30th November 2016 - Happy St Andrews

Thought for the day:"If in doubt - add brandy"

Coming up to the anniversary of the Drunken Monk Teddies and their first video ..

so thought I may share again ..

Bright sunshine today and the kitchen is nearly finished - not that I have been much help with that ...

But on another note it is of course St andrew's Day -the patron saint of Scotland...
Except of course he was not Scottish...
The patron saint was born in Bethsaida, in Galilee, which is now Israel. His remains were moved 300 years after his death to Constantinople, now Istanbul, by the Emperor Constantine. While he was generally revered in Scotland from around 1,000 AD, he didn't become its official patron saint until the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

He was the first Disciple..
Andrew was a fisherman before he and his brother Simon Peter became two of the 12 disciples of Jesus. He was baptised by John the Baptist and was the first disciple of Jesus. In the Greek Orthodox tradition he is known as "Prōtoklētos" (Πρωτόκλητος) - literally "the first-called”.

He is not just Saint for Scotland..
Greece, Russia, Italy’s Amalfi and Barbados also count St Andrew as their patron saint. He’s also seen as the patron saint of singers, spinsters, maidens, fishmongers, fishermen, women wanting to be mothers, gout and sore throats. St Andrew is also the patron saint of the Order of the Thistle, one of the highest ranks of chivalry in the world, second only to the Order of the Garter.

The shape of the Flag is due to his crucifixion
St Andrew was crucified in Greece on 30 November 60AD - hence the date - by order of the Roman governor Aegeas. Legend has it that he asked to be tied to an X-shaped cross because he did not feel worthy of dying on the same shape of cross as Jesus. The shape has been represented by the white cross on the Scottish flag, the Saltire, since at least 1385.

Being foreign doesn't stop people believing that his remians are in Scotland
Purported relics of St Andrew, including a tooth, kneecap, arm and finger bone, meant the town of St Andrews became a popular medieval pilgrimage site up until the 16th century - when they were destroyed in the Scottish Reformation. In 1870, the Archbishop of Amalfi sent an apparent piece of the saint's shoulder blade to Scotland, where it has since been stored in St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.



and so ...
Cheers!