Scotland YES? Just Rebuild Hadrian's Wall !!

Those who know me also know I apply psychic and mental Qi balance free of personal opinions [and emotions] that I keep to myself. I was taught this [very intensely] and it was not an easy thing to learn. My approach to life was taught to me as an internal balanced discipline. I was taught: When you have real power you do not use it = you show respect to sovereign entities [beings].

For example .. if someone is an idiot and self-destructive you do not use your power to "make them intelligent" .. because their karma and incarnation direction is their own choice. People have to learn who they are on their own terms for themselves and people have to either go down the wrong road or change direction. This yin yang balance discipline is the most difficult of all to learn and apply.

Go ahead .. build your walls !! The law of walls is to limit yourself +_#

Basically .. you never fight your enemy. You simply understand their weaknesses .. and retain a sense of humour #_* I was taught to be aware of what is .. to be aware of THE FACTS = human behaviour and human attitudes. Simply to observe and see "what is" without any opinion. To look beyond the personal image and see the energy behind events on all levels and remain neutral [balanced].

I was researching: Scotland YES for Independence .. and this began to teach me a few things that are relevant to our day to day existence. For example .. if we do not change now we won't change the future. Progression is related to the energy of the NOW. Also .. that change is Nature = is natural and is not such a big problem .. except for those stuck in the past!

Scottish Independence without WARS?? Without violence?? Wow! How advanced ...

Scotland YES? Just Rebuild Hadrian's Wall !!
There is a recurring aggressive / regressive obsession regarding the September 18, 2014 [Year of the Horse] vote for an Independent Scotland .. including threats and [political] bullying and general arrogance towards the [Celtic Gaelic] Scots.

Why is Year of the Horse so relevant? Scottish National animal is a UNICORN !!

The political and financial bullying from the NO side create new THREATS of a border and passports "wall" to be set up if Scotland vote YES for INDEPENDENCE... Just rebuild Hadrian's wall and add a second wall. You can add as many walls as you wish #_+ ... Go ahead and build them!

I am not talking about political issues in this post .. but simply observing human behaviour! Why not wish the Scots well no matter what? Be friendly .. be compasionate ?? Is the so-called UNION based on violence .. bullying and petty threats ?? If the Scots vote NO they are safe and if the Scots vote YES the UNION will work to destroy them ... Go ahead! Destroy them #_#

Video: Cymru'n Cefnogi Annibyniaeth | Wales Supporting Independence

The theoretical model of election of PUBLIC SERVANTS is that those elected are there to SERVE all of society. Some say public servants are elected to serve THE PEOPLE .. but that is in itself too narrow. In reality they are theoretically elected to serve society as a whole. This means to serve everyone and not only one political faction that elected them into so-called power.

What is the problem with cohesive cultural sovereignty and World co-operation?

Why is Scotland being threatened with all kinds of negative: You will fail [garbage] .. just because they decide for themselves to choose potential Independence? What is this alien culture of threats and threats and more threats ?? Is that a UNION ?? WITHOUT ME YOU WILL FAIL !!

Usually .. in economic and financial terms .. one party desperately holds onto another out of dependence. Personal relationships are a reflection of interrelated social relationships where the dependent and benefiting party threatens the structure they are feeding off. Without me you are toast!

This is a very dysfunctional relationship [union] .. !!

I hope I make sense and I hope this is clear? If Scotland is a HOPELESS CASE with INDEPENDENCE .. this means Scotland is already a hopeless case NOW. It means that Scotland is a complete social case totally dependent on London now and in the future .. DUH !! Do they mean England are paying for Scotland to EXIST? Is this some kind of reverse [wealth] ECONOMICS?

I don't think so !!

I will not go into details .. and this may sound a bit strange ?? The fact is I was born with full awareness of Celtic cultural heritage going back many thousands of years to the Picts. ALBA [Scotland] was a Pictish settlement before the arrival of the Celts. Genetically the Celts interbred with the Picts as they inherited the Northern Highlands .. and so they are ONE.

The problem we have on Earth is that some genetics do not CONVERGE = they are not compatible! This is not a RACIAL issue .. but is a deep genetic issue we do not currently understand. If we understood this event then possibly all wars on Earth would END !!

