Scotland @ MindSay 
ireland
Over the next few weeks I want to share one of my passions in life and that is the enjoyment of whisky. Single malt Scotch whisky to be exact. This interest grew out of my interest in Scotland and Scottish culture and heritage. Some might call me a "caledonianphile", so, it is natural that my interest in that subject extended into an interest in the number one product of that nation.
Now lets get one thing straight, non-drinking or the so called temperance movement is not something that is a part of the Christian Faith. So, I do not want to hear some nonsense about the Bible teaching against alcohol. It does not. It does warn against drunkenness.
I do however believe in responsible drinking. "Responsible drinking" is limiting oneself to a level where drinking is unlikely to cause health problems, either mental or physical. Some folk are predisposed to be alcoholics and may the Lord help them, they really should abstain. But I digress...
Men should limit themselves to no more than three units per day with a maximum of 21 units per week spread throughout the week and should include at least two days where no alcohol is consumed at all. Since I am talking about whisky I will define a unit by that standard which is basically one ounce (25 ML) of 40% ABV(alcohol by volume) whisky. Some whisky is higher in percentage of alcohol content and can be figured out by multiplying the percent proof times the volume in ML and then divide by 1000. This will give you the exact number of units in a drink. Example: A glass contains 50 ML of 43% ABV whisky so how many units is that?
50 ML X 43%ABV/1000 = 2.15 units
Women due to their lesser body mass are supposed to limit themselves to no more than 2 units per day and a maximum 14 units per week spread out over a week and also should include 2 alcohol free days each week.
Over the next few weeks I will share some of my whisky tasting notes. I may even share my notes on Irish whisky.
CuldeeDeacon +
I have just returned from my holiday in Scotland and when I sit back and recall my trip, the hotels Scotland bring back some unforgettable times. The best part of the hotels in the country was its family friendly accommodation. As my kids accompanied me, I was a bit concerned about the facilities at the hotels Scotland but to my surprise, there was a wide choice of small and large family hotels. With even the family cottages available, it was real fun exploring the inner regions of the country besides the famous and big cities. With loads of entertainment places for the kids, we had a fantastic holiday in the country. While visiting Edinburg the capital city, all of us had amazing experiences. The visit to the Edinburg Zoo was exciting and the kids loved it as we did too. Of the world-class hotels in Edinburg Scotland, our hotel turned to be a great choice. It was warm, friendly and importantly well quipped with facilities for kids.
My Scotland travel landed me in the capital city Edinburgh and after I checked in the hotel, I was not sure of how to go about, but the hotel staff was a great help and we had a great time. Having stayed in other hotels in Scotland, the hotel in Edinburg had that uniqueness which set it aside from others. In fact, the personal attention and the personal touch rendered to every service made the whole experience wonderful. Whatever I had heard about the country and the Edinburg city was true but what I saw was just extraordinary. With some of the best cityscapes, the city has even the peaceful tranquility in the surrounding regions. I toured the city visiting the world famous museums and galleries. A visit to the famous castle and the Edinburg zoo was an amazing experience. For sure there is a lot to explore and one will get spoilt for choices. With superb and wide choices for hotels in Scotland, one will have a fantastic time during Scotland travel.
Dixie currently feels:
COLD 
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IT'S SO BLOODY COLD.
March is SUPPOSED to be the first month of spring!
It certainly doesn't feel that way.
I'm sat in my bedroom, I've just had a shower - a really warm shower... Ahhh, heavenly bliss, it was.
I get out, put on my robe, and come in here.
NO HEATING, NO RADIATOR.
The coldness smacks against my wet self - and makes me SHIVER.
I had to walk up to school today in HAILSTONES.
With NO COAT.
Fine, it's England - it's only about... 2 degrees?
Fine, in Canada, Iceland, Russia, Scotland - it'll be in the minuses.
From -5 to -20.
But... ARGHHHH...
They're USED to it!
It's NEVER this cold in England!
HOW I HATE GLOBAL TEMPERATURE CHANGE.
Global WARMING?
More like GLOBAL FREEZING.
