Obair-ghrèis Mhòr na h-Alba (1) – Taobh an Ear-Thuath
Nuair a bha mi a’ tadhal air mo cho-ogha ann an Dùn Èideann seachdain no dhà air ais, chaidh sinn a dh’fhaicinn Obair-ghrèis Mhòr na h-Alba, a tha air ais ann an togalach Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, a’ comharrachadh 15 bliadhna den Phàrlamaid. Abair euchd! Tha i drùidhteach gu leòr mar obair-dhealain, le cho brèagha, cruthachail is mionaideach ‘s a tha i, ach rud fiù ‘s nas drùidhtiche, ‘s ann gur e fìor iomairt-choimhearsnachd a th’ innte. Dh’fhuaigheil mìle duine bho aois 4 gu 94 agus bho Shealltainn gus na Crìochan na 160 pannal, a’ glacadh eachdraidh fhada na h-Alba bho Linn na Deighe gu fosgladh na Pàrlamaid ann an 1999. Agus ged a bha gach pannal air a dhealbhadh (gu àlainn) le neach-ealain, Andew Crummy, bha beagan saorsa cruthachail aig an luchd-fuaigheil agus chì sinn seo, mar eisimpleir, anns na h-ìomhaighean beaga mionaideach air an oir no anns na h-oiseanan de na pannalan.
Ged a tha an Obair-ghrèis Mhòr (143 meatair) nas fhaide na am fear aig Bayeux – ‘s e an grèis-bhrat as fhaide air an t-saoghal a th’ innte – tha i cho tarraingeach ‘s gu bheil thu ag iarraidh coimhead air gach pannal gu mionaideach. Thog mi iomadh dealbh, agus tha mi airson cuid dhiubh a shealltainn dhuibh.
Bha ùidh shònraichte agam anns na pannalan le ceangal ris a’ phàirt againne den dùthaich, taobh an Ear-thuath na h-Alba, agus ‘s e an fheadhainn sin a tha ri fhaicinn san artaigil am mìos seo. Bheir mi sùil air taobhan inntinneach eile an ath thuras.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland (1) – the North East
When I was visiting my cousin in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago we went to see the Great Tapestry of Scotland, which is back in the Scottish Parlament building commemorating the Parliament’s 15th year. What an achievement it is! It’s impressive enough as a work of art, beautiful, imaginative and detailed, but what’s more impressive is that it’s a real community effort. A thousand people from 4 to 94, from Shetland to the Borders, stitched the 160 panels, capturing Scotland’s history from the Ice Age to the opening of our Parliament in 1999. And although each panel had been designed by artist Andrew Crummy, the sewers had a bit of creative freedom, which we can see, for example, in the details of the wee images at the edge or in the corners of the panels.
Although the Great Tapestry (143 metres) is longer than the Bayeux one (it’s the longest tapestry in the world), it’s so fascinating that you want to look at every panel in detail. I took a lot of photos and would like to show you some of them.
I was particularly interested in in the panels with a connection to our part of the country, the North East of Scotland, and these are the ones seen in this article. I’ll have a look at other interesting aspects in the next one.
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- Buaidh na Cruithnich aig Dùn Neachdain – cudromach oir chùm seo Alba neo-eisimeileach // Picts defeat Angles at Dunnichen – important as it kept Scotland independent
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- MacBheatha ann am Moreibh – rìgh math, a dh’aindeoin Shakespeare // Macbeth in Moray – a good king, despite Shakespeare
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- Na Dròbhairean – tha ìomhaigh shnaighte de dhròbhair agus a chù aig ionad-margaidh Inbhir Pheofharain // The Drovers – there’s a sculpture of a drover and his dog at Dingwall Auction Mart
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- Na Fuadaichean. Thàinig cuid de na croitearan fuadaichte do Mhachair Rois // The Clearances – Some of the cleared inland crofters ended up on the Seaboard
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- Iasg smocte – cudromach sna bailtean againne cuideachd // Smoked fish – important in our villages too
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- Clann-nighean an Sgadain – ar (sinn-) seanamhairean // Herring Girls – our (great-) grandmothers
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- An Darna Cogadh, Arm Pòlainneach – tha iomadh ainm Pòlainneach againn fhathast ann an Ros an Ear. // WW2, Polish Army – there are still a good few Polish surnames in Easter Ross
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- Toiseach gnìomhachas ola – agus bha Neig an sàs bho sin a-mach. // Oil industry arrives – and Nigg was involved from the very beginning
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- Obar Dheathain – an-còmhnaidh cudromach dhuinn a thaobh foghlaim, iasgaich agus ola. // Aberdeen – always important to us as regards education, fishing and oil.
