It is an invitation to read my article on the Quillcards Blog about the coming referendum on Scottish Independence, and the troubled history of Scotland’s relationship with England.

Fire Basket At Berwick To Warn Of Scottish Invasion

Reblogged from The Life and Times of Nathan Badley…:

When February comes around, there are a few things you can always count on. There will be people complaining about how much weight they have gained over the winter. You will be subjected to eating “conversation hearts,” the candy that looks like chalk and tastes even worse. There will be great deal on mattress and cars to honor Lincoln on Presidents’ Day. More importantly, though, is a celebration that infiltrates our entire culture. February is Black History month. Black History Month found its …

Too important and well-written not to reblog.

Doune Terrace - Three-Quarters View

Ashlar is a building term. It is a building technique using blocks of stone that are cut back or tapered away from the front face so that there is room for the mortar between the blocks. The mortar is therefore in a wedge shape behind the front face.

From the front, the gap between the blocks is so small that it looks as though there is no mortar between the stones at all.

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of skilled work to cut a block of stone so that it tapers on all sides away from the front face. And skill costs money.

So, around the side of the building, the stone is like this:

Doune Terrace - Close Up

Doune Terrace, Edinburgh

Click the image to see a larger version.

This is the last (or the first) house on Doune Terrace.

I did a bit of googling and found out that Doune is a person’s name and is derived from the Scottish equivalent of the English word down.

Doune Terrace is in New Town in Edinburgh and the outward-curving Georgian terrace looks down the steep hill towards what was once the village of Stockbridge.

So ‘Down’ Terrace makes sense.

Of course the terrace may have been named after Mr Doune. I shall endeavour to find out.

New Town, where this house is, is as grand as it looks.

Stockbridge down the hill is no longer a village, having been swallowed up in Edinburgh, but it has a village-like feel.

This photograph is the view looking down the hill from the house on Doune Terrace towards Stockbridge

Combining Images With Text

I don’t know what there is about combining images with text, but it has been going on for a long time – perhaps to the dawn of written languages.

Doune Terrace - Edinburgh