Cluny cemetery with mortsafes and magnificent mausoleum

Cluny Cemetery near Monymusk in Aberdeenshire.

Image are mainly from the old cemetery at Cluny.

This graveyard is dominated by the Fraser Mausoleum, a circular neo-classical building of ashlar grey granite (ashlar being well-dressed stone). This impressive structure was designed by James Byers of Tonley.

James Byers was an 18^th century Scottish artist and architect from Tonley, Tough, Aberdeenshire. He was a man of considerable learning and a dealer in antiques and paintings – among his clients was the English artist Constable. The Byers were Jacobites (his father had fled after Culloden) and like Bonnie Prince Charlie James spent a considerable part of his life in Rome where he was a great authority on all things cultural and he became what might be described as a cultural guide for those undertaking the Grand Tour.

Incidentally Byers was responsible for the famous Portland Vase coming to this country. He took possession of it after its owner, one of the Barberinis, found himself in debt over a game of cards. Byers sold the vase to the Scottish diplomat and archaeologist Sir William Hamilton. Eventually the vase found its way to Britain.

Before I get carried away with Byers let me return to Cluny.

A friend of Eliza Fraser, Byers presumably oversaw the work done on the mausoleum ensuring its quality – perhaps the work of mason William Cottie whose signature is on the building – finely proportioned, this drum rises from a square podium and finishes with a dome complete with oculus.

The Fraser coat of arms sits over the doorway and around the top of the drum runs a frieze – Elizabeth Fraser of Castle Fraser MDCCC VIII.

Protecting the glazed door is a wrought iron grille.

This is the view inside through a rather dirty window.

Alongside lies a simpler Fraser burial enclosure.

As striking as the mausoleum in a very different way is a terracotta monument to Leochel Cushnie teacher James Reid and his French wife Marie Claudine Nardin. They married for the second time, once in England, at 24 Dee Street Aberdeen on 14 Jan 1859.  Marie Claudine became a sewing teacher.  She died on 7 Jan 1897.

Dating from around 1897 it is in early Italian Renaisssance style with a medallion head, presumably of Marie Nardin.

The grave is protected by angels on both sides of the monument.

The angel holding a torch representing immortality of the spirit and the resurrection.

And on the opposite side is the fallen angel.

The graveyard boasts four splendid mort-safes. If you weren’t a Fraser who could afford a grand mausoleum to protect your recently deceased then you might have use of a mort-safe.

Before bodies were legally made available to anatomists, Scottish doctors learnt their trade with the help of resurrectionists, grave robbers, who dug up recently buried corpses and sold them for dissection.

These were commonly used in the 19^th century to prevent bodies awaiting burial being stolen. A corpse might lie within the protection of a mort-safe for six weeks until decay made the body unsuitable for dissection.

Churches might own one or two and could hire them to other churches. Some groups purchased mort-safes and charged fees for people who made use of the safes.

Cluny’s mort-safes are made up of wrought iron riveted cages but as well as the iron each has a top of a coffin shaped granite slab 2.15m long by 0.76m wide and 0.15m thick.

Several granite stones dating from late 18thC are contained within the old graveyard. There are numerous references to family members who lived and died abroad, signifying the extent of Scottish migration over the centuries.

Traditional cemetery imagery nicely carved into the unrelenting hardness of granite.

One of the ground level horizontal slabs with the skull and crossbones representing death.

Unusual scroll design on this stone.

Gravestone of a policeman.

Gravestone with an image of a piper either applied by sandblasting or laser.

Gravestone of a blacksmith with a carved anvil.

And a stone commemorating a farmer and his wife.

The original Cluny kirk belonged to the cathedral of Aberdeen and was known as St Machar’s Church. It fell to ruin and was demolished in 1789.

Almost forgot – if you look around the more recent cemetery at Cluny you will be staggered by the number of accident victims buried there.  It’s an interesting detail recorded on the stones but why have people stopped putting deceased’s occupations on gravestones? These make fascinating reading on old stones and add to our understanding of generations and the times they lived in.

