The Waverley Gazette

The Glasgow Cookery Book - sharing this gorgeous recipe for chestnut stuffing at Christmas

Hello again from the Waverley team in Scotland.

We are so excited to share some festive recipes over the next few days from one of the UK and Scotland's oldest cookery books and the book is still so popular.

From time to time we share a few recipes The Glasgow Cookery Book - a tried and tested, beloved, cookbook that was used as a textbook in many schools and colleges to teach domestic science to literally thousands and thousands of people. The book is a reliable and solid reference work used by many still all over the world, both chefs and beginners. Today we are sharing a recipe for chestnut stuffing - one way to have some luxury in this festive period made easily by you at home.

With thanks to Glasgow Caledonian University for their kind permission to reproduce this recipe.

HRH Princess Elizabeth, The Glasgow Cookery Book, Diplomas and Royal links

Auld Lang Syne - why a song matters so much, and Robert Burns

Happy New Year!

We are big fans of tomorrow. And today. We celebrate the power of now. Such as it is. As a concept. And the day!

So - happy new year! Happy New Year!

We are fans of Robert Burns, as you know, and prepared a blog post about the traditional Scots song people sing on Hogmanay, ‘Auld Lang Syne’. ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is attributed to Robert Burns, who collected traditional folk songs and re-wrote the lyrics.

There are many versions of ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

One, in the archive, was written for The Masonic Lodge Burns belonged to. Another is the adaptation Burns wrote.

We noticed, on the morning of New Year’s Eve, that Dr. M. J. Grant of Edinburgh University had revealed her research on why she thinks we link arms when we sing ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ (The roots are masonic - her view is that the tradition in Masonic associations, linking arms to sing was the form)

Dr Grant’s book is available and published by OpenBook Publishers and is available to read free online.

Meanwhile, Ron Grosset, publisher of Waverley Books, gathered for us a variety of Robert Burns’ related files in the course of our work. One of which is the ‘Masonic Odes and Poems’ by Rob Morris LLD, 1864. As well as a ‘Tribute to Robert Burns’, and ‘Burns’ Farewell’, the Morris publication includes a ‘Masonic Auld-Lang-Syne’ which we thought we would share.

Inside Central Station - BBC Scotland launches its 4th series about Glasgow Central

‘Inside Central Station’

The BBC Scotland documentary following the staff at Glasgow Central Station is in now into its 4th series.

At the back of the station is the 4-star Glasgow's Central Hotel, now run by Voco,

Glasgow's Grand Central Hotel has been a Glasgow landmark since it opened in 1883. Over its long history it has played host to show business stars such as Laurel & Hardy, and Frank Sinatra, and world leaders such as John F Kennedy and Winston Churchill. Through parties, weddings, drinks, and events, thousands of people have travelled to the hotel from all over the world, as well as Glasgow and Scotland.

The hotel, is no stranger to television – indeed it has a permanent link to Scotland’s great history of inventiveness and creativity. In 1927 the hotel hosted one of the most transformational events of the 20th century, when John Logie Baird made the first-ever long-distance television broadcast from London to a room on the fourth floor.

John Logie Baird chose the Central Hotel back in 1927 as the receiving equipment used was transported from London by train so it was a simple matter to move it from the adjoining Central Station. Just a quick walk across the concourse.

On the wider screen, in 1954, the hotel appeared in the Ealing Film Studios’ comedy, The Maggie, made by Alexander Mackendrick. Several scenes were filmed on the west coast of Scotland at Islay, and in Glasgow. The film reflects life as it was in the 1950s when Glasgow was an industrial city with a thriving riverside (and not short of few characters among its citizens!).

‘Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel – Glasgow’s Most Loved Hotel’, by Bill Hicks and Jill Scott is published by Waverley Books, Glasgow.

The many illustrations in the book include pictures of people’s personal mementoes as well as wonderful images, old and new, documenting the development of the hotel from its beginnings in 1883 as Glasgow’s railway station hotel at Central Station to the bustling presence it has today.

The book shows how the railway and the businesses surrounding the station, including the Central Hotel, have helped shape Glasgow throughout the years.