A bere bannock is a kind of flatbread made with bere, a barley-like grain which has been grown in Orkney for thousands of years, both for human and animal food. In the old days, it was called bygg and today is usually called corn in Orkney. Its cultivation on any scale is currently restricted to Orkney. Bere is still milled at the Barony Mill by Loch Boardhouse on Mainland Orkney and bags of the flour can be bought there, or in local village shops. If you're using it for bread-making, it will produce a heav... Read More

A bridie or Forfar bridie is a Scottish type of meat pastry or pie, originally from the town of Forfar, reminiscent of a Cornish pasty, but made without potato! The bridie is made of minced beef, sometimes with onions and spices, placed on rolled-out pastry and folded into a semi-circular shape, and then baked in an oven. Forfar bakers traditionally use shortcrust pastry but similar products on flaky pastry or puff pastry are occasionally found. Traditionally the contents of the bridie are indicated by the ... Read More

Celtic Connections is a music festival, showcasing a broadly ‘Celtic’ style. The types of music include modern Celtic rock, dance, big bands, choral performances, international folk superstars, and theatre, as well as traditional pipe bands and ceilidhs. The festival started in 1994 in Glasgow and is now held there every January. In terms of participation, the first festival was launched in just one venue, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, attracting around 35,000 people. In 2008, approximately 120,000 pe... Read More

Below are two examples of traditional playground games in East Renfrewshire: Choosing It When playing a game where one person needs to be 'it' or 'on' a chant or rhyme in combination with pointing is often used to make the selection random and therefore fair. Ingle-angle All players put one foot in the middle, toes touching. The person calling chants: Ingle-angle-silver-spangle-ingle-angle A B C D… and so on through the alphabet. For each word or letter they touch... Read More

This is a fruit based dumpling cooked in a cloot or clout (cloth). Everyone has their own recipe. See one at http://www.scottishrecipes.co.uk/clootiedumpling.htm and see film of one being made at http://scotland.stv.tv/food-drink/recipes/128262-clootie-dumpling-custard/... Read More

The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for various simultaneous arts and cultural festivals which take place during August and early September each year in Edinburgh. These festivals are arranged by a number of formally unrelated organisations, meaning that there is no single event officially termed the Edinburgh Festival. The oldest festivals are the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, both of which started in 1947. Other more recent additions include the Military Tat... Read More

Method: using boiled eggs, wait until these have cooled down, and then paint. The decorated eggs are then taken to a gentle hill (or other appropriate place) and "rolled". The rolling of the egg symbolises the rolling away of the stone from Jesus' tomb at Easter. Although as a kid and from years of experience with my own children the symbolism is lost as they munch though a mound of chocolate. Our local hill is always littered with eggs and shells and serves as a feast for the local wildlife. Chocolate ... Read More

A First foot (or 'fit') is the first person to enter your house or cross your threshhold after midnight on 31st December or Hogmanay. Traditionally a dark-haired man (or even a coalman) was thought to bring good luck, but anyone can be your first foot and you can be anyone else's. Again traditionally, when first-footing, you should take a lump of coal (fuel), whisky and Black Bun (sustenance) to the household. ... Read More

Fishermen have been wearing ganseys (Guernseys) since about the start of the 17th Century - the design is said to have been developed in the Isle of Guernsey, just the same way that the term jersey originated from the neighbouring Channel Island of Jersey. Ganseys were knitted in un-oiled, soft, round, dark-blue 4 ply wool on four size 14 needles to make a firm, close fabric that was almost wind and waterproof. They were one-piece garments. A split had to be made at the underarm, the back and the front t... Read More

This knitted pattern, which was unique to Gairloch, developed in the middle of the 19th century. At the time of the potato famine in the 1840s, strenuous efforts were made by the lairds of Gairloch to provide work for the people. To provide an income for the women, knitting was encouraged using wool from local fleeces, home spun and dyed with local plants taking advantage of the skills which many already possessed. To instruct them to a higher standard Lady Mackenzie of Gairloch employed an expert in spin... Read More

The annual World Porridge Making Championships take place in Carrbridge, a small village in the Invernessshire. The competition (organised by the Carrbridge and Vicinity Community Council) in its 17th year will take place on 'World Porridge Day', Sunday 10th October 2010. For more information on the event go to the Golden Spurtle website at http://www.goldenspurtle.com/. Watch an excellent short film of the 2009 Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship (Carrbridge Films) at http://www.youtube.com/c... Read More

The Greenock Philosophical Society has held an annual series of lectures on cultural and scientific subjects since it was instituted in 1861. Since 1876 these lectures have been held each autumn and winter in the Watt Hall of the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Greenock. Since its inception many famous cultural and scientific figures have lectured before the Society such as Lord Kelvin, Professor Joule and Oscar Wilde. The lectures are open to members of the Society and to members of the public for a small f... Read More

Haggis is a tradtional Scottish dish containing sheep's offal (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours (although nowadays haggis tends to be simmered in a casing rather than the stomach). It is often considered to be the national dish of Scotland, and is memorialised in Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis. Originally a modest dish ensuring no part of the sheep goes to... Read More