Myths of Thatcher’s legacy according to Keiser – enjoy ;)

Keiser at his best on what Thatcher has done for Britain.

Funny and sharply observed.

Political killings, MI6 and flexible morality- Patrice Lumumba

Who killed Congo’s first elected Prime Minister and why was he killed? How involved was British Intelligence?

None of what hit the headlines today is news.

Here’s a passage from the novel Banana Pier published 2012

Robert Coulthard is in Berlin.  He’s about 22 years old and he and Dinger have arrived at the Wannsee.  Dinger is in great form, reminiscing about his time as a fresh young officer in 1960 when a serious young African is elected to lead the Republic of Congo’s Nationalist Party in government.  Thirty-four, bloody young for a Prime Minister, don’t you think, son?  Too bloody smart by half, is Bell’s verdict.  The ‘too bloody smart one’ was called Patrice Lumumba. Coulthard remembered because he thought it sounded like a girls’ name.  Bell is whispering, All a mistake.  Usual faction disputes, too bloody young!  Course the Yanks were up in arms, bloody commies and the like taking over.  Belgians as well.  Used to be their neck of the woods.  Suppose y’know all about that, don’t you, son?  Land of copper and diamonds, the Congo.  Couldn’t have that going to the commies, now could we?

    We?  Coulthard had asked, You said Americans and Belgians?

    Dinger had winked, For a start.  Some British boys thought Washington was going too far, dirty business.   But the President demanded they get him so Lumumba was kidnapped.  Gagged him, drove him somewhere, tied him to a tree and shot the poor bugger.  Created some hullabaloo among the usual suspects. Bloody great outcry for the body, then.  What did they do?  Panicked – dug him up, carved him up and dissolved the bits in a pit of sulphuric acid.  Protests of course, in Trafalgar Square. Wouldn’t you just know it?  Eisenhower took some criticism that they’d overstepped the mark but as the late Herr Hitler observed, one of the essentials for achieving your aims is the use of constant and regular violence.  The world’s not a place for dreamers, son.

    Adrenalin was pumping round his body. Could scarcely contain his excitement.  That remark Dinger had made at the Wannsee about violence and success.  Well, he wasn’t a dreamer.  If anything his world lay more in the field of nightmares.  The young version of Robert Coulthard only being moulded.  Fiercely loyal to Dinger and country.  Acquiesced with Dinger over what was morally acceptable behaviour to preserve the Union: Dinger’s moral map. 

from the novel Banana Pier http://www.amazon.co.uk/Banana-Pier-Alex-Chisholm/dp/1780880146

MI6 and the death of Patrice Lumumba  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22006446

Howe of Alford Wee Stone Circle:startling new discovery

A recently excavated stone circle of nine varied orthostats uncovered during scrub clearance throws into question what we know about Neolithic stone crowns.

There is no recumbent stone included in this circle but one of the taller orthostats has the look of a flanker.

Were such miniature rings created as blueprints from which to work on larger constructions or did they initiate young men in the building of full-size circles?

Could it be that Neolithic people participated in competitions along the lines of Highland Games or It’s a Knock-out or Strongest Man contests?

Given the variety of stones it might be that miniature circles were able to show how different rock colours and textures worked in groupings.

It is possible they were built to amuse the children while adults conducted their ceremonies undisturbed in adjoining full-scale circles.

Were Neolithic people believers in pixies and fairies? Could these little circles have been built for the little people to engage in their own rituals? Indeed were they built by the little people and then copied by Neolithic people?

It is likely few other such circles will come to light as they are too easily missed in deep undergrowth and presumably others have been broken up by generations of Scots for garden rockeries.

We shall never know exactly the function of Neolithic rings which dot the landscape of Aberdeenshire but the discovery of the Howe of Alford Wee Stone Circle might help throw light on some of the mysteries surrounding this historical phenomenon. 

Why was Ian Davidson at the Bedroom Tax demo when he didn’t vote against it?

