The Dundee Tapestry Exhibition, V&A Dundee

While we were at the V&A in Dundee to see the Kimono Exhibition we also had a look around the ‘Dundee Tapestry’ exhibition which is free. All of the ‘ tapestries’ which are actually embroideries tell the history of Dundee over the years. In years gone by Dundee was called the Jam, Jute and Journalism city and the embroidered panel below depicts a lot of the characters from the Beano and Dandy comics, read by children of all ages for decades and published by DC Thomson. Oor Wullie is at the top of the panel which also features Denis the Menace (the original)  with his dog Gnasher of course, Beryl the Peril and Granpaw from The Broons. There were some young Japanese women looking around this exhibit while we were there and one of the attendants was giving them a bit of a ‘spiel’ about it, but annoyingly she said Oor Willie, which drives me nuts as it’s definitely Oor Wullie, for some reason they anglicise it – to seem posh I suppose.

Dundee  Tapestry, V&A Dundee, embroidery, D.C. Thomson

Dundee Tapestry ,V&A Dundee, C Thomson

The Royal Research Ship Discovery which carried Scott and Shackleton on their First Antarctic expedition is berthed right next to the V&A. She was built in Dundee and it was only fitting that she should return there when she became a museum. It’s well worth a look around it. Otherwise the panel below is about  the many other scientific discoveries from Dundee.

Dundee Tapestry, V&A Dundee

Dundee Tapestry, info board, scientific discoveries, V&A Dundee

But it’s not all about the past, an Eden Project is planned for Dundee in the future and the panel below focuses on the nine environmental guilds which it’s hoped will help Dundee’s future to flourish.

Dundee Tapestry, V&A Dundee

Dundee Tapestry, V&A Dundee, embroidery

This is just a few of the panels, there’s been a lot going on in Dundee over the years, particularly in the computer games industry, so it’s quite a large exhibition with 35 panels which I think is permanent, but it might not be. Some of my photos didn’t come out at all for some reason, but you can read more about the exhibition here.

 

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow

I’m just finishing off my Charles Rennie Mackintosh Humnterian posts with some random photos that I took. Below is very typical of his designs, a stained glass stylised rose.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh design, The Hunterian, Glasgow

The Hunterian even has what was the hallway of Charles and Margaret’s home in Glasgow, rebuilt but with the original furnishings.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, hall, Glasgow

The metal plaque below was designed by Margaret I think, she had a penchant for what some people described as ‘spooky’ figures.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgowmetal cartouche

I love the door below with its inset stylised glass hearts.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgowdoor detail

The cheval mirror below is in what was their bedroom, I made sure that my reflection wasn’t in the photo but in retrospect it might have made more sense than the reflection of a door which you can see. I love the design and all the wee drawers but I know that if I had it I would have to search in several of them before I found whatever I was looking for!

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow, cheval mirror

Anyway, if you’re a fan of C.R. Mackintosh then you will really enjoy a visit to The Hunterian in Glasgow.

 

Dunino Den, Fife

I had heard about Dunino Den in Fife years ago but it was only when I saw some photos online of the place that I decided it was time to go and check it out myself. I must say I found it a bit of a strange place.

Dunino Church , Fife

The ‘den’ is situated at the back of Dunino church (above), there’s a path down through the grass and woodland which leads to a sunken area, a small burn (stream)  flows through it but you are surrounded by quite high rock faces, some of which have been carved over the years.

We had the place to ourselves but it is obviously popular with people, probably quite an eclectic bunch as there are some Christian symbols if you look hard, a faint Celtic cross to the left of the large LC below.

Dunino Den, Fife, Cross carving

But it’s thought that this place was used as a place of worship and possibly sacrifice by the Druids.

Dunino Den, Fife

But there are also ‘offerings’ to whatever, in the shape of stones, flowers and candles. I was particularly unnerved by the pottery figure of a headless woman in the photo above. Was she just accidentally broken or was it a deliberate offering of some sort?  I found the place to be a bit spooky, but it has obviously been used for centuries, possibly as a place of worship during the Scottish Reformation, but the land above the rockface which has ancient stairs cut into it also has a rock with a footprint cut into the stone, usually a sign that a king/chieftain has been there, and beside it there’s a sort of natural stone basin which was full of water.

