Braveheart

Braveheart is a historical war film directed by Mel Gibson in 1995. The story is based on Blind Harry's poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace. It has been described as one of the most historically inaccurate modern films. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards.

Braveheart was one of the most popular films of 1995. Nearly three hours long, it cost about $53 million to make, and has been compared to the great historical epics of the 1960s, such as Spartacus.It stars Mel Gibson as Wallace, French actress Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabella, and Patrick McGoohan as King Edward I. Gibson also directed and produced the film.

Braveheartwas shot partly in Scotland and partly in Ireland, where 2,000 members of the Irish army were used as extras in the film’s very impressive battle scenes.

It is said that Braveheart has had an effect on today’s Scottish movement for complete independence

Braveheart is based on the life of William Wallace, one of Scotland’s greatest national heroes, and took place in the 13th century. The English King Edward I invades Scotland and makes himself its ruler. Many Scots want to fight back but need leadership, and find it when William Wallace turns from peaceful farmer to rebel, after an English sheriff kills his wife. He gathers an army of a few thousand men and not only defeats the English but takes the war into their own country. But the murderous King Edward is not a man to be stopped so easily, and the Scottish nobles are too afraid of him, and too jealous of each other, to support William for long. Even though William wins the love and secret help of the King’s daughter-in-law, Princess Isabella, he cannot stand against England and his own countrymen as well. When the English return to Scotland, all William has left is his courage and integrity.

This film has an impressive effect on tourism. Fans came from all over the world to see the places in Scotland where William Wallace fought, also to the places in Scotland and Ireland used as locations in the film. In 1996, the year after the film was released, the annual three-day "Braveheart Conference" at Stirling Castle attracted fans of Braveheart, increasing the conference's attendance to 167,000 from 66,000 in the previous year. They mostly said the film was one of the main reasons for their visit in Scotland. In the same year, a tourism report said that the "Braveheart effect" earned Scotland ₤7 million to ₤15 million in tourist revenue, and the report led to various national organizations encouraging international film productions to take place in Scotland.

 

Annbut

Sport in scotland

Hi everyone!

You know, Scotland is the country today which demonstrates a true love for the sport. The sporting traditions are legendary worldwide. This country boasted the invention of many sports such as : Tennis, golf, and rugby. But we can take into account : Hockey, Curling, and the Scottish Higland Games plays an important role in the history of Scottish sport.

The first thing that we can say, is that football is the most popular . William McGregor, a Scotsman set up the first English football league, and the first international football match was played in Scotland in 1872.
We can also consider Scotland like the home of golf. Scotsmen have been playing golf – or ‘gowf’, as it was once known here as far back as the 15th century. It was later banned by King James II as a distraction from military training, but has since grown into a multi-billion dollar industry and holds the title of the biggest amateur sport in the world. Today there are over 570 golf courses in Scotland. In many places, golf is still regarded as an exclusive pastime. This is not the case in Scotland, in which members of the public can play on some of the finest municipal golf courses in the world for a very small fee.

2014 Ryder Cup

   In 2014, the year of Homecoming, Scotland will host what is now one of the world’s biggest sporting tournament and the biggest event on the global golf calendar. The 2014 Ryder Cup, at Gleneagles, will be the event that puts Scotland’s golfing events on the world stage.

Olympic Games success

   Scottish sport is a breeding ground for talent. In the 2012 London Olympic Games, 55 Scottish Olympians and 27 Scottish Paralympians were selected to compete. Team GB won an unprecedented 185 medals in total at the Olympics, exceeding all expectations.The 24 medals won by Scotland were in a range of events including judo, rowing, cycling, athletics, sailing, swimming, slalom canoeing, and tennis. There are opportunities for Scottish people to become addict to the sport.

Commonwealth games

 Nobody know the Commonwealth games? It's an international multi-national event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of nations. The games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. But Commonwealth games include also games which are practiced by Commonwealth countries such as : lawn bowls, netballs...Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales.

The traditional Highland Games

This event attract more and more people. It's refers to those sports which are taking place during the summer month. We can see a link between sport, socialisation and culture because everyone can intend to be the best in one of these sports. So, if you're interested you can try to go just once time and if you're lucky maybe you could see the Royal's family..


 fander.

Greyfriars Bobby

How many times have we heard stories about dogs that wait for their human friend in the same place every day after the owner is deceased, or dogs that spend their lives guarding the graves of their owners?

This story is about Bobby, a Skye Terrier who became known in Edinburgh in the 19^th century for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until Bobby died.

The are several versions of this little dog, but the best known one is that Bobby belonged to a man named John Gray, who worked as a night watchman for the Edinburgh City Police. When he died he was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Bobby then became known locally, spending the rest of his life next to his master’s grave.  

The director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals paid for Bobby's licence, and gave the dog a collar, which is now in the Museum of Edinburgh.

When Bobby died, he was buried inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, not far from his friend John Gray.

A year after Bobby’s death a statue and fountain were erected at the southern end of the George IV Bridge to commemorate him. It stands near the south main entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard. It was originally built as a drinking fountain, it had an upper fountain for humans and a lower fountain for dogs.  

There is a bar next to Bobby’s statue which has the dog’s name, Greyfriars Bobby’s Bar.