Ian Davidson MP joins demonstrators at Anti-bedroom tax demo. He obviously feels strongly about it and tells the guy behind the camera he voted against it in the Commons. Well you’d expect nothing less since he appears in person to support its removal.

Well done Mr Davidson, fine upstanding politician while his fellow Labour Party colleagues mainly abstained to let the bedroom tax Bill go through.

But wait a minute. What did you say on camera Mr Davidson? Looks like you didn’t vote no after all. Was he talking about the bedroom tax? Or A N Other policy? It was a demo against the bedroom tax and remember he did not vote against it so why was he there?

What do you think?

Aberdeen Beach – Puffin Graveyard

Aberdeen’s famous miles of golden sands were distinctly chilly today despite some bright sunshine.

The tide was running high washing up all kinds of everything onto the beach including large amounts of unused lengths of 2 X 4. So if anyone has a DIY job in mind the beach could provide your timber for free.

Unfortunately the most common item on the beach – aside from nappy liners which begs the question why do people flush them down the lavatory – were dead birds, mainly puffins.

                                             

The harsh winter weather has caused havoc with wildlife this year and puffins are just one of the obvious victims of starvation.

I think this is a goose. Perhaps dead from starvation or a victim of high winds and seas.

There were several cuttlebones washed up. The first time I’ve seen them here.

The cuttlebone is the inside of the cuttlefish and is made of aragonite. Cuttlebones were used as moulds by jewellers and silversmiths. Some people stick them through the bars of budgie cages.

Looking towards Footdee (Fittie) from the esplanade.

Aberdeen beach is a great place to go for all kinds of reasons. But …

…you must not do this, do that do that.

This sign was put up to prevent youths walking into the sea after leaving this monstrosity night club.

The club has gone. Unfortunately the ugly building continues to be an eyesore at the beach. Time it and this sign were torn down.

The film they don’t want you to watch

Why did they want to censor this film?
Watch it to find out.

Let’s nail the lie about the LibDems

Let’s nail the lie. LibDems tell us how they are a moderating influence over what otherwise would be the excesses of the Conservatives in government.

This is pure fantasy.

The LibDems far from protecting us from merciless Tory policies have enabled them.

Without the LibDems the Tories would not be imposing their austerity measures on us.

Let us not forget how eager the LibDems were at the prospect of getting into government at Westminster in 2010. They couldn’t wait to dump their election promises to park their bums on the ministerial limos’ leather seats and so we are faced with the present programme of callous attacks on the poorest and most vulnerable in this country.

The LibDems want us to see them as the good guys in this relationship. They are not.

The LibDems are responsible for every savage cut to services and every welfare attack on the vulnerable. The LibDems are as culpable for the bedroom tax as any shire Tory; as responsible for the immense pressure imposed on the mentally ill by those Atos assessments for disability benefits.

Far from doing favours for the electorate LibDems have shown themselves to be consummate hypocrites.

The years of the Blair and Brown governments saw an increase in inequality in the UK. In real terms the poor were being pushed further back into poverty while the incomes of the wealthiest rose incrementally. It surprised some that this should occur under Labour governments and the LibDems condemned Labour for its ideological move to the right. You might assume that while in government the LibDems would use their manifesto platform to halt social and economic inequality.

So what happened once the LibDems took over the limousines of power? Inequality has increased still further. Now the UK stands comes in at number 4 in the inequality stakes in the developed world and their tenure is not finished. We can be sure that however bleak things looks now they are going to get a whole lot bleaker.

And this is entirely due to the LibDems. Remember the LibDems are the yes lobby fodder of this coalition government.

Could it have been different? It looked for a time after the 2010 election that the LibDems might join Labour in coalition. As we know Alistair Darling promised the country savage cuts to sort out the economy and the LibDems might argue that Labour’s promises to cut harder and deeper than the Tories led to them turning to the Tories as the least Draconian option. Let’s not go there. We are where we are.

We have had three years of LibDem duplicity, denials, excuses, obfuscation.

