Welcome back to the adventures of Scotland The Brave in the UK of Great Britain. With his Guardians, Scotty explored London, Stonehenge and Bath, Plymouth, Glastonbury, Cardiff and Ludlow, and Chester, and Liverpool. Next, they mounted their trusty Tour Bus and travelled to the Lake District. (Catch up with the story by clicking those links.) Now they are bound at last for Scotland.
To the Famous Blacksmith’s Shop: From Bowness-on-Windermere, the road took them through Cumbria and up past Carlisle. Two miles over the border with Scotland they came to the village of Gretna Green where Scotty readily identified the Famous Blacksmith’s Shop by the big words, “Famous Blacksmith Shop” written on it.
REGENCY NOVELS: This place was important for eloping couples and it still is for every reader of Regency Period novels. Scotty sometimes joined our Teddettes Jane Austen Bookclub as they read all the novels of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. Many ‘Regency’ novels feature an elopement to Greta Green. In Pride and Prejudice, for instance, when Lydia Bennet elopes with George Wickham she leaves a note to say their destination is Gretna Green. (In fact, they stay in London and are tracked down by Mr Prejudice. But I digress.)
The Dash for Gretna Green: Thousands of eloping couples made their ‘dash’ across the border to reach this very building, often with furious fathers and jilted fiancés in hot pursuit. We couldn’t look inside The Famous Blacksmiths Shop because a wedding was being conducted at that very hour. Although that particular couple had not eloped (as far as we knew) they were still getting married over the famous anvil. But why an anvil?
Runaway Weddings: Gretna’s “runaway marriages” began in 1754 when a new marriage law for England and Wales meant a parent could veto the marriage of a person under the age of 21. But in Scotland, if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna Green became known as “anvil priests” . For nearly 200 years the blacksmiths married couples over the now famous Marriage Anvil. The ringing sound of the hammer banged down on the anvil would signify that another couple had been joined in marriage.
These days hundreds of couples still marry here and also renew their vows here. In the picture above, Scotty’s Guardians were actually trying to shelter from the rain but since they were on the spot they did a handclasp as well.
On to Glasgow: From the border to Glasgow is 110 miles, not so far at all really, but this stretch of country, now called Dumfries and Galloway, holds much history. For a long time it was wild ‘Borders’ country, which neither English nor Scottish crowns fully controlled, and where the fearsome reivers stole cattle and spread strife. (The ancestors of one of the Guardians had been among these dread reivers. More of that later.) All these events had taken place in the countryside sliding by outside Scotty’s window seat in the bus.
In the next episode, Scotty sails on bonny Loch Lomond. Don’t miss that one! (Click on the FOLLOW buttons so as to not miss anything.
BOOKS with Scotland in them (our Scotty, that is)
Scotty is the star of a very special book called When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift by Carola Schmidt. In the book, Scotty a little bear who gets a bad sickness called cancer. He’s worried and often scared because cancer is scary. But the doctors and nurses and other patients help him. The book is to help kids feel much more brave when they are getting treatment. It’s available in paperback and Kindle. Look for the brave little bear wearing trews on the cover.
You can also see Scotty in all the books by Mawson. One is called It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In (in that one he delivers the post) and another is She Ran Away From Love (he delivers the post again.) In Dreamy Days and Random Naps you can see him being a king and also a superb guitarist. Don’t miss that one! This is what the books look like:
Mawson’s Guardian says: You can find Mawson’s books on this Link here, and on his Writer-Bear Page on Amazon.
You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In and She Ran Away From Love.
‘This little story made me well up. A lovely, poignant story with delightful illustrations.’ Jackie Law, Amazon Top 500 reviewer, about It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost in.
The book brings back such nostalagic memories that it made it comforting, like a old security blanket.’ FNM Book reviews about Bright World.
Mawson Bear 