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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE ST. ANDREW'S SOCIETY OF LOS ANGELES

October happens to be one of the busiest months for St. Andrew's Los Angeles. Plans are shaping up for our St. Andrew's Day Brunch (Dec 2) at the Altadena Country Club and our legendary Robert Burns Dinner (Jan 27) at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. And in all our busy-ness for the future, we can't forget the imminent Seaside Highland Games (Oct 14 & 15) and our New Members Reception at the Tam O'Shanter (Oct 28).

Being your President, has at times been challenging, but it is a satisfying and rewarding undertaking. We, as an organization, are increasingly being recognized as the premier source of Scottish culture in all of Southern California. As a member, you can continue to stand proud both in your family heritage/traditions and in the eyes of those who in the 'otherworld' have gone before! The Highland Games next week are an opportunity for community - to meet and enjoy others who share some form of Scottish-ness, i.e., Pipe & Drums, Whisky Tasting, Caber Tossing, Stone Putting, Highland Dancing, Celtic Arts, etc. I would encourage you all to support the Seaside Games in Ventura and once again raise the spirit that may have led to some of your ancestors to explore the New World! Your Society will be there with an elaborate booth that promotes all things Scottish! I'll see you at Seaside.

Slàinte mhath and a fun filled Samhain to you all ~

UPCOMING EVENT

Oct 14th & Oct 15th

Better Than Ever!

Southern California's Seaside Highland Games is the premier

Scottish festival on the Pacific Coast and will launch its 19th outing on October 14th & 15th, 2023! Staged on the Ventura County Fairgrounds in coastal Ventura, California, the venue is transformed into a virtual Scottish village. Set on the pacific shores, the festival is fortunate to have ocean breezes which makes it the perfect location to enjoy!

Tickets are on sale now!

CELEBRITY CORNER

SAM SHARES HIS 5 FAVORITE PLACES IN GLASGOW

Actor Sam Heughan is no stranger to his Scottish homeland. When he's not filming his hit television shows Men in Kilts, or Outlander, he loves walking and running along the River Clyde to Glasgow Green with a possible stop at the microbrewery Drygate for a beer. Sam shares with us some hidden gems with five of his favorite spots in Glasgow, the city he has called home for the last decade. In an interview with the New York Times he says: “Glasgow has got beautiful parts and grit. The combination, plus incredibly good-natured people, are the city’s charm.”

To Read more about Sam's favorite places, click below:

BRAVE NEW SCOTS!



Most people even today with all our knowledge about explorers and their histories revisited and re-evaluated, still think that Christopher Columbus discovered "America" - or at the very least was the first European to visit the "New World." We now know that this is not in fact what happened, and while we will probably never know who exactly were the first people or persons (outside the indigenous people who were in fact already here for many millenium), we do know the Vikings got here long before the Spanish conquerors.

The first Scots who came to the New World supposedly came with the Vikings. It is commonly told that a Bard from the western isles was on board a Viking ship during an early exploration (late 900's) of the North American continent, but did not set foot on land. The first recorded Scots were apparently two slaves of Leif Erikson - a man and woman (named Haki & Hekja, which do not seem to be Celtic names, but could be), who acted as sort of make-shift scouts for an expedition sometime shortly after the year 1000. The couple did land, scout out the terrain and gather food.

Recent DNA studies in Iceland (the jumping off point for the expeditions to Greenland and Newfoundland) apparently show a large maternal line of Celtic blood. It seems that the Vikings took many Scottish and possibly Irish wives (or slaves) with them when they settled Iceland.

(To read more on Tom Doran's "Brave New Scots" please visit: http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/jbeatty/Scotia/issue44/issue44a.html)

NEW MEMBER RECEPTION



Must RSVP to attend this No Ticket event

ENTERTAINMENT

"The Road Dance"

Opening in Theatres - October 13th

"THE ROAD DANCE" Garnering worldwide acclaim since its U.S. west coast premiere at the TARTAN FILM FESTIVAL in 2022, now in limited release.

• New York : The Quad, 34 W 13th Street, NYC October 13
• Los Angeles, Laemmle Royal, CA , October 13
• Chicago, Music Box Theatre, October 13

For full list of Theaters CLICK HERE

Set in a small remote village in the Hebrides, a young woman (Hermione Corfield) yearns for adventure. She sees hope and a future with Murdo (Will Fletcher) an intelligent, curious poet. But an unspeakable incident changes her life and the lives of her village forever. Sensitively adapted from John MacKay's 2002 novel, this sweeping tale of resilience captures the attitudes of the time while offering a moving drama for audiences of any time period.



NEWLY LAUNCHED WHISKY

From the Isles

THE FIRST KINGS OF SCOTLAND

Series

(King Malcolm illustration compliments from the National Galleries of Scotland)

Continuing with our series of the First Kings and Queens of Scotland,

we examine our next three kings:

-Constantin II

-Malcolm I

-Indulf

CONSTANTIN II

Constantin II, son of Áed, was King Donald's cousin and ruled from 900 to 943 - his long reign means he is considered one of the most successful of all of Scotland's early kings. Like Donald II (his predecessor), he may have spent his early years in the safety of Ireland. As with his predecessors, his reign was beset with Viking raids. In 903 one of the worst was the sacking of Dunkeld, the ecclesiastical capital of his realm. The Chronicles of the Kings of Alba, in recording this event, was the first use of the name 'Alba' for Constantin's kingdom.

At the battle of Corbidge in 918, Constantin's army found itself facing a combined Viking and Northumbrian army. The Alban soldiers were partly victorious - they won on three fronts but were defeated in a fourth. Because of this, the result was a stalemate. By the early 11th century, however, Northern Bernicia and Strathclyde had been absorbed into what was to become Scotland.

