New interviews with Diana G.

In May and June 2009, Scottish Memories magazine ran two articles on Diana Gabaldon, written by Jean Britain. Scot and I contributed to the second.
Jean has given me permission to publish them for those of you who don't get Scottish Memories. These are the unedited versions, so longer than the published ones. I have also included the FULL interview with Jean and myself.
Click for PDF versions of articles

Jamie and Claire Tour - May 2009

So we have roared straight through Belteine, not even pausing to really welcome the start of the Light Half of the year because I have been so busy putting the final touches to the first Jamie and Claire Tour. The day has finally arrived! The Jamie and Claire Tour (May) has begun and this entry will be the blog of our week on the Highland trail, with insights, images of the land and of course, Matters of Great Import regarding the journey of Claire, Jamie and Clannsmen through the Highlands.

Day 1 – into the Highlands

We have two Outlandish Spirits with us, Hannah and Ina. More from them later when they have recovered from the adventure of their International Flights. After months of anticipation, the first explorers have come to see what Inspirations 18^th Century Scotland has in store to fire their souls.



We hope many.

Our visit to “Cranesmuir” (two pics) did not involve being nailed to the pillory, or being burned as a witch (despite the company of the tour), but we did explore the herb garden beneath Geillis Duncan's house and now our fingers smell of crushed lemon and rosemary.

Ina stood beside a fine waterwheel in MacNab Country, waiting for the appearance of Granny MacNab and the red drawers (complete with disrobed Highlander). Alas, there was but a wolf for company.

I decided that our guests' adventure should begin, as did Claire's, with Craigh na Dun. It is a Verra Special Place (pic) and leaves an impression on all of us.



It also resulted in Hannah finding our dashboard totem, now called Donas (pic).

With a mascot we needed a name for our travelling clann. Ina suggested Three Crones and a Dude. Hmmph. (see pic of three crones)

Things from the day that put a smile on Hannah's face “The view from the top”, “luggage arrived at the same time as me”; Ina Costa: “The really good Coffee named after me.” (Costa Coffee – we had to get her something to stay awake after her 36 hours' journey). Day one ends with all the girls safe asleep in the Highlands. We have begun!

Day 2 – Raising a Rebellion

Over breakfast, Ina describes her previous night using her US hairdryer with her fancy travel plug adaptor.

Scot: “Does it have a transformer in it to change the voltage?”

Ina: “Huh? Well it worked.”

Scot: “Err...”

Ina: “Although it did make this vrum vrum noise.”

Scot: “And did it get hot?”

Ina: “Yeh, actually, it got real hot. And my hair went all fuzzy.”

Scot: “ So you plugged in a hairdryer that was expecting 110V to a supply that gives 220V? That would explain your White Afro this morning.” LOL

They thought our 1800s B&B was “worth it for the great breakfast alone” and Hannah introduced Scot to Porridge with Whisky added. How had he missed that all his life?

This morning we went to the Tacksman's house, akin to the houses that Dougal took Jamie to when gathering MacKenzie rents and drumming up Jacobite support (pics).



The men there told us sooo many things about the thatched roof structures: the fire in the middle of the floor; the box beds; the Soay sheep, the oat drying kiln (like the one on Fraser's Ridge). The smell of peat smoke still lingers in our clothing.

Our next Special Place was introduced by reading the passage about Claire in her borrowed gown, walking between Dougal and Jamie, up the hill to her marriage. As the chapel comes into view she realises it is the place where she married Frank. Our Chapel today manages a similar impact. The visit was made more special because Ina carried a we remembrance from a recently departed Outlander fan, a MacDonald sister whom some of you may know. The keepsake was left in this MacDonald Chapel, high on a hill, with the echoes of Gàidhlig poetry and wedding vows on the wind. A good place to come to rest.

