Fair City of Perth
I have to admit a fondness for Perth - I even support St Johnstone, the local football (soccer) team though my support these days is usually limited to checking the results on Saturdays. But my parents both came from Perth and I often spent time there visiting grandparents at Christmas/New Year and in the summer. So I got to know the "Fair City of Perth" from an early age. It was only later that I discovered that Perth got it's title of "Fair City" from a novel "The Fair Maid of Perth" by Sir Walter Scott and technically it wasn't a city. (Despite a charter granted 800 years ago, in the late 1990s, the UK government and the Scottish Executive re-examined the definition of a city and produced a list of "approved" cities, from which Perth was omitted. It is now considered to be a "former city" - and is trying hard to be appointed a city whenever the opportunity arises). Whatever it's status, it's still a bonny place on the banks of the river Tay and is the administrative centre for Perthshire and Kinross. I've visited many times in recent years and here's a selection of pictures in slide show format at YouTube - Fair City of Perth
For more information on Perth and its attractions, see also Places to Visit - Perth and Places to Visit - Norie-Miller Park, Rodney Gardens, Bellwood Riverside Park, Perth
Scotland in Colour
It looks as though I overlooked the "Scotland in Colour" week by week for the first two weeks of February in the last newsletter. So here are the links to all four weeks!
Scotland in Colour - 1st Week February
Scotland in Colour - 2nd Week February
Scotland in Colour -3rd Week February
Scotland in Colour - 4th Week February
Tartan Day
A one-off event was held in New York City in 1982, but the current format of celebrating Tartan Day originated in Canada in the mid-1980s. It then spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora in the 1990s. In Australasia the similar International Tartan Day is held on July 1, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1747 Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of tartan. In 1998, the US Senate designated April 6 as National Tartan Day "to recognize the outstanding achievements and contributions made by Scottish Americans to the United States". Ever since then, I've maintained a Web page listing any such events around the world at Tartan Day Events
While some organisers have sent me their dates for 2011, many of the entries need to be updated. So if you know of any Tartan Day events in your part of the world, please let me know.
Yŕpéngté su-gélán
What on earth is yŕpéngté su-gélán I can hear you asking! Those with long memories may recall an item some years ago in one of the Scottish Snippets newsletters that highlighted a new Web site that had set out to create a database of everything to do with Scotland, all translated into Mandarin Chinese (including pronunciation guide). The owners of the site have been updating it ever since but are keen to encourage Chinese foreign students etc to add their own contributions. The dictionary includes a free lesson for use in schools where kids are learning Mandarin. So if you ever want to know how to say "Nessie" in Chinese, it’s "Ni-si-hu shui-gui"! And Rampant Scotland is of course yŕpéngté su-gélán.... For more Scottish phrases to amaze your friends, see Scotland-Chinese Dictionary.
Yours aye
Scottie
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