BILLY'S PLACE

Janet Boyman (died 1572), also known as Jonet Boyman or Janet Bowman, was a Scottish woman accused of witchcraft; she was tried and executed in 1572 although the case against her was started in 1570. Her indictment has been described by modern-day scholars, such as Lizanne Henderson, as the earliest and most comprehensive record of witchcraft and fairy belief in Scotland. Accusations of…

Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown (1997), the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, he starred as Count Dracula in the gothic horror film Dracula 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee…

The Maritime Museum in Aberdeen is centrally located near the Harbour, in the historic Shiprow, which wanders down from Union Street to the harbour.The Museum tells the story about Aberdeen’s long relationship with the Sea and there are exhibits that chart the development of the city’s harbour, shipbuilding industry, fishing communities and more recent pivotal role in the North Sea oil…

Bathgate (Scots: Bathket or Bathkit, Scottish Gaelic: Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, 5 miles (8 km) west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated 2 miles (3 km) south of the ancient Neolithic burial site at Cairnpapple Hill, Bathgate and the surrounding area show signs of…

Eochaid ab Rhun (fl. 878–889) was a ninth-century King of Strathclyde, who may have also been King of the Picts. He was a son of Rhun ab Arthgal, King of Strathclyde, and descended from a long line of British kings. Eochaid’s mother is recorded to have been a daughter of Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts. This maternal descent from the royal Alpínid dynasty may well account for the record of…

Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, This Is the Life, which respectively produced the singles “Mr. Rock & Roll” and “This Is the Life“; the latter charting at number one in six countries, while reaching the top 10 in another 11 countries. The album reached number one in four European countries – the United…

The Battle of Loch Ryan was fought on 9/10 February 1307 during the Scottish Wars of Independence near Stranraer on Loch Ryan, Galloway, Scotland. King Robert I of Scotland‘s invasion of his ancestral lands in Annandale and Carrick began in 1307. The Annandale and Galloway invasion force was led by his brothers Alexander Bruce and Thomas Bruce, Malcolm McQuillan, Lord of Kintyre, an Irish sub…

Church architecture in Scotland incorporates all church building within the modern borders of Scotland, from the earliest Christian structures in the sixth century until the present day. The early Christian churches for which there is evidence are basic masonry-built constructions on the west coast and islands. As Christianity spread, local churches tended to remain much simpler than their…

Scotland’s Premier Saint After the Kingdom of Alba was created, Columba was surpassed as Scotland’s premier saint. St Andrew was in a different league from Columba: not only did he appear in the Bible, but he was an apostle of Jesus.His relics appeared in Scotland under mysterious circumstances, and were placed in a Pictish monastery at Kinrymont (the church of the King’s Muir) probably founded…

The Reformed Orders and King David I Saint Margaret The Reformed OrdersAt the end of the 11th century monastic fashions were rapidly changing. The new reformed orders, like the Augustinians and Benedictines, started to live in cloistered communities and a stronger chain of command to the authorities in Rome was being established. Reform gave the Church a renewed sense ofmoral purpose and…

The Sheep Heid Inn is a public house in Duddingston, Edinburgh, Scotland. There has reputedly been an inn on this site since 1360, although the core of the current building appears to date from the 18th century with later additions and alterations. If the 1360 foundation date was proved correct it would make The Sheep Heid Inn perhaps the oldest surviving licensed premises in Edinburgh, if not…

JonBenet Ramsey‘s young, smiling face stared out from newspaper front pages and television screens all across the country in the months after the 6-year-old beauty queen was found dead in the basement of her family’s Colorado home. The crime stunned the quiet and affluent neighborhood in Boulder, Colo. JonBenet, a beauty pageant winner, had been discovered beaten and strangled, with duct tape…

A video of some of the Classic Pubs in Scotland. Scottish Pubs.

Another clip from the family saga.

Another adventure from the Scottish Lad.

Stone Circles The great, ceremonial stone circles are the most enigmatic of all the Neolithic farmers’ creations. They were built between 3,000 – 2,000 BC by a wide variety of Neolithic communities. Today only the stones remain, but in their time they were part of a wider landscape of ritual sites built of timber and stone, and set in prominent positions in the heart of vibrant farming…

The Arrival of the Monasticism  The impact of monasticism on Scotland was profound and long lasting. The arrival of the monks brought a whole new conception of society to its pagan tribes – ideas of a Christian community, education and the responsibilities of leadership and government that still under-pin Scottish society today. Along with Scotland’s warrior kings, they shaped the very idea of…