Scranalogue

Treasure, Targes & Tartan too.

February 25, 2016 by Scran | 0 comments

Following on from our engagement work discovering Jolomo, there was whole-school learning through the visual arts in both Dunbarney & Abernethy Primary Schools – it could be said there was a hive of artistic activity. So, let’s have a look at some distinctly Scottish outcomes.

P1/2 – got to grips with all aspects of tartan, weaving & some Katie Morag for good measure

P4 – carefully considered and constructed a targe each to carry into battle

P5 – created treasures inspired by Mary Queen of Scots through jewellery design & feltmaking

P6 – updated Burns‘ image using Pop Art to produce drawing & painting portrait work

All of this fantastic artwork was celebrated in an exhibition Inspired by Scotland, visited by family & friends over the course of several days. Pupils also performed song, dance & poetry in an expressive arts event, drawing the whole project to it’s conclusion. Finally Scran would like to congratulate the staff & pupils on a job well done!

Images © National Museums Scotland, Blairs Museum, James Gardiner | Licensor Scran

Uptown Top Rankin

February 24, 2016 by User deactivated | 0 comments

Whenever new records (individual images, videos or sounds) get added to Scran, they’re uploaded in batches or, as we call them, Projects. These Projects are discrete blocks of material, usually on a particular topic or theme. If you find a Scran record that you enjoy, you can click the “View All Records in Project” link in the caption metadata- the bits of extra info under the postcard-sized image- and see more related materials. Similarly, you can see all the Projects that we’ve uploaded by clicking on the word Search in the red toolbar at the top of any Scran page, selecting Projects, and then selecting Find All.

Click Search then Projects

The titles and subjects of these Projects vary. The first one uploaded (number 001) was The Kilmartin Monuments, while the most recent at the time of writing (number 1128) collects images of Edinburgh taken by Italian students. Between then and now, we’ve uploaded projects on Product Design (number 950), Montserrat (number 911), the collection of Orkney’s Pier Arts Centre (number 687), as well as over a thousand more. Sometimes these Projects contain only 20 images or so, occasionally even fewer. The largest, the V&A Collection (number 930), numbers nearly 26,000 images.

Usually these Projects, once loaded onto Scran, are not revisited or revised by our staff, save for minor edits, typos, additional info being added etc. All of which makes Project number 540, Scottish Writers, a little unusual. A few weeks ago, one of our IT staff- thanks, Sven- noticed that the project was never fully completed, and all the submitted video clips were not uploaded. Why this should have happened is unclear, the reasons lost in the mists of time.

However, we’ve now rectified this and, some 16 years after submission, the videos now appear in full on Scran! They’re definitely of their time, being short and quite low resolution, BUT the content is terrific. You can now see Ian Rankin, Iain Crichton Smith, Theresa Breslin, Anne Lorne Gillies, Tom Pow, Julie Bertagna, Alan Spence, Alison Prince, Cathy MacPhail, Bernard MacLaverty, Carl MacDougall, Des Dillon, Dylis Rose, George Mackay Brown, janet Paisley, Janice Galloway and Joan Lingard talking about, and reading from, their work. This material will be particularly useful to language and literature teachers, but anybody interested in Scottish literature in its “golden age”, as Iain Crichton Smith described it, will find these archive clips fascinating.

Author Ian Rankin

Image © SLAINTE | Licensor Scran

Dunbarney Discovers Jolomo

February 23, 2016 by Scran | 0 comments

Last month we told you about Scran working with Art & Design in Perth & Kinross, well here’s some of what we got up with Primary 7, in Bridge of Earn. Armed with a mobile art studio, laden with materials the class found inspiration in the work of Jolomo.

Through a series of research tasks and group conversations the class got to grips with heaps of visual and contextual information from Scran. They expanded their visual literacy skills, extended their vocabulary with such terms as impasto and gained a new appreciation of Scottish Art.

To deepen this understanding the pupils then created their very own paintings influenced by the techniques used by Jolomo. The class had gone walk about with their cameras to capture the local landscape using photography. Their pictures were then used for each individual composition on canvas.

The pupils were able to explore using new materials such as texture medium to build up the surface of their work. Next they considered the vibrant palette and colours often used by Jolomo and mixed similarly lively hues for their own landscapes.

The culmination of the P7s’ hard work & focused learning was a whole-school exhibition Inspired by Scotland, which not only included these great paintings but all sorts of arts activity – but more about that later…

Meanwhile over in Abernethy, Primary 7 were busy exploring their locality through Jolomo as well! They got creative with their texture too, adding in mixed media & all sorts, to create impressive effects too.

Thanks to Mrs McLaren & P7, all the staff at both schools and not forgetting the pupils, for making this successful partnership project and learning adventure happen – keep on creating!

‘Calling Mr Bell!’

February 18, 2016 by User deactivated | 0 comments

Phones are an integral part of daily life. But people still get excited at the announcement of the latest mobile phone. It was no different back in the late 19th century, when the notion of communicating to someone else miles away by means of a machine was something quite new. Crowds gathered to see demonstrations of this technology. Even Queen Victoria was delighted by it. And the man who pioneered it was Alexander Graham Bell.

Alexander Graham Bell makes the first telephone call from New York to Chicago in 1892

Bell had a particular interest in the spoken word. His father and his grandfather were teachers of elocution and his father a pioneer in the teaching of speech to the deaf, a hitherto largely neglected area.

Bell was born in South Charlotte Street in Edinburgh on 3 March, 1847. He was educated at the Royal High School but left early to become involved in his father’s work and to spend time with his grandfather, the Professor of Elocution at the University of London. Young Bell was fascinated by devices and built a model ‘speaking machine’ which he based upon a sheep’s larynx.

An instrument called a ‘telephone’ already existed at this time. It had been invented by Philip Reis, who was also working in Edinburgh. It was a primitive piece of apparatus that transmitted sounds across space using electric wires and a battery. Bell would probably have heard of the ‘telephone’ but there had been no realisation of its potential. For a time, Bell taught ‘Visible Speech’ to deaf girls in Elgin. He used a system devised by his father that used symbols to represent groups of sounds. He also lectured in London. In 1870 the family emigrated to Canada and Bell took up the Chair of Vocal Physiology at the University of Boston, a leading centre for science and technology.

‘Watson, please come here, I want you’

Gower Bell Telephone, 1880

Bell’s invention of the telephone arose from his continued interest in improving facilities for deaf people. He sought to devise an instrument, an artificial ear or hearing aid, and did so by linking two magnets by wire charged with a current from a battery. Vibrators at each end of the system allowed an electrical signal created by a sound to be reconverted to sound at the receiving end. It is traditionally thought that the first transmission by the prototype of the modern telephone happened by accident when Bell called to his assistant in the next room: ‘Watson, please come here, I want you’.

It is more likely that the potential of the device was realised earlier than this and there was certainly a period of development before Bell patented the invention in 1873. The following year the ability of the telephone to carry the human voice over a long distance was demonstrated at an exhibition in Philadelphia. The Bell Telephone Company was founded and advocates such as Lord Kelvin, who was responsible for the laying of the first transatlantic cable and the Emperor of Brazil, endorsed the new discovery.

Popular Acclaim

The telephone was also demonstrated to Queen Victoria who was delighted by it and by 1879 the first telephone exchange had opened in London. Although the telephone gained popular acclaim and interest quickly spread across the United States and the United Kingdom, Bell had great difficulty in proving his claim to be the inventor. In time, however, he became wealthy from it and turned his attentions back to his work with the deaf. In later life he went on to inaugurate the Volta Laboratory in Washington DC, for the ‘diffusion of knowledge for helping the deaf’. He worked with Thomas Edison on developing the phonograph. He also founded the American journal ‘Science’ and became interested in aeronautics, especially kites and gliders.

Bell became an American citizen but he returned to Scotland many times and during one visit set up a school for deaf children. From the 1880s he made his home in Nova Scotia. He died there, on Cape Breton Island, in 1922.

