Show Your Colors

 

        It's tartan day in the US, a recognition of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, a Scots pledge to freedom and independence and the model for the US Declaration of Independence.    

"For me fight not for glory nor riches nor honors, but for Freedom alone which no good man gives up except with his life"

        The Declaration of Arbroath asserted Scotland's independence and warrior spirit.

        "As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule."

        On this Tartan Day, the strong Ukrainian people come to mind.

        The independent, reformer, outspoken, warrior line runs through my clan's bloodline from its Gaelic/Celtic origins. In 1296 Ancestors were originators of the first set of laws governing boundaries and defense. They spent generations fighting for liberty, law, rights and fairness. 

    

        Generations of Cochrun Cochrane Cochran men have been Admirals. One is listed as one of the 10 Heroes of Scotland, Admiral Thomas Cochrane, member of Parliament, Naval innovator, and later a peer, Lord Cochrane, the Earl of Dundonald. 

        Despite honors and position he remained a pain in the side of the powerful. A radical, reformer, and innovator he is the inspiration for C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey, from which the Film Master and Commander was made. 

 

        A rebel, he was a brilliant strategist and was awarded honors by the Brazilian, Chilean and Greek Navies as well as the Royal Navy. He was buried with honors in Westminster.

    

        Despite coming from a line of distinguished military and naval officers, the clan was tied to ancestral lands near Glasgow and were hard workers. Thomas, like many of his cousins and some of his 6 siblings enlisted in the navy as teens.

     

        Since the August-September 2019 visit to the homeland, I've been sitting on the Clan story, but thought this Tartan Day was an opportunity to share it. None of us are getting any younger.

        We found the family pile near Renfrew and Paisley, where much of the family centered. Some stayed, some left for the US in a couple of waves, the 1690 and early to mid 1700's. 

        Cochrane land was in Abbey Parish and split in the early 1500's between Easter and Wester. The family castle, small and inelegant was built in the 1580's. It was surrounded by  coal pits in the 1730's. By the late1700's it was owned by a Renfrew family who sold it to the Johnstones.  It was build onto and then wrecked a few times over the years.

        In the 1940's it was part of an Army Camp. It fell into disrepair, was turned into a community center, and eventually it became a personal residence again and sits in the middle of a housing village.

        The entrance was not part of the original building but was considered old enough to be historic. 

    

        I wasn't sure what to expect. At the train station we hired a taxi and I started to give the driver the GPS coordinates, he looked at me quizzically and said, "Ya mean Cochrun Castle? I know right where it is, not far from here."

        Given Scottish weather, I suspect the old pile has taken some updating to remain inhabitable, though I thought for a 440 year old home it's looking pretty good. 

        I figured my dad, was probably smiling because near by was...

        Back in the day when I was frequently wearing my Tux I sported the colors with cummerbund and bow tie

        

        Well worn, because there was a time when we were frequently at Gala's, dinners, and such. I still have my tux but that seems like another and even more gentle time.

        

        I'm happy that my blood runs with as much Scots and Irish as it does. Thinkers, fighters, independent souls, lovers of life, believers in human dignity, speakers of the heart.

            There is a wretchedness afoot. It is good to remember those who pioneered declarations of independence, boundaries, who gave no brief to those who did not deserve it, despite rank or threat. 

        On a day when I sport my Tartan, my admiration and my prayers go to the brave souls of Ukraine, to the journalists, the medical volunteers. 

        It's time for the world to deal with the atrocities and to punish the masterminds and agents of evil acting on his behalf. 

        Be well.  See you down the trail.

         

An American Lamentation and A Toast!

 

        (California Central Coast) Here's a view from the western edge of this old democratic republic as it rounds 245 years.

      Demanding and challenging times are ahead. 

      After the exile of the pandemic we arrive at this anniversary of our noble and declared aspirations only to be confronted by who we have become, or a recognition of who we have always been. Proportion and public acceptance has changed. 

       In the light of freedom from monkhood and the glow of returning to friends and work and life in a nation under a steady hand, we see the enemy amongst us.  

 

        It is telling the vaccinated can live with assurance, but 30% of the nation will continue to die and suffer because they remain unvaccinated. 

        Two and half centuries of commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, following our revolution against despotism, finds us divided and challenged by a fifth column that no longer hides.

        We have become more divided and more ignorant. 

         A bastion of the nation has been split from our constitutional bedrock. The Republican party, has turned against America, rejecting democracy and republic to become agents of autocracy and authoritarianism. 

        Gaining power is the sole principle of Republicans and they employ lies, insurrection, voter suppression and the abandonment of oaths. 

        We can thank the "Natures God" affirmed in the Declaration, and sworn to in oaths of office, there are more Americans committed to democracy. The majority has the capacity to limit the rise of the aggressive fascist, but "they" have become adept at minority "rule."

        They are under attack. 

        A select House Committee, despite Republican opposition, will draw blood on the insurrection investigation.

        Biden's mastery of foreign policy and his decades of Senate law making, though challenged, are serving him and the nation well. He has bi-partisan support among the electorate. His performance with NATO and especially with Putin boosted his standing and served national interests while exposing what a fraud the previous administration amateur hour had been. 

