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Para Handy
Para Handy, the anglicized Gaelic nickname of the fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ... Peter Macfarlane, is a character created by the journalist and writer Neil Munro (Hugh Foulis), Neil Munro in a series of stories published in the ''Glasgow Evening News'' between 1905 and 1923 under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. Para Handy is the crafty Gaelic skipper (boating), skipper of the ''Vital Spark'', a Clyde puffer (steamboat) of the sort that delivered goods from Glasgow to Loch Fyne, the Hebrides, and the coast of Argyllshire and Inverness-shire in the early 20th century. The stories partly focus on his pride in his ship, "the smartest boat in the tred" which he considers to be of a class with the Clyde steamer, Clyde steamers, but mainly tells of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from a title (for example, City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these concepts. Etymology The compound word ''ekename'', literally meaning "additional name", was attested as early as 1303. This word was derived from the Old English phrase ''eac'' "also", related to ''eacian'' "to increase". By the 15th century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an ekename" led to its rephrasing as "a nekename". Though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since. Conventions in various languages English nicknames are generally represented in quotes between the bearer's first and last names (e.g., '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' (meaning 'church') is found in Scots, Scottish English, Ulster-Scots and some English dialects, attested as a noun from the 14th century onwards, but as an element in placenames much earlier. Both words, ''kirk'' and ''church'', derive from the Koine Greek κυριακόν (δωμα) (kyriakon (dōma)) meaning ''Lord's (house)'', which was borrowed into the Germanic languages in late antiquity, possibly in the course of the Gothic missions. (Only a connection with the idiosyncrasies of Gothic explains how a Greek neuter noun became a Germanic feminine). Whereas ''church'' displays Old English palatalisation, ''kirk'' is a loanword from Old Norse and thus retains the original mainland Germanic consonants. Compare cognates: Icelandic & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher (born 22 December 1953) is a Scottish comedian and actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the comedy series ''Rab C. Nesbitt'', a role he has played since the show's first episode in 1988. He has also had roles in films such as ''Without a Clue'' (1988), ''Love Actually'' (2003), ''The Merchant of Venice'' (2004) and '' Whisky Galore!'' (2016). Early life Fisher was born in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, and following the death of his mother was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm, and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, at which he did not complete his studies. Career Fisher worked with Scottish comedian Rikki Fulton on his hit sketch series ''Scotch and Wry'' (whose broadcast was mainly restricted to BBC One Scotland). Another Scottish comedian he worked with was Hector Nicol, in the BBC drama ''Just a Boys' Game'' (1979). Later, he appeared in Michael Radford' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roddy McMillan
Roddy McMillan OBE (23 March 1923 – 9 July 1979) was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland's television series, ''The Vital Spark''. He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd's private eye series, ''The View from Daniel Pike''. Biography The Glasgow-born McMillan worked for a time in a glassworks. His theatre work began in the mid-1940s with the Glasgow Unity Theatre. Later that decade, he began acting with the Glasgow Citizen's Company before moving on to Edinburgh's Gateway Theatre in the mid-1950s. His first play, ''All in Good Faith'', about a Glasgow family which unexpectedly comes into possession of £15,000, was first staged in 1954. He performed in his second play, ''The Bevellers'', which premiered at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and achieved success at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow during 1973 and then as a televised ''Play for Today'' for the BBC. McMillan also played Detective Inspe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duncan Macrae (actor)
John Duncan Macrae (20 August 1905 – 23 March 1967) was one of the leading Scottish actors of his generation. He worked mainly as a stage actor and also made five television appearances and seventeen films. Life and career He was born at 118 Kirkland Street, Maryhill, Glasgow, the fourth of the six children of James Macrae, a sergeant in the Glasgow police force, and his wife, Catherine Graham. He attended Allan Glen's School and matriculated in the engineering faculty at Glasgow University in 1923–1924, but did not graduate. He trained as a schoolteacher at Jordanhill College, where he met Ann H Mcallister, the voice coach, who was a profound influence on his life. He taught in Glasgow until he became a professional actor in 1943, after a successful amateur drama career. He first made his name as a comic actor of distinction with Curtain Theatre, an amateur group, in 1937, in the title role of Robert McLellan's ''Jamie the Saxt'', a performance which became his "signature" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tales Of Para Handy
''The Tales of Para Handy'' is a Scottish television series set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Gregor Fisher as Captain Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, Sean Scanlan as first mate Dougie Cameron, Rikki Fulton as engineer Dan Macphail and Andrew Fairlie as Sunny Jim. These four made up the crew of the puffer ''Vital Spark'' which was employed by the Campbell Shipping Company, headquartered in Glasgow and run by Andrew Campbell (Paul Young), Para Handy's brother-in-law and owner of the ''Vital Spark''. The series followed the ''Vital Spark's'' adventures around the coastal waters of west Scotland and the various schemes that Para Handy would get himself and his crew involved in. These involved transporting a bull aboard the ''Vital Spark'', trying to marry Sunny Jim off, avoiding the sale of the ''Vital Spark'' by Campbell and being held hostage at gunpoint by a religious nutter '' Iain McColl''. Most of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vital Spark
''The Vital Spark'' is a BBC Scotland television series set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Roddy McMillan as Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, captain of the puffer ''Vital Spark''. The series followed the ''Vital Spark's'' adventures around the coastal waters of west Scotland and the various schemes that Para Handy would get himself and his crew involved in. The comedy was first broadcast in August 1965 as an episode of the BBC’s ''Comedy Playhouse'' series. Following this two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, were commissioned by BBC Scotland and transmitted in early 1966, and autumn 1967. Both series were made in black-and-white. Of these only "A Drop O’ The Real Stuff" survives. In March 1973 an hour-long TV Special was made, in colour, featuring the same cast. After the success of this, a further six episodes (essentially remakes of previous scripts but in a more contemporary setting) w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Para Handy - Master Mariner
''Para Handy - Master Mariner'' is a series produced and broadcast by the BBC, set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Duncan Macrae as Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, captain of the puffer ''Vital Spark''. The series followed the ''Vital Spark's'' adventures around the coastal waters of Inner Hebrides and the various schemes that Para Handy would get himself and his crew involved in. The series was first broadcast in 1959, in black-and-white. Having been subsequently discarded, it is no longer available in the BBC archives. The series was the first of several dramatizations of the "Para Handy" stories, being followed by ''The Vital Spark'' in 1965-6 (remade in 1973-4) starring Roddy McMillan in the title role, and by ''The Tales of Para Handy'' in 1994–5, starring Gregor Fisher. Cast * Duncan Macrae - Captain Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane * John Grieve - Dan Macphail, the engineer *Roddy McMillan - Doug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Mackendrick
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born director and professor, long based in Scotland. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios where his films include '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949), ''The Man in the White Suit'' (1951), ''The Maggie'' (1954), and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). After his first American film ''Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957), his career as a director declined and he became Dean of the CalArts School of Film/Video in California. He was the cousin of Scottish writer Roger MacDougall. Biography He was born on 8 September 1912 the only child of Francis and Martha Mackendrick who had emigrated to the United States from Glasgow in 1911. His father was a ship builder and a civil engineer. When Mackendrick was six, his father died of influenza as a result of a pandemic t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Maggie
''The 'Maggie (released in the U.S.A. as ''High and Dry'') is a 1954 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain. Colin McArthur has made a trenchant criticism of its representation of Scotland and its relationship with American capital, and of the failure of contemporary commentators to interrogate the narrative about Scotland it constructed.McArthur, Colin (2002), '' Whisky Galore! and The Maggie'', I.B. Tauris, The story was inspired by Neil Munro's short stories of the ''Vital Spark'' and her captain, Para Handy. Plot The ''Maggie'' is a typical Clyde puffer, a small, aged cargo boat. MacTaggart, her rascal of a captain, is in dire need of £300 to renew his licence. In a shipping office in Glasgow, he overhears Mr Pusey, an Englishman complete with bowler hat and umbrella, trying to arrange for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ealing Comedies
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the sequence include ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949), '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949), ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951), ''The Man in the White Suit'' (1951) and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). ''Hue and Cry'' (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and '' Barnacle Bill'' (1957) the last, although some sources list ''Davy'' (1958) as the final Ealing comedy. History Relatively few comedy films were made at Ealing Studios until several years after World War II. The 1939 film ''Cheer Boys Cheer'', featuring the rivalry between two brewing companies, one big and modernist, the other small and traditional, has been characterised as a prototype of later films. One of the few other films that can be seen as a direct precursor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birlinn (publisher)
Birlinn Limited is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1992 by managing director Hugh Andrew. Imprints Birlinn Limited is composed of a number of imprints, including: *Birlinn, which publishes Scottish interest books, from biography to history, military history and Scottish Gaelic. (Its name comes from the old Norse word , meaning a long boat or small galley with 12 to 18 oars, used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages.) *Polygon Books, which publishes literary fiction and poetry, both classic and modern, from Scottish writers such as Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown, and the author of ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'', Alexander McCall Smith. It was founded in the late 1960s by students of the University of Edinburgh. *Mercat Press, founded in 1970 and acquired by Birlinn in 2007, which publishes walking and climbing guides. (''Mercat'' is the Scots language word for "market" or "trad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