Images © Hulton Getty, National Museums Scotland | Licensor Scran

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

February 8, 2016 by Scran | 0 comments

“Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots” by Robert Herdman, 1867

Mary, Queen of Scots is one of Scotland’s best known monarchs. She is also renowned for her involvement in plots and murder. Elizabeth I had Mary beheaded for treason on Wednesday, 8th February 1587.

Born on 2nd December 1542 at Linlithgow, she came to the throne as an infant, ruled France when only 16, lost her husband at 18, married two men who helped murder their rivals and came close to ruling all of Britain 35 years before her son, James VI of Scotland, was also crowned King James I of England on Elizabeth I’s death.

Turbulent Times

During the 16th century, Scotland witnessed great religious, political, social and economic change in the form of the religious Reformation and frequent power struggles between rival political factions. Mary had ascended to the Scottish throne when she was six days old but in 1548 was sent to France as the prospective bride of the French Dauphin, Francis, whom she married in 1558. She returned to Scotland to resume control in 1561, after Francis’s death. Mary’s reign was beset by plots and religious struggles. Although Mary had stated she had no particular wish to rule how her subjects should worship, she came under considerable attack from John Knox – the religious reformer.

Murderous Intent

The Catholic nobleman Lord Darnley, Mary’s cousin and second husband, was involved in the murder of her private secretary David Rizzio and was then strangled at Kirk o’ Field in 1567 by the Queen’s favourite James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. They also blew up the house he was staying in.

Open Rebellion

Bothwell and Mary were married in a Protestant ceremony in 1567, an act which turned Scottish noblemen against her and led to open rebellion. Mary’s troops were defeated at Carberry Hill in June 1567 and she was forced to surrender, abdicating in favour of her son, James VI, who was crowned at Stirling. She escaped from her prison at Lochleven in May 1568 and gathered an army of 6,000 but was defeated again at Langside.

To England

Fleeing, Mary crossed the Solway Firth seeking refuge at the court of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. She hoped for asylum and assistance from her cousin, but she was mistaken. In 1568, in York and Westminster, Mary’s representatives and opponents, debating her alleged complicity in Darnley’s murder, failed to reach a formal decision as to whether she should be restored to the Scottish throne. Elizabeth did not find in Mary’s favour. Mary was detained in England for 19 years before her execution on 8 February 1587. She feared that Mary would be a focus for catholic rebellion, especially after the Pope declared that if a catholic murdered Elizabeth, they would not be guilty of any sin.

More Plots

At first her imprisonment was relatively easy, but the continued plotting of catholic sympathisers forced Elizabeth to act. The more frequent the plots against Elizabeth, the greater the pressure on her to act against Mary. She was arrested for being involved in her page Babbington’s plot to murder Elizabeth I, which would have led to her becoming Queen of England, being next in line to that throne. Mary was tried and found guilty of treason by conspiring against the English queen in 1586. But Elizabeth still hesitated to sign Mary’s death warrant.

Final Days

Elizabeth was persuaded by Parliament and her councillors to do so on 1 February 1587.

Mary had been told of her execution on the afternoon of 7 February. Her last letter was completed at two o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, 8 February 1587, six hours before her execution at Fotheringhay Castle. It was to Henri III, her former brother-in-law, then King of France. In it Mary states that she is being put to death for her Catholic religion and her right to the English crown. She also asks him to take care of her servants.

Beheading

Mary was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle at 8.00am on Wednesday 8 February 1587, aged 44. At the Execution, Mary was heard to intone ‘Into thy Hands O Lord, do I commit my Spirit’. In the presence of the Commissioners and Ministers of Queen Elizabeth the executioner struck Mary with his axe, and after a first and second blow by which she was barbarously wounded, he cut off her head with the third stroke. She was first interred in Peterborough Cathedral, but later, in 1612, James VI had her remains removed and entombed in Westminster Abbey.

Lots more for teachers via this attachment Investigating Mary Queen of Scots.

Cultybraggan Camp

February 1, 2016 by Scran | 0 comments

On Scran we recently gathered together all our content relating to Cultybraggan. Today over 80 of the original 100 Nissen huts remain alongside and other structures at Cultybraggan Camp, near Comrie in Perthshire. They have changed little since their construction in 1941, although the gable ends were once made from wood. Several of the huts are now listed as being of national significance.

