Midge Forecast website updated

Three years ago I blogged about a website to help avoid the midge in Scotland. The Scottish Midge Forecast website is back, for its fifth year, with a brand-new look, sponsored by Smidge midge deterrent (this post is not an endorsement of the product, though I do plan to try it).

The website brings you the power of Google mapping to find your way around Scotland's midges, and it is also available through the social media below:

Chocolate maker gives haggis the sweet treatment

The Guardian reports that Thinking Chocolate, an Edinburgh-based chocolate maker, has given Scotland's national dish a cocoa-tinged makeover. Haggis-flavoured chocolates were originally prouced for a Burns' Night supper but the guests were so complimentary that they have started selling them commercially. However, there is no offal in the truffles. Instead, the chocolatier recreates the flavour of haggis by combining nutmeg, mace, black pepper and oatmeal.

Artists honour Tunnock's treats in new exhibition

The Tunnock's teacake is a biscuit tin favourite and the ideal accompaniment for a fresh brew - but rather than eating it people are being encouraged to view it as art! A special exhibition celebrating "one of Scotland's genuine icons" is being held in Glasgow. Artists have been invited to honour the Tunnock's teacake, along with the caramel wafer and log and the humble snowball, in a show called Tunnocked.

Haggis is English?

A historian has claimed that a haggis recipe was published in an English book almost two hundred years before any evidence of the dish in Scotland. A book published in 1615 indicates haggis was first eaten in England and subsequently popularised by the Scots.

See also: haggis

Updated 4/8: Hands off our haggis, say Scots after English claim‏

Ideal job for mountain lovers?

In a first for Scotland, a Unesco chair has been created at Perth College UHI in recognition of the institution's work into maintaining mountains and their communities. Martin Price, director of the Centre for Mountain Studies, will take on the new chair in Sustainable Mountain Development, where he will work with international partners to promote the field. Professor Price was appointed the world's first Professor of Mountain Studies in 2005; in 2007, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice-president and environmental activist Al Gore. See also: 'I like mountains because of the physical challenge and the aesthetics'.

Foodie walks in Scotland

Any combination of food, walking and Scotland has to be good as far as I'm concerned! VisitScotland has put together a series of ten downloadable walks which take in great eateries. These easy-to-print walks including details on great places to eat: from top notch fish and chip shops and gastro pubs to luxurious restaurants, so that visitors can build up an appetite with something tasty to look forward to. The ten walks across Scotland offer walkers the choice of different levels of ability and eateries for all budgets.

Hymns in decline at funerals

Last year Co-operative Funeralcare conducted a survey of 242 funeral homes and 30,000 services which showed 58% of people in England and Wales chose pop music to be played / sung at their funeral services and only 35% included hymns. However, the Scots are bucking this trend as more people are choosing traditional hymns: the number of funerals with hymns rose from 54% to 56% last year. The story on the BBC website also lists the top ten pop songs and hymns sung at funerals, and notes that the study also revealed that around 10% of requests for pieces of music were rejected as the clergy conducting the funeral felt the choice was inappropriate.

Burns' big birthday

Two years ago Infusion organised a Burns meal - a introduction to the annual celebration of Rabbie Burns' birthday (and an introduction to haggis for some present!).

This year would be Robert Burns' 250th Birthday, and Scotland will be celebrating! If you'd like to find out more, check out these websites:

• The World Burns Club
• Robert Burns Country
• Robert Burns (National Library of Scotland)
• The World Famous Burns Supper website (warning: this is sponsored by a whisky manufacturer)

Credit crunch: web round-up

Lots of credit crunch stories in the media - here's a selection to make you think:

• Christianity and the credit crunch
• We could save a fortune by living in hotels
• Oxford lecture on credit crunch tops iTunes chart
• How do you live without a bank account?

Perhaps you want to emulate the Prime Minister with his reputation for prudence and frugality - is it his Scottish genes? Why not learn from the new World Porridge Making Champion or tartan yourself up?

Lighthouse bagging

Some people like to "bag" Munros or Corbetts but a recent a Guardian article describes the somewhat different challenge of lighthouse bagging:

"You need a head for heights and sturdy sea legs to conquer these pinnacles of engineering achievement and testimony to our ceaseless struggles with the sea. The walkers who bag Scotland's 284 Munros have it easy compared with those who undertake the ultimate challenge: visiting all 209 working lighthouses that mark the most treacherous corners of Scotland's coast".

The term pharology is used for the study of signal lights and lighthouses, It comes from Pharos - the huge lighthouse of Alexandria that was built in the third century BC and was one of the tallest man-made structures on earth for centuries.

Burns Night and the Scots language

Last year we held an Infusion Burns Night, albeit on the 27th January. Some of Rabbie Burns' poetry was read and we enjoyed our haggis, neeps and tatties - though sadly only as a starter.

I was pleased to read a recent Guardian piece on In praise of ... Scottish words but I recognise that not everyone has the privilege of growing up in Scotland. I'm therefore pleased to say that the The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) is freely available on the Internet. It comprises electronic editions of the two major historical dictionaries of the Scots language: the 12-volume Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST) and the 10-volume Scottish National Dictionary (SND). These 22 volumes provide a comprehensive history of Scots, and are essential research tools for anyone interested in the history of either Scots or English language, and for historical or literary scholars whose sources are written in Scots.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!

Midge forecast

I was warning a colleague going on holiday to Skye about the Scottish midge. To help out, I searched around and found a link to the The Midge Forecast site. Just like weather and pollution forecasts, the Midge Forecast can help you prepare for this summer environmental hazard!

Hill does not measure up to Munro

I was excited to hear on the Today programme this morning that another hill might be added to the list of Munros available for bagging. Alas, the BBC News website has now confirmed that the hill does not measure up to Munro status. Munros are hills with peaks over 3,000ft (914.4m), and Foinaven in Sutherland falls short by just 12ft (3.4m). Debate over whether Foinaven is a Munro or one of Scotland's 220 Corbetts has raged for a number of years., and this has settled the matter. The Munro Society was formed in 2002 and has more than 3,000 members who have climbed all of Scotland's current Munros. I wonder how many Infusion members have bagged between us?