Synchronicity or the Almighty Algorithm — really both — seemed bent on beckoning me to the Scottish Highlands. Perhaps it was the fine Scottish weather we got for a couple of weeks in September…
First there came a teaser for what looks to be a sumptuous depiction of a deer hunt in the Highlands.
Then a strangely fascinating sidetrail into the financial catastrophe that befell the storied Frasers of Lovat in the 1990s. The Old Fox was, no doubt, a repellent figure, but some of his heirs were solid folk — and the Lovat Scouts are a storied outfit in the history of Frontier Partisan warfare. Seems a sad and ignominious fate to be bled to death by finances. Maybe they shoulda gone gangster a la The Gentlemen….
Apparently the current Clan Chief is assiduously working to restore the family fortune and reacquire the properties that had to be sold off.
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This is a fine primer on Highland Deerstalking:
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The estimable Tom Langhorne posted on a recent dive into the authentic life of a Highland crofter, and I eagerly wait the filmed results.
What was life like for a pre-industrial Highland farmer? Well I joined Angus Simpson from Acheilidh Heritage Croft to find out! We spent two days filming together and here are some screen shots of the footage I got. Angus uses only historical hand tools and a cow-pulled cart to manage his 7-acre Highland croft; despite the old ways, he is nearly completely self-sufficient in producing his own food. I filmed a bit about his life around the croft and also completed a boyhood dream of shooting a 17th century musket (early shotgun used for hunting back in the day)! I hope to make two videos for the Fandabi Dozi channel from this so stay tuned and once again, big thanks to Angus for having me to stay!
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All of this Scottish outdoors stuff put me in mind of John Buchan, of course — and Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett offer a very nice analysis of Buchan’s seminal thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps. Richard Hannay, a precursor element of Ian Fleming’s James Bond, is a man of the frontiers of Empire — a mining engineer from Rhodesia, as it turns out. Always worth revisiting.
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This is all well-suited to the return of Outlander: Blood Of My Blood. Season 2 Episode 3 has dropped, and Diana Gabaldon says it’s her favorite of the season. This spinoff from the main Outlander tale is a prequel, set alternately in the World War I era and the time of the 1715 Jacobite Rising There is a mighty smiting of redcoats, so…
And a winsome Ellen MacKenzie wielding a longbow…
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Scottish pistols…
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Yes, you’re right, we need some music to round this out…
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deuce says
“First there came a teaser for what looks to be a sumptuous depiction of a deer hunt in the Highlands.”
During my first visit to Scotland in 2002, I was walking the shores of Loch Lomond (as I recall) and ran into, I kid you not, a red-haired lad with a deerhound. He freely admitted that he occasionally poached deer thereabouts and showed me a fairly serious wound on his hand which was the result of a field-dressing mishap.
“Maybe they shoulda gone gangster a la The Gentlemen…”
Ah, I see I have no need to apprise you of that notable series. I assume you’ve seen the recent episode with the bird shoot and the attendant gun porn?
“And a winsome Ellen MacKenzie wielding a longbow…”
Winsome, indeed. The Scottish penchant for archery is little-known…but the kings of France appreciated their Scots archers.
JimC says
I see this one landed in all its parts.
Lady Marilyn and I are quite fond of The Gentlemen. Susie Glass has a certain cold appeal…
And Mobland. Guess we’re Guy Ritchie fans.
deuce says
I’ve yet to catch Mobland. I like Hardy and I’ve always been a fan of Mirren and Brosnan.
JimC says
It’s over the top, but in a most entertaining way. Brosnan chews every piece of scenery, clearly having a blast as a lunatic Irish underworld lord. There are moments of mad brilliance.