Lovely paperback edition lists under $20
The paperback is here! A single author’s copy anyway, with countless others flowing into bookstores next week. Hats off to the folks at HarperCollins Canada! What a lovely package! This edition is slightly smaller than the hardcover . . . the perfect size!And it contains new and improved maps! And here on the back cover, a reviewer…
Read MoreVoyage around Scotland inspires Celtic Life spread on the Highland Clearances
The October issue of Celtic Life International features a gorgeous 3-page spread on the 1853 Highland Clearances at Knoydart. The writer — that would be moi — turned up in the vicinity by great good fortune while sailing with Adventure Canada earlier this year. A version of the article, which begins roughly as below, will…
Read MoreGrounding of expeditionary ship in the Arctic evokes memories but no worries
Sorry to hear that the Akademik Ioffe ran aground in the Arctic. But the expeditionary cruise ship, on which I have sailed, has already been refloated. The last time something like this happened, with the Clipper Adventurer back in 2010, we were on the ship, Sheena and I. It wasn’t fun, obviously, but we were…
Read MoreRock band Rhonda and the Cries for Help sing John Rae at the Hall of Clestrain
The trouble began when Fran Flett Hollinrake, aka the Queen of St. Magnus Cathedral, asked in all innocence, “When’s the new album coming out?” We could see what she meant. Tom Muir, Rhonda Muir, Sheena Fraser McGoogan and I had not yet settled on a name for our emerging rock band. But the Beach Boys…
Read MoreSearching for ancestors leads to gravesite madness
Twice before, we had located it, the gravesite of John McGugan — Ground Zero, really, for a host of McGugans, McGougans, and McGoogans. We had made our way to the Kilchatten Cemetery on the tiny Scottish island of Gigha, three miles west off the coast of Kintyre. The first time, roughly a decade ago, I…
Read MoreThe Canadian Invasion of Scotland
Canadian invasion forces have swept through the Dunfermline area north of Edinburgh, claiming Broomhall House. This impressive mansion, located on a splendiferous, well-kept estate has been in the family of Robert the Bruce for more than 300 years. The Canadian connection comes via James Bruce, the eighth Earl of Elgin, who had his home here. In…
Read MoreBraving storms in search of John Rae
John Rae Festival turns up a Franklin sailor and a tribute in stained glass
Arctic aficionados should check out this excellent bit of work from the Orkney News about the John Rae Festival. Most are aware that a gorgeous reclining memorial statue to explorer John Rae is one of the highlights of any visit to St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. Here we see it with the witty and perceptive Fran…
Read MoreOrkney delivers venue, book-buyers, and a letter about John Rae’s last day
Turns out that Orkney was more than ready for me. Wonderful venue, the Orkney Theatre in Kirkwall. Good-sized audience, well-informed. Excellent introduction by my friend Tom Muir. And all those books we brought? Sold every one. I talked about John Rae, the Hall of Clestrain restoration, the Arctic Return Expedition. Had several fun conversations. That…
Read MoreLouie Kamookak discovers John Rae’s cairn
The late Louie Kamookak has rightly been celebrated as a searcher for John Franklin. But more significantly, in my view, Louie was the man who discovered the cairn that explorer John Rae built in 1854, marking the final link in what would prove to be the first navigable Northwest Passage. I touched on that in…
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