        House and Senate Republicans represent a minority of American voters, but Congressional apportionment and Senate representation give the minority a big stick. That makes the mid-terms crucial. Recruiting and funding good House and State Legislative candidates is a Democrat must, as is another successful massive vote turn out.

        Trump legal issues will mount. There is likely more coming. 

        The Department of Justice is gearing up to enforce election law, even as a rightist Supreme Court attacks the voting rights act.

        The Biden and Democrat plan for gun control and funding of police, co-opts and shuts up Republican carping about crime.

        Democrats have given Republicans the gallows and the noose on voting rights. They may not carry the legislation because of racist and fascist Republicans including Mitch McConnell and his use of blocking tactics, but Democrats and former real Republicans are betting the majority of American voters favor extending voting rights. Polls validate the belief the fascist Republicans are likely to pay at the ballot box. Despite efforts to making voting more difficult, voting activists say the way is still clear for a large turn out. 

        Expect to see our US Capitol begin to resemble a "green zone," a reflection of the troubled times. It's easy to say this national split can be blamed on the rise of Trump, and he certainly contributed by pandering to our worst strain. But the truth at this passage of another year of "independence" is that it has been ever such.

        Nativisim, nationalism, racism, retrograde simple minded ignorance, demagoguery, and the damage they do have been with us from the beginning. Every inch of progress, every law expanding liberty, guaranteeing human dignity and rights has been a battle. 

        Picket lines, demonstrations, voter drives, confrontations, jail, street fights, political deal making, compromises, and pragmatism have been behind every advance toward our noble declarations and aspirations. Some of us are older, hoping it would not require such hard work, but the truth is independence is a fight, a democratic republic is a struggle. The fight is revolutionary against the totality of deception, manipulation, the power of wealth, the politics of favor and greed. 

        The nation has endured dark clouds repeatedly, finding a way to preserve and even repair and improve the union. It may be necessary for the power of the federal government to be brought against those who seek to destroy the republic, even public officials who seek to countermand what has prevailed since 1776, though war, rebellion, assassination, disaster, struggle for equality, and time. 

        Enough politics. Time to toast summer, good cheer and the truth.

         Here's an unexpected summer scene-

     

        I was surprised to see a hybrid electric truck, especially one wearing a famed American logo, on Cambria's main street. Progress?

        

      Here's another piece of Americana-summer gardening. 

You've read here before of our love of fava beans and Lana's considerable labor with them. Case in point..the bowl on the left are the pods, the middle bowl, the inner husk or shell* and on the far right, the bean.  The artichokes are from one of our raised beds and another early summer crop.

            *It's a matter of test about getting rid of the inner husk. I think they add a little flavor. Lana prefers them gone. Here's a secret, I used them, still in the husk, in a recent dish, and she didn't notice, or at least object! 

        We welcome a new member to the blog staff here at world headquarters.

        His name is Sunny. He's been here less than a week and continues to "terrorize" his seniors, Hemingway and Joy. The old cats are learning to accommodate the never ending energy and appetite of the little guy.

        He's got some ears to grow into. Needless to say the grands Addie and Henry, have a new buddy. We all do.

        Cheers.

        Slainte'.

        See you down the trail. 

 

 

        

 

Convivial Dublin

     I've never heard anyone who has not enjoyed Dublin.

   It's hard not to love the Irish. OK, maybe I'm more susceptible-the first were Gaels and so were the native Scots, who were not Picts. 
   Kindred spirits or not, they live as they are; spirited, imaginative, creative, gregarious, lovers of the word and art. 

    Dublin is all of that and more. It's become a magnet for 

  for many from Europe, especially a young demographic. It is a city  of culture, history, and personality.

 Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square

Artist-Danny Osborne

     As a visitor, it is easy to fall in love with Dublin and to simply enjoy it. It is both classy modernity and classically historical. 

   At every turn it is vibrant and there is a great photo op.

  The Gaels started living here in the 7th century. The Vikings came, and so did the Normans. In the early 20th Century the spirit of independence gave birth to the ethos that led to the establishment of the Irish Republic. Dublin was pivotal. 

   Intellect, literature, story telling and music are in the DNA.

    These few frames can barely introduce the vitality and feeling that Dublin exudes and thus entices with.

    I learned that author Jonathan Swift lived and served here but not by choice. That is the subject of a coming post. 

    Close to 2 million live in the greater Dublin area, and it is a capitol of culture as well as government. 

    As someone who has traveled for work and pleasure I was surprised by how Dublin chefs have become such all stars and champions. I did not expect it.

    

     And in the spirit of full disclosure, as a long time Guiness fan, I took advantage of the abundance of the home town product, in Dublin and elsewhere in the beautiful nation. 

    A few words and a few photos here cannot embrace the culture that is Dublin. Historic and cutting edge, sensorial and cerebral, a full on passion for life and it is no wonder you can't help but enjoy Dublin.

    Irish side trips and We Walked Into A Pub, Chapter 2 are still ahead.

And a Note from Home

   The rain season has begun on the California Central Coast and we are seeing our annual Irish tint on the hillsides. It will be a green Christmas this year and that will call for a toast to our Irish friends, Kay, Willie, Kay and Jack and to our envoy Maura.

      See you down the trail.