Grace Notes Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc
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GRACE NOTES Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. Vol. 37 No. 3 • March 2021 President’s Letter If you missed the opportunity to use the Scots word Dreich in February, that’s too bad, because it’s such a suitable opportu- nity is not likely to come to the Midsouth again any time soon (I hope). According to “Scottish Book Trust” in their annual survey by the BBC News, in November 2019, the most popular Scots word dreich, meaning “long drawn out, protracted, hence tedi- Memphis um, worrisome; damp, wet, grey weather.” I first learned it via the Scots word of the week from Eilean Donan Castle. (If you Scottish aren’t familiar with the source, check out https://facebook.com/Eile- Society, Inc. andonancastle1/videos/10153094853547888). Another event happened in February, on the 14th in fact, that Board I hope you were able to enjoy, and that is the premiere of “MEN IN KILTS: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham.” The lads in the President subtitle are Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, whom a lot Mary Ann Lucas of us met on the Starz television series “Outlander”. By no sur- 901-725-1879 prise, MIK is also carried on Starz. (It is additionally available [email protected] from several other venues, access to which is too complicated to list here.) Opening with iconic Scottish food and drink, and fol- Vice President lowed immediately with an episode on Scottish sports (including Holly Staggs a skinny dip in the frigid Scottish waters of the North Atlantic). 901-215-4839 The show has so far acquit itself well in its goal of presenting a [email protected] different side of Scotland. Also, in my opinion, it gives the lie to Treasurer the perennial image of the dour Scotsman. John Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] Secretary 2021 Scholarship Committee Kathy Schultz Nominees for scholarship committee? I (Mary Ann Lucas) just 901-754-2419 learned in the Board meeting (now adjourned) that it has to be [email protected] announced in the Grace Notes. Before they are voted on in the Members at Large monthly member meeting. The nominees are: Phyllis Davis Seldon Murray 901-830-9564 [email protected] Jeannette Martin Shari Moore Elaine Meece 901-598-1802 [email protected] Debbie Sellmansberger 901-465-4739 March Meeting Program: debbie.sellmansberger@ Presented by Mary Ann Lucas via Zoom memphisscots.com “Hugh Pakenham Borthwick: The British aristocrat who spied from a Spanish Islet.” See page 2 for further information Tennessee Tartan. Created by the Heart of Tennessee Scottish Celebration as a State tartan. Passed by Tennessee Public Acts 1999, Chapter No.82, Senate Bill No. 73. The source of the tartan 2526 was: Bill Bickford of the Tennessee Tartan Committee. March Program “Hugh Pakenham Borthwick: The British aristocrat who spied from a Spanish Islet.” Presented by Mary Ann Lucas In front of the Hornillo Pier, on the Isle of Fraile, Scottish aristocrat Hugh Pakenham Borthwick, called Don Hugo by the locals, took up residence in 1912. During World War I Borthwick worked as a British spy and alerted a liaison officer whenever a ship from Germany or from a neutral country left the pier carrying iron ore.Des aut atio. Itatibusa is doluptis et explaut facculla core nobis doles eatatis ene Notice to Program Presenters: John Schultz requests that if you plan to use his computer equipment for your presentation at the monthly meeting, please contact him at least a week before the meeting so he knows to bring his equipment and can work out any bugs ahead of time. His phone number is 901-754-2419. Men in Kilts, Sam Heughan on Losing That Skinny-Dipping Bet Kimberly Roots, TVLine.com, February 21, 2021 One of Starz’s “Men in Kilts” was decidedly out of his in the final moments of this week’s episode.The travel series’ second installment found Graham McTavish and Sam Heughan exploring the world of Scottish sports. They lifted heavy rocks. They tried their hands at events from the Highland Games (this stop on the trip also included this sage advice for kilt-clad dudes from Charlie Murray of the High- land Games Association: “Do not go commando, in case you get up- ended,” and I feel like it’s applicable wisdom for many of life’s situa- tions.) They hit a few golf balls at St. Andrews. Along the way, Heughan and McTavish agreed to a bet: Whoever loses the most sporting events during this leg of the trip will skinny- dip in the North Atlantic. And though Heughan was rather sure that McTavish will be the one taking the chilly plunge, their final stop — rugby training at Murray Stadium — proved him wrong. So after the knackered pair have their now-traditional, end-of-episode whisky, all that’s left is for Heughan to banish his breeks and take the plunge. Which he does… after an extended, au naturale sprint across a lot of sand, thanks to low tide. (Sorry Mary Ann—No photos!) EDITORIAL STAFF Sue Malone Grace Notes Editor, (901-385-1938) [email protected] Grace Notes is the official publication of the Mem- phis Scottish Society, Inc. It is published monthly. George Malone Like the Society itself, the credo of Grace Notes is Publisher, (901) 385-1938 “to foster education and promote understanding [email protected] of things Scottish.” to foster education If you have something of interest to readers Gavin Anderson and promote understanding of this newsletter, please submit a typewritten Circulation Editor, (901-485-8270) of things Scottish manuscript to the editorial staff. If the article or [email protected] notice is very brief (30 words or fewer), e-mail or just use the telephone. Grace Notes will accept Karen English and publish good quality photographs. Please address all correspondence to: Circulation Editor, (901-396-9134) The deadline for all submissions is the fourth GRACE NOTes [email protected] week of each month preceding the month of The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. publication. Please include a self-addressed [email protected] stamped envelope with each submission, if you Submissions P.O. Box 383092 want the material returned. [email protected] Germantown, TN 38183 2 History of St. Patrick’s Day www.history.com/Editors, Updated: Mar 9, 2020 (Condensed) St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on 1 million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics be- March 17, the anniversary of his death in the fifth gan pouring into America to escape starvation. century. The Irish have observed this day as a reli- Despised for their alien religious beliefs and gious holiday for over 1,000 years. unfamiliar accents by the American Protestant Who Was St. Patrick? Saint Patrick, who lived majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even during the fifth century, is the patron saint of Ire- menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the coun- land and its national apostle. Born in Roman Brit- try’s cities took to the streets on St. Patrick’s Day ain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but re- them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys. turned to Ireland and was credited with bringing The American Irish soon began to realize that Christianity to its people. their large and growing numbers endowed them In the centuries following Patrick’s death (be- with a political power that had yet to be exploited. lieved to have been on March 17, 461), the my- They started to organize, and their voting bloc, thology surrounding his life became ever more known as the “green machine,” became an impor- ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most tant swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, well-known legend of St. Patrick is that he ex- annual St. Patrick’s Day parades became a show plained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must- Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clo- attend event for a slue of political candidates. ver, the shamrock. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended When Was the First St. Patrick’s Day Celebrat- New York City‘s St. Patrick’s Day parade, a proud ed? Since around the ninth or 10th century, people moment for the many Irish Americans whose an- in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catho- cestors had to fight stereotypes and racial preju- lic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. The first St. dice to find acceptance in the New World. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland but As Irish immigrants spread out over the United in America. Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day States, other cities developed their own traditions. parade was held on March 17, 1601, in a Spanish One of these is Chicago’s annual dyeing of the colony in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. The Chicago River green. The practice started in 1962, parade, and a St. Patrick’s Day celebration a year when city pollution-control workers used dyes to earlier were organized by the Spanish Colony’s trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the Irish vicar Ricardo Artur. green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate More than a century later, homesick Irish sol- the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of diers serving in the English military marched in green vegetable dye into the river–enough to keep New York City on March 17, 1772, to honor the it green for a week.