My Story of Scotland

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By Graeme Taylor Smith

Introduction

Welcome to my blog page about Scottish history and the many stories that make for such an interesting and dramatic picture of Scotland’s past. Make no mistake about this I am not setting out to write a history text as a qualified historian would, they can make history dull. How anyone can make history dull and boring is beyond me , especially Scotland’s history, for history is in fact the most dramatic, colourful and exciting subject under the sun, the very essence of mankind’s greatness and weakness, efforts and failures, heroics and cowardice’s, ambitions knaveries and follies-indeed every-thing which story-telling is based upon, the very raw materials of drama, tragedy, comedy, farce. I shall try to be as accurate as possible, but even the most learned historians seldom achieve strict accuracy in history. The Scottish historical novelist, Nigel Tranter, once told me: “Legends, however exaggerated, even if derived from folk memory, have some basis in fact.” It is with this in mind that I will attempt to tell the story of Scotland and its long history as a nation, the highs and lows, the aspirations and endeavours, the myths and its future destiny. It is my sincere hope that my work is informative and enjoyable to the reader especially those with little or no previous acquaintance with Scottish history.

The Story

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ABOUT ME

I am a very proud Scot who is very passionate about my country of birth its history and future destiny, a nation with so much potential that it boils my blood when I see how we are treated with so much contempt by the UK Westminster Tory and previous Labour Government’s, their continuing polices have held Scotland back for too long. That is why I have been a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for over 30 years and will continue to campaign for Scottish Independence for the rest of my life.


From a very young age I was full of questions about Scotland’s history, which very often were not answered, hearing about the exploits of my Grandfather in the Great War, from my mother, her sisters and brothers, gave me a greater desire to learn more about Scottish History. My schooling days were a great disappointment when it came to Scottish history with very little being taught to mine and previous generation. We were told that it’s British history that we must learn, that Scottish history was not important, when in fact it was really English history with the tag of British labelled on. How many nations would allow their country’s history to be excluded from their schooling Curriculum? Its no surprise then that so many Scots are ignorant of  their country’s history, personally I believe this was deliberate for political and cultural reasons.

My Background

One of my great passions is Scottish history and for most of my life I have collected a large library of books on Scottish history. I was fortunate to have studied Scottish history, part time, at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in1994-1999; MA Undergraduate degree level 1. I have trade and teaching, (City & Guilds-Open University), Technology back ground in woodwork and metalwork,  currently a member of staff at Aberdeen Grammar School, where I joined in the year 2000. The school has a long and illustrious history, was founded in 1256, and celebrated its 750 years anniversary in 2006, it is now a comprehensive secondary school in the Scottish education system of Excellence.

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