Posts Tagged ‘scotland’
The Devil made me jive with Margaret Atwood
The Devil made me do it. I knew it was wrong. I knew I had no business inviting an iconic Canadian writer out onto the dance floor. I knew people would hate me for it. Who did I think I was? But a little voice told me to go ahead and ask her to dance.…
Read More2017 Greatest Hits feature Scotland, Atwood, and the Arctic
Last day of the year, I find myself driven out of bed at 5 am to look back at 2017, and to say hey to readers who have been checking in here. We’re up over 20,000 views per month — a far cry from pop-culture blogging numbers, but I’ll take it. And I’ll defer to…
Read MoreRambling around Scottish Highlands? Canada is always in your face
Here we have the church at Kildonan, Scotland, in the heart of the Highlands. Most of the Selkirk settlers who emigrated to the Red River Settlement in Canada in 1812 and 1813 had attended this church. Among those who sailed to Churchill, Manitoba, was George Bannerman, a great-grandfather of once-prime minister John Diefenbaker. In 1968,…
Read MoreThe Canadian future of Scotland links UK, Quebec, China, Estonia
The Canadian future of Scotland? The 23 links below show how this idea played out. Do we have a take-away? Well, apparently you can write more than a dozen books, each of them running between 90,000 and 140,000 words, and find yourself beating through a starless night to find an audience. OR you can spin off…
Read More‘Obscure’ Canadian writer declines to don kilt for CTV appearance
Ken McGoogan, identified recently by the BBC as an “obscure Canadian writer,” has declined to don his kilt to appear on CTV’s Your Morning show. McGoogan, who recently caused an international ruckus by suggesting that Canada invite Scotland to become this country’s 11th province, was quick to add that nobody at the flagship TV show…
Read MoreAuthor’s “previously unthinkable” ideas surface in the UK’s Independent
The U.K.-based Independent has served up a slick, professional rewrite of the BBC piece on my “previously unthinkable” ideas, drawing also on my column in the Globe and Mail. Gotta love it! But does anybody know how to monetize this kind of thing? Newfoundlanders, especially, will enjoy the newspaper’s situating of the city of St.…
Read MoreBBC Trigger warning: “previously unthinkable” ideas “may shock some”
From BBC North America: As Scotland pushes for a second referendum on independence, one man is asking the previously unthinkable – if you’re going to quit the UK, why not join Canada? Canadian writer Ken McGoogan says the unorthodox alliance makes sense. “I think it would be terrific for both Scotland and Canada,” he says.…
Read MoreChasing the Irish Pirate Queen around the Aran Islands
Hats off to James McQuiston, editor and publisher of The Celtic Guide, a superbly professional magazine that reflects his passionate interest in Scotland and Ireland. The December issue (click here) features contributions from throughout the Celtic world. They include an excerpt from my latest book, Celtic Lightning: How the Scots and the Irish Created a…
Read MoreKen and Sheena’s Excellent Adventure in the Scottish Highlands
In Perth, we had dinner at the Hightower Hotel with my long-lost, DNA-found cousin Jim McGugan. In Sutherland, we visited Dunrobin Castle, the most politically incorrect edifice in Britain. In Helmsdale, by about an hour, we missed coincidentally encountering our Orcadian pal, historian Tom Muir . . . and so failed to meet his new…
Read MoreScotland’s First Minister proves a discerning reader
Rumour has it that Alex Salmond, an aficionado of the poetry of Robbie Burns, knows a good book when he sees one. As Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, he has provided this appreciation of Our Hero’s latest book: “In ‘How the Scots Invented Canada’, Ken McGoogan has delivered a celebration…
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