Brief post: Mary Queen of Scots 101

This is such an unbelievable waste of time, but I LOVE procrastinating and have to set the record straight on Mary, Queen of Scots. Jomarie, she's not the bad one who murdered all the Protestants!

That was "Bloody Mary," Queen Mary I of England, who is remembered for returning England from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. In the process, she had almost three hundred religious dissenters executed, leading to the nickname Bloody Mary. The two queens are sometimes confused, unfortunately. Scottish Mary is much prettier and less evil.

Wikipedia, lend me your hand! This is Mary, Queen of Scots:



** Mary I of Scotland (Mary Stuart, popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots) was the Queen of Scotland from 1542-1567. She also sat as Queen Consort of France for a year. Because of her tragic life, she is one of the best-known Scottish monarchs. Vivacious, pretty, and clever (according to contemporary accounts), Mary had a promising childhood. Mary, being a devout Roman Catholic, was regarded with suspicion by many of her subjects as well as by Queen Elizabeth I of Protestant England, who was her father's cousin. Scotland was torn between Catholic and Protestant factions, and Protestant reformer John Knox preached against Mary, condemning her for hearing Mass, dancing, dressing too elaborately, and many other things, real and imagined.
Did you hear that? She danced! What a fucking bitch, right? Ugh.

** Then psycho Henry VIII tried to force Scotland to have Mary wedded to his son, so the English tried to invade Edinburgh and kidnap Mary, but she was hidden in the secret chambers of Stirling Castle. You can see pics of this castle in a previous post. When the Scots suffered a bitter defeat to the English, Marie de Guise, fearful for her daughter, sent her temporarily to Inchmahome Priory. This priory is on an insland in the Lake of Menteith. Menteith and Monteith are associated with the same clan, so this means that my ancestors helped save Mary from the bloody English! And so I love her, and that's that.

** Under the ordinary laws of succession, Mary was also next in line to the English throne after her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, who was childless. In the eyes of many Catholics Elizabeth was illegitimate, making Mary the true heir. Mary eventually became a liability that Elizabeth could no longer tolerate. She spent years and years in captivity. Elizabeth did ask Mary's final custodian, Amias Paulet, if he would contrive some accident to remove Mary. He refused on the grounds that he would not allow such "a stain on his posterity." Mary was implicated in several plots to assassinate Elizabeth, raise the Catholic North of England, and put herself on the throne, possibly with French or Spanish help.

** Mary denied the accusations and was spirited in her defense. One of her more memorable comments from her trial was, "Remember Gentlemen the Theatre of history is wider than the Realm of England." She drew attention to the fact that she was denied the opportunity of reviewing the evidence or her papers that had been removed from her, that she had been denied access to legal counsel and that she had never been an English subject and thus could not be convicted of treason. The extent to which the plot was created by Sir Francis Walsingham and the English Secret Services will always remain open to conjecture. Mary was ultimately convicted of treason, and was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle.

** She spent the last hours of her life in prayer and also writing letters and her will. She expressed a request that her servants should be released. At her execution she removed a black cloak to reveal a deep red dress - the Liturgical colour of martyrdom in the Catholic Church. Though Mary Stuart has not been canonised by the Catholic Church, many consider her a martyr, and there are relics of her. Her prayer book was long shown in France.

** American actress Scarlett Johansson will play Mary in a film scheduled to begin production by the end of summer 2007.

And there you have it. MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS WHAT WHAT??

Extravaganza Part 2

OK, so by necessity (it's late as all fuck), this post will be shorter.

These are pictures from the hike the Wildwatchers group took through the hills by Callander. Wikipedia: Callander lies on the eastern fringe of the Trossachs, itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben An to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east. However, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and braes with quiet lochs, lying to the east of Ben Lomond. Whatever. We hiked there and it was purdy. Before the hike began, I bought a delicious hummus and roasted vegetables sandwich from the sweetest lady in downtown Callander. She talked to me about being a vegetarian and how it's easier nowadays with all of the different options. I also talked to Stephen, the Wildwatchers president, about being a vegetarian (he is too), and I met Ali, my Spanish friend and one of my favorite people ever now, during this day trip. She's from Malaga, close to Granada, where Sabrina is right now! Big trip what what? Anyway, we downed the sandwiches and began our ascent. Pictures...

See the lake in the background?

I believe this is Melanie and me ascending.

We had some great views from the top:

A cairn at the top:

Wild blueberries! Lindsay and I ate some, then I almost started crying when this guy Dan was like, yeah you don't want to eat those... I survived and they were tasty.

Lindsay took this one (and a few others I've posted). I wish I had her skills.

I made a wish, of course.