In 943 Constantine abdicated the throne and retired to the Culdee monastery of St. Andrew's where he died in 952. Constantine's reign of 43 years exceeded in Scotland only by that of King William the Lion before the union of the crowns in 1603 and is believed to have played a defining part in the gaelicization of Pictland which his patronage of the Irish reformers was a significant factor.

MALCOLM I

Malcolm I, son of Donald II, became king of Scots when his cousin, Constantine II abdicated to become a monk and left the throne to Malcolm. Malcolm I ruled from 943 to 954. He was probably born during his father's reign (889-900) and by the 940's, he was no longer a young man and may have become impatient in waiting for the throne. Willingly or not - the 11th century Prophecy of Berchán, a verse history in the form of a supposed prophecy states that it was not a voluntary decision that Constantine II abdicated in 943 and entered a monastery, leaving the kingdom to Malcolm (Máel Coluim). At the end of his reign, Malcolm died in the shield wall next to his men and would have been the third in his immediate family to die violently (Father, Donald II and Grandfather, Constantine I both having similar fates).

INDULF

Indulf, another son of Constantine II, was king of Alba from 954 to 962. His mother may have been a daughter of Earl Eadulf I of Bernicia, who was an exile in Scotland. Indulf was nicknamed "The Aggressor." It is thought that Indulf had been king of Strathclyde in the reign of his predecessor, based on understanding that the kingdom of Strathclyde had become a part of the kingdom of Alba in the 940's. It is also thought that Indulf's death in 962 was that he was killed while fighting Vikings near Cullen at the Battle of Bauds.

The Prophecy of Berchán, however claims that he died, in the house where his father died in the monastery of St. Andrew's. buried on Iona.

Join us next month as we continue with

The First Kings & Queens of Scotland series

(courtesy of Scotland Magazine www.Scotlandmag.com)

ISLAND SPOTLIGHT

The Haunted Islands of Scotland

St. Kilda,

Isle of Lewis,

Isle of Skye,

Isle of Mull

Isle of Arran

Scotland is steeped in history, legends and ghost stories, but could it be one of the most haunted countries in the world? There is no shortage of history to form a perfectly spooky basis for camp fire stories; from bloody and savage battles, to tales of cruelty and disease. Here are 5 haunted islands of Scotland that are sure to send a shiver down your spine this Halloween.

St. Kilda

St. Kilda is the United Kingdom's most remote part of the nation and has not been inhabited by people since 1930. The islands of St Kilda are haunted by a harsh past full of the struggle of its natives and passing visitors. From the stories of the St Kildian's who made the brave attempt to reach Australia and perished in the wild waves, the tales of the islands dogs that were drowned in the sea before the final islanders abandoned this inhospitable island, or the many shipwreck crew who have become trapped in the ferocity of the islands cliffs and craggy stacks.

Callanish Standing Stones



Callanish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis is one of Scotland's most well-known stone circles, the stones were erected at the site between 2900 - 2600 BC and there is some evidence that earlier structures existed at the site previously. The stones are known as 'Fir Bhreig' which in Gaelic means 'the false men' and legend has it that the stones were giants that were turned into stone by St Kieran because they would not convert to Christianity.

Austin, Sligachan - Isle of Skye

Skye is one of Scotland's most popular destinations, with visits by thousands of tourists from near and far every month. This beautiful island has a wealth of history and heritage. The beauty of the isle is also accompanied by extraordinary legend; many claim that the main road by Sligachan, on the East of the island has been the setting for the spectral appearance of a 1934 Austin. People who have reported seeing the Austin, claim they have had to pull over to let the car overtake them, however after passing the car vanishes. Sightings of the car date back as far as the 1940's and it is claimed the ghost car is a result of a tragic accident that caused the driver to lose his mind with guilt. 

MacKinnon's Cave - Isle of Mull

MacKinnon's Cave is located on the Isle of Mull and is reckoned to be the longest sea cave in all of the Hebrides. Legend has it the cave is named after a piper who travelled into its depths to see how far underground he could go, once deep inside the cave he bumped into a female ogre who killed him after he failed to please her with a tune from his pipes

Machrie Moor - Isle of Arran

Machrie Moor on the Isle of Arran, consists of 6 stone circles made of granite and sandstone. The moor in which the stones stand is littered with prehistoric stones, cists and burial cairns. Machrie Moor is regarded as one of the United Kingdom's best stone circles, and the myth behind the stones is that the stones were created by a group of fairies. The stories are said to have flicked pebbles onto the moor below from the summit of a nearby mountain, Durra-na-each.

To read more about Haunted Scottish Locations:

https://www.calmac.co.uk/article/3831/13-Haunting-Locations-on-Scotlands-west-coast-and-islands

The BEST Gins of Scotland!

At the top of our list comes The Sassenach!

ROBERT BURNS SUPPER

Tickets Go On Sale October 16th

PHOTO GALLERY

"The Granville" Brunch

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 2023

Seaside Highland Games: Sat/Sun, Oct 14th & 15th

New Member Reception @ The Tam O'Shanter - Sat, Oct 28th

St. Andrew's Day Brunch @ Altadena Country Club: Sat, Dec 2nd

2024

Robert Burns Celebration: Saturday, January 27th, Four Seasons 

Los Angeles @ Beverly Hills - SAVE THE DATE!

SASLA AGM: Saturday, February 24th

TARTAN Film Festival: April 6th - 13th



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https://www.saintandrewsla.org/membership/application



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St. Andrew's Society of Los Angeles

"Where Scotland Meets the City of Angels"

www.StAndrewsLA.org