Category Archives: Blogs

1.Who wrote ‘Wee Willie Winkie’? a. William Miller b. Sorley MacLean c. James Joyce 2.Of what profession is a member of the ‘Royal Scottish Academy’? a. professor b. artist c. musician The ‘Royal Scottish Academy’ building, designed byWilliam Playfair, fronts Princes Street in Edinburgh atthe foot of the Mound. Membership is by election andis for […]

1.When was the ‘Lordship of the Isles’ broken up?a. 1493 b. 1693 c. 1893 King James IV stripped the title of ‘Lordship ofthe Isles’ from John MacDonald II, frustrated atMacDonald’s inability to control western Scotland, andretained it for the monarchy. The title is always nowinherited by the eldest male child of thereigning monarch. 2.Where is […]

1.Which element was discovered by Sir William Ramsay?a. helium b. potassium c. nitrogen Sir William Ramsay was one of the fathers of modernnuclear science whose work on inert gases like heliumwon him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1904. 2.Who played the role of Ugandan dictator in the 2007 film The Last King of Scotland?a. Forest Whitaker b. […]

1.Who wrote one of the first histories of tartan, published as The Scottish Gael in 1831?a. James Hogg b. Sir Walter Scott c. James Logan 2.Where would you find ‘Princes Street’?a. Edinburgh b. Inverness c. Oban 3.What does the name ‘Mackenzie’ mean?a. son of the piper b. son of Kenneth c. son of Keith 4.Where […]

1.Which Scottish castle is said to have inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula?a. Slains Castle b. Glamis Castle c. Stirling Castle 2.To whom or what did JM Barrie donate the royalties of his best seller Peter Pan?a. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary b. Yorkhill Sick Kids’ Hospital c. Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Before it became a […]

1.What did the Victorian family firm ‘Wilsons of Bannockburn’ supply all over the world? a. claymores b. haggis c. tartan 2.Which motorway connects Glasgow to Carlisle?a. M6 b. M8 c. M74 3.How much should a curling stone weigh?a. 20 lb b. 30 lb c. 40 lb A curling stone is a circular, flat-bottomed stone madeof polished granite which teams of four […]

1.What was Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre originally called?a. Capital Theatre b. Empire Theatre c. Edinburgh Playhouse 2.When was the ‘open skies’ policy enacted, allowing transatlantic flights to and from Scotland?a. 1940 b. 1970 c. 1990 3.Of which battle in the 1715 Jacobite uprising was it said that ‘neither side won’?a. Sheriffmuir b. Stirling c. Prestonpans The […]

1.Who pioneered the development of aspirin?a. Dr Thomas John MacLagan b. Robert Philip c. Norman Grist 2.Ben More is the highest point on which island?a. Tiree b. Lewis c. Mull 3.What name is given to a brimless woollen cap, often worn with short ribbons at the back?a. Glengarry b. Bowler c. Tammy 4.Which lawyer’s apprentice […]

1.Who wrote the novel Waverley?a. Muriel Spark b. Robert Louis Stevenson c. Sir Walter Scott Scott wrote this famous historical novel in 1814 basedon the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. Scott was born in 1771and was lame throughout his life due to childhoodpolio. He began his literary career at the age of 25, inpart influenced by his […]

1.Who pioneered the use of quinine as a cure for malaria?a. Norman Grist b. George Cleghorn c. Sir Charles Bell 2.How long is the Skye Road Bridge?a. 1,705 feet b. 2,705 feet c. 4,705 feet 3.What does the term ‘whillie-wa’ mean?a. to whistle b. to tell a lie c. to procrastinate 4.Which performer’s tombstone bears the epitaph, […]