Bill's Dunnett Blog

Hello Everyone

A few changes since I was last in touch – to say the least!

Many of you who are on the discussion lists will already be aware of it but for those who aren’t the situation is as follows. James Thin Ltd went into administration on 10th Jan after the bank withdrew their overdraft facility, and a few days later the administrators closed down five of the English-based shops and made 128 people redundant. They also closed down the website and made myself, my assistant Pauline, and the order desk staff redundant, along with two of the Marketing Dept, a number of the stock controllers and parts of the Accounts Dept. Sadly, because it was the administrators rather than the management, my 21 years of service didn’t count for much and they were able to do it with immediate effect and without any redundancy payments other than the government-paid minimum. All a bit of a shock for everyone and a great shame that a company that has been around for 154 years should be reduced to such a condition. As yet there is no word of a new buyer for it although a number of names have been mentioned. Apparently the bids for it close at the end of this week so we’ll have to wait and see whether it will survive in a new form or not, and if it does whether all the remaining shops will be kept open.

The web site is actually still there if you know the component page addresses – it’s just the front page that has been replaced by a suspended notice and the ordering system has been switched off. However if they don’t renew the contract with the ISP the whole site will disappear in July. I have copies of all the files from the Dunnett pages – I wrote most of them at home anyway and of course many of the photographs are mine. I intend to rewrite the pages, which of course needed revision anyway to take account of Dorothy’s death, and put them up on a site of my own. Currently that site is http://home.freeuk.net/billmarshall/ but I’ve taken out my own domain address and may move the site to another host that can handle more complex scripting and backend processing. I’ll keep you informed. I’ll also use it for the news from the DDRA unless we later decide to set up a separate site for it.

Please don’t send messages to my old work address but only to my personal address which you’ll find below.

Before going any further I must say thanks to everyone who has sent me messages of support since the redundancies took place. They have been a great source of strength and comfort to me and I’m very grateful for them. With all the complexities of signing-on as unemployed, working on a new CV, registering with employment agencies, etc. I haven’t been able to reply to all of them yet, but I’m sure you’ll understand where the priorities have to lie at the moment. I’ll try and get to them when time allows.

WHISPERING GALLERY SUBSCRIPTIONS

One of the repercussions of the Thins collapse is that the facility for overseas readers subscribing to Whispering Gallery has been stopped. In fact when the company went down it was owing the DDRA a fair sum of money – a cheque was in the pipeline but was stopped when the bank withdrew the overdraft. We don’t know whether this will be honoured later or not. I’m looking into the possibility of using a PayPal account to allow people to continue to subscribe/renew to the magazine and would be interested to hear from subscribers as to whether they would be willing and able to use such a facility. The alternative is to get a UK Pounds cheque or an international money order as there is no way that the magazine can afford to pay for credit card facilities, and it would be a tragedy if the readership eventually dropped below a sustainable level because of this. Please let me know your opinions on this.

COMPANION 2

I recently heard from Elspeth Morrison and the release of the 2nd volume of the Companion is due to take place on 16th April for the US edition (paperback to match their Vol 1 edition), and 2nd May for the UK edition (hardback, to match their Vol 1).
Of course I can’t sell it to you any more though if I can get the new pages written in time I may try to get an affiliation deal with another online bookseller so that I can at least direct you to a suitable vendor and maybe make a small percentage from it for myself.

WRITING – A PERSONAL QUESTION

This brings me to another question. Many of you sent very complimentary messages to me about the piece I wrote for the newsletter covering the trip to Orkney. One of the things I would like to develop now that I’m no longer working for Thins is my writing, and travel writing about Scotland and other scenic places I’ve visited is one of the thoughts I’ve had. This newsletter will of course remain free, and I intend to continue it for as long as there is news and interest, but I’d like to know if you feel my other writing is worth paying for if I were to turn out other pieces comparable to the Orkney one. And how much would be an appropriate cost?
To be honest I find it hard to imagine charging people on this list, many of who I consider good friends, for my work. Guess I don’t really have the entrepreneurial spirit 😉 But I now have to consider all options and use my time as effectively as possible. Please let me know your feelings on this.