Our trip on Lochness did not result in meeting the Each Uisge or any other 'craiturs' or monsters, other than the redoubtable Gordon Menzies, our skipper, who furnished us with Tales and history of the Loch and surrounds. He showed us evidence of his own encounter with the unexplained of the Loch. Gordon was born and raised on the Loch. It was nice to meet a local 'boy' who was friendly and knowledgeable.

Hannah and Scot have had a Monalisaesque grin on their faces since dinner. The food was excellent, but a 30 year old Islay single malt has them quite transported. It went verra well with the Chocolate Cheesecake.

This time of the year is arguably the best to visit Scotland. The are fewer visitors, things are cheaper and more available and most importantly, nature and weather are at their best. We have been enjoying fields and avenues of the Wild Hyacinth (what the English call Bluebells) which are at their peak this week and only last about three weeks.

Day 3 – in the wilderness

Today we spent walking in the wilds and we are very tired, weary of limb and not a little sunburnt, all in a good way. We were in a remote, wooded glen, perhaps not unlike those around Lallybroch. Ina and Hannah report that they got a strong sense of what Claire experienced while travelling through the Highlands with the Highlanders. Hannah even made a bed in the heather for a while. Walking through a native Scots Pine forest we came across a cnoc that reminded Scot of the place from where Jamie and Claire looked down on wolves at night while on their honeymoon. We read the passage from the book (pic of Sam reading).


This area is new even to Scot and myself and I was left wondering why have we never been here before.

Day 4 – from Leoch to Silkies

The morning involved a beautiful walk through the wild hyacinth that lines the avenue to Castle Leoch. Photos were taken beside the castle in beautiful sunlight.

During our stop in the village, Ina and Hannah met “Mrs. Bean”, as in “Mr. Bean's mother”, keeper of a “bits and bobbies” shop in the village. Ina takes up the story; “Hannah motioned me in to see the pottery and things. We were real quick, went straight to the teapot and picked it up to buy it. As we took it to the counter and Hannah paid for hers, Granny Bean asked if we wanted it wrapped for the journey. 'Sure' we said. She's SLOOOWLY pulling out the bubble wrap, smoothing it onto the counter, and I'm waiting her for to take my money for my own teapot. She slowly writes down the price on the cash book for the day. We were still paying for them when Sam came in and said 'we gotta go', so I said 'we'll just pay and come back tomorrow'. Mrs. Bean said, 'Oh no people don't come back tomorrow' and she carries on tying the little bow, slowly. By this time Sam's jumping up and down.” It was like that scene with Rowan Atkinson in “Love Actually” when the man is trying to buy jewelry for his girlfriend but his wife is in the store and he's in a hurry, but the attendant (Mr. Bean) wants to wrap the gift.

Mrs. Bean gave us enough to snicker about to keep us going as we progressed into the wilderness and... To the Silkie's Isle. The island sat amidst a flat, gray ocean, windswept and sweet-scented on the heather cliffs. The surprise for us was that we found on the cliff top, a blow-hole or chimney that we had not known of before, just like the one that Jamie and young Iain climbed down to reach the shore. We love these synchronicities. No seals to be seen, but we watched in wonder as the Gannets dived for fish.

The landscape was bleak and empty and we'd prepared for this place by reading sections from Voyager where Jamie escapes from Ardsmuir seeking the place of the White Witch on his journey to the Selkie's Isle. Ina said, “You think about what people went through, so harsh. We really got a sense of that.”

Tonight our guests stay in a smaller version of Lallybroch and sleep, dreaming of the Tale Scot told (with harp) of how the MacKenzie's came to own Gearrloch (that being the location of Lallybroch in the Outlandish Companion).

Gàidhlig lessons move on a pace and Hannah especially has enough interest to take up more formal lessons.

Day 5 – Cùil Lodair - Culloden

We leave the west coast this morning, stopping in to pick up yesterday's purchases (Mrs. Bean should have wrapped them by now, we hope.) From there it's onto a difficult part of the tour, the battlefield of Drummossie Moor, Culloden. This is not going to be an easy visit. For those of you who have been to the place, they will know the feelings that cannot easily be put into words. Hannah has prepared a ceremony for her time with the fallen.

