Robert Pitkethly's Miscellaneous Information Page
Here's a miscellany of information / photographs of interest to me at least :
SCOTLAND
Here’s
some photographs from Assynt in North West Scotland :
Suilven
Here's a few photographs of places in SouthWest
Scotland :
(Photos by RHP - Click to enlarge)
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The Rinns
of Kells |
Loch Dee |
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BICYCLE
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It's a Brompton Bicycle. It's as light and rigid as a normal bicycle but it folds up very easily and when folded is very compact. It will fit between the seats on a train and has a cover which makes it look like a small suitcase. If you want further details write to the manufacturer http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk/
PUNTING
Click HERE for a .pdf file telling you how to punt in
a straight line without falling in.
NB: This explanation of punting is for information only and should not in any
way be construed as advice concerning safe punting. All punting involves a
degree of risk and you should take appropriate professional advice and safety
measures before punting. (If you're still wondering, Punt = propel a long flat bottomed boat down a river using a roughly 4m 'punt
pole.)
ST.
PETER'S
Here's a link to St.Peter's
College web site.
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The Management of International Acquisitions This is a book about acquisitions and their performance. It looks at the
different ways in which companies from the major acquiring countries (UK,
USA, Japan, Germany, and France) set about integrating the acquisitions they
make in the UK. The book illustrates different national styles at work, but
also shows how common many management practices have become around the world. |
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Oxford Handbook of Strategy - Volume One: Strategy Overview and
Competitive Strategy Part II: Strategic Analysis and Formulation contains Chapter 9 by myself entitled "Analysing the Environment". |
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PITKETHLY
Before you ask, Pitkethly is a name from what is now Scotland. However the name
almost certainly derives from a Pictish place name
near Perth in North East Scotland . My family can be
traced back to weavers in that area around 1715 but "Pit" place names
which are common in East Scotland are generally associated with the area which
was Pictland.
The Picts were a collection of Celtic warrior tribes who inhabited Scotland
north of the Forth / Clyde valley between cAD300 and AD843 when they were
finally conquered by the Scottish Celts. The first mention of the name Picts
occurs in AD297 when the roman writer Eumenius
mentions "Picti" or "Painted
People". However what Picts called themselves is unknown.
"Pit" is a P-Celtic word. P-Celtic was spoken by Gauls
and the inhabitants of Roman Briton, and gave rise to Welsh, Cornish
and Breton. (I have sometimes been asked whether my name is Welsh or Cornish
rather than Scottish - or Pictish). "Pit"
is a word meaning - a share or portion of land, in particular
in what used to be Pictland and which is now Eastern Scotland. In Old
Gaelic, Pit can become Pet- or Pett-. In fact one of
the earliest references to anything resembling Pitkethly is in a charter of Lindores Abbey c1220 when Reginald de Warenne
of Gilgyrston (Kilgraston
near the present day Pitkeathly Wells) gave some land
to the Abbey adjacent a stream flowing "inter Eglesmagril
et petcathelin". Also at around the same time in
the early 13th century a "John de Pencathlan"
witnessed a charter in Inverkethyn church.
"-kethly" which is linked to the
"-cathelin" "-cathlan" mentioned
above is almost certainly linked to "cath"
meaning battle in Gaelic. "Cathachadh" in
Gaelic means provoking, accusing, fighting. The area near Pitkeathly,
Bridge of Earn and Moncrieffe on the other side of
the Earn from Pitkeathly is reputed to have been the
site of a battle in AD 728 involving Picts.
Thus the name Pitkethly is derived from the place name Pitkeathly,
or Pitcaithly as it is sometimes pronounced, which
might formerly have been known as Petcathelin. The
name probably means a "A piece of land belonging to Cathach
/ a warrior" or "A piece of land associated with a
fight/battle".
"Pitkeathly" Wells can still be seen on some old
Ordnance survey maps of the area to the East of Perth which is close to the
area my family lived in the 1700s
Interestingly 59° 42' 44" N - 99° 00' 42" W (just near the
Northern border of Manitoba - which might just be a bit off the beaten track)
is where you'll find Lake
Pitkethly named after Alex Pitkethly.
Somewhat south of that near the Souther border of
Manitoba is the small railway town of Rivers where my maternal Grandfather
served as a curate before joining the Canadian Army as a Chaplain in WW1.
Bibliography (there are many more books on Picts though) :
Seath, J.W. & Seath, R.E. (1991) "Dunbarney. A Parish with a past" 2nd Edn. Perth and Kinross District Libraries ISBN 0 905452119
Wainwright, F. T. (Ed.) (1980) "The Problem of the Picts" Perth, Melven Press ISBN 0906664071
Ritchie, Anna. (1989) "Picts : an introduction to the life of the Picts
and the carved stones in the care of the Secretary of State for Scotland"
Edinburgh, H.M.S.O, ISBN 0114934916
Allyl iso-thiocyanate
This chemical is the active ingredient in Mustard, Horseradish and Japanese
'Wasabi' (a green horseradish used in sushi).