Author Archive: rodgermoffet
Rodger is the owner of www.scotclans.com, Scotland's largest clan site!
Lady Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, 1909-2013
On January 14th of this year Lady Malcolm Douglas Hamilton died at the incredible age of 103. Along with her husband, Lord Hamilton she helped set up the American Scottish Foundation which has over the years been a cornerstone in building relationships between Scotland and America. Born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, to Major Nathaniel B Wales [...]
Old Scottish Postcards.
This morning i was looking through a folder of old Scottish postcards while looking for a suitable header image for our newsletter. Some of the images were so fantastic I thought they were worth sharing. Here are a few of my favourites: In the days before washing machines getting your laundry done was a more [...]
The Lyon Act
In Scotland the Court of the Lord Lyon is responsible for heraldic matters. It is the oldest heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation. As well as overseeing state functions in Scotland the Lord Lyon is responsible for the grant of arms as well as ensuring that existing arms are not [...]
Scotland’s Businesses Swimming Against the Current
Reading the news for the last few years has not been a great deal of fun. Every other business and economy article has been telling stories of doom and gloom, job losses, double dip recession. It has felt like we are in some sort of economic dark age. British GDP has fallen behind Iceland [...]
The Lion and the Clans
Why is the image of a lion so prevalent in Scottish Clan heraldry? Why would a beast that was never native to Scotland feature so heavily? The image of the lion in art and culture dates back to pre history and cave paintings. Our ancient ancestors who’s story began in Africa would have admired these [...]
Home Swaps: Visiting Scotland Without the Expense
We have just returned from two amazing weeks spent in Barcelona, Spain. We enjoyed the comfort of a family home during our stay and on our return were welcomed back to our home with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates, our house all neat and tidy (not like we normally leave it [...]
Scotland, as you may never have heard it described before!
Recently I was reading an article on James VI of Scotland, Who became James I after the Union of the Crowns. I was reminded of a piece I had read some time ago by an Anglo Welsh historian called James Howell. Howell was possibly the first ever professional English language writer and grew up around [...]
Mingulay: 100 years of abandonement.
In June 1912 a flotilla of small boats sailed away from the tiny island of Mingulay, the boats carried a handful of crofters and their families and marked the end of over a thousand years of island history. The island of Mingulay forms part of the Bishop Islands, a small collection of islands that lie [...]
Psst! Want To Buy The Statue of Liberty, One Careful Owner?
While doing a little bit of research the other day I came across the story of a very interesting Scottish character Arthur Furguson. Here is his story: One sunny morning in 1923 a wealthy American tourist from Iowa was standing in Trafalgar Square gazing with admiration at Nelsons Column. A very well dressed and polite [...]
Brave? Aye they must be!
Disney and Pixar are about to release a blockbuster animation that’s set in Scotland entitled ‘Brave’. But if a recent trailer that was released on Youtube is anything to go by it looks like they might need to do a wee bit more research or run the risk of having more than a few angry [...]
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