Perspective from Scot:

We are here at Culloden as I write. I am sat in the visitor centre. Myself, the manager of the Centre and no doubt many others have no desire to walk onto the field of battle. I went once, many years ago. That was enough.

Hannah is out there now, performing a ceremony for the aftermath of the last battle on British soil. She has with her seeds of two flowers. The Wild Hyacinth - the flower the English call Bluebell – and the Scottish Bluebell, the flower the English call Harebell. Both Bluebells, both beautiful. They grow in different soils and flower at different times of the year. They hold the same name, but are quite different. A metaphor for the two cultures that met and clashed on the field 250 years ago. As I write, Hannah is out there, bridging the gap between. She's laying the Low Road for the men who fought, for the families that stood behind them, for the echo that is still heard by the Americans, Canadians and others that carry the blood of the Culloden victims today. She lays the Low Road to carry us all home.

Scot

From Culloden we went to Cawdor castle in a mood more upbeat than one might expect. Hannah's ceremony has accomplished something. The reason we choose to visit Cawdor was that it is close to Castle Leoch in general size, which is unusually large for a Highland castle, but most importantly, Cawdor is very much lived in and we could feel that quite easily. While other castles are perhaps more similar in layout or furnishings to Leoch, Cawdor 'Feels' more akin to what Claire might have experienced. In that respect, it is a good approximation of Leoch and worth the visit. It even has a garden where we tried to picture Mrs Fitz-Gibbons bustling about collecting herbs.

Tonight we stay in an Inverness guest house very like the description of the Wakefield Manse, but brought to modern styles of décor. Our host is Mrs Graham. No, really. However, she reminds us more of Mrs Baird, the host of the guest house where Frank and Claire stayed on their first visit to Inverness, on account of the frantic hoovering she undertakes as soon as our muddy feet have left her entrance lobby.

Day 6 – Grand Houses

We might call this a Lallybroch day. We have taken Ina and Hannah to a number of houses akin to Lallybroch, but this, we all agree is most like our vision of Lallybroch. Still a lairds private home, set amidst hills just like the Fraser estate. Today there was a beautiful, healthy, light atmosphere about the house and grounds.

We have returned to Edinburgh. On this particular incarnation of the Jamie and Claire Tour, our guests are staying in a fabulous house, more grand than Lallybroch, more opulent than the Duke of Sandringham's house, more tasteful than Versaille. Dinner will be served at seven by black-kilted young gentlemen. We'll hear in the morning how they liked the attention. We may have trouble getting Hannah and Ina away for the last day – the lowly closes of the old town, haunt of A. Malcolm, Printer and his nefarious associates.

Day 7 – Edinburgh, the underbelly

We walked the Royal Mile from Holyrood Palace, seat of the short-lived court of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 1746, up past the tavern where Claire's coach arrived back in Edinburgh in 1768 to find Jamie. Along the way we looked in on the various closes and buildings that Claire and Jamie visited. We had a strange adventure in 'Carfax' close (or rather the real close that exists in place of Carfax).

As we entered a small, “little old ladies'” tea room, we were met by the proprietoress, a woman that bore more than a slight resemblance to Mrs Graham, the Wakefield housekeeper. This morning though, she did not have the competent calm of Mrs Graham, her assistant had not turned up and the lunch rush was beginning. “Jist write yeer order doon on that piece o' paper and I'll get tae ye,” she called over her shoulder from the sink, frantically washing dishes. Within minutes Samantha was in the kitchen helping, a moment later two strapping men in town for the Heineken Rugby Cup were drying up and making their own breakfast to wails of “ochone, ochone” from the host. It was like a scene out of an Ealing Studios films from the 40s.

Scot was happy though, as our frayed host had REAL mutton pies, which were once common in Edinburgh and Glasgow and have disappeared. He hasn't had one in twenty five years, poor lad.

