In my mind, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is the next best thing to Scotland and that’s where I’ll be for the next couple of weeks. Although GreatScot! blog posts may be a little more infrequent than usual, rest assured that I will keeping an eye out for interesting tidbits to post from time to time during my vacation.
For those who may not be familiar with Cape Breton Island, it is an island at the northern tip of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. As it was largely settled by Highland Scots emigrants, Cape Breton has a rich Gàidhlig history and many aspects of that culture are still evident today. The Celtic musical tradition is especially strong and there are still places where Gàidhlig is routinely spoken. I’m looking forward to the chance to practice my limited Gàidhlig vocabulary and see if anyone can understand me.
Here are a few pictures I took from my trip last year and a video from a music festival that I attended at Colaisde na Gàidhlig (The Gaelic College).
Chisholm’s Cottages, Troy, NS
Port Hood Island
Hills of Mabou
Colindale Rd
Christy’s Look off
Cabot Trail
Cabot Trail
Cabot Trail
By the way, I found out yesterday that I am indeed attending the Outlander Premiere in San Diego on July 25, so readers can definitely look forward to Great Scot! blog posts covering the event. I’m very excited to be meeting more Outlanders and having the chance to see both the first Outlander episode and attend the Q&A panel with Ron, Diana, Sam, Caitriona, Tobias, Graham and Lotte.
Stay tuned, exciting times ahead!
In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the inaugural GreatScot! giveaway. Click here to enter.
As followers of Great Scot! know, I recently had the opportunity to attend the Outlander Retreat in Seattle hosted by Random House for the launch of MOBY. If you missed them, you can catch up on my experiences at the event by checking out the following blog posts:
As a result of attending the event though, I was able to pick up a few excellent items and am making these items part of the inaugural Great Scot! giveaway: A signed first edition, first printing of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood and a 17″x11″ Key Art poster for the Outlander TV series on Starz.
This giveaway is open to US and international residents. It starts on June 30 at 8:30 am and will end at midnight on July 14.
So as we roll into summer, we’re only 47 days away from the premiere episode of Outlander. (Unless you’re lucky enough to win one of the coveted invitations to the July 25 Gala premiere or July 30 Time Warner Cable preview. Anybody need a +1?) As existing Outlander fans though, we need to be prepared for the multitude of questions that will come our way as the rest of the world falls for Outlander.
One question I’ve had, and that I’ve heard others ask as well, is ‘what is the difference between the pronunciation of Gaelic and Gàidhlig?’
Well, what better source for a definitive answer than Outlander’s own Gàidhlig expert and tutor, Àdhamh Ó Broin? Here is what Àdhamh has to say on the subject:
What is the correct pronunciation of “Gaelic”? “The correct pronunciation is actually exactly as it looks. In the language itself, the word most commonly encountered is Gàidhlig /GAAHLeek/ (although in parts of Argyll, it is more like /GELLeek/ ‘e’ as in “get”) and this has meant that many people now say /Gahlick/ in Eng. But in truth this is more like a nickname for the language than a proper name. Scottish, Irish and Manx (the Isle of Man) are in fact all Gaelic -like “gay” & “lick” stuck together. This a language family, of Gaelic or Goidelic languages, not one particular language. The correct historical terms in English for the three sister tongues within this are exactly as above: Scottish, Irish and Manx. In fact, out of the six Celtic languages, only Scottish has ceased to be referred to by its historical national title, which is a matter of some regret, as it is the only language prior to the arrival of English ever to have been spoken throughout the country and its culture gave us most everything -from kilts, to pipes, to black pudding- we now associate with Scottishness. Another point to address would be the myth that has been floating about that Irish is /GAELik/ & Scottish is /GAHLik/ but if this were true, then the Scots who speak the language would be referred to as Gahls rather than Gaels which we know is not the case.
So which one to use? In Outlander, we have stuck with /GAHLik/ because this is the preferred term of the majority of Scottish speakers. There is no point in confusing matters for the sake of it. But were you to ask me my preferred pronunciation? That would be just as it looks and how it is pronounced in Nova Scotia to this day, /GAELik/!”
So there we have it. Originally there was probably no difference in the pronunciation of the two terms but for most of today’s Scots, and in Outlander, /GAHLik/ is the preferred pronunciation.
So as an added bonus, here is a picture that Àdhamh posted on his Facebook page this weekend.
CLACH NA CAILLICHE
The Witch’s Stone
This stone was a boundary marker between Gleann Dà Ruadhail (glen of two red streams) and Srath Lachainn (Lachlan’s valley) parishes in my home district of Cowal, Argyll…
The “cailleach” associated with this stone was believed to be able to change shape to become a cow and return to human form.
An excavation has just been completed on the other side of the modern road that now intersects the area and they found an old inn where the drovers would drink their fill and sleep over for the night.
