Nairn and Brodie Castle

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might…do the will of God with your heart.

Ephesians 6 : 10…6

Nairn is an ancient fishing port in the Highlands of Scotland. It is situated at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. Our park up was in the bay. A statue, ripple marks, and castings in an immense tidal space were all under a changing sky.

Here is a list of things she did, excluding the care of her own home and family:

gathering bait and baiting lines

gathering durkins ( pinecones) to smoke the fish she had prepared

selling smoked Nairn spalding from a load on her back

A physically demanding list of things to do.

The lugworm has a u-shaped burrow formed by swallowing sand and then pooing it out. This is a reminder of a ball of wool when it starts to collapse on itself. An intricate design to look at. The castings are in their thousands in the warm sun, on and between the ripple marks. Symmetrical ripple marks have their own unque creation. They form as water molecules oscillate in small circles.

So little of so much more going on in this small picture.

It is said that Nairn is the driest place in Scotland and where Charlie Chaplan spent a holiday every year. Tilde Swinton and her children have a home here, too.

The town is quiet. Shops are mostly closed, but on one shop, there is a note and flowers on the pavement. Why? An accident spot, perhaps.

Please read for yourself the handwritten message on the door.

Mar sin leat Nairn. (Gaelic for goodbye) There is a castle to see.

Brodie Castle

It is believed that King Malcolm IV gave the land to the family in 1160. The last resident member of the family died in 2003.

No pictures are allowed, but I will help you understand a little of the building. The ground floor was for the kitchens, but then became the library. The second floor had wooden stairs to a large front door where guests were received. These stairs could be burned in a hurry if the castle was attacked. The castle itself had various spiral or circular stairs, so swords men could fight the enemy coming up. The children were looked after right at the top of the house as the next in line to look after the clan would be the eldest son and his safety was important.

More recently, the ground floor houses the library. Books from 1600. I was standing next to a group of books on gardening, and there were two brick sized books with the title Daffodils on each old brown cover. I would have loved to look inside, but it was not until I reached the garden that I knew why they were there. It was also in the library that there was an interesting story. Violet Brodie did not appreciate one of the hunting scenes painted by none other than Sir Edwin Landseer. One day, she walked in with her pair of scissors, cut out a square containing a well painted deerhound, and promptly discarded the rest. The dog hangs framed in the library to this day.

Outside then to Ian Brodie’s passion. From 1899 to 1942, this 24th Brodie of Brodie bred over 400 different varieties of daffodils. The bulbs were all in straight lines meticulously recorded with their own family tree. He named 130 varieties, leaving the rest to be christened by seed men friends.

The last Brodie was an actor who played a part with a significant rabbit. Here in the garden, he has a rabbit too that cheers the children.

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to handle them , and pretty soon, you have a dozen.

John Steinbeck

But then be warned.

If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either.

Confucius

Thank you for joining us today in Scotland.

Sandy 🙂