Douglas MacQueen's blog

All's well that ends well that ends well. This was the case for Charlie the teddy bear. Charlie Bear, was discovered after fans departed the Electric Fields music festival, which was held in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfires and Galloway (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) in southwest Scotland at the weekend. Next to the bear was a book "The Wonderful Adventures of Charlie Bear - My Story." The organisers posted an appeal on social media and shortly afterwards the parent of the child who lost the bear and the book had contacted them.

Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable and rare historical artefact from Dunyvaig Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Naomhaig) in Scotland. The seal of Sir John Campbell of Cawdor (c. 1576-1642), who had taken ownership of Islay in 1615, was discovered by an undergraduate working on an excavation on the site. The seal would have once been used to sign and seal charters and legal documents. It had lain hidden within the castle for more than 400 years, buried under rubble from the collapsed defensive wall.

The annual Largs Viking Festival gets underway on 1st of September and lasts until 9th September. This is the 38th year of the event which has grown in popularity and received international acclaim. As well as a Viking Village providing a glimpse of life in the 13th century for Norse warriors, there are a range of activities taking place throughout the nine days. The Festival starts with a parade and opening cermony. Aerial displays, music and dancing will take place during the week. There is also the regular Hakon Hakkonsson Lecture at the Vallhalladarome at the Vikingar.

A new booklet has been produced by VisitScotland highlighting television programmes which have either been filmed in Scotland or have Scottish links. It coincides with the 130th anniversary of the birth of John Logie Baird. Scottish engineer and inventor John Logie Baird (13 August 1888 – 14 June 1946) was born in Helensburgh (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Eilidh). He was one of the inventors of the mechanical television, demonstrating the first working television system on 26 January 1926.

As part of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) five year Gaelic language plan Gaelic speakers, and those with an interest in the language are being recruited as volunteers at tourist attractions across the north of Scotland. The aim is to promote the historic origins of the language and its place in Scotland’s history. Urquhart Castle, Dunstaffnage Castle and Arnol Blackhouse on the Isle of Lewis are some of the attractions where such tours are planned.

In what has been described as the best photograph of the Loch Ness Monster taken for a number of years, a 12 year hold girl on holiday has captured an image of "Nessie". The photograph was taken at around 7pm on 17th August. Charlotte Robinson, who was staying with her family in Invermoriston, when Nessie emerged some 50 feet away for about a minute. It then re-surfaced about ten feet further away and submerged again in less than sixty seconds, by which time the photograph had been taken.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met with Catalan President Quim Torra in Scotland last month. At the meeting she accepted an invitation to go to Catalonia, the autonomous community in the northeastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Scottish National Party MP's (members of parliament) have backed Catalonia’s right to hold an independence referendum. Scotland's First Minister was critical of the Madrid government’s brutal approach to blocking the Catalan government from staging a vote on leaving the Spanish state last year.

The Neolithic chambered tombs of Cairnholy stand in Dumfries and Galloway (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) in south-west Scotland. There are two chambered tomb sites that are within just over 164 yards (150m) of each other. They are in a beautiful location on a gentle sloping hill above Kirkdale Glen looking towards Wigtown Bay. Both are very impressive and were built to honour the ancestors of the Neolithic farming communities that lived in this area between 6000 and 4000 years ago.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster, with its headquarters at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London. It is principally funded by an annual television licence fee which is compulsory and charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts. The BBC has faced  accusations regarding its bias coverage of many topics. Despite being publicly funded and claims of being 'balanced' it is certainly not impartial or neutral.

Work has begun on building the the new £6.7m Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre in the Scottish border town of Galashiels (Scottish Gaelic: An Geal Àth). The visitor centre is due to be completed by spring 2020 and will house the Great Tapestry of Scotland, made up of 160 hand stitched panels, depicting aspects of the history of Scotland from 8500 BC until its launch in 2013.