Alongside fellow Fifer, author Ian Rankin, Vettriano put in a cameo appearance in a video with Scottish indie band Saint Jude's Infirmary made for BBC Scotland's ' The Music Show '.

Walter Bower, Abbot 1418-49, was the author of the Latin Scotichronicon, one of Scotland's most important medieval historical sources.

Former alumni include Scotland's first First Minister, Donald Dewar ; Andrew Neil, the political broadcaster and former editor of The Sunday Times ; John Mullin, editor of the Independent on Sunday ; Iain Martin, deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph ; Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator ; Martin Patience ( China Correspondent, BBC News ), Ruaridh Arrow ( Scottish BAFTA winner for " How to Start a Revolution ") and William Boyd, author and winner of the Whitbread Award and a Somerset Maugham Award.

Irvine was the site of Scotland's 12th century Military Capital and former headquarters of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, Hugh de Morville.

* Hugh A. Thurston, Scotland's Dances ( Kitchener, Ontario: Teachers ' Association ( Canada ) 1984 ( reprint )), ISBN 1-55932-077-X use OCLC: 3602873

' It was intriguing to note that without fail at every one of our public events BBC2 Scotland's Eòrpa programme was raised, unsolicited, and by non-Gaelic speakers, as an example of a positive, well-respected programme ' - Blair Jenkins, Chair-Scottish Broadcasting Commission.

Blair Atholl's most famous feature is Blair Castle ( NN 865 662 ), one of Scotland's premier stately homes, and the last castle in the British Isles to be besieged, in 1746 during the last Jacobite Rebellion.

Mike Blair was included in Scotland's 2011 Rugby World Cup Squad and scored the first try in the team's first match against Romania on 10 September.

Note: Blair McDougall served two terms because the Youth and Student Conference was cancelled following the death of Scotland's First Minister, Donald Dewar.

Haggis is traditionally served as part of the Burns supper on the week of January 25, when Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, is commemorated.

These served remote communities in Scotland's Highlands and Islands region.

In the 18th century the area served as the cradle of Scotland's Industrial Revolution, becoming the earliest major centre of the iron-casting industry.

Much of the fortified east gatehouse of the priory survives ( 15th century ), as does the ' Great House ', one of Scotland's best-preserved late medieval houses, which may have served as accommodation for the prior and monks.

Much of the fortified east gatehouse of the priory survives ( 15th century ), as does the ' Great House ', one of Scotland's best-preserved late medieval houses, which may have served as living quarters for the prior and monks.

This chapel only served its purpose for four years, however, as, following Scotland's defeat at the battle of Flodden, a number of widows requested, and were granted, a Papal Bull to establish the Dominican convent of Catherine of Sienna, which was built in 1517 but destroyed in the Reformation in 1559.

In the first election for Scotland's new Parliament, the majority of voters surveyed misunderstood some key aspects of the difference there between the " first " ( constituency ) vote and the " second " ( regional list ) vote ; indeed in some ways the understanding worsened in the second election.

Biggar occupies a key location close to two of Scotland's great rivers, the Clyde flowing to the west, and the Tweed flowing to the east.

Bothwell played a key role in Scotland's Wars of Independence, changing hands several times.

< center > St Andrew's Cathedral, St Andrews, now in ruins: one of Scotland's key buildings in the classic period of the Makars and a possible presence in some of Dunbar's spiritual works </ center >

McClelland's Single Malt is a range of Single Malt Scotch whiskies from four of Scotland's key whisky distilling regions — Highland, Islay, Speyside and Lowland.

Under Levein, Brown has been one of Scotland's key players.

Scotland's transformation into a rich leader of modern industry came suddenly and unexpectedly.

Leith was Scotland's premier leader in several industries for many centuries.

The overall SNP leader, Alex Salmond, is an MSP and Scotland's First Minister.

Former Ministers include David Calderwood ( 1575-1650 ) and Robert Douglas ( 1594-1674 ), one time leader of Scotland's moderate Presbyterians.