DDRA AGM

The 2nd AGM of the Dorothy Dunnett Reader’s Association will be held in Edinburgh on Sat 20th April at the Point Hotel, Bread Street. After the AGM in the morning there will be a question and answer session by Elspeth Morrison (a questions form will be sent out with the mailing pack for those attending) and after lunch there will be a talk by Charles Burnett, who is Ross herald and was Dorothy’s advisor on all matters heraldic. We also hope to have Richenda Todd – Dorothy’s editor for most of the House of Niccolo series. After the afternoon talks, assuming the weather is suitable, Elspeth will conduct a walking tour in the Royal Mile, and Joy Madden will be holding a session about Rosslyn Chapel. Places for these will be limited so you’ll need to book early.

The following day there will be a bus trip to Blackness Castle on the shores of the Forth in the morning, and then to Torphichen Priory in the afternoon. I’m sure I don’t need to explain the significance of these places to any of you!!
There are still plenty of places available for the weekend. If you’d like details please get in touch and I’ll pass them on.
The cost is £26 for the Saturday and £25 for the Sunday.

SALE OF BOOKS FROM DOROTHY’S HOUSE

Now that Dorothy’s papers and research notes have been taken to the National Library in accordance with her bequest, Ninian and Mungo are planning to put the house at Colinton Road up for sale and of course there is the sad task of clearing those items for which they have no space. In the garage and various rooms in the house, there were a lot of books which the various publishers had sent her so that she could send copies to readers who wrote to her having and were having difficulties in getting them. There turn out to have been rather a lot of these – it took about three weeks to make an inventory of them and the initial totals were in the region of 2400. These aren’t part of Dorothy’s personal library but some of them were signed. Ninian needs to have these cleared by the end of February in order to be able to show the house – I had initially thought we would have until the end of April – and frankly neither of us has the time to deal with lots of single copy orders; the logistic involved in packing and posting are just completely beyond us. Since the house is obviously the main priority, the books, although in some case quite valuable, were of far less importance to him. However I didn’t want to pass up the possibility of keeping as many as possible of these within the Dunnett community rather than allowing them all to go to a dealer, so I’ve been in touch with a few of you who are known to deal with books on a reasonable scale, and we’ve accepted offers for quite a few of them. The time is now right to throw it more open and I’ve put a list of the books on my website at
http://home.freeuk.net/billmarshall/dubookinvent2.htm
I think we can try to take orders for say 10 or more items – please drop me a message if you’d like to make an offer for this sort of amount or more. If we manage to handle those then we may just have time to do a few for smaller amounts, but I can’t promise this so please understand the position. Remember that orders will have to have postage added at the real value – I’m afraid it’s not like the days of Thins absorbing part of the postage costs – and we’ll need to work out some method of payment that Ninian can accept.

Ninian tells me that there may be a sale of some other items from the house, including some of Dorothy’s paintings. I’ll post details of these when the time comes.

COURSE IN DUNNETT

You may remember I mentioned in the last newsletter that a course has been run called “State and Society in the Fifteenth Century” based around Dorothy’s work. I had a message from the organiser about it as follows.

********

I don’t know if anyone is interested but I have been updating the website with readings and questions from our class discussions. I have also started a bibliography. It is only a few items so far but I am hoping that I will have time to expand it.

My students are doing reports on subjects of interest from the various books and I am hoping that they will be amenable to having the short reports posted on the website as well. I am not sure whether their final papers will be posted or not.

So far the class is going well. Even though there is a lot of reading (they are reading one novel almost every week), the group seems to be interested enough in the books to actually read about 5 times as much as students would normally be required to read in an upper-level history class.