You can see the bottom of the stone steps in the middle background of the photo below.

Dunino Den , Fife

The burn was very low, slow and sludgy considering how much rain we had had.

Dunino Den , Fife

Dunino Den , Fife

Dunino Den, Fife

Below is the sort of natural stone pond.

Dunino Den, pool, Fife

And the rock below by the pool has some faint cup and ring marks (maybe) and what looks like part of a footprint. This actually a very dangerous place to stand by as it is situated above the other photos and is close to the edge of the rockface, it would be very easy to step over the edge, especially as it is overgrown with ferns at the edge.

Dunino Den, ring marks, Fife

Right by the stone above is the well worn stone steps down to where the other photos were taken, we didn’t go down the steps though, they looked too dangerous, there is a path through the woodland which is much safer.

Dunino Den Steps, Fife

I don’t remember seeing it but it seems there’s a face carved into one of the rock walls. The photo below is from the website in the link above.

So that’s Dunino Den, a bit of a strange place which goes way back in time, no doubt some believe there are fairies living there, or some other sorts of spirits, I’m sure there are plenty of theories about it. I’m glad we visited it at last, but I don’t know if I want to go back. It’s not far from St Andrews, if you are interested in visiting it.

 

Crathie Kirk, Ballater, Aberdeenshire

We visited Crathie Kirk in Ballater for the first time when we visited Aberdeenshire a few weeks ago. I had of course seen it often on TV as it’s the nearest church to Balmoral, but somehow its surroundings didn’t look like I had imagined them to be. Unfortunately by the time we got there the kirk was closed.

Crathie Kirk , Ballater, Aberdeenshire

There’s something more than a wee bit Scandinavian about the design of this wee church I think. Scottish churches aren’t known for having porches at all, but it’s an attractive design, and as the area is well known for rough weather it’s a handy place to shake off the rain or snow.

Crathie Kirk, Ballater, Aberdeenshire

I didn’t tarry long at the back of the church as a large barking mad dog ran out of the undergrowth heading straight for me. No doubt he thought he was defending his territory, I quickly snapped the photo below and departed!

Crathie Kirk, Ballater, Aberdeenshire

It’s a short walk over a bridge spanning the River Dee below, which leads to the gates of Balmoral.

River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Ballater

As you can see we had really great weather while we were away.

River Dee, Ballater, Aberdeenshire

People were just coming out of the gates when we got there, it was closing for the day. Maybe next time we’ll go to Balmoral first and have a walk around the grounds.

Balmoral Gates, Aberdeenshire

The gates have GR and MR on them for King George V and Queen Mary.

 

 

 

Portsoy, Aberdeenshire

Portsoy in Aberdeenshire was one of the many places that we visited a few weeks ago when we drove north to Aberdeenshire for a few days. The harbour dates back to 1692 and the photos wouldn’t really do it justice, it’s a series of small harbours interlinked. It means that there are safe areas for children to play in with quite shallow water, when the tide is out anyway.  When we were there it was crowded with kids having great fun, the water would have been relatively warm too. So I wasn’t able to take photos of those parts because of all the people there.

The harbour has been used in various TV and films, such as Peaky Blinders, Whisky Galore! and various BBC period dramas, as well as in a Tennents lager advert.

The photo below is of the grass at the edge of the harbour, as you can see there’s a modern sculpture of a dolphin there.

Portsoy sculpture, Aberdeenshire

I love just about any kind of ruin and this window is just about all that remains of a cottage above the harbour, presumably the weather played havoc with the rest of it over the years.

Portsoy, Aberdeenshire

Portsoy is apparently famous for the marble which used to be mined there, there’s a marble shop there where you can buy various sorts of marble and carved stones. Portsoy marble was used in the Palace of Versailles, the marble is really red and green serpentine. It’s a lovely wee place, I would visit it again, if we are ever in that area again.