...Dixie needs a nice warm hug.
...Emily - where are you...?
I'll tell you where Emily is - or, where she bloody will be soon - packing off on a holiday and leaving me all on my Billy Todd.
How grand.
And she's off to bloody Florida - you know, the SUNSHINE state!
I'D KILL SOMEONE FOR SOME WARMTH RIGHT NOW.
Dixie is so damn jealous.
Famous for her Scots accent, she became popular with the 400 children who attended the school - a mix of Christian and Jews. Many were orphans from broken or poverty-stricken homes, while others were sent simply because they got an excellent education from the Scots.
Her love for the children is evidenced by her letters: 'We have one nice little mite who is an orphan and is coming to school for the first time. She seems to be a lonely wee soul and needs lots of love. We shall see what we can do to make life a little happier for her.' In another letter, she wrote: 'We have one new little six-year-old, an orphan without a mother or a father. She is such a pathetic wee soul to look at and I fear, poor lamb, has not been in too good surroundings before she came to us... she certainly does look as though she needs heaps and heaps of love.'
She was on leave in Scotland when World War II broke out, but immediately embarked on the hazardous journey back to Budapest and the children. When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, she ignored the Church of Scotland's warning for missionaries to come home to safety. 'If these children need me in the days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in the days of darkness?' Her sister, Nan O'Brien, later recalled: 'It was no surprise that she refused to come back. She would never have had a moment's happiness if she had come home and left the children.' During the war, Jane protected the children to the best of her ability.
In early May, the Nazi authorities raided the school. They searched her office and bedroom, gave her 15 minutes to get ready and took her away. She was jailed on the charges of British espionage and helping Jews. She was accused of working amongst Jews and of weeping - she wept as she had to sew the yellow Stars of David onto the dresses of her children. One of her former wards later recalled: 'I still feel the tears in my eyes and hear in my ears the siren of the Gestapo motor car. I see the smile on her face while she bade me farewell. I never saw Miss Haining again, and when I went to the Scottish Mission to ask the minister about her, I was told she had died. I did not want to believe it, nor to understand, but a long time later I realised that she had died for me, and for others. The body of Miss Haining is dead, but she is not alone, because her smile, voice and face are still in my heart.'
She was soon deported, along with some of her Jewish children, to Auschwitz. In the space of three months 1,300,000 were killed in Auschwitz - among them #79467, Jane Haining. Refusing to reject her children, she died for her beliefs on August 16, 1944 in the gas chambers along with a group of Hungarian women. The Church of Scotland was sent her death certificate from Auschwitz: 'Miss Haining, who was arrested on account of justified suspicion of espionage against Germany, died in hospital, July 17, of cachexia brought on by intestinal catarrh.'
Ben Helfgott, a Holocaust survivor and Chairman of Yad Vashem Committee of Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: 'When the children were taken away she went with them to Auschwitz. She was not able to save them, but she looked after them. What she did was a supreme act of mercy and kindness.'
In 1997 Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Memorial in Jerusalem, awarded Jane Haining a medal and a place in the Righteous Among the Nations for her selfless dedication to the children. The award was presented to her sister, Nan O'Brien of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, by the Israeli Ambassador to Britain at a ceremony in Glasgow.
Other Scots born persons known to have died in Nazi concentration camps:
• Jean Fletcher: b. Dundee 12/12/1892 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Martha Hildesheim: b. Glasgow 1872 - d. 1940, Theriesenstadt
• Herman Eskovitz: b. Glasgow 1927 - d. Auschwitz
• Deborah Pollock: b. Glasgow 1892 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Bernard Pasha: b. Edinburgh 1907 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Paula Herzfeld: b. Glasgow 1900 - d. Theriesenstadt
• Bessie Davis, or Beugelmans: b. Edinburgh 1896 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• her husband, Boris Beugelmans: b. Edinburgh 1896 - d. 1942, Auschwitz
• Jacques Blokjesman: b. Paisley 1921 - d. 1944, Belsen Bergen
LIGHT A VIRTUAL CANDLE at http://www.hmd.org.uk/
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