Sincerely,
Sharon D. Michalove
Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dept. of History, UIUC
http://www.history.uiuc.edu/mlove
**************

AUSTRALIAN REVEL

For those of you in Australia I’ve just seen mention on the discussion lists of a “Revel” in Melbourne.
It will be on March 16th & 17th 2002. Discussion, videos, book swapping, Lymopoly,
movies and dinner. Enquiries to:
ejcorbett@ozemail.com.au or jencathlee@hotmail.com

Anyone else with events that they’d like me to publicise please get in touch. And please send reports afterwards if you’d like to tell people about how they went. Whispering Gallery would also be happy to hear from you.

best wishes to everyone

Bill

Dorothy’s Funeral 

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has made entries in the online Book of Condolence. I know that these have been read by the family and that they have found considerable comfort in them, as have I. I would also like to especially thank those of you who have sent me personal messages of support and appreciation – these have been a great source of strength at a difficult time and I value them immensely. I have tried to keep up with replies to those which seemed to require them or those which I found particularly moving, but the sheer volume of them has inevitably meant that the task has been beyond me. I will try and get through some more of them but if I don’t manage then please take this as grateful thanks and acknowledgement.
In addition I would like to thank again everyone who was at the Dublin O’Spit for their warmth and fellowship on a memorable weekend which was truly a celebration of a wonderful life. And a special thanks to Cindy Byrne for organising it.

On Thursday 15th Nov. I attended the funeral of Dorothy Dunnett.

Walking down from the shop through the old town, it was impossible not to be reminded of her at almost every step. I passed the remains of the Flodden Wall which surrounded the city in Lymond’s time, up St Mary’s Street past Boyd’s Wynd to the corner where stood the Floory Land, which she used for Nicholas’ house. Then down the Canongate, past St John’s Pend with the cross of the Knights on the roadway, to the Canongate Kirk where such a short few years before we’d gathered for Alastair’s funeral.

Though it was a couple of months later in the year the day was not dissimilar, mild but clear with a pale blue sky against which the remaining late Autumn leaves still shone in golden colours. The sort of typical Edinburgh day that she would have loved.

Soon I was joined by other friends and colleagues – Val Bierman and her husband Michael, Richenda Todd, Elspeth Morrison, Paula Garrow – DDRA treasurer, Harrie Evans from Penguin, and Vivienne Schuster – Dorothy’s agent for most of her writing life. Looking at their faces I thought I saw the same sense of bewilderment that I was feeling myself; as if we didn’t quite know why we were there, it was so impossible to believe that Dorothy wasn’t with us anymore.

The old kirk was the same as before – light and airy, plain glass windows and eggshell-blue woodwork. Only the red and gold crown of Scotland atop the front pew hinting at it’s royal associations. It was perhaps not as full as it had been three years earlier but one tends to forget – she was always so young – that so many of the people she and Alastair had known would by now themselves be gone.

The organist and pianist started to play about 10 minutes before the service started and then, to the strains of “Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring”, Ninian and Mungo came in with Alison; the two “boys” dressed in kilts – how it would have gladdened Alastair’s heart to see them – along with the minister, The Reverend Charles Robertson, the Queen’s chaplain.
We sang Psalm 121 – I to the hills will lift mine eyes – followed by prayers. There was then a reading by Mungo Dunnett from King Hereafter. It was from Part IV chapter 15 and as far as I can remember it was as follows.

Then, she did not remember where she had heard him speak these words before.

‘O fair woman!
O Befind! Will you come with me
To a wonderful country which is mine
Where the people’s hair is of golden hue
And their bodies the colour of virgin snow?

There no grief or care is known.
Beautiful people without any blemish
Love without sin, without wickedness.
O woman! Shouldst thou come to my brave land
All this we shall share, O Befind!’

Then the dawn came, and showed her an empty bed, and the spears flashing red in the sunrise.