With Lindsay by a waterfall:

We took a brief rest on the bridge by the waterfall. But the hike must go on...

A lot of shrooms on our walk. They were EVERYWHERE!

We ended up being on the wrong side of the river and had to cross it to get to our destination. The current was fairly strong, actually, and you can see me crossing with caution. I was protecting my camera.

We got a little lost -- again -- on the way back and found ourselves on a farm, basically. Here's proof:

And the hike ended. What a day! We celebrated our accomplishment at a fish and chips restaurant in downtown Callander. I had a veggie burger, and Lindsay and I defended Nalgene bottles in one of the mose bizarre debates ever with two aggressive German girls. Then we headed back to Stirling and I recall being exhausted for the rest of the evening.

24-hour (up to 30) UPDATE EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

OK my dears, I've leaving on Saturday for week-long fall break that will be spent in Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome with some friends. My poor camera can't hold both this coming week's photos AND documentation of all the fun I've been having over the past weeks , so I'm going to do something unprecedented... post TWO photo updates within the next 24-30 hours!

Let's begin! The Sunday after the Dumyat hike was spent on a bus tour of Stirling and the surrounding area. Regena and I made the awesome decision not to bring our cameras (whoops), but I have uncovered a few from friends. Take a look -- just a few, really:

DUNBLANE CATHEDRAL: Dunblane is a nearby town -- it's cute and old, like a lot of Scottish towns. According to Wikipedia (which saves me a lot of time these days), Dunblane Cathedral is "one of the finest church buildings in Scotland," and it is home to the grave of Margaret Drummond, a mistress of King James IV of Scotland. What a hooch.

I think there was some dead bishop from a REEEEEEEEEEALLY long time ago in the actual cathedral as well, under some cool stone covering.

My last pic from this tour is of a monument to Robert the Bruce (also known as Robert I, King of Scotland from 1306–1329) at the site of the Battle of Bannockburn, where Bruce secured Scottish independence from England in 1314. The Scots love him, naturally. He appears in Braveheart. Here is the monument -- he's quite the stud:

Sunday evening was nice as well. I went to a concert at a pub in downtown Stirling with my friend Emily. We decided to be fatties and eat at a Chinese buffet first. This allowed us to have a nice little talk about our families and religion. Then on to this ska-reggae show -- neither of us particularly enjoys either genre, but I supported Emily's claim that it would be wonderful to see the unholy matrimony of the two, and we had a good time. But eek, look at this band. Doesn't it scream NOT JON?!

Um, yeah. We had a beer or two, wasted some money on trivial pursuit on some online game machine, talked to Emily's wonderful flatmate Nikki, and then Emily and I decided that we had had our fill of ska-reggae for the next half-century. We took a cab back to Stirling and called it a night, but not before we stopped for chips (chips = fries in Britain, this is the last time I'm saying it) downtown! These were covered in vinegar, and they were unbelievable. Can't you see how happy we are? And how badly I needed to shave at that point?

By this point -- I can't remember which night -- David and I held a gay slumber party at his flat downtown! What does this amount to, you might ask? Nothing more than two gay guys chatting all night about a wide range of topics, some of them gay. We're both trekkies, which is simultaneously amazing and embarrassing to admit. It was really, really fun. Just thought I should mention it. He helped me buy a cell phone at Tesco and I think we watched Transamerica, but this might have been another night. It's all a blur when you wait this long (I'm a stupid shit). Here are some pics I took of the clocktower in Stirling on the way back to campus in the morning. A bit on the overcast side, but it gives you an idea of the downtown look:

Did I tell you that Regena and I are trying to do "R & J Days" on Wednesdays, because neither of us has class on Wednesday? We've only managed to pull it off once, but we're going to get better by the end of the semester. Our inaugural (only) R & J Day was spent exploring Stirling together. We started with a morning wakeup at the Beanscene, my new favorite coffeehouse, where I drank an enormous chai. Then we stopped by a used record store, where I tempted to buy some Celtic music, but I'll hold off for now. We made our way to the Stirling Old Town Jail, which opened in 1847. Here's info about the jail from the website (www.oldtownjail.com) -- I am FAR too lazy to recall it all on my own: "If the outside was forbidding and grim - then it didn't get any better inside. The Victorian reformers practised what they preached - which wasn't exactly comforting for the poor inmates. 'Coarse food; a dress of shame; hard, incessant, irksome labour; a planned and regulated and unrelenting exclusion of happiness and comfort' was their prescription for the unfortunate souls detained within these walls." Our tour guide brilliantly played the roles of prison warden, the Victorian reformer, Stirling's notorious hangman, and a convict determined to escape. Picture time:

We approach the forboding house of hell...

