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Blogs by Steve Kerr
The Simmer Dim Of Shetland and TheThe Four Marys
6/29/2015 2:23:46 AM
As the long clear days of summer pass midsummer by,We are
now nearer next Christmas than last years.I am reminded of
the long days and light nights of the north of Scotland and
the curious Summer nights in Shetland where there is no
proper darkness only a dimming of light.It has a mystical
feel to it and is a meeting point where both twilight and
dawn blend.In the local Shetlandic it is called the "simmer
dim"" Shetland,where I have relatives is nearer to the
Arctic circle than it is to many northern English cities
such as Manchester.Part of the dowry of Queen
Margaret,maid of Norway on her succession to the Scottish
throne.This unfortunate child monarch died before she ever
got to Scotland.The islands have maintained their strong
cultural ties with Norway.The tiny fair isle`s inhabitants
reflect the decendents of sailors from the Spanish Armada .
The old Scottish folk ballad "The Fower Maries" is a
haunting work rarely heard these days.In English "The four
Marys" it tells the tale of the four ladies in waiting to
Mary Queen Of Scots.Mary Beaton,Mary Seaton,Mary Carmichael
and Mary Livingston.Faithful attendants right up to the
end,they were all like the Queen in that they were also of
French-Scottish heritage,something that was not at all
unusual of the time.While the song deals with themselves in
relation to the Queen,other parts of the song seem to veer
onto another story unrelated to its other verses.The
refrain throughout the many verses of the song weaves
through them melancholically with the line " There was Mary
Beaton and Mary Seaton and Mary Carmichael and me" The "me"
is always thought to be Mary Livingston which through most
of the song it undoubtedly is but their is also a
reference in the first person as a Mary Hamilton,who many
people falsely believe was the fourth Mary.She however was
never one of the ladies in waiting to Queen Mary but
another Mary from a different time.It is believed that the
many verses of the long ballad are two songs put
together.Mary Hamilton was also a lady in waiting,not at
the Scottish court but at the court of Catherine I of Russia
She was also a mistress to Tsar Peter the Great.This Mary
had had two abortions and had murdered his third baby
,shortly after its birth .The
father of the children was most likely the Tsar.Infuriated
by the events the Tsar had Mary beheaded for the crime of
infanticide in 1719.Several versus of the song would seem
to speak of her impending execution.There was also at one
point another Mary who was Lady in waiting to Queen
Mary,Mary Fleming.Mary Seaton seems to have fallen on hard
times and entered a convent in Rheims where she ended her days. .Mary Beaton at one
point formed some relationship with the Scottish based,
English Ambassador.It was through him that Elizabeth Tudor
asked Mary Beaton to spy on Queen Mary, which she refused
to do .Old Scots song that bring to mind long summer days
in my grandmothers garden.Where we ate fresh strawberries
coated in sugar and drank milkshakes and Cremola foam but
that is for another day and another blog.
My kettle exploded the other day and until I remember to
buy a new one,Iam boiling water in a saucepan.Last night I
filled it up and put it on the gas to boil.There was an
interesting TV programme on which I thought I would watch
as I waited ,well..I wonder how much a new saucepan costs?
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More Blogs by Steve Kerr
• Once upon a Christmas - Friday, December 9, 2016
• A Song Of September - Friday, September 2, 2016
• Our Lives Are All But A Film of Neo- Realism - Saturday, August 20, 2016
• Poor Cow - Saturday, August 13, 2016
• Place - Tuesday, August 9, 2016
• One Hell of A Few Weeks - Friday, July 15, 2016
• Il Sole Dalla Sicilia - Tuesday, July 5, 2016
• Il Sole Dalla Sicilia - Tuesday, July 5, 2016
• June Is Bursting Out All Over - Thursday, June 30, 2016
• The Cottage By The Sea - Wednesday, June 22, 2016
• June in Halifax and Andalucia - Friday, June 17, 2016
• A walk in Kafirstan /Kalash - Friday, June 10, 2016
• We Are In Arcadia - Monday, June 6, 2016
• Travels In The Hindu Kush - Saturday, June 4, 2016
• Leafy Green Crescents and Eating Out - Thursday, June 2, 2016
• Creativity Cries Out - Thursday, May 26, 2016
• Blossom and The Crimea :products of this May - Tuesday, May 24, 2016
• Sweet Revenge And a Few Songs - Friday, May 13, 2016
• Tea In York And Satanic Mills - Wednesday, May 11, 2016
• The Blossom Outside - Sunday, May 8, 2016
• A Window On The Barges - Thursday, May 5, 2016
• A Bank Holiday At Elmwood - Monday, May 2, 2016
• A cold Day For May Day - Sunday, May 1, 2016
• An Ode To A Special Flower - Friday, April 22, 2016
• Akin to Metropolis - Friday, April 22, 2016
• The Battle Is On - Thursday, April 14, 2016
• January`s Days - Saturday, January 16, 2016