Mr Mac and Me by Esther Freud – 20 Books of Summer 2024

Mr Mac and Me by Esther Freud was first published in 2014, by Bloomsbury. I had meant to read this book when it first came out, not ten years later. It’s one of my 20 Books of Summer.

It’s well known I think that Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh moved from Glasgow to Suffolk when his career in architecture had ground to a halt.  As World War One progressed they got into trouble with the authorities as some of the locals decided that the strange couple with the odd accent (Scottish) must be spies. Esther Freud has woven a story around them, embroidering what had happened to them there and how it impacted on them, as seen through the eyes of Thomas Maggs, a young boy with a damaged foot, something that he has in common with CRM.

Thomas lives on the Suffolk coast, his father is a publican, he’s abusive as a father and husband, and of course he has a drink problem, so Thomas doesn’t have a good relationship with him. When Mackintosh and his wife arrive in the area Thomas is attracted to the couple who show an interest in his own drawings and befriend him.

The Mackintoshes have money problems and Mac can’t even sell his exquisitely painted botanical art, never mind get architecture commissions, to make matters worse there are problems within Margaret’s family so she has to be away in Glasgow at times.

I enjoyed this one although it is tinged with sadness as the war takes its toll of the locals. There’s some lovely writing, descriptions of flowers, scenery and seascapes.  But as you would expect The Glasgow School of Art also features and in the author’s acknowledgements at the end of the book she adds her own ‘heartfelt appreciation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for the skill, courage and determination they showed in overcoming the blaze that raged through the Glasgow School of Art just as this book was going to press.’

Of course fire came back again for a second bite of that building, such a tragedy. The remains, just a shell, are still wrapped in plastic, waiting for some sort of decision. It’s a deeply depressing sight.

 

 

Balvenie Castle, by Dufftown, Moray, Scotland

We were out and about in the far north-east of Scotland for a few days a couple of weeks ago, and one of the many places that we squeezed into those three nights away was a visit to Balvenie Castle near Dufftown. It’s in the middle of nowhere up a quite scary steep and very narrow road, and when we reached the castle it was shut! It doesn’t open on Monday.

Balvenie Castle, by Dufftown, Moray, Scotland, Black Douglas

Anyway, we were undaunted as we were able to step over the fence easily to have a closer look, we kept well away from the back as per instructions, and as we’re Historic Scotland members we weren’t doing them out of any money.

Balvenie Castle, near Dufftown, Moray

We were only there for a few minutes.

Balvenie Castle, near Dufftown, Moray

I took the photo below through the gate, as you can see it has a nice barrel vaulted roof.

Balvenie Castle, near Dufftown, Moray, Scotland

Balvenie Castle was owned by a few prominent Scottish families in the past, including the notorious Black Douglases from 1362 to 1455. It’s a very scenic ruin, unfortunately the photo that I took of the farmland nearby came out too fuzzy to use. As ever, click on the photos if you want to see them enlarged.

Balvenie Castle, near Dufftown, Moray

I’ve just realised that this castle is actually owned by an absent American from Atlanta, Georgia! It is just managed by Historic Environment Scotland.

 

 

.

Alyth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland

A couple of weeks ago we grabbed a blue sky day and drove north up to Perthshire (Perth and Kinross) to do a bit of a road trip to small places that we hadn’t visited before. Such as – Alyth. I believe that’s the old pack bridge in the photo above, nowadays it’s for pedestrians only.

Alyth Burn, Perth and Kinross

It’s a small town, quite historic, first mentioned in the 13th century. The Alyth Burn runs right through the middle which makes it scenic as there are several bridges going across it. Not surprisingly they have been bothered by flooding in the town. I was really chuffed to see some small fish in the burn ranging from about 6 inches to 8 inches. I’m always hanging over bridges to see what is in the water but more often than not there’s nothing to be seen!