There followed three scripture readings:
Psalm 15
Ecclesiaticus 39; 6-11
St John 14: 1-6, 27

Amongst these was a passage so apt that it could have been written especially for her. However I have since tried to look them up and cannot find it. If time allows I will write to the minister and ask his advice.
Psalm 23 was sung next, The Lord’s My Shepherd to the tune of Crimond, and then we came to the Minister’s address.

He was a family friend and had known both Dorothy and Alastair well, and this was certainly reflected in his description of her. Indeed there were moments when he seemed to be, like the rest of us, on the verge of giving in to tears. Having gone through the usual list of her life and achievements (though with rather more insight – he was clearly a reader) he paused and said that none of this really touched on the real Dorothy, her vitality and warmth and energy. It was revealed that the last portrait that she painted had been a commission for one of the Queen’s chaplains, him of course, and that it now hung proudly in his manse down the road. He described how she was always interested in everyone else’s activities, encouraging, inspiring and always asking how they were going at every opportunity. He himself had been writing some ecclesiastical text and though it was hardly something she was interested in she never failed to offer help, advice and encouragement whenever they met.

He went on to describe the three aspects of the hospitality that you would experience when visiting the house in Colinton Road. The first was the little shriek of happiness when she answered the door and the warm hug that made you feel that you were the one person in the world that she most wanted to see.

The second was what he called the “Alastair-sized dram” which you were presented with and which was always followed by another!

The third was her parrot!
The plastic parrot in gaudy colours which had a small recording device built into it which repeated the last thing it heard in a voice slightly higher than the original. He gave some humorous examples of this effect and then mentioned that on occasion you might find it regaling you with a string of oaths if she had bumped into the furniture while rushing to answer the door!

My memory cannot do justice to the whole of it but Val tells me that she hopes that a full version of the address will appear in Whispering Gallery with Rev. Robertson’s kind permission. Suffice it to say here that it caught the essence of the Dorothy we all loved and that by the end the tears of sadness had turned into tears of laughter and joy at our memories of her.

We had prayers followed by the Lord’s Prayer and then sang Paraphrase 2 – O God of Bethel – to the tune Salzburg, before the Commendation, Dismissal and Blessing, and then the coffin was carried away.

The family then went to a Service of Committal at Warriston Crematorium and later met up with us all at the Signet Library in Parliament Square (the historic library of the Scots legal profession), just a few yards from St Giles, where, over drinks and buffet we mingled and talked of memories and happy times with her.

The following morning I gave a short telephone interview to BBC Radio 5’s Brief Lives programme – this is a review of the famous people who had died during the previous week. Jenny Brown of the Scottish Arts Council had also done a piece. Unfortunately my piece was later dropped to accommodate another last minute entry.
Half an hour later I was on my way to the airport heading for the O’Spit in Dublin. I had originally intended to be there but had changed my mind a number of times due to clashes of commitments and had eventually decided that I couldn’t face being there while bearing the secret of Dorothy’s illness. With the funeral over there was only one place I wanted to be.

I will attempt to give a summary of the weekend in a later newsletter, but for now will mention just one event. We held a session entitled “Memories of Dorothy” which I had the honour of chairing, and which I started off by describing the funeral much the same as I’ve just done here. A number of people then contributed stories or poems or readings which they wished to share with everyone. It was a very moving experience for all of us, and one that I’ll remember for as long as I live, and at the end of it I read a short passage from Alastair’s “Among Friends” and then proposed a toast – drunk with Highland Park single malt from Orkney – To Dorothy!

The Dunnett Archive

I promised in my last announcement that I would give you details of the Dunnett Archive Trust. They have since been put up on the website but for anyone who hasn’t seen them and wishes to contribute, here they are again. As mentioned below, cheques can be accepted in any currency.

Before her death Dorothy decided to leave her very extensive archive – all her research materials, manuscripts and other papers, plus Alastair Dunnett’s papers – as a bequest to the National Library of Scotland where it will be known as The Dunnett Archive. She was of course a trustee of the library and it was where she did a great deal of her research. A trust has now been set up to maintain that archive and allow it to be catalogued and accessed for future generations. This seems to me to be an excellent way of preserving her memory and utilizing her extensive knowledge for the benefit of all, and I would urge anyone who wishes to mark her death or commemorate her life to make a donation to the trust.

