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REGULARS
4
Editorial
6
Letters to the Editor
8
SCOTS Q & A.
42
Painting with Light - Andy
Lock - Loch Shiel.
102
SCOTS Book Reviews - Seumas MacLeod
106
Clans and Societies
108
SCOTS SHOWCASE
FEATURES
10
The Underwater World of Glen Cowans
Glen
Cowans is one of the world's top underwater photographers. The son
of a Royal Navy submariner, Cowans takes us deep into the world's
oceans, a realm of astonishing beauty and vibrant, colourful life.
In Fremantle, Western Australia, he spoke with Angus Urquhart.
18
A Right Royal Welcome
HRH
Prince Charles has agreed to become the official patron of The Gathering
2009, the two days of Highland Games and clan celebrations to be held in
Edinburgh in July next year. Iain Gunn reports.
20
An Island Life
The
Mackinnon family has been farming on the Isle of Canna since the early
eighteenth century. Donald Cameron spoke with Geraldine Mackinnon,
one of only a few women farm managers in Scotland.
26
Capital of the Mind
In
the early eighteenth century, Edinburgh was a filthy backwater town
synonymous with poverty and disease. Yet, by the century's end it
had become the marvel of modern Europe, home to some of the finest minds
of the day and the scene of breathtaking innovations in architecture,
politics, economics, science and the arts. James Buchan describes
Edinburgh before this transformation into a city that changed the
world.
32
Isolation Shepherd
Iain
R Thomson, writer, poet, artist and musician, recalls the rigors and the
joys of working as a shepherd in some of Scotland's most spectacular and
remote country.
36
Lennoxlove
Lennoxlove,
the Duke of Hamilton's three-storey L-plan tower house in East Lothian
is one of the finest country homes in Scotland. After a chequered
career in which it played host to some of the most colourful figures in
Scottish history, Lennoxlove has undergone a £3 million restoration,
ready for a new life as a luxury retreat. Heather Ross
reports.
42
James Morrison - New Landscapes
Scotland's
most distinguished landscape painter, Dr James Morrison, plunged into a
period of profound gloom and despair with the death of his wife Dorothy
after 50 years of marriage. So much so that he doubted he would
ever paint again. At his studio in Angus he tells Bruce Stannard
how he fought off depression by capturing his wife's spiritual essence
in a stunning landscape depicting the barren mist-shrouded wildness of
Assynt.
46
Iron Road
The
story of Scotland's railways begins in the eighteenth century when
horses pulled coal wagons along rails of wood. In the Victorian
era a national railway network was built, much of it by navvies wielding
picks and shovels. During the Edwardian era steam trains carried
everything and everybody from commuters and industrial materials to
tourists holidaying in the countryside. It is a fascinating story
and no one knows more about it than the distinguished railway historian
P J G Ransom. At his home in Lochearnhead, Perthshire, John Ransom
spoke with Fiona MacGillivray.
54
My Highland Perthshire
Writer
and artist Lavinia Grant observes the wonders of Spring at her home by the shores of Loch
Tay in Highland Perthshire.
60
Scottish Silver
The
National Museum of Scotland is staging the biggest ever display of
Scottish silver in a special exhibition celebrating the 550th
anniversary of hallmarking in Scotland. In Edinburgh, Catriona
Stuart spoke with George Dalgleish, the Museum's Principal Curator of
Scottish History.
66
St Ninian's Cave
Seumas
MacLeod takes the ancient pilgrim's trail out through Dumfries and
Galloway to explore the sacred sites associated with St Ninian, the son
of a converted British chieftain who became the first named Christian of
Scottish record.
70
Commando Country
The
Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge in Inverness-shire is one of the most
powerful and moving monuments in Scotland. Three bronze soldiers
stand on a bronze plinth with magnificent Highland views south to Ben
Nevis and north across the Great Glen to Achnacarry where the commandos
trained and had their headquarters during World War II. The story
of their exploits at home and abroad is told in a new book by historian
Stuart Allan. In Edinburgh he spoke with Isla MacDonald.
82
Dun Coillich
Thanks
to the exceptional generosity of an anonymous benefactor, a 1,000 acre
conservation zone surrounding Perthshire's mini-mountain, Dun Coillich,
has been purchased to help re-create part of the great Caledonian
Forest. Robin Hull reports.
88
Gentle Giants
Scotland's
famous Clydesdales are renowned for their size, weight and strength as
well as their placid patient and affectionate temperament. Now
they have another more dubious distinction: Clydesdales are officially
listed an endangered by Britain's Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
Heather Ross reports on the struggle to keep the gentle giants alive in
their ancestral homeland.
94
Scotland 1907
Valentine
and Sons of Dundee were once Scotland's most successful commercial
photographers. In 1907, at the height of the postcard revolution,
their photographs showed Scotland in its many guises and were bought
with pride and pleasure by Scots and visitors alike. R J Morris,
Professor of Economic and Social History at Edinburgh University, puts
their significance into perspective.
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