What is this violence and threats and aggression over a simple internal cultural [decision] for Scottish Independence? Why not wish the people of Scotland a spirit of well being? Why not wish the people of Scotland FREEDOM? Where is the SPIRIT of DEMOCRACY? Why not wish them love?

Is DEMOCRACY FREEDOM ??

I see so many NEGATIVE THREATS sent out to the people of Scotland .. you have no power .. you are weak .. you are dependent .. we will build walls against you .. you depend on us .. you need us!

Be happy that you free yourselves from such a pathetic weak CULTURE !! Be happy you can go forward politically and socially without this weak economic Scottish drag on your RESOURCES. The problem is .. why threaten and bully and deny Scottish Independence if the Scots are are a DISADVANTAGE?

The "problem" is karmic incarnations or re-incarnation!

I know what I am talking about .. but I am not going to explain it! The Incarnation factor or the re-incarnation factor is not totally understood in current philosophy! Truth is a pathless land! Many wars on Earth are related to incarnations and SOUL ISSUES. This is another unresolved issue within current Earth environments .. but it is relevant! I hope you understand the complex collective Earth environment issues involved!

Will I Need A Scottish Passport?

Question: Will I need a Scottish passport?

Answer: Scottish citizens will be able to apply for a Scottish passport from day one of independence, with a Scottish passport costing the same as a UK passport. On the other hand, people will be able to continue using their existing UK passport until it expires. They can then choose to get a Scottish passport when their existing passport is due for renewal. Yes Scotland 2014

Remember also that the Scottish Government will allow dual citizenship. It will be for the rest of the UK to decide whether it allows dual UK/Scottish citizenship - though we know that dual citizenship is allowed for those with any other nationality, and the UK Government has said that "it is likely that it would be possible for an individual to hold both British and Scottish citizenship".

So it will also likely be possible to buy a replacement British passport - either in addition to a Scottish passport or as an alternative.

Scotland’s Future explains that we will remain part of the Common Travel Area between the nations of the British Isles. Being part of the Common Travel Area means people won’t need a passport to travel to the rest of the UK or Ireland.

The Highland Clearances

In the Scottish Highlands and Islands the years following the Jacobite Rebellion lead to considerable social unrest, made worse by a sharp rise in the population putting pressure on the use of the land. This brought about schemes to resettle abroad in North America, or in Australia, but in some cases, especially in Sutherland, emigration came after the people had been forcefully evicted from their homes and had seen their roof-timbers burned down.

This displacement of people to allow the introduction of large numbers of sheep, is a painful but important part of our heritage which deeply affects Scottish life today. The clusters of deserted crofts which litter the Highlands and Islands are an eloquent reminder of treatment of whole townships deprived of their land. The 'wilderness' that is the Highlands today is a direct man -made result of these events and the impact can be seen too, in the Scottish cultural influences throughout the world.

In writing, in song, and in the accounts of the dispossessed the lessons of the Clearances still relate to Scotland today:

"In but too many instances the Highlands have been drained, not of their superfluity of population, but of the whole mass of inhabitants, dispossessed by an unrelenting avarice which will be one day found to be shortsighted as it is unjust and selfish". - Sir Walter Scott

Pre-clearances - The Gaels

To understand the Clearances fully it is necessary to understand life as it used to be in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, home of the Gaels. The Gaels are the original Scots who arrived from Ireland about 1,500 years ago. Highland Clearances

The Clans
The old Scottish clan society proved to be a stable, lasting and fair way of living. Each clan had a chief to whom the people owed allegiance and he in turn could call on them to fight in his private army when necessary. Often disputes would break out with neighbouring clans over clan boundaries or disputed chieftainships. The chief was chosen from the immediate family of the previous chief.

Every child was given two names -a Christian name and a clan name. Each clan had it's own laws, beliefs and customs. Every clan lived in it's own district - the boundaries were usually mountains, lochs and seashores.

Each clan had it's own tartan. The clans with brightly coloured tartans usually wore a darker one to go hunting. Each clan also had it's own crest badge and motto - a short phrase often shouted in battle when the clan charged. The badge of the head of the clan had three feathers on it, and sometimes a coronet. The head of a sept, or branch of a clan, wore two feathers, while the head of a household wore one feather.