Despite it being quite a small place it has even smaller places nearby which don’t even have a shop, or maybe just has one wee shop if they are lucky, so there were quite a lot of people around, so the large war memorial below was the only other photo I took. It’s on the outskirts of Alyth. There were a couple of plant stalls by the side of the road where I was standing to take the photo, small plants such as coleus and pelargoniums for just 50p each, so I chose four plants and put the money in the honesty pot. I should have taken a photo of the stalls, they were nice and colourful.

Alyth, War Memorial, Perth and Kinross

I would definitely go back there some time,  to do a bit more exploring.

The Japanese Garden at Cowden – The Zen Garden

Zen garden, The Japanese Garden at Cowden, Scotland

A couple of weeks ago we decided to go to The Japanese Garden at Cowden again, it was a sparkling day and it was the first time we had really felt any warmth this year, and we were really enjoying our visit, but it’s obviously not for everyone as we heard a fairly youngish woman complaining bitterly that she had paid a lot of money to get in and there was hardly anything to see! She said that loudly as she walked quickly past what I think is a beautiful, if small Zen garden, and she didn’t even glance at it. Oh well, it takes all sorts I suppose.

Zen garden, The Japanese Garden at Cowden, Scotland

Zen garden, The Japanese Garden at Cowden

Japanese garden design seems to incorporate a lot of moss, which is something I’m going to have to embrace in my own garden I think after all the wet weather has encouraged it so much.

But nothing is perfect, I’m sure that in Japan a Zen garden wouldn’t have a redwood and lots of various mature conifers in the background, but I can see why the designer decided to leave them in situ.

We enjoyed the afternoon there anyway, although I must admit that we took advantage of this month’s Gardeners’ World magazine offer. It seemed steeply priced at almost double the normal cost, it was £9.99 but came with seeds and a 2 for 1 ticket entry into lots of famous gardens all over Britain. After visiting this garden we’re already quids in.

 

Perth Museum, Scotland

We visited the new Perth Museum a couple of weeks ago, it’s mainly for local interest I think and was opened because what had been an Edwardian concert hall was no longer fit for purpose, so it lay there, rotting and unused. Some thought the building should be demolished, but it has been repurposed, successfully. The big attraction is the Stone of Destiny which has been taken from Edinburgh Castle, but we had seen that before so didn’t bother with it, you had to book a ticket for a time slot . I took the photo below of the Pullar’s dye works and cleaners. It reminded me that in one of her books Deborah Devonshire mentioned that they used to send their evening gloves to this place to have them cleaned, and it was so famous the address was just PULLARS, PERTH. I think the building itself is one of those Edwardian, on the cusp of Art Deco, designs.

Art Deco Pullars, Perth, Scotland

The St Madoes standing stone was dug up from a field where it must have lain for years undisturbed, hence it being in unweathered condition, I think some of the designs on it look a bit Mackintosh-ish.

St Madoes stone, Perth Museum, Scotland

The swords were all found locally, possibly gifts for a river god, but there were so many battles around the Perthshire area they could just have been lost in battle. When I read a book about Montrose fairly recently I was amazed by how many villlages in Perthshire Montrose had ridden into that I had visited. Places where battles had been fought in the Civil War, or Wars of the Three Kingdoms as it now seems to be called.

Swords, Perth Museum, St Madoes

More finds, including an amazing leather shoe.

metal stuff ,shoe, Perth Museum, Scotland

In 1633 King Charles I did actually visit Scotland, and they had a bit of a do for him.

King Charles 1, Perth Museum, Scotland

Below is one of the costumes from that dance. I imagine it was a bit more colourful back in its day.

River dance , Perth Museum, Scotlandgarment

King Charles’ surcoat apparently, below.  There must have been a contrasting silk fabric showing through the slashes originally I think.

King's surcoat, Perth museum, Scotland

These neolithic carved stone balls which must have taken ages to make are a mystery, they’ve been found in lots of places in Scotland, but what were they used for?

Stone Balls, Perth museum, Scotland

There was a ‘Unicorn’ exhibition on the top floor of the museum, but that had to be paid for separately and as neither of us are much into unicorns we didn’t bother to visit it.