The glen is almost devoid of human activity now, save for the whoosh of the odd passing car moving between the two parishes…
Due to real life and other occurrences (i.e. Outlander Retreat and MOBY), I’m a bit behind on the How to Speak Outlander posts from Starz. For those who may have missed it, or just want an excuse to watch again, here are the latest in the ‘How to Speak Outlander’ series.
How to Speak Outlander: Lesson 10 – Dinna Fash
This is probably one of my favorite Scots phrases and I always enjoy seeing Mrs. Fitz. It’s also lovely to see Àdhamh continue to allow his personality to shine through. 🙂
How to Speak Outlander: Lesson 11 – Slàinte Mhath
Now here is a phrase every good whisky-drinking Outlander should know! Alas, I have it on good authority that Àdhamh was forced to drink water during the filming of this video. Afraid of having too many takes to get the perfect video, you ken.
Gàidhlig Tips from Àdhamh
Last but not least. Àdhamh was in a particularly teacherly frame of mind yesterday and provided us with the following Gàidhlig tip of the day:
Next to slender vowels, d, s & t become soft -see below….
When last we met, Retreat attendees were giving the new Outlander Behind the Scenes feature a rousing standing ovation. Alas, that was the end of the official presentations of the Outlander Retreat weekend. Last up in the official events schedule was the Afternoon Mixer.
Nibbles and Natterings
Exiting the main hall to the skirl of bagpipes and still on a tremendous adrenaline high from all the fantastic tidbits and visuals of the last hour, I found myself facing a banquet worthy of Castle Leoch and Mrs. Fitz herself.
Spread worthy of Mrs. Fitz
Outlanders were hungry!
Bagpiper
For the next two hours, Outlanders mixed and mingled with each other as well as with Diana and many of the Random House and Starz reps. It was a beautiful affair and Diana was beautiful and gracious as she moved from group to group. I think just about everyone had a chance to chat with her if they were patient. I had one very important question I had been wanting to ask and this was finally my chance. I knew that Diana had been listing the annual DragonCon event as tentative on her appearance schedule for a while, but I was finally able to confirm that she won’t be able to attend the event this year because of commitments in the UK. While disappointed for myself, hopefully you readers in the UK will be able to experience the DG phenomenon in person for yourself.
As for the food, there was definitely some noshing going on. I had several bites that were delightful. My favorite was probably the smoked salmon on oatcake, but the shepherd’s pie bite was very good too. I also tried the lavender fudge, and while it was good, I just seem to have a problem with lavender. I can’t imagine why. 😉
Soon, though, all the food was eaten and slowly but surely everyone began to hug and bid each other farewell. I found I really had to drag myself away. Well in all honesty @LallybrochLaura had to drag me away, otherwise I might still be there. I just didn’t want the magic of the weekend to end. My last sight as I climbed the steps and stepped away from my magical weekend was this one of Kristin Matherly.
I think she may have had the best idea of all. How much better can it get than a nice sunny spot and a great book to read?
A Meal with a View
Luckily for me, there was one last event on my unofficial Outlander Retreat agenda. A few friends and I planned a post-Retreat dinner in the revolving Sky City restaurant at the top of the Seattle Space Needle. As we were just a bit early for our reservation, Laura and I took the opportunity to visit the Space Needle Observation Deck on what had to be one of the most beautiful days in Seattle that I have ever seen. Hardly a cloud in the sky and you felt you could see forever.
Space Needle
View towards Safeco Field
View towards West Seattle
View of Downtown Seattle
At dinner, the food was superb but the company even more so. It was a wonderful chance to sit down and really discuss all our feelings about the day and share with each other our favorite memories. You could actually feel friendships clicking and solidifying as we enjoyed our food, conversation, and revolving view. All too soon though, it was time for even that last remnant of the memory-filled day to be over. We all headed back to our hotels for the night and then back to our respective home cities and daily lives.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, like the Outlander Retreat weekend, it is time to wrap up my official Outlander Retreat blog posts. As I reflect on all the happenings of the last days, I find that it already seems to be fading into mythical status in my mind.
Did I really meet Diana Gabaldon?
Were all the online friends I met in person for the first time this weekend really as awesome as I had hoped they would be?
Do I really have in my hands the book that I have been waiting almost five years to read?
The answers to all these questions is yes. But even now, as I sit here composing this blog post, I find that I don’t want to let the weekend go. For lack of any better words of my own, I’ve decided to include here one of my favorite songs by Scottish singer/songwriter Dougie MacLean titled ‘Caledonia’. For those who may not know, Caledonia is the Latin name given to Scotland by the Romans, and in this song MacLean is singing about being homesick for Scotland after a weekend with friends. I find this song fits my feelings perfectly because, after this magical wonderful weekend, I find myself homesick for Outlander. And just as soon as I hit publish on this blog, I will be diving right into that magical world once more. Don’t be worried if you don’t hear from me for a bit, I’ll be in my favorite fictional world.
Great Scot! 