The chief controlled the land but leased it out to "tacksmen". They in turn rented the land to tenant farmers and they in turn employed farm labourers who were know as "cottars" to help with the day-to-day running of the farm. It was the chiefs' responsibility to ensure that all members of the clan had sufficient land to maintain him or her self. Under the clan system nobody owned the land. Everyone was free to farm and graze the land in order to survive. This equal and fair distribution of the land was honoured by all succeeding monarchs and clan chiefs.

The Highlands had naturally developed and evolved its own culture, language, customs, sense of identity and unique character by those living in it.

The Brahan Seer's Prophecies
Coinneach Odhar spoke of the day when Scotland would once again have it's own Parliament. This would only come, he said, when men could walk dry shod from England to France. The opening of the channel tunnel which allowed just such a walk was followed a few years later by the opening of the first Scottish Parliament since 1707.

Duke & Dutchess of Sutherland

Nobody pursued the clearance policy with more vigour and cruel thoroughness than Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland, and her name is still reviled in many homes with Highland connections across the world to this day.

Her husband was George Levenson-Gower, Marquis of Stafford who was made 1st Duke of Sutherland in 1832. Both usually lived in London, rarely visited the Sutherland estate and neither of them spoke Gaelic. The income from their Stafford estates alone brought in the huge sum of 300,000 pounds annually, but despite this enormous wealth, which is equivalent to several million pounds at today's values, they rushed through an "Improvement" program for their remote Sutherland estate.

They employed a lawyer called Patrick Sellar and a factor called James Lock to carry out the actual "Improvements" or, as the tenants would have it, "To Clear" them. Both of these men hated the Gaels and they are still remembered in the Highlands to this day due to their cruelty and barbarity towards the tenant farmers.

The estate records show that evictions at the rate of 2,000 families in one day were not uncommon. With no shelter remaining for the cleared families many starved and froze to death where their homes had once been.

Removing the Duke's Statue
In 1994, Sandy Lindsay of Inverness proposed that the Statue of the Duke of Sutherland be removed from its lofty perch on Ben Bhraggie, in Golspie, Sutherland. He appealed to the descendants of the Highland Scots who were driven off their lands by agents of the Duke of Sutherland, often with their houses burned over their heads.

The plan was later amended to remove, rather than demolish the statue and to site some information panels on the top of Ben Bhraggie, in memory of the people who were cleared and harried by the Duke.

The man, whose memory still offends so many, stands on a 76ft pedestal casting his proud, stony gaze on the town of Golspie below. The Sutherland statue is seen by many Scots, particularly in the North, as a symbol of power, greed, oppression and heartless evictions. It represents a family, a ruling class, and a period in history which split communities and sent families to the far corners of the earth in search of livelihood denied them on their own soil.

A harsh land, a harsh sea, and a harsh climate were hard enough burdens to be borne by the people, but harsh overlords backed by unfair laws, and servants of these laws, were the final tribulations, which brought a way of life to an end for many for the benefit of a privileged few.

Many see it as a monument to the greed and vanity of the Sutherland family, the toadyism of their hirelings, and the efficient extortion racket which squeesed contributions from unwilling tenants.

The Duke of Sutherland cleared 15,000 people from his land to make way for 200,000 sheep. Evictions at the rate of 2,000 families in one day were not uncommon. Many starved and froze to death where their homes had once stood. Until today the Sutherland family own vast estates of stolen land in the Highlands of Scotland.

Deception

'S i seo an dùthaich 's a bheil an cruadal
Gun fhios do'n t-sluagh a tha tigh'nn anall.
Gur h-olc a fhuaras oirnn luchd a' bhuairidh
A rinn le'n tuairisgeul ar toirt ann'.

'This is the country where there is hardship though the people coming across don't know it. It was evil they brought on us, those enticers, who contrived through their fairy tales to bring us out here'.

The bard John MacLean settled at Barney's River,
Pictou County, Nova Scotia, in 1819

Testimony of Seonaid Nic Neacail

These are the reminiscences of my great grandmother Seonaid ( Janet in English ) MhicNeacail, born in the Crofting Township of Mhealbeag ( Melvaig ) in the spring of 1853 and died in Torrin ( Isle of Skye ) in November 1949, just a few days before my 5th birthday.

