Thursday, September 23, 2010

Scotland Part 1 - Alloa and Stirling

        Richard served his LDS mission in Scotland so there were a lot of people and places we wanted to see.

After our brief stop in Edinburgh (we returned later) we went to Alloa [Pro: Al-oh-uh] and visited with some of the people Richard knew while he was there.  Alloa was the third area Richard was assigned to and he spent 3 months there.  First we went to see Sandy (nickname in Scotland for Alexander) and Isabelle Watt who were really nice to Richard when he was here.  They are Scottish but joined the church down in South Africa.  Next we went to see George and Jean Stewart.  George had been the Bishop of the Alloa Ward when Richard was there and Richard really respected and admired him.  The Stewarts offered to have us stay with them and as much as we didn’t want to impose we couldn’t refuse the offer.  We talked with them into the night about their mission to Perth, Australia and about life in Alloa.  The Stewarts are really nice and are really fun to talk to.
click to view larger--Douglas on bottom left, Watsons in the middle (bottom), Stewarts top right, Watts mid-left

The next night we stayed with the Watsons (also in Alloa).  Mike Watson was the Stake President of the Edinburgh Stake while Richard was in Scotland.  Mike’s wife, Mandy, was a great help to the missionaries while Richard was living in Alloa.  Staying with the Watsons was a lot of fun because they are currently working to restore a house (a mansion, really) from the 1800s.  Mandy is doing most of the work herself and it has been a massive project.  There are a few rooms in the house that are near completion and they look beautiful.  The Watsons also fed us breakfast and lunch and gave us some tips for traveling around Scotland that have saved us time and money.
          
        We were able to go and see Douglas Machray, a very kind man that Richard taught the gospel to.  Douglas was baptized a few weeks after first hearing the missionary lessons and still attends church every week and has a calling. 
          
        When we were staying in Alloa we were able to see the nearby castle in Stirling.  Stirling Castle, according to our zealous tour guide, was the political capitol of Scotland for a very long time.  The castle was fun but it started raining really hard while we were there, we had to hide in the gift shop to get out of the downpour.

9 comments:

Lori Smith said...

Marijke's gggg grandfather Archibald’s father, Robert Gardner, was taken to Stirling Castle, he was held for nine weeks before the judges came. During those two months, Robert’s wife and children fully understood the seriousness of the charge of treason. An indictment required the oath of two witnesses,(1) and conviction resulted in execution. Archibald’s autobiography states that his father was released when nobody brought anything against him.

Historical records indicate that forty-seven men were taken to Stirling Castle, and twenty-four of them were tried and sentenced to death. Based on Archibald’s autobiography, Robert must have been one of the men who was released without being tried. Nineteen of the death sentences were commuted.

Lori Smith said...

Robert likely spent his nine weeks waiting in a cell for a trial that would never occur. The family said he was accused out of spite, and Robert was indignant that the government of his country had the power to hold an innocent man under such conditions. Within seven weeks of the time he was released, Robert Gardner and his family were included on a list of over six thousand Scottish people from the Glasgow area who wanted to leave their homeland.

Archibald was only a small child when his father was released from Stirling Castle, but he had vivid memories of their reunion. When he was forty-two years old, he wrote, “I Remember the day he come back when crowds come to see him I was then only 5 years old & my Mother took me by the hand & we met him on the Burn green outside of the town[.]

Devin, Naomi and Spencer said...

so awesome to go see Richard mission area, we did that with devin this summer and it was really special. I recognize lots of those places you went to, I want to go back. hmmm, so what is your schedule? When does your study abroad start? will you come home in between? Keep posting

Dr. Larson said...

hey guys, I just looked at all your blogs about europe and I think you just convinced me to want to go back there really bad. It looks AWESOME

Marijke said...

Thanks, we have had a great time so far. I really liked seeing Richard's mission. Na, I've been reading your blog all summer, but usually post comments a while after you wrote the posts...We met two girls at church today in Copenhagen that are Filipino, but were baptised after moving away.

We're actually doing internships instead of a study abroad because we wanted to be graduated before leaving. Richard will be interning in London October 12th until just before Christmas then I will be interning in Brussels from January to March. We'll stay in Europe the whole time and will be gone about 8 months total.

annalisa said...

Um... am I the only one who noticed the nasty cat, or what???
The other pictures are great though! :)

Donovan Oliver said...

Loved the pictures of Alloa.... Was Douglas's flat as crazy clean as when we last saw it?

Lori Smith said...

i have been playing "I spy the nasty cat" ever since I read Annalisa's comment but I can't find it!

Lori Smith said...

omg I found the cat---you are right Annalisa...gross fish eating wild looking cat!