Several books and films have since been based on Bobby's life.

marrodgom7

Weird Scottish words

Awrite everyone!
Today we are going to learn some weird Scottish words as the title says.
Maybe these words could be useful for you guys if you ever visit Scotland!

1. Aye

Pronounced: Eye

Meaning: Yes

2. Bairn

Pronounced:  Bearn

Meaning: Child

3. Bampot

Pronounced: Bam-pot

Meaning: Idiot

4. Barry

Pronounced:  Ba-ree

Meaning: Splendid

5. Bevvy

Pronounced:  Bev-ee

Meaning: Drink, alcoholic

6. Boggin

Pronounced:  Bog-inn

Meaning: Filthy, Disgusting

7. Bonnie

Pronounced:  Bon-nee

Meaning: Nice, pretty

8. Coo

Pronounced: Coo-ooo

Meaning: Hairy Cow

9. Ceilidh

Pronounced: Kale-eee

Meaning: A dancing party

  10. Crabit

Pronounced: Krab-it

Meaning: Grumpy

11. Dour

Pronounced: Doo-r

Meaning: Glum, never smiles

12. Druth

Pronounced: Drew-th

Meaning: Thirsty

13. Greeting

Pronounced: Greet-ing

Meaning: Crying

  

14. Gubbed

Pronounced: Gub’d

Meaning: Beaten, badly

15. Haver

Pronounced: H-ave-er

Meaning: Talk too much

16. Hoachin

Pronounced: Hoe-chin

Meaning: really busy crowd

17. Ken

Pronounced: Ken

Meaning: know, as in ‘do you know?’

(Dae ye ken?)

18. Mannie

Pronounced: man-nee

Meaning: Little man

  19. Messages

Pronounced: Mess-a-jez

Meaning: Groceries

20. Pus

Pronounced: Pus

Meaning: Mouth

21. Radgees

Pronounced: Radge-ees 

Meaning: Crazy young guys

  22. Scran

Pronounced: Sc-ran

Meaning: Food

23. Schoogle

Pronounced: Shoe-gull

Meaning: Wobbly

24. Shuftey

Pronounced: Shuff-tee

Meaning: To have a wee peek

25. Shunky

Pronounced: Shun-key

Meaning: Toilet

26. Skrechin

Pronounced: scr-eh-ch-in

Meaning: A shrek or unpleasant noise

27. Sleekit

Pronounced: slee-kit

Meaning: Cunning/Sly

28. Swally

Pronounced: Swal-lee

Meaning: Drink

29. Tattyboggler

Pronouced: Tat-ee-bog-ler

Meaning: Scarecrow

30. Teuchtar

Pronouced: Ch-uch-ter

Meaning: Person from far North or West of Scotland

31. Weegie

Pronouced: Wee-jee

Meaning: Person from Glasgow

  32. Wheesht

Pronouced: Whee-sht

Meaning: Be quiet

  marrodgom7

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE & SHERLOCK HOLMES

Hello everyone! 

I guess everybody knows one of the most famous detectives in literature of all times, Sherlock Holmes. This character was created by Arthur Conan Doyle, who was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was a physician and a prolific writer. He is known for writing fictional stories, fictional adventures, science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels.  As mentioned above, Sherlock Holmes is his most well known character, but he also invented Professor Challenger, an aggressive, dominating figure who first appeared in the novel The Lost World. He also popularised the mystery of the Mary Celeste, a British-built American-owned merchant brigantine famous for having been discovered on 5 December 1872 in the Atlantic Ocean, unmanned and apparently abandoned. 

Many crimes have been solved by  Sherlock Holmes since 1887, when he was first introduced to the world in A Study in Scarlet. He is a London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic, and he is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases. Holmes was featured in four novels and 56 short stories, and most of these works are narrated by Holmes’ friend, assistant and biographer Dr. John H. Watson. 

Holmes shares the majority of his professional years with Dr. Watson, who lives with Holmes for some time before his marriage and again after his wife's death. Their residence is maintained by the landlady, Mrs. Hudson.

Watson describes Holmes as "bohemian" in habits and lifestyle. He also describes Holmes as an eccentric, with no regard for contemporary standards of tidiness or good order. But what appears as chaos to others, to Holmes is a wealth of useful information.

We also know Holmes for his use of addictive drugs, such as cocaine to stimulate his brain, or morphine. Both Watson and Holmes, as we can see in many pictures and movies, are tobacco users, from cigarettes, cigars to pipes.

In 1893, Doyle had Holmes and Professor Moriarty apparently plunge to their deaths together in the story The Final Problem. But he had to bring Holmes back in 1901, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, dued to public outcry, and two years later in the short story The Adventure of the Empty House, in which the author explains that only Moriarty died, and the detective had arranged everything to be perceived as dead.

 

Conan Doyle’s works about Sherlock Holmes have been taken to the screen in many occasions since 1939. 

Probably, many of you are more familiar with the movie directed by Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson respectively.

You may also know the British tv show Sherlock, a contemporary adaptation of the Conan Doyle’s character. 

 

Or Elementary, another tv show, set in the US, which stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson, a female version of Holmes' companion.

marrodgom7