She was a wee spritely sparrow of a woman, about 5ft 1 inch of height, with long grey hair which came down to her waist, but was normally held up in the form of a bun made up of two intertwined plaits. She had grey blue eyes which always seemed to dance and sparkle in the light of the 'Tilley' lamp. She might have been taller but for the 'bow' legs caused by rickets in her childhood; ( Milk was difficult to get, due to the landlords ruling that the township people were not allowed to graze more than ten head of cattle on the common grazings.)

She was the eldest daughter of a family of five, having one younger sister ( Ishbel ) who died at the age of 3 of consumption, and three elder brothers, Aonghas the eldest, Calum and Fionn ( Fingal ). Her Father Aonghas Mor MacNeacail was a corporal in a Highland regiment who served in the Crimean War, was badly wounded, losing his left arm to a cannon ball at Sevastopol. Both parents died in an epidemic in the 1880's.

She could only speak a few words of English and conversed in Ghaidhlig most of the time. I remember that she was not in any sense of the word 'Senile' but rather did a full day's work on the croft, and her mental faculties were sharp right up to the day she died peacefully in her sleep.She often used to tell me stories of the great Celtic Hero's and kings, of battles long past, of maidens wooed and lost, and other stories that held me spellbound for hours. She used to sing all the beautiful old Ghaidhlig airs, and at the periodic 'Ceileidhs' could hold her own with the girls, indeed they often used to come to her to learn the 'Old' songs and airs.

She would sometimes tell me about the time she and her family were 'Cleared' out of Mhealbeag when she was about 5 or 6 years old. I am of the opinion that this was an experience that scarred her for life, because she would often break down in tears at the recollection of it. My Grandmother translated difficult words to help me and to the best recollection this is her story...

The Testimony of Seonaid Nic Neacail

"When I was about 5 years of age, just one year after my father came back from the War against the Russians, the whole township was warned by the factor at the time of paying the rents, that his 'Lordship' was wanting the people to move away from the township, in order that his lordship could let out the ground to Shepherds from the Lowlands. The menfolk did not believe that they would have to move, as there was plenty of ground where sheep could graze.

However two months later a notice ( In English ) was posted, requiring the inhabitants to remove themselves, their goods and chattels, within ONE Month. A Visiting Priest translated the notice into Ghaidhlig for them, but the Menfolk still did not believe that his Lordship would cast them out into the depths of winter. However three months went past without anything being done by the factor, and the people of the Township relaxed. There had been rumours of 'terrible doings' elsewhere, of people being turned out and the roof trees of the houses being destroyed, but this was 'elsewhere'.

Suddenly in the month of January, the factor turned up, accompanied by a large number of policemen from Glasgow, Lowlands Estate workers and Sheriffs Officers from Dunedin and told the people of the township to be out of their homes by dawn the following day, where they would be taken to Ullapool to be put on board a ship to the Americas (Nova Scotia). The menfolk were cast down ( in modern parlance - 'Shattered' ) and only the womenfolk made any protests. A group of them went to the factor to protest and were beaten up by the policemen's batons, my Mother amongst them.

The Dawn came, hardly anyone had moved their possessions and furniture out, we waited to see what would happen. An hour after dawn, the factor and his men went to the house of Eachunn MacLeoid, a widower of 86 years of age, thrust him out of his house and proceeded to throw his chattels out of the door. Then two men with axes cut through the rooftrees, causing the roof to collapse. They then piled winter forage inside the door and put a torch to it. Within a few minutes the pall of smoke had rolled through the township, causing panic as people raced to save their few things before the factors men arrived.

Our house was next, my mother tried to stop the men entering the door, they called us 'Irish filth' and one of them floored her with a mighty punch to the head and laid her out senseless on the floor. My father tried to protect her, despite having one arm, but he was punched and kicked senseless by four of the policemen. My brothers and I managed to drag our parents out of the house, and by the time we had got them outside, the axemen had already cut through the rooftrees. They then set fire to the house and went next to the house of my Uncle Coinneach.

I remembered that my doll was on our bed, it was a precious thing, that my father had brought back from the war. A rag body with a lovely china head, which my mother had sewn clothes for; I ran into the house to get it, through choking smoke, but I could not find it. Aonghas beag came after me and took me outside.

It was like the picture of Hell I once saw in the Ministers bible, smoke and flames everywhere, you could hardly see in front of your face. My Mother was kneeling by my father, cradling his bloodstained head and sobbing for the thing that had befallen her family and the loss of her few precious things.

