back thousands of years, has been found on the Orkney island of Westray.

Scotland's Storytelling Tradition Resurges
Listen to radio story or read transcript here. Visit the Scottish Storytelling Centre here.

Walkhighlands!
Free, detailed descriptions of walking routes across the Scottish Highlands, including maps, GPS locations of waypoints, 3D Virtual Highlands tours, downloadable tour apps, and photographs taken along the routes. Plus a whole lot more. http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

Thanks to Inez Kelley for pointing me to this video:


Highland Diary
Explore the natural world of the Highlands with BBC natural history specialists. Click here

Castle of the Week
Fatlips Castle Okay, yeah, I picked it for the name. :) That, and it's an unusual looking edifice - looks like a stone cottage perched on top of a tower.