The executioner decided to make me the subject of his demonstrations. Did he pick me because I had the nappiest hair? It was raining all day -- I swear it's not all grease!

Regena and I explore some of the old jail cells. This kid got caught pickpocketing.

I'm consoling a clearly distraught inmate. I'm such a kind soul.

If I would have been the warden back in the 1800s at this jail, I would have done obnoxious stuff like this eye thing to annoy the inmates. I'd wake them up by screaming, "I have my eye on you!" Then one of them would have ripped my eye out because I would have been too awkward to get away from the door in time. You know it's true... :(

They made prisoners turn this crank for hours and hours. WTF? I don't even think it generated any energy -- it was just worthless menial labor. I'm obviously upset about it:

This balcony was the "exercise area" for the inmates. So I decided I'd go for a little run, but it really just looks like I'm trying to dance.

Oh, this fun fact kind of grossed me out:

Almost done with this jail! We took some pictures from the rooftop outlook. Some good shots of Stirling:

Clocktower with the Wallace Monument in the background (by the hills):

And one final picture on our way out -- how could I resist?

We stopped for a look inside Cowane's Hospital. John Cowane (1570-1633) was one of Stirling's chief benefactors, or "sugar daddies" if you prefer. He told his brother on his death bed that he wanted this hospital built in his name. It was kind of boring, but it's historic, so I guess it was worth the 10-15 minutes we spent in there. Here's a look from the outside:

Our final stop before Stirling Castle was the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling's medieval parish church. The graveyard surrounding it is spectacular. Some info from holyrude.org: "The Church of the Holy Rude is the second oldest building in Stirling after the castle... founded in 1129 during the reign of David I (1124 - 1153)." The coronation of King James VI as an infant took place here, while his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots (I LOVE HER!!!) sat imprisoned in a castle at the hands of the Protestants. Stupid Protestant lords, get your greasy little paws off my favorite queen. Here are pictures of the church:

Finally, we ended R & J Day with a self-guided (stupid idea) tour of the one and only Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle, that historically strategic fortress that overlooks the town... This entry is sucking the life out of me, so here are Wikipedia's thoughts (briefly) on the castle: "Stirling Castle sits atop the Castle Hill, a volcanic crag, and is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, making it easily defensible. This fact, and its strategic position, have made it an important fortification from the earliest times. In the 12th Century Edward I's Scottish campaign included a siege on Stirling Castle. Historians recorded that this was where Warwolf, the largest trebuchet believed built, was first used, with devastating effect." For those who don't know (I didn't), a trebuchet is a "medieval siege engine, a weapon employed either to batter masonry or to throw projectiles over walls. It could fling three hundred pound projectiles at incredible speeds into an enemy fortification, quickly obliterating walls and defenses. Occasionally it was used to throw the bodies of people and animals who had died from various diseases including the Black Plague over castle walls, in an attempt to infect the people under siege." Holy shit! OK time for pictures:

Castle Entrance:

Another view:

Walking along the castle wall...

Chapel for the monarchs.

Who's this? You know! My favorite queen... Mary, Queen of Scots.

Tapestry from the famous Hunt of the Unicorn. Tapestries like this one would have decorated the walls of the royal chambers.

Speaking of royal chambers... I think this is from the fireplace of the royal chambers of either the king or the queen.

Castle passageway. Regena and I got excited when we imagined Mary, Queen of Scots marching through it in all her glory, surrounded by her royal entourage.

I say goodbye to my castle, back at the gate... I'm tiny!

And we say goodbye to Robert the Bruce...

The final part of this post is a quickie... it was international students club's first pubcrawl. Oh lordy... This is where Yvonne, Lindsay, and I cemented our friendship -- we are now an inseparable trio. We went to a few pubs in downtown Stirling and had an amazing night. Long Islands at the Filling Station... perfection. Here are the pictures:

On the way there! Kevin from Canada, Lindsay's French flatmate Lydia, and me.

I love these two girls. Yvonne on the left and Lindsay on the right.

With Lindsay and Michael, who is studying law at Duke. He likes the West Wing and he's from South Carolina. Cool guy.

We sort of got lost on the way home, but it was cool because we were five strong, baby. Here is me with Adam on our expedition back to campus. Adam is great -- he's from North Carolina, and his mom is the head of the anthropology department at Duke (his stepdad is an anthro professor there as well). For some reason, this excites me a lot more than it needs to, I think. Adam's a forward-thinking, open-minded guy, and he is constantly up for doing something. We might go to Greece together after finals are done.

That's all for now! That was an intense post, eh? Expect another one very shortly! Part of the extravaganza agreement.