The site was initially created during World War Two as a German prisoner of war camp. Known as P.O.W. camp number 21, it housed 4000 category ‘A’ prisoners, including Nazi officers. Subsequently, it has been an army training camp and also housed a Royal Observer Corps post through the Cold War.

In 2007, Cultybraggan Camp was sold by the Ministry of Defence to the Comrie Development Trust. The 13.8 hectare site also includes sports fields, the last nuclear bunker built in the U.K., a small arms firing range, allotments and a visitor exhibition centre.

See more on Scran

Images © The Scotsman Publications Ltd. & J.Sangster | Licensor Scran

Gathering the Voices

January 26, 2016 by Scran | 1 Comment

Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January, is the day for everyone to remember the millions of Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and the millions of people killed Nazi Persecution throughout World War Two.

In recent years, the Gathering the Voices Association has been collecting and recording survivor’s stories – some came on the Kindertransport, meanwhile others survived concentration camps and many made remarkable journeys to get to safety in Scotland.

One such person was Marion Camrass; her story begins in Poland 1932. She was born into a wealthy family in Krakow. As a child during World War Two she fled the fighting by travelling into Soviet Russia and eventually to Siberia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1946 she joined her aunt in Glasgow, where she completed her school education, went to university and finally settled.

We are delighted to say the Gathering the Voices Association has shared a selection of material with Scran, becoming our newest contributing partner.

Now you can listen to the interviews on Scran, not only the story of Marion Camrass but also that of Gretl Shapiro – hear all about their lives in Scotland after World War Two. Each interview has a full transcript available for reference and fascinating, accompanying images.

There are also supporting materials on topics such as religious discrimination and sectarianism.

Up Helly Aa

January 26, 2016 by Scran | 0 comments

Up Helly Aa celebrations take place on the last Tuesday of January . They are one of the United Kingdom’s most spectacular winter festivals. The festival, centred in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, takes a year to plan and spans two days.

Roots

The modern version of Up Helly Aa – meaning “end of holidays” – has its origins around 1815 when young men returned from the Napoleonic war where they had experienced the banging of drums, fires, and guns. Out of such excitement came a desire to create an event which would enliven the long dark winter months. Early activities, particularly tar-barrelling where lit barrels of tar were pulled along the narrow street towards rival gangs, gave way to a more organised festival and by the 1950s the modern Up Helly Aa had evolved. The Festival is based around both the legends of Norse mythology and the very real links between Shetland and Norway which go back more than 1000 years. In the old Norse calendar Up Helly Aa was the last day of the winter festival and was celebrated on the 24th day following Yule. Shetland’s Up Helly Aa is held on the last Tuesday in January and concludes with the burning of a replica Viking long boat.

Guizers & the Jarl

Each year, a Guizer Jarl or leader is nominated and the whole community work for some considerable time building and naming a new galley. Costumes and 1000 torches are prepared and arrangements are made for a series of parties. The Guizer Jarl (Head Viking) will have nominated himself to the Up Helly Aa committee 15 years in advance. It is therefore a long wait to fulfil the role. Preparation includes the selection of a squad of around 50 men who will form the squad. Direct debits will be set up over 15 years to pay for each costly suit (around £1,000) and other event costs. Being part of the Jarl squad is an honour and men spend long hours preparing their costumes and rehearsing.

Blazing Long Ship

On Up Helly Aa morning the Jarl Squad meets, accompanied by the local brass band. All march to the Lerwick Legion where they receive their first dram of the day. Waiting outside are crowds of school children, locals and tourists – and, of course, the new galley, especially named for the day. The Guizer Jarl – wearing traditional Viking apparel – hoists his axe aloft aboard his long ship and calls on his Jarl Squad to begin the Festival. The Squad then processes through the town centre led by the Jarl. They carry banners and weapons as though on a raid.

The Proclamation

At this stage they deliver their “Proclamation” to the town – a light hearted document – which is displayed at the Market Cross in the town centre. Many folk stop to read and have a laugh as they read it. The proclamation (or bill) is erected as a large billboard which has been skilfully painted by local artists. The text includes local political topics and personal jokes. The Jarl squad spend the rest of the day visiting schools, hospitals, houses and the local museum.