I was left left behind in the tearoom, playing waitress and helping out the lady, while the other three descended to the underground vaults of Edinburgh to hear Tales of wine merchants, smuggling, illicit stilling, prostitution and body snatching. Ina said “I could really imagine Jamie and his men working away in those low vaults. I could just see him.”

A stop into a rare shop provided Hannah with a good excuse to leave all her remaining money behind in Scotland. Just a few local women make the woolen clothing, none of which has seen a machine. Hanna now sports a fantastic hat made by a woman who is a Gille (gamekeeper) and still uses Highland Ponies to bring the shot stags off the hills. Verra fetching is Hannah's Hat. Ina has a Shawl of Harris Tweed with beautiful Celtic knot-work on it. These garments come from a long tradition of home industries that haven't much altered since MacDubh was born. Next door, Hannah and Scot got left behind discussing the finer points of whisky with the fine gentlemen of Cadenheads, Purveyors of Single Malts. They might have stayed all day were it not for the delights that awaited them further up the hill.

A walk through the various closes in the book, ending the day with a some fine Scottish ales in the World's End tavern (pic below). We even got to peer down into the cellar of the pub where the Flodden Wall still stands. Perhaps a small, blue-silk Chinese man can be heard singing from below; a smell of brandy wafts up...

So, we have come to the end of the May 2009 Jamie and Claire Tour. Each subsequent one (July and September 2009) will be a little different, partly in the itinerary, guest numbers and tour length, but mainly because there will be new people ready for adventure, each bringing their own spirit to play. Scot and I are very glad to have begun with the fine travelers that are Hannah and Ina. They were up for everything and such good company along the way. Special people make a special adventure. Here's tae ye lasses!

Visit the Jamie and Claire Tour website for more photos

Some words from Ina after her return home

"Being with you guys made me realize life is for adventures and I had been only surviving day to day. I know I'm on the "'just got back from vacation high", but hanging with you three made me see that that is no way to live. After Culloden and being apart of Hannah's cemeromy, I have to shake it up a bit. I do live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and need to pay attention to that."

Mission accomplished then. I take Ina's words to heart, for perhaps we all need to go away to appreciate what we have at home.

[Post edited to say: Click on "Comments" below to see more of Ina's words.]

Happy Spring

Of Jamie Fraser, it's been said that men like him don't grow on trees - I beg to differ with you! Here's the proof! Our garden has snowdrops and the first daffodil, and we've planted two apple trees in the past few months, but of everything in our new grounds this is my favorite species.
Care Instructions:
Feed and water several times a day. Supplement with a wee dram once or twice a month. Place in sun whenever possible. Wrap base in wool and leather if setting outside for a few hours, especially in winter. Bring indoors at night!
Happy Spring!

The thawing of the Ice

Imbolc took place recently - we usually observe it on February 2nd. It is one of the Celtic Cross-Quarter days, falling between the winter solstice and the spring equinox (12 hours of light/dark). Imbolc or Oimele is the "letting down of the waters", or in the case of Oimele, the "letting down of the milk in the Ewes and Cows" - nearing birthing time. The earth puts forth her springs; the stock put forth their milk.

The celebration of this Quarter-Day has changed over the millenia, what with Calendar changes and shifts in climate, but it's interesting to study the significance of this time in its season. It is a time to honor Brigid. It is a time to take your besom from your hearth and sweep out the settling of winter, and make ready for the coming spring. Have you seen the crocus yet? We've seen the snowdrops blooming and the stalks of crocus and dafs coming up through the snow in our friends' gardens.

We've recently had a full moon on the heel of this changing season. Scot and I were planning a recon. trip to Inverness recently and the world woke up at once from it's winter hibernation and howled up at the moon in one way or another. Our phone kept ringing; the BBC and other television stations were phoning us. Our email inbox became stuffed to the brim with new or continuing communications. We no longer felt quite so isolated in our wee hoosie surrounded by farms fields and forests.

