AUTHOR’S NOTE
206 Words
AUTHOR’S NOTEThe thumbnail portrait I give in this novel of Captain McKay, who made his home aboard the cargo boat The Thistle is a true picture.
I have travelled all over the world and I find that Scots everywhere take their homeland with them in one way or another.
The Captains of the ships like the one I have described make their cabins redolent with the land that is ingrained in their hearts and they can never forget.
In Canada I found that almost every bridge had a plaque on it to say that it was designed and erected by a Scot.
In India every British cemetery seemed to be full of Scottish names, who died promoting the Empire and one could say the same of almost every part of the world where the British have been.
The Scottish Regiments were outstanding and remarkable fighters and the Scottish builders, architects and engineers were legendary in the nineteenth century.
For me it is pathetic to see little pieces of heather between the pages of books or reports.
Stags’ antlers and tartan flags hang in their quarters. Everywhere a Scotsman goes, however many years have elapsed since he has been home, his heart is still ‘in the Highlands chasing the deer’.
- Writer