LibDems the enabler party. LibDems have enabled the Tories to do whatever they like and Clegg and co are happy to take on that role. Manifesto promises. Promises shromises.

Pledge dodger Clegg turned up at the LibDem conference in Dundee where he criticised Salmond for giving out mixed messages on independence.

He should know about mixed messages. That is precisely what you get from LibDems.

But Clegg likes to pontificate. He turns up in Scotland to issue a warning that we should not believe anything the SNP says. Well no – not everything but some things we can and we are able to judge their policies here in Scotland (unlike Clegg we don’t have to rely on briefings to know what is going on.)

We can do the same with the LibDems in power at Westminster.

And what do we discover when we look at the record of Clegg and co in government? Broken promises from a dodgy manifesto which reveals that Clegg and his apparatchiks will go to any lengths to stay in power, to enjoy riding the limos for as long as possible.

It is not Scotland’s oil say the LibDems but it could be Shetland’s and Orkney’s demonstrating that when it comes to pronouncements LibDems will say anything, absolutely anything, because as we know the LibDems don’t join up the dots when it comes to principles or policies.

Clegg also warns the Scottish people that it will be very difficult for a Scottish government to run its offshore oil industry ‘on its own’. This is inane drivel. Just words.

It would have been very difficult for the Tories to form a government ‘on its own’. In the event it didn’t need to – it had Tories by another name, LibDems, to do that with them.

Mixed-message Clegg and his mouthpieces promise Scotland will become a land of milk and honey if only we vote No.

They would have us believe Scotland will miraculously flourish if we stay part of the Union. Doesn’t matter that the evidence points otherwise.

Willie Rennie promise us pie in the sky in the sweet by and by but last time this was promised to Scotland – for returning a No vote in the devolution referendum of 1979  -did we get our pie? Did we hell. We got war, the poll tax, greater unemployment, the steady transfer of wealth from the public to the private sector, a sharp decline in industrial output, a reduction of affordable homes, the blatant transfer of wealth to London and the southeast.

When was Scotland ever at the centre of Westminster’s planning for infrastructure, for economic development?

The answer is never. And if you think Thatcher was indifferent to Scotland’s economy and culture wait until a coalition of the Tories or Labour in cahoots with their obliging little helpers the LibDems stop crowing in the event of a No return in the referendum. Prepare to be shocked.

If you are thinking we have devolved government so what’s all this talk about Westminster – remember what LibDem leader in Scotland Willie Rennie said last week, ‘The bedroom tax is tough, but it is central to the welfare reforms.’ That’s right – ‘central to the welfare reforms’ – welfare and reform being key words but if you imagine reform always leads to an improvement in welfare think again. This is reform in terms of restructuring on economic grounds and this is being said by the ‘Scottish’ LibDems so don’t get fooled that a label makes them different from any other brand of LibDem up and down the country.

Remember this when you vote no. You might not be poor. You might not be disabled. Lucky you. Don’t turn your back on those who are.

The LibDems are looking to influence what happens in Scotland if the referendum comes back negative so prepare yourself for a stream of easy promises.

Promises shromises. In 2010 they promised:

“Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket. A fair chance for every child. A fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener. A fair deal for you from politicians.”

Vroom, vroom – that’s Clegg being chauffeured in his limo into Downing Street. Rip – that’s him tearing up the LibDems’ manifesto promises -taxes, VAT, tuition fees, bankers’ bonuses, cutting rail fares, blah blah only words. They didn’t have to mean what they promised. Well they didn’t.

Where is the UK economy going? Who knows, least of all the organ grinder Chancellor Osborne and his monkey Alexander. Under their guardianship the UK has lost its triple A status. This means we can expect far harsher measures to come, imposed by LibDems and Tories in their desperate attempt to prevent the economy spiralling into freefall. All their bluster that an independent Scotland would suffer because of its inevitable loss of the Triple A has been quietly forgotten by our flexible friends. Now Danny Alexander tells us that credit ratings aren’t ‘the be all and end all’ Just words. They don’t believe them why should we?