Some terrible things occurred after this, the policemen and factors men were reeking of whisky before they started, and when they found the whisky from Uncle Coinneach's 'Poit Dubh', the Evil got worse. They took a delight in smashing some of the chattels which had been salvaged, and at the house of Eibhlin and Aoirig MhicNeacail ( Unmarried orphaned Cousins of my Father ) - the two girls, only 14 and 17 were forcibly taken by some of the policemen, who did not spare their tender years and ravished them.

Their screams brought many of the menfolk to their aid, but by this time the policemen were the devils themselves because of the whisky, and they laid into the menfolk with their batons and clubs. One man who tried to stop them by firing at them with a fowling piece, was clubbed to the ground senseless, then bound hand and foot after which they kicked him for ages. All the time they were screaming insults like 'pig shit Irish bastard's'. Poor man he died that night from an efflux of blood from the mouth.

After this the spirit went from us, and the menfolk were saying that this was a visitation upon us by the Almighty in punishment of our sins, and that we should not resist further. During the night Eibhlin and Aoirig hanged themselves for the shame of what had been done to them and the bodies were buried in the vegetable plot without a Minister present and even then the Policemen showed their loathing of us by passing water on the girls bodies.

By Noon the Devil had done his work, and the factors men rounded us up like beasts and we were made to walk to Ullapool, carrying what we could , and driving our few beasts before us. It took us two days to get there, I had no shoes and my feet were very sore. We were all Cold and wet from the icy wind and smirr. We were all hungry as we did not have any food. Some people in a nearby township took pity on us and tried to give us food, but the factor warned them, that anyone who did aid us would have the same treatment and a passage to America. We got no food.

At Night we took what shelter we could, behind walls, with blankets for a tent, but it was bitterly cold, and we could not sleep. A woman gave birth before her time and the baby was born dead and a three weeks old baby died of cold and the bodies were put in the ground without a christian burial or marker.

At last we got to Ullapool, to find the emigrant ship moored in the roads, with boats waiting at the stone wharf. The factor then took all the beasts and the few possessions which the people had got with them, as 'Payment' for our passage. Each person was given a bag of 'Sowans' (Husked oatmeal) to last us the voyage and we were told to be ready to embark the following day. The policemen guarded us all that night, but there was no sleep for us, for the lamenting and sorrow would not let us go by.

Before dawn, my father noticed a fishing boat approaching the wharf and recognised one of the crew as cousin Domhnull from PuirtRigh ( Portree ). Domhnull persuaded the owner to come alongside the wharf, and we got in quickly before the policemen noticed. The boat pulled away, and the policemen called out to the Boats crew to return to the wharf, but as they called out in the English tongue which no one understood, we left them shouting and cursing us.

It took two days to row to PuirtRigh, we sheltered one night in the lee of Raasay and at last came to the house of my fathers cousin, where we were made welcome. They were poor like us, but their home was our home. My Father found a small place in the south at Torrin and my Mother found employment in service to the local minister, indeed I went into service for Him too when I was twelve.

Some years later we learned that the ship had arrived in Nova Scotia, but that half the People had not survived the voyage. Cholera and typhus had carried them off and their grave was the sea, with only the fish to know their resting place and the keening of the seabirds their only lament. I cannot forgive the cruelty of that awful day, what had we done that we should have been judged so harshly?" Electricscotland.com

Cultural & Racial Genocide

The Gaels, scattered like seeds in the trade winds,
carry the land in their hearts.
While the invaders, with faces like sheep,
carry the land in their pockets.

Two political groups conspired to destroy the Gaels in the Highlands, carrying out unrestrained acts of genocide during the Highland clearances. They were the lowlanders of Scotland and the colonising powers who ruled and directed them from London. The Highlanders of Scotland (Alba) were of Gaelic, Celtic descent mixed with the last remnants of the Picts. The lowlander was a mixture of Norman and Saxon descent who had pushed their way up from the South. The lowlanders accomodated and intergrated with each invading colonial power from the Romans to the Saxons and later the English.

The Highlanders spoke only Gaelic, while the lowlander spoke English. The people of the Highlands were illiterate to the laws passed, in English, by the colonial ruling elite from the South. The inhuman disease of racial and cultural genocide has continued its spread across the world, and is still used as the primary tool of control in the 20th Century.