The " home rule " movement for a Scottish Assembly was first taken up in 1853 by a body close to the Conservative Party, complaining about the fact that Ireland received more support from the British Government than Scotland and soon began to receive Liberal Party backing, In 1885, the Post of Secretary for Scotland and the Scottish Office were re-established to promote Scotland's interests and voice its grievances to the British Parliament.

Rothesay was also the location of one of Scotland's many hydropathic establishments during the 19th century boom years of the Hydropathy movement.

He became one of Scotland's greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation, eventually leading Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England.

He claimed the Scottish throne as a fourth great-grandson of David I, and fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent nation.

In addition to performing at ' The Worlds ', most internationally competitive bands participate in a season of events that are generally held during Scotland's summer months.

Alexander Christie ( c1721-1794 ) was provost in the town during the 1760s and 1780s and oversaw the establishment of Scotland's first Lunatic Asylum in Montrose in 1781 which became Sunnyside Royal Hospital.

Established in 1947, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals.

The 1972 final between Dutch team Ajax and Scotland's Rangers is considered unofficial by UEFA, as Rangers were banned from European competition due to the behaviour of their fans during the 1972 UEFA Cup Winners ' Cup Final.

The captain of the Manilus, known in the Victorian Shipping records as the " Plague ship ", would not receive his bounty as forty-five of the ship's 243 passengers had been lost to yellow fever during the journey from Scotland's shores.

In addition, given the strong strategic importance of Newmilns ' position as a suitable fording place and a bottleneck on one of Scotland's main east-west trade routes, it is not unlikely that other battles and skirmishes occurred during this period.

However, in September 2007, McFadden scored an even more significant goal in a 1 – 0 win over France in Paris during Scotland's dramatic but ultimately narrowly unsuccessful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2008, and was on target again in the following game, a 3 – 1 win over Ukraine at Hampden Park in October.

A notable instance occurred during the Year of Homecoming in 2009, when all of Scotland's clans took part in a parade in Edinburgh.

He was not selected for any of Scotland's World Cup squads during his playing days.

Some of modern Europe's highest honours, such as the Order of the Golden Fleece, England's Order of the Garter, Denmark's Order of the Elephant and Scotland's Order of the Thistle, were created during that era.

After Scotland's royal dynasty began lose the overlordship of Northhumbria during the reign of William I, David's southern " capital " came into close proximity to the border with England and was subject to attack during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

He had been expected to make the squad for Mexico 86 but was dropped by Alex Ferguson ( caretaker manager until the end of the World Cup after the death of Jock Stein in September 1985 ) after a late night incident during Scotland's preparations for their play-off against Australia in November 1985, in which Johnston had disturbed a member of the coaching staff in his hotel room.

He represented Scotland at the World Cup in 2003, but started only one fixture in Australia, he grabbed Scotland's solitary try during the quarter-final defeat to Australia.

:" For the record though, here is an abridged version of one of the most impressive curriculum vitae in British rugby ; Hastings captained the first Scottish schoolboys ' side to win on English soil ; he captained the victorious 1985 Cambridge University side ; he won the Gallacher Shield with Auckland University during his sabbatical year ; he was a central figure in Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam ... he captained Scotland in one World Cup, and played in two others, including a semi-final ; he captained his country and scored the winning try when Scotland registered their first win at the Parc des Princes ... he played for the World XV in the New Zealand Centenary Celebrations ; and he holds the British points-scoring record with 733 points in tests for Scotland and the Lions.

Caldwell as made an appearance in Scotland's 4 – 0 defeat to Norway during Scotland's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup when they finished 3rd in Group 9.

In December 2011, during an appearance on BBC Radio Scotland's Stark Talk programme, Ian Tough revealed the couple had enjoyed a colourful sex life at the time when their profile was at its highest in the 1980s, admitting to episodes of ' swinging '.

The Basin has been exploited for its seafood, at one time Montrose was Scotland's second largest exporter of salmon and mussel cultivation gave it the largest mussel beds in the kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Despite his heroics against Celtic, Johnstone found regular first-team outings in the number nine jersey hard to come by, largely due to the presence of Colin Stein, Scotland's first £ 100, 000 player, although he did score eleven goals in sixteen league appearances during the 1971 – 72 season.