The Last Rites

At 7.30pm, the leaders use crimson flares, or maroons, to signal the lighting of the torches and the start of the procession. Torches are wooden stakes, the size of fence posts, dipped in a combustable resin. They resemble giant matches. Lit by torchlight, the procession makes its way along King Erik Street and the Galley makes her last journey to the special burning site. Guizers, the Jarl’s men, wear specially made costumes inspired by mythological creatures such as serpents, double-headed eagles, and dragons. At the “Last Rites”, the procession reaches the burning site. The Galley is positioned as a centrepiece and the glowing torches are thrown into the boat. The flames engulf the galley reminiscent of a Viking leader’s burial. Only then are the feasting halls opened to receive squads. Those not involved in the procession have prepared food and set up parties. As dictated by tradition, the squad tour as many halls as they can. And the festivities last till morning.

For more pictures of Up Helly Aa including some stunning Hulton Getty photographs visit Scran.

Images © The Scotsman Publications Ltd., National Museums Scotland, Newsquest (Herald & Times), Scottish Media Group | Licensor Scran

Art & Design in Perth & Kinross

January 22, 2016 by Scran | 0 comments

This term in Perth & Kinross, two schools are working in partnership with Scran to focus on Expressive Arts. Both Abernethy Primary School & Dunbarney Primary School are taking a whole school approach to teaching Art & Design.

Before Christmas staff came together for the project brief. The challenge was to come up with common schemes of work for each year group, across both schools. Below are the topics each year group is investigating at present;

P1/2 – all aspects of tartan & weaving
P2/3 – Roman life & collage
P4 – Wallace & Bruce through targe construction
P5 – Mary Queen of Scots through jewellery & feltmaking
P6 – Burns by drawing & painting portrait work
P7 – Scottish Landscapes looking at Jolomo

As well as these Studying Scotland themes, classes will be identifying opportunities for IDL. Significant aspects of learning and progression pathways are being addressed throughout the teaching & learning activities which are currently underway. This area for development is set to conclude during mid February, when both schools will exhibit the pupil outcomes, inviting parents to come in to celebrate the pupils’ achievement.

Evaluation & moderation is an integral part of the project. Exemplars of pupils’ work will then be used during InSET on as the basis for a school Art & Design moderation. Scran continues to provide support, subject specific knowledge and will also be doing Kite Aerial Photography, as an extension activity during the Spring with selected classes. We’ll keep you posted on their progress & share some of the outcomes in the coming weeks.

Italian Students visit Scran

January 22, 2016 by User deactivated | 0 comments

Portobello beach by Davide Corsini, aged 17

For the past two weeks, Scran has hosted three young students from the Istituto Pavoniano Artigianelli per le Arte Grafiche in Trento, Italy, as part of a course organised by our colleagues at the University of Edinburgh. As first-time visitors to Scotland, they were given an assignment to photograph Edinburgh and Glasgow from their own, personal point of view. While they naturally gravitated to some of the better-known landmarks of the cities, such as Edinburgh Castle and Arthur’s Seat, they also found time to visit Portobello, the Botanic Gardens and anonymous streets in the capital, and they were particularly drawn to our squirrels, which they said are rarely seen in Italian cities! The photographs that they compiled show their individual viewpoints, and they each captured some striking and unusual images. You can see the best of their various images of Scotland at http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/results.php?id_proj=1128

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Last month we told you about Scran working with Art & Design in Perth & Kinross, well here’s some of what we got up with Primary 7, in Bridge of Earn. Armed with a mobile art studio, laden with materials the class found inspiration in the work of Jolomo.

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‘Watson, please come here, I want you’

Popular Acclaim

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Turbulent Times

Murderous Intent

Open Rebellion

To England

More Plots

Final Days

Beheading

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Up Helly Aa celebrations take place on the last Tuesday of January . They are one of the United Kingdom’s most spectacular winter festivals. The festival, centred in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, takes a year to plan and spans two days.

Roots

Guizers & the Jarl

Blazing Long Ship

The Proclamation

The Last Rites

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