History of The Highland Clearances
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert M. Gunn

This account will always stay true to historical facts and conventions, even if ocassionally, given from a Highland point of view. After all, I owe this much to my own Highland ancestors, most of whom were forcibly expelled from their picturesque, ancient Highland glens and lochs by unsympathetic and uncaring eighthteenth and nineteenth century "Improvers". The only thing the 'Improvers', improved, were their own greedy pocketbooks. To tell this emotional and terrible story of our ancestors sufferings -- unknown or dismissed by careless historians for centuries -- I shall willingly endure the slings and arrows of the history critic. After all I am one and I know how critical we can be. Many of these historians and history story tellers' preferred versions, until fairly recently, have been the uncaring and excuse-making perspectives of the 'improver' southrons and sheep fattened Clan Chiefs. In the end, I know I have told the truth of it, and my Highland soul is no longer bound to the revisionist and 'blameless' historians, who would have you believe it was simply a tragic circumstance -- no-one's fault. It simply isn't that simple, nor is it blameless. It was, however, inevitable. To take control of the land, they had to destroy the people.

Before any words can even begin to attempt to describe the 'ethnic cleansing' of the Highlands of Scotland, one must be aware of the circumstances that occured prior to the atrocities of the Clearances. This is especially true for understanding the two nations of Scots and their relationship; the clan systems; the Jacobite wars and most especially that event that led directly to the Clearances. That event is the anti-climatic destruction of the great and proud Highland army, the very last Highland army -- under the command of a young Prince Charles Edward Stuart or "Bonnie Prince Charlie" at Culloden in 1746.

End of The Clan System
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the time there were in truth two distinct Scotlands. One, the ancient Gael, descended from Celtic origins with dashes of Norse, Flemish and even some Norman blood. Whereas the Lowlander had been a more Germanic-English (genetically speaking) or Saxon, Angle, Norman, Celtic, Dane, Flemish and other European blooded racial mix since before the days of William Wallace. The kings of Scotland since MacBeth were more in line with English beliefs than the older Celtic ones -- and the kings of Scotland now ruled from the Lowlands. Therefore, what evolved in Scotland were two different peoples, using the same name and Nationality, but being fundamentally different both racially and linguistically. The Highlander had retained his native Irish tongue (Gaelic), manner of clothing and was by every aspect, very Gael and very Celtic. The Lowlander had adopted many Anglo customs since the days and arrival of Malcolm Canmore (Cean more), Malcolm III, and early Lothian English had become the primary tongue of Edinburgh and other great cities of the Lowlands in the 11-12th centuries.

The Highlander saw the Lowland Scot as a 'foreigner' and more (in their early view) like the English than any Scot. This in itself was offensive to the Lowland Scot who was anything but English!

However, the Lowlander, of this time, saw the Highlanders even worse; as tribal barbarians -- not the 'noble savage' painted in words by Sir Walter Scott in the 19th century. Highlanders were odd, barbaric and 'clannish' to the city dwelling Lowlander, who naturally saw them as more like 'wild Irish' (as they called them), more than Scottish.

Even had there been common ground for both, it seems as if a tragic barrier of mutual incomprehensibility was built between them -- they could not, and did not really ever attempt to understand each other. Is it all the fault of the Lowlander? No, of course not. That would obviously be too simplistic an answer. The tragedies that would occur in the Highlands between Scots, Lowlander and Highlander, were long in the blood of these uneasy allies. A clash of cultures was inevitable at some point. It had flared in some cases before, as in the battle of Harlaw, or "Red Harlaw". But the disasterous depths of the clash coming could never had been predicted by the two races of Scots who never truly understood the other to begin with. Yet, the Highland leaders, the Chiefs, are as much to blame, if not moreso, for the calamity of the Highland Clearances once the horrible process had begun.

Scots-English and Gaelic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throughout the centuries, Scotland acquired a rich mixture of races through both invasion and immigration. The newcomers were always absorbed into a fairly homogeneous breed. The forms of speech varied widely between Lowland Scots cities, but they were all forms of the English, or the sub-division known as Scots-English, and that is partially the situation even today. Auld Scots is and has been spoken in Lowland Scotland for centuries, but when they write, it is generally in English. Why? This dichotomy is largely due to the translation of the Bible which was carried out in the south of England. It was carried out in that majestic 17th century style, and this helped to introduce, or rather, impose, 'Standard' English as the written language.