• As August Passes On Its Way - Thursday, August 27, 2015
• Buses and Baskets - Monday, August 17, 2015
• Hiroshima,Portuguese and Cilla - Wednesday, August 5, 2015
• I Never Promised You A Rose Garden - Saturday, August 1, 2015
• Home and Abroad.Now And Then. - Monday, July 13, 2015
• The Simmer Dim Of Shetland and TheThe Four Marys - Monday, June 29, 2015
• End Of Term and Days In Paris - Wednesday, June 24, 2015
• Old York In June - Sunday, June 21, 2015
• Saturdays Thoughts and A Little Pasta - Saturday, June 6, 2015
• Saturdays Thoughts and A Little Pasta - Saturday, June 6, 2015
• Vienna Calling - Wednesday, May 27, 2015
• The Days Of The French Ballad - Friday, May 22, 2015
• Quality Beneath The Glitz .A True Europe - Wednesday, May 20, 2015
• Dreams In a Chanson Francaise - Saturday, May 16, 2015
• Sun,Wind and The Islands - Monday, May 11, 2015
• Elections,1940s Hits and A Bit More - Sunday, May 10, 2015
• A Walk uphill - Wednesday, May 6, 2015
• The Mad Blossoms of May - Tuesday, May 5, 2015
• A View into A Celluiloid Past - Thursday, April 30, 2015
• Trees In The Wind - Wednesday, April 29, 2015
• Monday Morning in the Cyber Cafe - Monday, April 27, 2015
• A FRUSTRATING MORNING IN PUBLISHING - Friday, April 24, 2015
• Aprite La Finestra - Wednesday, April 22, 2015
• April Weekend In Bayswater - Monday, April 13, 2015
• South Kensington Easter Weekend - Saturday, April 4, 2015
• Lady Day ,plenty sunshine and freezing weather - Sunday, March 22, 2015
• Snow over Sheffield - Wednesday, January 21, 2015
• And the Epiphany passes into the mundane - Friday, January 16, 2015
• Misty mornings - Saturday, November 29, 2014
• 21ST OF NOVEMBER - Sunday, November 23, 2014
• And in November. - Thursday, November 20, 2014
• Hallow`een - Saturday, November 1, 2014
• A squirrel on an autumn day. - Sunday, October 26, 2014
• The early train to Doncaster - Saturday, October 25, 2014
• October17th - Friday, October 17, 2014
• Recent Events in Scotland. - Saturday, October 11, 2014
• MONOPOLY - Friday, September 12, 2014
• A Place To Lay My Head - Tuesday, August 26, 2014
• The Road to Rocacorba - Tuesday, August 12, 2014
• The Long Hot Summer Of 1914 - Tuesday, August 5, 2014
• Summer in the city and more of it - Tuesday, July 29, 2014
• Summer 2003 and some thoughts on today - Saturday, July 26, 2014
• World Cup Finals,Celluloid and Blue Suede Shoes - Sunday, July 13, 2014
• Notting Hill and Rio - Saturday, July 12, 2014
• A Carnival and Film Noir. - Sunday, July 6, 2014
• The Stars And Stripes - Friday, July 4, 2014
• Saints,Film Stars, Shoes - Monday, June 30, 2014
• Sunday 29th of June - Sunday, June 29, 2014
• Gym And The Ancients - Tuesday, June 24, 2014
• Mid summer - Sunday, June 22, 2014
• Standing Stones and other topics - Sunday, June 15, 2014
• Queens birthday and monarchy - Saturday, June 14, 2014
• The Americas - Monday, June 9, 2014
• A Mixture Of A Wednesday - Wednesday, June 4, 2014
• blogs,language and pastries - Monday, June 2, 2014
• The last day of May - Saturday, May 31, 2014
• European elections, a view... - Monday, May 26, 2014
• Whitsun lost - Monday, May 26, 2014
• Dundee - Saturday, May 24, 2014
• Visiting The Peloponnese - Wednesday, May 21, 2014
• A Pleasant lunch - Monday, May 19, 2014
• An elderly man at the market - Thursday, May 15, 2014
• Tuesday thoughts - Tuesday, May 13, 2014
• Sunday night - Sunday, May 11, 2014
• A Tradition - Saturday, May 10, 2014
• Sun,Techno and Beards - Thursday, May 8, 2014
• Eurovision semis and other activities - Tuesday, May 6, 2014
• May day weekend - Saturday, May 3, 2014
• Cherry blossom lane - Thursday, May 1, 2014
• april 29th - Tuesday, April 29, 2014
• marketing in the high street - Sunday, April 27, 2014
• and so to Easter - Saturday, April 26, 2014
• the week in retrospect - Monday, April 21, 2014
• Palms,reunions and more garden colours - Tuesday, April 15, 2014
• Moods , Lenten food and weather - Friday, March 28, 2014
• A new week - Sunday, March 23, 2014
• A Castle in Angus - Monday, March 17, 2014
• Manchester on a Sunday - Sunday, March 16, 2014
• Saturday Night TV-nostalgia - Saturday, March 15, 2014
• Marketing and cakes - Friday, March 14, 2014
• What is life without a question mark - Thursday, March 13, 2014
• Hospitals and songs - Wednesday, March 12, 2014
• The Princess Charlotte Augusta - Monday, March 10, 2014
• Nice is nice - Sunday, March 9, 2014
• Elmwood - Saturday, March 8, 2014
• The silvery Tay - Friday, March 7, 2014
• The days are getting longer - Thursday, March 6, 2014
• All things of March 3rd - Monday, March 3, 2014
• A dull day in Leeds - Sunday, March 2, 2014
• A Day of reflection - Saturday, March 1, 2014
• A Day In Ulan Bator - Friday, February 28, 2014
• February 1990 - Tuesday, February 25, 2014
• A Cafe In Arcadia - Saturday, February 22, 2014
• The living room on a cold evening - Friday, February 21, 2014
• A Day in mid February - Wednesday, February 19, 2014
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