While in Inverness, we went to many hotels and inns to meet with managers and see the interiors first hand, so we have a better idea of where to house our Outlandish Spirits (perhaps you are one?) on the Jamie & Claire Tours. Inspite of computer crashes, packing, and lots of last minute communications, we actually got on the road on time - I did get up at 4:30 to complete everything ...ahem, and we arrived in time to pick up Julia from the train station.

We had the pleasure of Julia's company on the trip north, a true Outlandish Spirit visiting from Georgia. Julia is over here on her life mission as a Pastor, making a big change by applying to be a rural Pastor in Scotland. She'll find out next week if her dream will manifest in this way.
Poor girl had to experience the heavy snow fall as we climbed the high passes in the Cairngorms to get through to Inverness. We had a lovely time getting to know her though, and hope to see her again very soon. She's quite lively (especially for having to get up so early to travel with us). Amazing what a cup of coffee can do! Haste ye back lassie - big hug.

The snow fall has been consistent enough this year that the surrounding hills are brilliantly white and huge looking. Up north, Loch Ness was a soft slate grey, with her banks padded in white and decorated with charcoal grey, green and mauve leafless trees and shrubs. It was also the beginning of the Valentines Day weekend and this added to the northern world waking up from its frozen slumber, so there were lots of people out and about.

We dug Janet, another friend, out of her show filled drive, then watched wee Roe deer grazing in her snowy forest, from her kitchen window. It was like a scene from a Christmas card.



Upon returning to our wee hoose, the long awaited bulbs have finally begun to flower and bring a splash of beauty to our bare earth. Much to our delight, it turns out we DO have snowdrops in our garden. It's a mystery, like a random chocolate assortment, to see what bulbs we have inherited in our new bare-earth plot. I am aware that the garden is very much a metaphor for life. We are all gardeners, gardeners of our own soul. Some things we plant with care and somethings just grow there, perhaps unwanted in our psyche, random seeds of trauma or poor habit that take root. It is a hard process to garden the soul, tearing out the weeds and replacing with habits that serve us better. This is the time of year to do it though, just as the "habits" begin to show their buds again as the Earth turns to Spring. Scot and I live and work from home when we're not giving tours, conducting Handfastings, or doing Fireside Tales and Whisky Tastings. So we get cabin fever by this time of year; the slow season. Today was a day to plant new habits, as we adjust and learn how to be in each others company even more than the average couple. We'll see if it our new plantings take root by the Equinox.

I see there are a couple of new people peering into our site; Jinny and Becca - hello and welcome! Jinny, you have a pretty impressive wish list going on your blog, hope you can make it to Scotland some day!

May Brigid bless all your homes with winter warmth, inspiration, and optimism for the spring!
Samantha

Latha na meadhon gamhradh

Mid Winter's Day - The Solstice

Well, here we are marking the important day by rising before dawn and walking to the top of the ridge to get a view of the rising Sun at the turning point of the dark half of the year. We Celts have celebrated this day, and tomorrow (the Dead Day), for a verra long time. It is the death of the Sun; death of the year; death of all that was. All those present moments and future ideas of 2008 become the "past" over the next two days. It is a time of introspection, of tidying up the memories and laying them in the mid-winter fire. Then, on the 23rd of December, we begin again; the Sun is reborn, for out of death always comes new life.

(What did you think the fat man in the red and white furs was for? giving you presents? No, that's St Nicholas. The man who comes down the chimney to the hearth fire brings the Sun back. Read The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett and everything will be clear).

As you can see from these photos, not much evidence of Grandfather Sun this solstice. A near gale force wind buffeting us as we climbed the ridge.

Not a day to inspire, no?

Well yes. We have reached the mid point of darkness; we have come to the end of a cycle within our lives, with a new one just beginning. What is not to feel optimistic about there? It's akin to coming to the end of a job, with new ways of being ahead. It's like graduation without knowing what is next; it's like finally saying goodbye to a relationship (with all that it had) and looking to a new future.

We can respond with fear, paralysis; as many of us do.
-AND-
We can respond with engagement, plan, aspiration.