Despite being hoist by his own petard Alexander insists it will always be worse for an independent Scotland – that Scotland has ‘no track record’ (of major debt) so will find it difficult to borrow to pay back debt. You can’t say that the LibDems don’t have a track record – in not meaning what they say, in promising anything to capture votes, of slithering this way and that to keep in with their coalition colleagues, whoever they are, for the LibDems are not fussy who they share power with – they just love it. Those limos.

Last week with breathtaking hypocrisy Nick Clegg accused Salmond of sending out mixed messages – over independence. Mixed messages are precisely what you get from LibDems who still like to claim the moral high ground. He warned the Scottish people that it will be very difficult for a Scottish government run its offshore oil industry ‘on its own’. You might think, well at least we wouldn’t have Osborne and Alexander. Then again, according to the LibDems, it is not Scotland’s oil at all but it could be Shetland’s and Orkney’s revealing again that they will say anything, absolutely anything because as we know the LibDems don’t join up the dots when it comes to principles or policies.

I don’t think Clegg knows much about Scotland. I doubt it’s high on the agenda ‘back home’. Certainly hasn’t been in the past. That doesn’t stop him from issuing a warning that we can’t believe anything the SNP say. Well no – not everything but some things we can and other things we see with our own eyes. And anyway independence is not just about the SNP. There are nationalists who don’t vote SNP. We know what’s going on in Scotland unlike Clegg. What we can also see is that other track record of the LibDems – broken pledges and their dodgy manifesto.

We should all remember the words of The Times reporter, Louis Heren when referring to politicians, ‘Why is this lying bastard lying to me?’

I suppose some politicians believe the lies they tell us. Doesn’t mean we have to.

The LibDems are a moderating influence? The evidence tells us otherwise. The LibDems are responsible, along with the Tories, for this determined shift in the economic balance so that the greater share of profits goes to capitalists at the expense of Britain’s working families and pensioners. Irrespective of their bluster LibDems are the facilitators of austerity Britain.

Terry Leahy: Horsemeat to Horseshit

Horsemeat: what would Tesco have done without this apparently essential ingredient?   Presumably it would have continued to make a profit and found some other tasty substance to feed to its shoppers.   And yet the Terry Leahy the former CEO of Tesco would have us believe that business is driven by the demands of the consumer.   The grinding of poor Dobbin to mincemeat shows otherwise.

Leahy, much loved by the business community, has just taken it upon himself to lecture the world on how the global economic crisis might be overcome (Financial Times 16/3/2013) or more exactly how the British predicament can be solved.   Unsurprisingly pain is part of the solution but, he says, it will be worth it.    Sounding like the lunatics of the US Tea Party he preaches that a low tax small-state is the answer.   Once described as a man with an innate sense of justice and fairness Leahy’s brew for success is not simply an economic imperative but one which can be justified on ethical grounds.   He writes: there is a moral case for low taxation . . . the freedom to spend one’s money as one chooses, and the independence this brings, underpins strong societies.   This from the man who bribed his children to spy on his wife’s shopping activities to ensure the family’s meat and veg were not coming from a competitor.

So from strong societies and freedom we come to family life and snooping.    Regardless of the dubious practise of having children spy on their mother in his own terms his attempts to control his wife was wrong.   Where was freedom and consumer sovereignty here?   But we should bear in mind that Tesco is the company constantly accused of buying land to help stall competition.   So when Leahy says competition should be embraced and the consumer is sovereign listen for the voice of Evelyn Waugh whispering, up to a point Lord Copper, or in this case Sir Terry.

From a man of such high moral standing how can we not be anything but impressed and willing to follow him in his mission to bring us (after the bit of pain) health, wealth and happiness?   The pain will of course fall hardest on those who can least afford it. His great knowledge of business finance and his experience of extending the global reach of Tesco lead him to conclude that the NHS, pensions and overseas aid can no longer be protected; in other words cuts need to be made.   He writes (and we can picture the bluster and posture of the man) that this would, indeed, require painful decisions and tough action, and with bloated Churchillian rhetoric roars economic war demands a radical approach.

So, get ready for the pain if you use or work for the NHS or are dependent on the state pension.

It is clear that we need take no lessons on morality from this man but we might also ask why heed his economic judgements, after all he was there when Tesco decided to enter the Japanese market which proved a failure although not quite as disastrous as the £1 billion loss with “Fresh & Easy” in America.   Whilst he extols the virtue of competition and the rise to dominance of Tesco and other giant food retailers, part of progress he said, we hear little from him that the losses associated with his business ventures are also part of progress and as such should surely be welcomed in the greater scheme of things.   At the end of the day, regardless of all the high blown rhetoric and the statistics on state spending etc, Leahy is just another ideologue voice which would have us believe that wealth creation is and can only be a question of profit and loss.   Britain, he says, is sadly lacking in the correct attitude as demonstrated by its doctors who, unlike physicians in America, are not comfortable talking about stocks and shares and the panoply of the market place.   Compare healthcare in the US and the NHS and you’ll see why medicine and profit and less are uncomfortable bed-fellows.

Being such a great believer in the power of the market and competition and their ability to give us the best of all possible worlds it should come as no surprise when Leahy preaches that rules and regulations in the business world must be reduced – bureaucracy, he told the Telegraph in 2012, was anathema to enterprise. He favoured a less restrictive, a more open and expansive approach to commerce.   He said he would like to see more trust in our teams across the country – and later the world – to do what they thought best.

The horsemeat saga, still fresh in our memories, if not in our nostrils, is where such a cart-wheeling approach to regulation can lead.   Whether Dobbin was galloping towards the check-out at Tesco when Leahy was in charge is an open question.   What we can say is that the great and noble Sir Terry is no stranger to horseshit.

Hugh Miller

Mr W. Dunbar and the rare Bohemian Waxwing 1847

This letter appeared in an Aberdeen newspaper letters page on December 8^th 1847.

Thankfully sensitivities towards preservation of bird and animal life have improved since then, to some extent, but I believe it is still the practice to kill a previously unknown species of captured bird to confirm its unique identity.

 

A Rare Bird Shot

We (Inverness Courier) have received the following letter, which may be interesting to some of our readers: -

“Bonar Bridge, 20^th Nov.; Dear Sir, –

It affords me much pleasure to be able to state, that I have succeeded in killing one of the most rare and beautiful birds that visit the British Isles.

The bird is a fine male specimen of the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrula.) Yesterday, my brother on his way to Lairg, discovered on the top branch of a mountain-ash, in Mr Cuthbert’s garden at Balblair, a bird with which he was not at all acquainted. On his return, late in the evening, he mentioned the circumstances, and from his description, I thought that it might be the bird which it actually proved to be.

Early this morning, I started with my gun, and to my great pleasure I found the bird feeding on the berries of the same tree, and brought him to the ground. I have him now preserved. A more beautiful bird is not easily found, combining, as he does, a graceful figure with a varied and brilliant plumage.

The Waxwing is a rare bird in Britain; and, so far as I am aware, has not been detected in the northern counties until now. It is a native of Asia; but where it breeds has not been ascertained. Perhaps it would not be out of place to give a sort of description of the bird, in case there are some more stragglers about; it is possible some may yet be captured:- The bill, black; eyes, dark red; forehead, rich chestnut; an ample crest adorns the head; feathers of the crest, drab; breast and abdomen, yellow drab; the coverts of the primaries, black, tipped with white; quill feathers of the wing, black, tipped with yellow – the four inner quill feathers terminate in a small oblong spot, resembling red sealing-wax; upper tail-coverts, grey drab; tail feathers, smoke-grey, tipped with rich gold-yellow; under tail-coverts, reddish brown; legs and toes, black; – all the plumage a soft and silky appearance. –Yours truly, W. Dunbar.”