The Myth of the Jacobite Clans

Some belated reading with Murray Pittock's groundbreaking "The Myth of the Jacobite Clans". I'm especially interested in evidence from the localities, and the Lowland components of Jacobitism. Also nice to see my history PhD supervisor's work cited and praised. I need to read his relevant book too!

London Tide

There's a stage version of Charles Dickens's "Our Mutual Friend" on in London: "London Tide" with songs by PJ Harvey. Unsure how well it will work without seeing staging and hearing singing, but it's my favourite Dickens, so I'm getting the script to read.

I am also crossing fingers that the National Theatre may put a recording of this on their online pay service. I'd love to see it. But getting to see the stage show in person is impossible for me. It's getting varied reviews, but I'd still give it a go if I could.

Sheep competitions

Looking in the British Newspaper Archive, trying a search for where my Kerr ancestors were living in the early 1900s, among the Cheviot Hills near Yetholm. And found great uncle Andrew - a shepherd - winning loads of sheep competitions. Need to gather these up properly and blog about them sometime! Great Uncle Andrew was a fantastic character who I was lucky to meet several times when I was young. My last visit to his home (by then in Yetholm) saw him get young me to try snuff (!), and also fill me and Mum full of Selkirk bannock. Oh and I drove the three of us to Kelso to buy him more snuff!

This will be blogged on my dedicated genealogy blog. On another branch of the Scottish family a gg-uncle at Melrose was a well known breeder of Border collies and a sheepdog trials judge.