Queen Elizabeth II, longest-reigning monarch in British history, dead at 96.

[Suffolkhifinut]

Fighting talk indeed , but first we must drink whisky, Dads side is Clan Lamont of Dunoon, after the 1646 massacre at Dunoon where the Campbells slaughtered 200+ they escaped to Galloway and my direct ancestors are noted in the record office as blacksmiths for the Parish of Anworth under Samuel Rutherford (minister) at the time of uprising against Cromwell and against the local lords of Maxwell who were for for King Charles 1st (very apt as dad served his time as blacksmith), mums side is MacInnes of Kintyre (farmer/fishermen) which is a weird circumstance as Clan Lamont and Clan MacInnes were allies with their respective kingdoms close to each other. Mum had her DNA taken a few years ago as part of a Glasgow Uni study into the genealogy of early settlers in Argyll and they found a trace back to 2000BC on the isle of IONA so she has the honour of being able to trace her line back to the original Picts who inhabited the west coast.

Unfortunately no noble bloodlines in either family were found but it’s cool to know exactly who your descendants were 500 years ago.

Must be nice to have a sense of belonging.

 

[Gorgonzola]

I've heard that about 1 in 3 Scotts is Flemish (Dutch or Belgian) in origin...but probably not in this case

What is interesting is that Scotland was a diverse nation going back to ancient history. The region we know as Scotland today in ancient and Roman times was comprised of Picts, Scots (a.k.a. Gaels), and Britons. Subsequent infusions included in medieval time, Norse, and Normans whose barons founded many noble Scottish family still prominent today. In the later medieval period down to today many English migrated to Scotland. During the Reformation era many Huguenots moved to Scotland to avoid persecution in France; other, mainly Calvinist Protestant people migrated as well from the the Low Countries.

Recently Scotland has had its share of immigration from South Asia, Caribbean, and Africa, mainly former British colonies.

 

[Phorize]

Fighting talk indeed , but first we must drink whisky, Dads side is Clan Lamont of Dunoon, after the 1646 massacre at Dunoon where the Campbells slaughtered 200+ they escaped to Galloway and my direct ancestors are noted in the record office as blacksmiths for the Parish of Anworth under Samuel Rutherford (minister) at the time of uprising against Cromwell and against the local lords of Maxwell who were for for King Charles 1st (very apt as dad served his time as blacksmith), mums side is MacInnes of Kintyre (farmer/fishermen) which is a weird circumstance as Clan Lamont and Clan MacInnes were allies with their respective kingdoms close to each other. Mum had her DNA taken a few years ago as part of a Glasgow Uni study into the genealogy of early settlers in Argyll and they found a trace back to 2000BC on the isle of IONA so she has the honour of being able to trace her line back to the original Picts who inhabited the west coast.

Unfortunately no noble bloodlines in either family were found but it’s cool to know exactly who your descendants were 500 years ago.

That's really interesting. I always find genealogy fascinating, mainly because of the interesting avenues it can send one down that otherwise would be unappreciated. The guy linked below has a fun but also quite rigorous way of discussing these sorts of things whilst avoiding some of the intellectual bear traps that national origin stories can lay down in our path. I'm English born and located (with direct modern ancestry from Scotland, Wales and England (and therefore certainly Ireland, continental Europe and North Africa). When I had my dna done with 23andme the most interesting bit was the 300 neanderthal variants-now that took some chewing over. Who'd have thought that a day would come when a process that used to cost hundreds of millions to run can now be done online for 80 quid. BTW I've been on the verge of relocating to Scotland for a few years now-probably Argyle if we can make it happen.

 

[777]

 

[Peluvius]

Had the British empire not stood against Nazi Germany, alone, the world would be a very different place to what we know now. How many among us would suggest it would be a better place?

 

[BDWoody]

More cleanup on aisle Royal.

 

[Peluvius]

 

[Phorize]

More cleanup on aisle Royal.

Yep,apologies, I should have thought really.

 

[Mart68]

Good job I didn't write that essay that was requested!

 

[Burning Sounds]

she married into Saxe-Coburg but her family was Scottish going back to at least the 14th century and probably much further.

Bowes-Lyon family - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Indeed, Bowes museum is just a short drive from me in a pretty market town now better known as a place to get your eyes tested.

The silver swan automaton is quite special.

Silver Swan (automaton) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org