In the middle of the coldest, darkest part of our calendar, this is when we plant our seeds beneath the ground and shelter them in small pots. What seeds will sprout into seedlings for us by the spring equinox? Well, it depends what seeds we plant today...

Le Meas, le Durachd, le Bennachdan
Scot AnSgeulaiche

P.S. Here is a Solstice song for you to enjoy: "Solstice Bells"
by Jethro Tull
Go out for a walk and enjoy the constant beauty of nature. When it comes down to it, your good health and the natural world are all the really matter. May you enjoy an abundance of both in this new year, and may the seeds you sew, or the door you open, or the pallet you paint on be of your own choosing.
Solstice Greetings, Samantha

Gaelic Lessons

I've read a lot of posts on the Outlander Gathering forum recently by people who want to learn Gaelic / Gàidhlig. Below is a web site that has listings for classes and distant learning in many states. Also, check within your state's local adult / evening courses; usually found through a search engine or yellow pages. If there is not a course near you, check with the instructor of any course within your state, chances are they will have a network of Gaelic speakers and instructors, and you may just be the catalyst to get a class going in your area. http://www.acgamerica.org/

Study Gaelic through distance learning. This usually involves receiving your lesson materials through the mail, then having a lesson by phone once a week. Sometimes there is also an annual gathering of the students for a day or weekend, where you can bashfully practice on each other, and get in-person support from the instructor. The money you save on gasoline weekly and the reduction in your carbon footprint are additional benefits. If you want to save money on your phone call, try services like SKYPE.COM - You can download this internet telephone connection to your computer, which you use to call your instructor (or anyone else you wish). It's very cheap, and if you're calling another Skype user, I believe it's free.

If you're coming over here for the Jamie & Claire Tour – for Outlandish Spirits, start learning now, and use your knowledge to share light banter with Scottish Gaelic speakers. Who knows, maybe you'll find a strapping Highlander to practice on!

So, go hence into yonder world and spread the Gaelic words of love. If you know of any classes or instructors not already on the above link, please let me know, and I'll add them onto a list. Mar sin leibh an-drasta, Samantha

An Apparition In The Snow

Note: Please also check out: How Has Outlander Inspired Your Life /Nov 24th. I'd love to hear more of your responses!

On November 23rd we had our first snowfall since moving into our cottage this year. I woke up pretty early, and decided to take a pre-dawn photo of our house in snow. The whiteness filled the air with a dense mist, and I could see the silhouette of the trees leading up the road, one of the few things visible, colorless against the white engulfing background.

As I stood there focused on my mission to get one good photo of the stone cottage against the white background, I heard a funny sort of 'animal sound'. Not a sheep; they were well across the field. More of a grumble (not a growl). Admittedly, the sound gave me a bit of the shivers, but it was coming from up the road. I looked up the road and thought I saw something on the left side heading towards the bushes.

I dismissed the grey apparition as my imagination and went back inside. When the sun peaked over the horizon, I went back outside to photograph from the crossroads. There, I saw animal tracks in the new snow. They looked a bit like a cat's, but were longer in shape and quite a bit larger than a domestic cat, and being the only house for almost half a mile, I knew it wasn't domestic. I ran inside and got my husband out of bed on a Sunday morning, which, in this case was surprisingly easy to do, but when he heard the reason for such a rude awakening in the depths of a winter morning on his day off, he was on his feet faster than I'd seen in years.

We followed the tracks which had led past our wee house, to the crossroads, and onwards. They went up onto the stone dyke wall and back down again, then crossed the road to the left side...... just at the point where I thought I had seen something earlier. We took photos of the tracks, and I've sent them off to Russell Coope, in north Perthshire, who is an expert on Scottish Wild Cats and animal tracks, and has been studying the cats for 30 years. Though we don't know what the tracks are. Hopefully he will be able to tell us if it is this endangered species at our own doorstep or some other wascally Scottish beastie! Any guess as to what they may be?