Beginning at the glacial formation of mountains and glens, spanning from the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 to the reconvening of the Holyrood parliament in 1999, up to tennis star Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory of 2013, the Great Tapestry of Scotland — an ambitious project to render the nation’s story — can be viewed for the first time in its new and permanent home from next week.
Comprising 160 panels — finely stitched, vividly colorful and animated with detail — it is thought to be one of the longest tapestries in the world, at 143m, 70m longer than the Bayeux Tapestry in Normandy, France.
Now hung in a purpose-built gallery in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, the panel were created by 1,000 volunteer stitchers from across the country working with more than 480km of wool over two years.
The tapestry initially toured Scotland on its completion in 2013, but this is this first time is has had a permanent display, in a gallery equipped with specialist lighting, temperature control and screening from direct sunlight.
The brainchild of detective novelist Alexander McCall Smith, the tapestry was designed by artist Andrew Crummy and based on a narrative written by Scottish Borders-based writer and historian Alistair Moffat.
“When the idea was first hatched, there was no question of what cost or where it would go, it was just: Let’s do it,” McCall Smith said. “So it’s a bit of a miracle and a wonderful tribute to all the people who worked so hard on it to see it in its new home.”
“It is beautiful seeing it as a continuous work, and reading it as you walk along,” he said.
The inclusion of relatively recent events in the panels was important, he said.
“People don’t think of history as still happening, so when they see things they have experienced themselves put into the historical sweep, that contextualizes those events,” McCall Smith said.
As coordinator of the stitching team, Dorie Wilkie knows the challenges presented by the scale of such a work.
“Whether it’s samplers or antimacassars, embroideries tend to be small and in cross-stitch, but here you have human heads a quarter-meter in size and we have used all the stitches in the alphabet,” Wilkie said.
Unusually for a piece of embroidery, the makers of these tapestry panels can be identified.
“In the past, you never knew who had embroidered a thing, so we made a point of encouraging stitchers to sign their work in some form, with their name or a design representing where they live,” Wilkie said.
On first viewing the tapestry, visitors are struck most by the colors and textures involved, she said.
“People involuntarily want to touch and stroke the panels,” she said.
“Every time I look at it I see something else, it’s full of surprises,” she added.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS