Letter To Gaelic Learners

Roddy has been ski-ing in mountains in the Rodane in Norway. The Rodane became a national park in 1962. There are small huts and bothys in the Rodane and the Norwegian names for these are very similar to the English names. Find out about these lodges and one in particular with this week's podcast.

"Mark my word, Pat, she'll be an unlucky ship." This week, hear how Peter Morrison from Grimsay overheard two Irishmen talking as the Titanic launched in Belfast. Did one of the old men see an omen or supernatural warning?

Roddy has a new book, Thugam agus Bhuam, by Patrick Morrison. It is a collection of stories. A wee bit of Patrick's own tale is given and Roddy begins a new tale about when Patrick saw the Titanic. NEW! AN LITIR BHEAG, or The Little Letter is now available as a podcast!

This week, Roddy tells of a place close to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh which is called Croft-an-Righ. Not Croit an Rìgh, but Croft-an-Righ. Without question, it’s a Gaelic name. How did it get its title? Find out in this week's podcast.

There is a route in Edinburgh called Piper’s Walk. It’s on Arthur’s Seat. Roddy will tell you how Piper’s Walk got its name – at least, according to oral tradition.

This week, Roddy researches how Arthur's Seat, situated in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park, got its name and whether or not it's connected to King Arthur.

Roddy got a letter himself this week. The correspondent advised him to type in 'Caithness' into the online version of Dwelly. One hundred and twenty four words cropped up and Roddy takes us through the most unusual words

A valuable resource for Gaelic learners over several generations has been Edward Dwelly's dictionary. There are many interesting words to be found within its pages, Roddy looks at some of these words and their origins. Two plucky people recently put the dictionary online, listen to how they achieved this mammoth task!

Do you know the word muir? It means “sea”. A’ mhuir – the sea. Do you know the word tìr? It means “land”. An tìr – the land. Muir is tìr – the sea and the land. Both are important in the Gaidhealtachd. Well, this week Roddy has a conundrum for you: what does 'Muir-thìreach' mean? He explains in the later and brings a whole host of intriguing words that appear in a new online dictionary.

Do you know what the word Cùtach means? Many apply it to today's dialect of Gaelic. Do you agree? The word also leads Roddy to think about the dialect of Gaelic that orginated from Aberdeen.

Roddy is delighted to present the 500th Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh and would like to thank those who have contacted him regarding Litir. This week's letter concludes the tale of Cù Fhearchair Bhàin. What exactly happened to Fraoch on that night? What was that devilish sound the couple heard? Find out by listening to this week's podcast.

Listen to the story of an amazing dog in Cù Fhearchair Bhàin. It is about a wonderdog called Fraoch who was an excellent sheepdog and was quite a character! In this tale, we'll hear of what happened to a couple who came to the master's house one eerie night........

We come to the end of our fascinating journey along the Antonine Wall. Roddy looks at the other names of Forts that may have originated from Gaelic. He finishes by ruminating that although the Romans only used the wall for a generation, the legacy has lasted much longer.

More fascinating stories emerge from the forts that run along the Antonine Wall. Are you familiar with how the name Bearsden came to be the name of the town. It was not the original name of the town and only came to be after a technological advancement. find out what it was and much more in this week's podcast.

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! The first letter of the year and Roddy is looking at the biggest structure that the Romans ever built in Scotland, the Antonine Wall. A brief history of Antoninus is given, connections and comparisons to Hadrian are made, before Roddy gives us an introduction to the first couple of forts along the wall.