Scottish Flotsam from the Shetland Islands - People, Famous Scots, Quotes, and Proverbs

I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

Lets begin with a famous Scot.

John Boyd Dunlop (1840-1921)

Born into a farming family in Dreghorn in Ayrshire, John Boyd Dunlop was a veterinary surgeon by profession, having qualified at Edinburgh University when he was only 19. He worked as a vet in Edinburgh for nearly ten years before moving to Belfast. He built up a large practise in Ireland but found the rough roads and the iron, wood or solid rubber wheels an uncomfortable way to travel. He experimented with his son's tricycle and in 1887 he came up with a design based on an inflated rubber tube and patented it the following year. This was not the first time someone had tried this - another Scot, Robert William Thomson had patented the idea in 1845 (though Dunlop was unaware of this).

He established what would become the Dunlop Rubber Company but had to fight and win a legal battle with Thomson. John Dunlop did not benefit much financially from his invention - he sold the patent and company name early on. Despite Thomson's earlier work, Dunlop is credited with the invention of the modern rubber tyre.

Dunlop retired to Dublin and died there in 1921.

Source:http://www.rampantscotland.com/famous/blfamdunlop.htm

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from Quotable Scots another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find.

Monsters

The side was steep, and the bottom deep;
From bank to bank the water pouring;
The bonny grey mare she swat for fear,
For she heard the water-kelpie roaring.

Anonymous, Annan Water

'What wae hae ye sic a sma' sma' neck?'
'Aih-h-h! - late - and wee-e-e moul.'
'What way hae ye sic a muckle, muckle heid?'
'Muckle wit, muckle wit.'
'What do you come for?'
'for you.'

Anonymous, An Old Wife Sat at her Reel

The Great Grey Man of Ben Macdhui, or Ferlas Moras he is called in the Gaelic, is Scotland's Abominable Snowman... he has been seen by responsible people who have reputations to lose, most of them expert mountaineers accustomed to hills at night and not given to imagining things.

Alastair Borthwick, Always a Little Further

Ghost, kelpie, wraith,
And all the trumpery of vulgar faith.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), The Pilgrim of Glencoe

Now for a Gaelic Proverb for this month.

Mìr am beul na bèiste. A bite for the monster's mouth.

You can find more articles in the archive under Scottish Flotsam.

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