Details of the Trust, set up by Dorothy’s lawyer as part of his firm’s own charitable trust – the Princes Exchange Foundation – are as follows:

Account Name – The Dunnett Archive
Account Number – 00446114
Sort Code – 80-26-02
Bank – Bank of Scotland
Address – 41 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9BF

The Dunnett Archive is a sub-fund of Princes Exchange Foundation, a private limited company, Registered Number SC209552,
Registered Office: PRINCES EXCHANGE, 1 EARL GREY STREET, EDINBURGH EH3 9EE.
Princes Exchange Foundation is a Scottish Charity, number SC030452.

Anyone wishing to send cheques can send them to The Archive c/o Princes Exchange Foundation at the Registered Office address. It has now been confirmed that they can accept foreign currency cheques.
If you pay UK tax and wish to make a donation under the Gift Aid scheme then this must be declared when making it. Download this form (in Word 95 format), then complete it and post it along with your cheque.

Audio Books – Disorderly Knights

It hardly seems right to be mentioning the books in this newsletter, but maybe this reminds us that we need to keep her work alive and ensure it is read by as many people as possible.
I heard from WF Howes last week. Firstly the reason for the delay in obtaining new supplies of Game of Kings was because of a fault in one of the cassettes. This is being corrected and they should be with us shortly. Copies of Queens’ Play are now available again.
The good news is that they have just received copies of Disorderly Knight and they should be wish us shortly as well (I reserved the entire first batch of 52 copies). I hope to have the ISBN this week so I can put it on the website and start taking orders. Further, they tell me that Pawn in Frankincense will be available in January 2002 and that they are concluding negotiations for Ringed Castle and Checkmate.

Companion and Companion 2

Just a reminder that the UK reissue of the Companion is due out very soon now. I was told that the publication date for the UK edition of Companion 2 is likely to be May 2002. Again I’ll try and get full details from Penguin in the next few days so that we can start taking orders

Antipodean contacts

There was recently a suggestion on one of the discussion groups that the readers in Australia and New Zealand should get together on a local email list or discussion group. If you fit the bill and would like to participate then drop a message to Jennifer Cameron-Smith at fionnabhair@bigpond.com
I should perhaps mention that I generally get about 20 people drop off this list every time I send out a newsletter with messages being bounced back – usually as “unknown user” as people move ISPs, but I do seem to get a higher than expected proportion of Australian ones. So if you know anyone “down-under” who used to get the newsletter and now doesn’t, do mention to them that they may have forgotten to tell me they’d moved!

The Future

A number of people have asked me in the last week about whether the website and the newsletters will continue. Rest assured that the website will remain in place as long as I do, and if for some inconceivable reason it were ever to disappear I would simply take the files and put them on a site of my own. But I don’t anticipate that being necessary.

As regards the newsletter the original purpose was of course a commercial one – to help James Thin sell as many copies of Dorothy’s books as we could to the people who wanted them – and to a certain extent that purpose is now over, though there are still the remaining audiobooks and the second volume of the Companion to come, and if everyone is happy with it I’ll continue to occasionally mention books which I think are closely related to the time periods in which we are interested. However the newsletter itself has changed a lot in the last few years and as you’ll all realise it has become something that I write largely in my free time. There is now a great deal more activity in the way of Dunnett days and mini-spits etc. and we now have the DDRA on whose council I have the honour to serve. While my thoughts are still in their early stages I anticipate that the newsletters will continue as a means of keeping everyone in touch with what’s going on, and would thus ask that anyone organising events should keep feeding me with information so I can pass it on here, and also be able to keep Val informed for Whispering Gallery. Please also send Val and me reports on how these events have gone and we can tell everyone else and help keep Dorothy’s name and books alive.

Very best wishes

Bill