Females about to be married are sometimes dressed up by their female work colleagues in a Bridal veil, balloons, flowers, streamers and "L" plates, and traditionally made to carry a chamber pot full of salt (sometimes with little dolls and other tokens stuck in) paraded through the streets to invite kisses from male passers-by (traditionally for a donation of money into the ‘potty’). This is still done, but has more commonly turned into a night-out for the prospective bride, her female friends and relat... Read More

The Inverclyde Music Festival is one of the oldest music festivals in Scotland. The first Festival was held in Greenock Town Hall over 95 years ago, on the 25th and 26th April, 1914. Every subsequent Festival links since then has been held at the same venue. The Festival has always had strong connections with the local community and with local musical groups and traditions and this has been reflected in the sources of many of the prizes and trophies awarded at the Festival. This connection was evident at th... Read More

Knitting groups have seen something of a revival in the last few years. They have been around for a long time, previously being known as "knitting bees" and would often have met in the home of one of the group members. These days knitting groups meet in all kinds of venues from museums to bars to cafes to people's houses. The purpose of the group is for members to learn knitting techniques from other members, to show patterns, to show new yarn and items in progress, adn of course to socialise. Knitters come... Read More

The Paisley Naturalists' Society was formed on 22nd March 1892. One of the first tasks of the society was to make an application to the Paisley Museum Committee for a use of a room in the museum in which to hold their meetings - a meeting place that the present Paisley Museum Natural History Society still uses today. The first paper was read at the meeting of ther 26th April 1892 'Economic Uses of Entomology, as applied to Agriculture, Horticulture, etc' by Mr John Dunsmore, local entomologist. During... Read More

Papa Stour, Shetland, is famous for the Papa Stour Sword Dance, which portrays the seven saints of Christendom, the finale of which is a shield of interlocking swords. This dance was popular in the Middle Ages, known throughout Europe in different forms and described in Brugge The latest performance of the dance on the island was on the occasion of the official opening of the Stofa by the County Mayor of Hordaland, Norway, in August 2008. ... Read More

Greater Govanhill community magazine celebrated the diversity of the local community with FONDS: Objects Speak Louder Than Words. Residents in the area brought objects that were special to them to be photographed by Morwenna Kearsley and these objects were the focus of interviews with participants, inspiring memories and musings of family, identity and home. Objects from Kuwait, Brazil, Afghanistan and Romania are all featured. You can access the wide range of objects and interviews here: https://www.gr... Read More

BE United Presents Live @ The Fringe was a series of exciting gigs – hosted as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories – that showcase fresh Black Scottish artists of all genres. The stories that were showcased during the project were varied. Emmanuel Carlos and Tam Tam 2000 told stories of moving to new home, whilst maintaining connection with the old. The stories centred on the journey and of belonging and acceptance. This was done through the medium of dance and talking drums, an art-form widely practi... Read More

The importance of the fishing industry to the communities of the Ross of Mull and Iona was recorded in a new film Cliabh an t-Seanachais (Creel of Stories). The film was created in collaboration with Alasdair Satchel of Struthach Films, and celebrated the islands fishing stories and the place of the fishing industry in the fabric of the local area. Alasdair also created the What We Do in the Winter podcasts series. Children at Bunessan and Iona Primary Schools were invited to take part in the film - contrib... Read More

Gairloch Museum Festival of Stories This locally inspired festival of stories, supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, was built around a room for stories, a room for community. A key focus of the museum’s wider events programme is ways to combat the social isolation compounded by the pandemic. The gallery was converted into a taigh cèilidh venue within the museum for the 10 days of the festival. taigh cèilidh a party, gathering, or the like, at which dancing, singing, and ... Read More

The Institute for Northern Studies at UHI were proud to present an incredible free concert celebrating the links between Orkney, Scotland, and Norway. The evening showcased some of the very best Orkney-based musicians. Ian Crockatt performed translated verses by Earl Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, as well as new compositions inspired by the story of his life, in the cathedral he himself had built. This allowed locals and visitors alike to experience the best of Orkney’s culture past and present in one of Orkney... Read More

There were two strands to these storytelling sessions. "Summer of Stories" brought to life traditional African folk tales, as inspired by objects within the Hunterian museums recent intervention, "Curating Discomfort". This allowed for new interpretations of objects within our collection, told from the perspective of Suleman "Chief" Chebe, a new Scot of Ghanaian heritage. The second session was entitled "Which Mary Are You?" with stories focussed upon the various guises of Mary Queen of Scots - the Princes... Read More

The Beatles played 22 times in Scotland. One of the shows was at Bridge of Allan’s Museum Hall, north of Stirling. The gig was to shape the Forth Valley music industry landscape for generations, as well as having an untold impact on local music fans and the wider culture of the area. To celebrate these memories and the stories of those whom it effected, ‘Superfan – Stirling’s Story of The Beatles - Music, People and Place’, was collaboratively curated by Creative Stirling and Stirling’s iconic r... Read More