There have been periods between then and now when Scots have tried to eradicate the 'Scottishness' of their speech, feeling (under heavy pressure from England) it inferior or somehow lower-class than Standard, even whilst they revered the Scots poetry of Robert Burns, usually very briefly, once per year on the celebration of his birthday on 25 Janurary.

Lately, Auld Scots is enjoying something of a revival and a new respectability. An event this author is pleased to see and promote. The nature and history of old Scots is emotional, turbulent and complex, changing even faster than the history of those who use it.

One group of Scots, those Northern Scots, stubbornly remained outside the homogenizing process; the Gaels. Their ancient language and its cousin languages in Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, Brittany in France, and to a lesser extent in Cornwall, are descended from the lost tongue of the ancient Indo-European. It tended to move, or be driven, to the Western extremities of Europe, and, much like its people, has regularly been under threat.

Some estimates show that Gaelic is spoken by perhaps as few as 100,000 Scots, out of a population of over four million. Although attempts are underway to revitalise this ancient tongue of the Gael, it is still a very small minority.

But the language divide has always been there, and remains. Children in the Highlands and Islands today learn English as well -- Standard English rather than Scots-English. Thus, the country is still partially separated by language and culture, into English speaking Lowlands and Gaelic-speaking Highlands and Islands, though this division is not nearly as extreme as it was in the mid-eighteenth century.

The language gap or division was much more profound in older times, and played a bleak part in the great tragedy of the Highland Clearances, which left the Highlands void of most, possibly 85-90%, of its people, trees and forests...leaving vast areas bare and deserted even today.

All original material © Robert M. Gunn 1997-2003

The Brahan Seer, Coinneach Odhar

Prophecies of The Brahan Seer
It is possible the following may have something to do with the same calamity in the Highlands. Mr. Maclennan says: - With reference to some great revolution which shall take place in the country, Coinneach Odhar said that “before that event shall happen, the water of the river Beauly will thrice cease to run. On one of these occasions a salmon, having shells instead of scales, will be found in the bed of the river.” This prophecy has been in part fulfilled, for the Beauly has on two occasions ceased to run, and a salmon of the kind mentioned has been found in the bed of the river.

Mr. Macintyre gives another version: - “When the river Beauly is dried up three times, and a ‘scaly salmon’ or royal sturgeon, is caught in the river, that will be a time of great trial.” (Nuair a thraoghas abhainn na Manachain tri uairean, agus a ghlacair Bradan Sligeach air grunnd na h-aibhne, ’s ann an sin a bhitheas an deuchainn ghoirt.) The river has been already dried up twice, the last time in 1826, and a ‘Bradan Sligeach,’or royal sturgeon, measuring nine feet in length, has been caught in the estuary of the Beauly about two years ago.

The following is one which we trust may never be realized in all its details, though some may be disposed to think that signs are not wanting of its ultimate fulfilment: - “The day will come when the jaw-bone of the big sheep, or ‘caoirich mhora,’ will put the plough on the rafters (air an aradh); when sheep shall become so numerous that the bleating of the one shall be heard by the other from Conchra in Lochalsh to Bun-da-Loch in Kintail they shall be at their height in price, and henceforth will go back and deteriorate, until they disappear altogether, and be so thoroughly forgotten that a man finding the jaw-bone of a sheep in a cairn, will not recognise it, or be able to tell what animal it belonged to. The ancient proprietors of the soil shall give place to strange merchant proprietors, and the whole Highlands will become one huge deer forest; the whole country will be so utterly desolated and depopulated that the crow of a cock shall not be heard north of Druim-Uachdair; the people will emigrate to Islands now unknown, but which shall yet be discovered in the boundless oceans, after which the deer and other wild animals in the huge wilderness shall be exterminated and drowned by horrid black rains (siantan dubha). The people will then return and take undisturbed possession of the lands of their ancestors.”

