Travelling in the Highlands and Glasgow.
After leaving Brechin, we journeyed to Creif. We went there to do the Famous Grouse whiskey tour. We missed this by about 15 minutes, so decided to stay in Crief and do domestic things like watching. Thursday morning we went back to the famous Grouse, where we learnt about whiskey production and Bonnie had her first (and probably last) glass of whiskey. It was a great tour. Then we journeyed on to Killen, in an area called Breadlabaine. My interest in this is that my mother’s father’s family sailed out to New Zealand from Novia Scotia (with a wee free Pressy group) on a ship called the Breadalbaine. We went to a museum, where we learnt about the clans, and the Campbells and McGregors in particular.
This area had been actively involved with the two pretenders. I learnt that when Bonnie Prince Charlie announced he was returning and called on the clans to support him, the clan leaders tired to dissuade him. But his charisma carried the day. At he end he returned to France to his comfortable and well off life style. The clans men were slaughtered on the battle field, the clans were stripped of their legal status and power, the clan chiefs were stripped of their status and their land. The wearing of kilts, the speaking of Gaelic and the use of the clan names made illegal. All in all, Bonnie Prince Charlie was a bit of a self indulgent prig really. Luckily none of the Stuarts made another play for the throne. Between James II and Bonnie Prince Charlie the Celtic people of Ireland and Scotland got absolutely hammered, loosing so much. It seems to be a bit of a theme. Leaders pompously leading people who then pay the price for the leaders botch ups. There is a significant lesson here for those of us in leadership. One need only look at Iraq to see this theme repeating itself. George and Tony have lost little in all this. Thousands and thousands of others have lost their lives.
The Centre also introduces people to St. Fillian, the Celtic evangelist who came to this area bringing the gospel. It includes an interesting film of Fillian in which he speaks about his hands, the hands of a healer, through which God brought healing. As I listened to it I thought of the U2 song on “How to dismantle an atomic bomb” “Take these hands.” An invitation there to allow God to take our hands, or whatever, to bring healing to our world.
Killen has a lovely rapids running through the middle of the town. Very pretty. We then travelled on down to Loch Lomond, one of the biggest lochs in Scotland, had small walk at a lovely waterfall, and then travelled on down to Glasgow, which was quite close. We again forgot the lesson of going straight to the Tourist Info Office, and tried booking our own accommodation. We ended up lost on the one way system, and spending heaps on the mobile phone to the tourist info office accommodation booking office. We ended up at a really nice old hotel in the city centre build over the Central Railway Station.
On the Friday, after offloading our car, and deciding that Hertz was really out to rip you off, we spent the day touring Glasgow. We went to the Cathedral, one of the few to survive John Knox’s anti Catholic reformation which destroyed so much. State sponsored vandalism! We couldn’t go it though, there was a wedding on. But we did go to St. Mungo Religious Life Centre. This explores the coming of St, Mungo (Kentigern) to the Glasgow area and his bringing Christianity. It also introduces people to the six main religions, and also explores the role of religion through the life span. It is a really interesting display that seeks to bring understanding and build bridges between the various religious groups in Glasgow.
As an aside, what I have been interested in is how little there is about the Covenanters. These were people that resisted the imposition of English rule on their church and society. The covenanted (I think) to uphold the reformed traditions of Knox, resorting to violence, and being willing to die for their faith. And die they did, Over 100,000 of them over a number of years. It appals me to see how much inhumanity is justified in the name of the God of Peace and love. In the face of this I remember the Taize chant
“The kingdom of God is justice and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Come Lord and open in us the gates to your kingdom.”
This area had been actively involved with the two pretenders. I learnt that when Bonnie Prince Charlie announced he was returning and called on the clans to support him, the clan leaders tired to dissuade him. But his charisma carried the day. At he end he returned to France to his comfortable and well off life style. The clans men were slaughtered on the battle field, the clans were stripped of their legal status and power, the clan chiefs were stripped of their status and their land. The wearing of kilts, the speaking of Gaelic and the use of the clan names made illegal. All in all, Bonnie Prince Charlie was a bit of a self indulgent prig really. Luckily none of the Stuarts made another play for the throne. Between James II and Bonnie Prince Charlie the Celtic people of Ireland and Scotland got absolutely hammered, loosing so much. It seems to be a bit of a theme. Leaders pompously leading people who then pay the price for the leaders botch ups. There is a significant lesson here for those of us in leadership. One need only look at Iraq to see this theme repeating itself. George and Tony have lost little in all this. Thousands and thousands of others have lost their lives.
The Centre also introduces people to St. Fillian, the Celtic evangelist who came to this area bringing the gospel. It includes an interesting film of Fillian in which he speaks about his hands, the hands of a healer, through which God brought healing. As I listened to it I thought of the U2 song on “How to dismantle an atomic bomb” “Take these hands.” An invitation there to allow God to take our hands, or whatever, to bring healing to our world.
Killen has a lovely rapids running through the middle of the town. Very pretty. We then travelled on down to Loch Lomond, one of the biggest lochs in Scotland, had small walk at a lovely waterfall, and then travelled on down to Glasgow, which was quite close. We again forgot the lesson of going straight to the Tourist Info Office, and tried booking our own accommodation. We ended up lost on the one way system, and spending heaps on the mobile phone to the tourist info office accommodation booking office. We ended up at a really nice old hotel in the city centre build over the Central Railway Station.
On the Friday, after offloading our car, and deciding that Hertz was really out to rip you off, we spent the day touring Glasgow. We went to the Cathedral, one of the few to survive John Knox’s anti Catholic reformation which destroyed so much. State sponsored vandalism! We couldn’t go it though, there was a wedding on. But we did go to St. Mungo Religious Life Centre. This explores the coming of St, Mungo (Kentigern) to the Glasgow area and his bringing Christianity. It also introduces people to the six main religions, and also explores the role of religion through the life span. It is a really interesting display that seeks to bring understanding and build bridges between the various religious groups in Glasgow.
As an aside, what I have been interested in is how little there is about the Covenanters. These were people that resisted the imposition of English rule on their church and society. The covenanted (I think) to uphold the reformed traditions of Knox, resorting to violence, and being willing to die for their faith. And die they did, Over 100,000 of them over a number of years. It appals me to see how much inhumanity is justified in the name of the God of Peace and love. In the face of this I remember the Taize chant
“The kingdom of God is justice and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Come Lord and open in us the gates to your kingdom.”
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