vivdunstan

Lovely is waking to proofs of the next "Miscellany" volume from the Scottish History Society, including my own piece - full annotated transcript plus accompanying essay - about a historical poem about events at the Melrose court in 1682. Very much looking forward to seeing the finished volume in print.

I studied the Melrose local court records for the dissertation portion of my taught MPhil history degree at Dundee, 2001-3. I only discovered this poem lurking hidden in the depths of the Edinburgh national archives afterwards. And was rather stunned, because it correlates closely with the history as recorded conventionally, while providing a totally fresh take on it. All including a vitriolic character assassination of the newly appointed judge! It took me ages to transcribe the 17th century handwriting - definitely at my limits. But got there, and then ended up sending in a proposal for an edited transcript + essay for the Scottish History Society. Which was accepted. That was 6+ years ago. It's taken a long time to get to print. But nearly there now!

Wanted to brainstorm new academic project ideas. Still have lots to work out. But helped hugely by just rediscovering my handwritten notes from quite a few years ago for further academic journal paper possibilities based on my PG research into the local Melrose (Scottish Borders) court 1650s-1680s. That was for my MPhil (taught PG) history dissertation at Dundee University. I built a huge database of nearly 2500 local court cases, almost 10,000 participants. So much that I can research further. Amused at my handwritten note "researching court officials more inc my g..uncle the punching judge"! I also want to do more new historical research projects, as much as my progressive neurological disease allows. But I do have this mass of Melrose local court material readily accessible and already largely digitised. And I can certainly look at exploring its possibilities further, in multiple ways.

I was awake a little today, so managed finally to go through some old things Mum gave me recently. Including many old photos. Lots of little me at school, especially primary school. Lots of Borders Schools Orchestra things, including a photo of us all. Lots of 1978 Melrose Festival photos - I was a train bearer. And some lovely graduation photos of Martin and me in 1994. Here's one of the more informal graduation photos. And after that is a photo of my granddad at the top of Melrose Abbey. He was the last in a long line of family beadles or church officers. Who, among other things, rang the abbey bell regularly.

Pleased this afternoon to manage a couple of things on my to do list for the week. I blogged my way through them. Both family history hunts. First finding my granddad and his siblings in Catholic baptism registers for Leeds, Yorkshire. And secondly, using communion rolls to narrow down when my maternal ancestors moved to Melrose, Scotland. Happy with that burst of genealogical productivity.

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.

Reminded of a talk I gave 10 years ago today to the Economic and Social History Society of Scotland conference in Inverness. As I wrote then: "Also my talk on 17th century Melrose area court records went well. I said two things I didn’t plan to say: 'CSI Melrose', and 'Murrrdddeerr' a la Taggart! I do improvise a lot in conference talks, and am never quite sure what I will say!"

I don't think I'll ever be able to give another academic conference talk again, given my progressive neurological illness now, but it was fun while I still could. For this one back in 2013 I had to use my wheelchair that day. Luckily the venue was pretty accessible.

Miraculously we managed another film, albeit a short one, the first in the Roger Corman Vincent Price Edgar Allan Poe series of collaborations, The Fall of the House of Usher (1960).

It’s fun, gloriously hammy, and wonderfully garish in colour and themes. But Vincent Price’s acting is really dodgy, and Mark Damon playing the heroic wooer of Madeline Usher delivers a really poor acting performance. On plus Myrna Fahey as Madeline is strong, and the only other cast member, Harry Ellerbe as the butler, is reliable.

But oh it is padded. Not one of the best in the series for me. Though the visuals are superb, especially the looming Usher house. I’d forgotten the psychedelic blue sequence with Usher ancestors.

I do have a soft spot for this film though. Perhaps helped by my descent from a very old Usher family at Melrose! And the ending, once we finally reach it, is rather glorious.