Edinburgh; Closes and Vennels.

Leith 1698-ish; As you can see, there's an alleyway between the back of the old houses, out to the road. To the rest of the world, it's an 'arched alleyway'

To Scots, it's a 'close' or 'vennel'.

I can still hear the cries of "Where will I put ma' bike?"

"Aye, stick it in the vennel."

We even played football, one player each side, with the close as our entire football pitch. If the ball was kicked past us, out into the open, it was a goal.

We took it real serious.

It caused real vibration in the houses to either side, mind you. I remember getting chased up to the 'back field' to play many times.

Anyway.... closes and vennels.

Quotes from the book (2 of 3)

Leith 1698.

In contrast to the quiet streets of the town, the dock was even more crowded than usual. Dockers and some ship's crew milled around on the quayside like partners in some disorganised dance. The difference today was the crowd of passengers, mostly men, who were standing in orderly queues, waiting to be boarded. In comparison to the dock officials, the passengers were a pathetic sight, soaked to the skin from the recent rain. The men who had donned hats for the heavy shower, had removed them, but the women's bonnets drooped dejectedly. Their baggage lay waterlogged in puddles at their feet.

"Looks like the expedition ships are finally gettin' ready tae sail!" Jamie ambled closer.

"It's about time." Gordon nibbled at the hard apple core. "They've been loading the ships for weeks."

Activity increased as they neared the quayside, harbour officials strutted and postured. Orders from both the docks and on board ship were barked across the morning.

"They'll leave on tonight's tide, maybe tomorrow's." Jamie threw his apple core high into the air, landing into the brown chocolate suspension that was Leith harbour.

(Excerpt from "Opportunities; Jamie Leith in Darien, published by IFWG Publishing this month.)

Leith 1698; Quotes from the book......

Leith, 1698.
The wet narrow cobbled streets were deserted, the pessimists lingered inside, expecting more rain. The sandstone walls on either side seemed to lean inwards, their irregular tan and grey shapes sometimes peeping out from behind cracked plaster. A door opened to his left, and an old woman peered out, holding her shawl tight across her chest.

"Brr." Jamie shivered, always on the lookout for more sympathy. "Mornin; Mrs Dewar!"

"Ah 'mind it warm in July." she groused, and walked back inside.

"Chilly." Jamie answered to the closing door. "Downright bloody chilly."

(Except from Opportunities; Jamie Leith in Darien, by Ian Hall, published this month by IFWG Publishing.)


I found this old picture, and couldn't help it; it's EXACTLY as I envisaged Leith in 1698. It was like I was looking through Jamie's eyes. I got huge goosebumps!

Brest; The shelter for the First Jacobite Rebellion, 1708.

Brest, France, around the year 1708, prepares for the first Jacobite Rebellion.

Thirty ships with 6000+ French, Irish and some Scottish soldiers gather under the protective cover of the ramparts of Chateaux de Brest.

The ships were mostly privateers, but they were led by the french Admiral Gace in his flagship, the 78 gun, Mars.

King James VIII was on board the flagship, and on March 6th, 1708, the fleet sailed to land an invasion fleet at Burntisland, Fife.

The plan had been prepared by many spies for years, and it only took one young man (King James VIII) to set one foot on Scottish soil, and the Brittish crown was his.

The next Robert Louis Stevenson... never, but hold on a sec.....

I was described by one of my peers as "The next Robert Louis Stevenson", and I dismissed the whole idea as "bunkum"! R.L.S. was one of a kind, and even to be compared to him was an honour.

BUT.... as I am writing Jamie 2, I am getting strange coincidences happening....... (Let me set the scene...)

I like to delve into history for the smallest of details... E.G.; When Jamie, (back in 1707), spends the night at an inn, I like it to have actually BEEN there in 1707; just my wee quirk.

But the inn I decided apon was the "Seven Stars" in Bristol (actually there in 1707) and the owner at the time was a JOHN HAWKINS! ..... (Jack Hawkins was the main character in RLS's Treasure Island)

So I write on, and one of the REAL jacobites in 1707/8 is a "Squire Trewlawney", from Redruth, in Cornwall..... (Damn, Squire Trewlawney is a RLS character, and so is seaman "Redruth".)

I continue; one of the real jacobites in 1707/8 is an Irishman called "Colonel Hooke"..... (Too close to J.M. Barrie's "Captain Hook" for comfort.)

And if (In an effort to be historically correct) I kept all this actually "IN" my Jamie 2, I'd be slagged off for stealing from RLS etc.

Maybe I should just be like some historical novellists; make everything up, and not give a crap about actual history!

(And we all know those movies, don't we.......)

(Pic, BTW, is Robert Newton, Long John Silver in Disney's Treasure Island in 1950)

The Glorious Revolution of 1688

The Glorious Revolution has always bored me, until I eventually found out what it actually entailed.

Here it is in spectacular simplicity....
King James VII was crowned King of Great Britain in 1685, taking over from his childless brother, Charles II.

He was a catholic, and therefore went against the majority of the actual populace, who were 80% protestant.

He made few friends in his 3 years in power, but rode roughshod over the government, parliament and army/navy, by appointing catholics over protestants in all high posts.

In 1688, he committed the ultimate blunder; by having a son (catholic, of course) in dubious circumstances. The protestants got so pissed off about the whole thing, they "invited" an invasion force from Holland, which contained James', sister's husband; William of Orange.

Having already pissed off the armies and navy, they were allowed to pass "un-bloodied".

Hence; "Glorious Revolution".

James was Britain's last Catholic monarch, and spent his days in exile in the court of King Louis of France, dreaming of ways to get back on the throne.

(Not a bad job, but someone had to do it)

Reasearch; Edinburgh Castle, and why I love both.

Many people ask me about the kind of research I do for my books, then sigh, and insert words like; tedious, back-breaking, and such. Now, I love research... here's how one such outing into wikipedia changed Jamie2.

I was looking for a Jacobite family in Fife around 1708, to base an overnight stay for Jamie. (Even for small details like this, I try to stay true to history) I tried a few of the bigger families, but none really fit the story, then I found that Tarvit House had been re-designed by Sir William Bruce. I liked the name and dug deeper.

Turns out Sir William had been openly Jacobite, and a Stuart man all his life, and his eldest son was in London, actually sitting in his father's seat in the English (sorry, British) parliament. (So a family in deep schism there... I liked this.) One more bit of digging put Sir William in a cell in Edinburgh Castle in 1708.

Since Jamie was in Scotland to deliver letters, it only took a wee bit of backstory to put Jamie into a treacherous invasion of the castle. The research had changed the book. And for the better.

NOW... the story doesn't stop there. A look at the history of Edinburgh Castle shows that a new part was under construction in 1708; the Queen Anne Building. That gave Jamie a chance to sneak in as part of the work team. I mean, the story was writing itself!

Research. Love it.