In celebration of ‘Scotland’s Year of Stories’, and in partnership with International arts company Kinetika and Highland artist- storyteller Lizzie McDougall, the Nairn Books & Arts Festival worked with local community groups to develop ‘Stories of Nairn’ . This was a collection of 20 silk flags, encapsulating in striking visual form, some of Nairn’s stories – "who we are, what we love about our town, where we come from, and the characters, histories, languages, myths and legends that make up... Read More

Ando Glaso was established in 2016 to encourage greater understanding and participation in the cultural heritage of the Roma people in Scotland aiming at stimulating and advancing community cohesion that is built on respect for celebrating diverse cultural identities. The organisation was initiated by a dedicated group of Roma volunteers who shared the passion and desire to further encourage links between the Roma and Scottish diverse cultures at several levels including support and understanding through th... Read More

THE DANCE AND THE STORY consisted of two activities for adults and children. ROBERT BURNS LEARNS TO DANCE : Storytelling and Historical Dance project for the adult community of Sanquhar, Scotland. Dance was also one of Robert Burns great passion's and influenced many of his songs and poems it is said that he loved to step onto the dance floor. In 1779 he took his first lesson aged 17 yrs in Tarbolton,Aryshire, against the wishes of his father. The project worked with researcher Sue Knight and her published ... Read More

In the Orcadian Stories films community group from Orkney set about interviewing people who have made a valuable contribution to the community through arts, culture, and/or voluntary work, and who may not have a high public profile. Some were quite well known locally, but not nationally. The project team spoke to three individuals who were instrumental in the initial success of the St. Magnus Festival, all of whom emphasised that it was the mixture of visiting professionals with highly motivated and skil... Read More

Held in collaboration with Moray Libraries, this exhibition and series of events took place between February and March 2022 at Elgin Library. The exhibition focused on a village on the South shore of the Moray Firth which was destroyed and abandoned as a result of the Great Sand Drift of 1694. While there are scientific and natural explanations for the disappearance of the village, stories of myth and legend about the people, land and events that unfolded have shrouded Culbin in mystery. This exhibition ... Read More

The illustration provided is of a classic AFTERNOON TEA. A Scottish HIGH TEA would be something like poached eggs, fishcakes, or Welsh Rarebit, followed by scones, pancakes, fancy cakes if you were being a bit "society" and pot after pot of tea. It would not include sandwiches - the protein would have been provided by the hot something, whatever it was, and the starch by the scones and pancakes. ... Read More

The Shetland Island council has for years (decades) promoted and taught traditional knitting of the Fair Isle to the primary school(24) pupils of Shetland. This activity has recently become fragile due to the Shetland Island Council deciding to cut the the budget that allows for 14 knitting teacher to pass on the traditional skills and patterns. Knitting has been a main part of the arts and crafts economy of Shetland dating back to the introduction of sheep on the island in the 9th century by Norse settlers... Read More

These have generally deteriorated into simply a night-out to mark the husband-to-be's 'last night of freedom' as a single man. Those taking part are the prospective groom, his male friends and male relations. It can still often involve dressing up (often of everyone concerned - see understated T-shirt approach in photograph above) when traditionally only the groom was humiliated on the night through Blackening. Stag nights can now stretch to entire weekends away or short trips abroad.... Read More

The Yoal, often referred to as the Ness Yoal, is a small sailing craft (clinker built) used traditionally in the Shetland Islands. It is designed primarily for rowing, but which also handles well under her traditional square sail when running before the wind or on a broad reach. Until about 1860 yoals were imported from Norway, from Hordaland, the area around Bergen, in kit form, and local boat builders followed to Shetland to put them together, but increasing customs duty meant that local builders took ... Read More

Tig is a tradtional children's game in which one player touches another, then runs off to be pursued and touched in turn. Basics: One player is ‘it’ (sometimes pronounced ‘het’) and they must touch another player (tig them). When It tigs another player the person who has been tug is now It and must tig someone. You usually need to call out 'tig' when you tig somebody. Extra rules: • Designated places are den. When you are in or touching Den you cannot be tigged. Den could be a wall, all walls, ... Read More

Each year Edinburgh is home to Tradfest TradFest celebrates Scotland’s May festivals – Beltane and Mayday – which traditionally mark the beginning of summer, bringing energy and colour to the capital city as the greening of the year breaks out. Venues include Calton Hill, the Royal Mile, The Pleasance, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Filmhouse, Queens Hall, Summerhall, George Square Theatre and Dance Base. The TradFest Trail highlights craft shops, galleries, pub sessions, instrument makers, book... Read More

The life of William Wallace is commemorated every year in August on the nearest Saturday to the anniversary of his death. The day starts with a march from Johnstone to the site of his birth in Elderslie beside the monument. A wreath is laid at the monument and there are speeches celebrating his life. The day ends with a ceilidh in the village hall. Sir William Wallace was born around 1270. He rose to prominence in the late thirteenth century as a leader in Scotland’s first war of independence with Edwa... Read More