We have yet to see the realization of the following:- “A dun, hornless, cow (supposed to mean a steamer [or a submarine?]) will appear in the Minch (off Carr Point, in Gairloch), and make a ‘geum,’ or bellow, which will knock the six chimneys off Gairloch House.” (Thig bo mhaol odhar a steach an t-Aite-mor agus leigeas i geum aiste ’chuireas na se beannagan dheth an Tigh Dhige.) Gairloch House, or the Tigh-Dige of Coinneach’s day, was the old house which stood in the park on the right, as you proceed from the bridge in the direction of the present mansion. The walls were of wattled twigs, wicker work, or plaited twig hurdles, thatched with turf or divots, and surrounded with a deep ditch, which could, in time of approaching danger, be filled with water from the river, hence the name “Tigh Dige,” House of the Ditch. It has been suggested that the Seer’s prediction referred to this stronghold, but a strong objection to this view appears in the circumstance that the ancient citadel had no chimneys to fall off. The present mansion is, however, also called the “Tigh Dige,” and it has the exact number of chimneys - six.

“The day will come when a river in Wester Ross shall be dried up.” “The day will come when there shall be such dire persecution and bloodshed in the county of Sutherland, that people can ford the river Oykel dryshod, over dead men’s bodies.” “The day will come when a raven, attired in plaid and bonnet, will drink his full of human blood on ‘Fionn-bheinn,’ three times a day, for three successive days.”

“A battle will be fought at Ault-nan-Torcan, in the Lewis, which will be a bloody one indeed. It will truly take place, though the time may be far hence, but woe to the mothers of sucklings that day. The defeated host will continue to be cut down till it reaches Ard-a-chaolais (a place nearly seven miles from Ault-nan-Torcan), and there the swords will make terrible havoc.” This has not yet occurred.

Who Owns Scotland?

Although all of the above could apply to some landowners, there is one thing wrong and two things missing from the list.

Wrong is the English Aristocrat. While the aristocracy dominates land ownership, it is also internationally fashionable to own a large estate in Scotland. Because, almost uniquely, of the lack of land ownership legislation, Belgians, Swedes, Arabs, Swiss and a myriad of other nationalities own swathes of our country.

Scottish large estate ownership is not acceptable because of the negative contribution to the environmental and economic well being of Scotland. Which brings FirstFoot on to the first of the two missing elements of the list …Neglect.

Despite owning landmasses which would comfortably accommodate several major cities, the typical estate owner employs few people, contributes next to bugger all to the economic and social good and depletes the resource of the estate.

While many will point to the forests that they plant, few will acknowledge either the tax concessions which accrue, or the enormous environmental damage concomitant with such planting. Scotland's native wildlife is being depleted with both fauna and animal species under threat or extinct due to loss of natural habitat. Soil erosion is rife, caused by ploughing of hills for tree planting. The soil that runs off hills silts up streams and rivers and causes further damage to that micro-environment.

They take a lot out and put very little back.
Who Owns Scotland

The Holistic Community of Humankind

Wingmakers Neruda Interview 4

Sarah: “In this whole discussion tonight – most of which has been centered on the Incunabula or, maybe more appropriately I should call it the world power structure – I don’t hear much about the spiritual implications. It really sounds oddly impersonal and unspiritual, if that’s a word. Can you comment on this?”

Dr. Neruda: “What is occurring in our world is a manifestation of how a species migrates from statehood to species-hood. It is a stage within the migration plan. Humans must move from the patriotic, believe-what-I-am-told mentality, and elevate their thinking to encompass and embrace the holistic community of humankind. It will require enormous leadership capacity in order to accomplish the conclusion of this migration, because the world’s people will require a watershed event to erase its memory.”

Sarah: “Hold on a moment. What do you mean to erase its memory?”

Dr. Neruda: “There’s a persistent memory in the psyche of humans – particularly the weaker cultures that have been trampled on by nations bent on colonization. These grievous indignations to the weaker nations of the world have left a deep mark on their collective memory. It’s vital that this memory be erased or purged in order for humankind to become unified in its governance and fundamental systems.

“This event can be orchestrated or it may occur through natural means, but it’s generally agreed that an event must arise that galvanizes the world’s people to unite, and in this process, purge the memory of all peoples, but especially those who have been dealt with as victims of colonization.” Wingmakers.com

Children of Dune

When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom, because
that is according to your principals; when I am stronger
than you, I take away your freedom, because that is
according to my principals.

Words of an ancient philosopher
(Attributed by Harq al-Ada to one Louis Veuillot)

Frank Herbert, Children of Dune