Douglas MacQueen's blog

Curiosity is the name of a space exploration vehicle launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011. It landed on the planet Mars on August 6, 2012. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System.  The goals of Curiosity include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology and data on Martian minerals has been beamed back to Earth. The Aberdeen-based James Hutton Institute studied this data and researchers compared the information against the institute's Scottish soil dataset.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. This year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth and today, 10 December, the 90th anniversary of his death. To mark this a statue of Charles Rennie Mackintosh has been unveiled in Glasgow, the city of his birth, by Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.  The bronze statue, which is 2.8m tall and weighs three tons, was created by sculptor Andy Scott.

Coastguard rescue teams from Kilchoan (Cille Chòmhain), Tobermory (Tobar Mhoire) and Salen (An t-Sàilein) in the west of Scotland swung into action yesterday when a farmer reported that his working sheep dog Meg had become stranded on a cliff on Ardnamurchan Point. Ardnamurchan (Àird nam Murchan) is a 50-square-mile (130 km2) peninsula. Meg was 20ft down the cliff face on the south side of Ardnamurchan. The rescuers were assisted by the Tobermory Lifeboat.

St. Andrew's Day (Scottish Gaelic: Là Naomh Aindrea) is Scotland's official national day celebrated on 30th November. St Andrew has been the patron saint of Scotland from at least the mid tenth century and legend says long before. He was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee in the early 1st century and is the brother of St Peter. According to the Gospel of St John, Andrew was a follower of the preacher John the Baptist and then became a disciple of Jesus who he recognised as the Messiah. The name Andrew is Greek in origin.

Viking invasions brought cheer to Aberdeen last weekend. Maybe it was not always so, but this time around there were smiles all around. The Vikings were from Sandwick in Shetland. Shetland is where the annual fire festival of Up Helly Aa is held to celebrate the islands Norse heritage. They came to Aberdeen where crowds welcomed the Up Helly Aa crew with loud cheers. They took part in the parade, which this year had the theme of “fire and ice”, to switch on the Christmas lights.

Islanders in Orkney have been awarded £260,000 to purchase more than 1,700 acres of peatland and pasture. The Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre Development Trust (REWDT) have welcomed the funding which they say will allow it to employ a project officer and ranger. They also hope to promote tourism on the island of Rousay and encourage people to make the island their home, which at present has 216 residents. The name of Rousay is derived from the Old Norse word Hrólfsey meaning Rolf's Island.

Dreams for the Future is a celebration of Scottish novelist and playwright J M Barrie (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) creator of Peter Pan, and also of young people’s story-telling. The Festival, being held in Dumfries (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phris) from November 24 to December 2, will mark Scotland’s Year of Young People (Bliadhna na h-Òigridh) and feature events for all ages involving story-telling, music and theatre. Details of the Dreams for the Future Festival can be obtained from the Moat Brae website.

Robert Burns was born in the scottish village of  Alloway (Scottish Gaelic Allmhaigh) on January 25, 1759. The eldest of the seven children of  William Burnes (1721–1784), a tenant farmer from Dunnottar in the Mearns, and Agnes Broun (1732–1820), the daughter of a Kirkoswald tenant farmer. His parents ensured that their son received a relatively good education.  He died at the age of 37 on 21 July 1796 and his Mausoleum is at St Michael’s churchyard in Dumfries (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phris). Throughout his life he was a practising poet and wrote many poems, lyrics and other pieces.

A 150-year-old bottle of Tennent's beer discovered on the shipwreck of the Light of Age off the coast of Australia has been returned to Scotland. Diver Jim Anderson found it on a shipwreck in the 1970s. It is thought to be the oldest bottle of beer in Scotland. The bottle was on board the Light of Age which sank near Melbourne on 16 January 1868. He has now returned it to the Glasgow brewery. The Light of the Age was a fast and large wooden clipper ship  built in 1855 and originally named the Beacon Light.

“The Flow Country”  is a large area, of peatland and wetland in Caithness and Sutherland in northern Scotland. It covers about 1540 square miles (4000 km2). It is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe. Blanket bog only forms in cool places with plenty of rain. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat gives the habitat type its name. The few plants that can grow here don’t rot away, but build up to form deep layers of peat.