Топик: Scotland (Шотландия)
Speaking about sports I can’t but mention Highland Gatherings or Games held in Braemar. They have been held there since 1832, and since Queen Victoria visited them in 1848 the games have enjoyed royal patronage. The Games consist of piping competitions, tugs-of-war (a test of strength in which two teams pull against other on a rope, each trying to pull the other over the winning line), highland wrestling and dancing, and tossing the caber.[21]
6.The famous Loch Ness.
Fact or fiction, the Loch Ness monster is part of Loch Ness’s magnetic appeal to visitors. But there is much more to do and see around the shores of this famous waterway than just monster-spotting, and a pleasant day, or even longer, can be spent exploring the many activities. 24 miles long, a mile wide and up to 700 feet deep Loch Ness is a land-locked fresh water lake lying at the eastern end of the Great Glen[22] , a natural geological fault which stretches across the width of Scotland. The loch forms part of the Caledonian Canal completed by the celebrated civil engineer Thomas Telford (1757 – 1841), in 1822. Telford took 19 years to build the canal, which spared coastal shipping and fishing vessels a voyage through the waters of the Pentland Firth[23] .
The story of Nessiterras Rhombopteryx or Nessie for short in Loch Ness has persistent down the centuries. The monster was first mentioned in AD 565 when St Columba allegedly persuaded it not to eat someone. Since records began, in 1933, more than 3000 people have claimed to have seen it, but others are skeptical. They point out that no good photographs exist of the monster, that there have been no eggs found, no dead monsters (can it really be 2563 years old?) nor any other compelling evidence. Believers think the monster is a plesiosaur, an otherwise extinct sea-dwelling reptile. Anyone who did prove conclusively the monster's existence would be hailed as a pioneer, so it is no surprise to learn that monster-spotting is a popular pastime!
The Official Loch Ness Monster Centre is opened all year round and has exhibits showing geology, prehistory and history of Scotland, along with SONAR records and underwater photography relating to the monster.
The Original Visitor Centre offers a half hour video of the monster detailing the research that has taken place, along with a video about Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The loch has been surveyed for decades, by the RAF[24] , eminent scientists, cranks, crackpots, mini-submarines and millions of pounds worth of high technology, including NASA[25] computers. And still there is no proof…
7. Saint Andrew’s cross.
The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian[26] denomination, is the official state church. The Roman Catholic church is second in importance. Other leading denominations are the Episcopal Church in Scotland, Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, and Unitarian. Jews are a small minority.
St. Andrew’s cross is the national flag of Scotland. It consists of two diagonal white stripes crossing on a blue background. The flag forms part of the British national flag (Union Jack).
The flag of Presbyterian Church differs a little bit from that of Scotland. It is also St. Andrew’s cross but with a little addition: it has a burning bush centered, which signifies presbyterianism.
The symbol comes from the motto of the Presbyterian Church, nec tamen consumebatur (neither was it consumed) referring the bush that burnt, but was not consumed, so will be the church that will last for ever.
St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. He was a New Testament apostle who was martyred on an X-shaped cross. He was said to have given the Pictish army a vision of this cross at the battle of Athenstoneford between King Angus of the Picts and King Authelstan of the Angles. St. Andrew was foisted upon Scotland as its patron when the old Celtic and Culdee centres were superseded by the new bishopric of St. Andrew’s. His feast-day is 30 November. On this day some Scotsmen wear a thistle[27] in the buttonhole.
One of the greatest treasures of Huntly House Museum (Edinburgh) is the national Covenant, signed by Scotland’s Presbyterian leadership in 1638. Covenanters are 17th -century Scottish Presbyterians who bound themselves by covenants to maintain Presbyterianism as the sole religion of Scotland and helped to establish the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch in Scotland and England. Early covenants supporting Protestantism were signed in 1557 and in 1581. In 1638 the covenant of 1581 was revived, and its signatories added a vow to establish Presbyterianism as the state religion of Scotland.
II.Scotland for every season.
If you hunt for the real Scotland, there will be many times when you know you have found it: when you hear your first Highland Piper with the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle; on some late, late evening on a far northern beach as the sun sets into a midsummer sea; or with your first taste of a malt whisky, peat-smoked and tangy; or when you sit in a café with the real Scots. By the way, the Scots are very sociable people. They like to spend their free time together, drinking coffee or scotch and talking. Scottish people are fond of singing at the national music festivals in chorus, at the fairs and in the parks. Most of Scotsmen are optimists. They don’t lose their heart and smile in spite of all difficulties.
The real Scotland is not found in a single moment – nor is it contained in a single season. Though the moorlands turn purple in summer, Scotland in spring is famed for its clear light and distant horizons, while autumn’s colours transform the woodlands… and what could be more picturesque than snow-capped hills seen from the warmth of your hotel room?
Scenery, history, hospitality, humour, climate, traditions are offered throughout the year.
Even if you can feel it now you should visit Scotland all the same, and see and enjoy this magic country with your own eyes!
Appendices
Scotland: its early peoples.
The chronology of the main events in the history of Scotland.
1st century Picts prevented Romans from penetrating far into Scotland.
5th – 6th centuries Christianity was introduced into Scotland from Ireland.
9th century Kenneth MacAlpin united kingdoms of Scotland.
1263 Haakon, King of Norway, was defeated by Scots at Battle of Largs.
1292 – 1306 English domination:
in 1292 – 1296 Scotland was ruled by John Baliol;
in 1296 – 1306 Scotland was annexedto England.