Edinburgh at 900

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 12 December 2024 > Celebrate Shine Bright Collège

Scotland’s capital is celebrating its 900th birthday! Edinburgh was one of the five royal burghs founded by King David I in 1124. From a small town in the Middle Ages, it has enlarged to a diverse city of 500,000 people. The contrasting medieval Old Town culminating in the Castle high on a volcanic rock and … Continue reading “Edinburgh at 900”

This is England 2023 films for Lycée Classes

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 06 November 2023 > Webpicks

The This is England short-film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for lycée classes. The varied selection this year includes odes to two very different British landscapes, family relations, mindfulness, racism, a music video based on an historic Scottish figure and a documentary about a prosthetic leg. If you sign up … Continue reading “This is England 2023 films for Lycée Classes”

Tartan Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 04 April 2023 > Celebrate

6 April every year is celebrated by people of Scottish origins around this world as Tartan Day. And a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in Dundee examines this long-lived fabric that was considered so dangerous that it was illegal to wear it in the 18th century is now a visual reminder of … Continue reading “Tartan Day”

Scotland’s Birth Certificate

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 06 May 2020 > Celebrate

Seven hundred years ago, Scotland’s most powerful lords wrote a letter that many consider the country’s foundational document: The Declaration of Arbroath. In it, they swore they would never submit to English rule. In 1320, Scotland was in the midst of the Wars of Independence with its southern neighbour. After William Wallace’s ultimately doomed rebellion … Continue reading “Scotland’s Birth Certificate”

Two Queens

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 27 February 2019 > Ready to Use

This article explores the fates of two queens who reigned in neighbouring kingdoms in the 16th century. Both linked and opposed, they had to rule in a man’s world, in a conflict-ridden society, where religious and political unrest were rife and conspiracy and treason were the norm. Through the new biopic, Mary Queen of Scots, … Continue reading “Two Queens”

Queens on Screen

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 21 February 2019 > What's On

Films about Stuart queens are like buses — there are none for ages, then two together, just in time for the Oscars. Mary Queen of Scots and her descendant Queen Anne are both gracing our screens in radically different biopics, both diverging from history as it has traditionally been portrayed. The Favourite portrays the reign … Continue reading “Queens on Screen”