On Being Called Edwards and Wearing Tartan

Heron recently made the following statement in his comment on one of his posts: " what clan tartan is it that is aligned with the surname of Edwards because I have always thought that name was Welsh".

As a youngster I always thought that too and aligned myself with all things Welsh from an early age.

We then had a discussion on his blog on the subject of the tartan which I wore for my kilt. 

This raised various matters which I though might be of interest to those who read my blog.

Firstly the name 'Edwards'. This surname, with variant forms Edwardes and Edwardson, is a patronymic form of the early medieval English male given name Edward, itself coming from the Olde English pre 7th Century "Eadward", composed of the elements "ead", prosperity or fortune, plus "w(e)ard", guard; hence, "prosperity guard".  However apparently it is supposed to have arisen separately in Wales.

  

Edwards is the 14th most common surname in Wales and 21st most common in England. 

Examples of Edwards Tartan

So why the tartan question? Well the Welsh as well as the Scots wear kilts and have tartans. The Edwards tartan is a dour and uninteresting cloth (in my opinion) and the idea of having a kilt in the Edwards tartan did not appeal to me at all. However for my son's wedding I could not go kiltless so had to take a decision.

Having lived the majority of my life in the Western Isles of Scotland the obvious choice was the Western Isles Modern tartan and that was what I wore. For the record my son wore the Macrae Dress tartan in the old Scottish tradition of marrying into the bride's family (Macrae).

Molly taking Us For a Walk

What an intelligent face is that!  Shame about the chap with two legs though. 

A Taste of New Zealand

Heather suggested that if I had not posted this picture before then perhaps I should. Well it seems unlikely that I will ever get the opportunity in Soaring Through the World in Pictures 'cos Glaciers is not likely to be a topic most of us have the opportunity to photograph.  It just so happens that New Zealand has some wonderful glaciers and I've been fortunate enough to hike on one of them.  It was, however, long before I blogged.  But it has given me the idea that when I resume A Hebridean in New Zealand I might show some of the older photos of my time there.  Some are more interesting and exciting than those I am able to take on the croquet lawns!  The Franz Josef Glacier might well be an early contender.   

Hiking on the Franz Josef Glacier, South Island, New Zealand

Never Stop Searching For Wonderland

So that's what I was doing with my head in the stream all those years ago (early 1960s) and I thought I was just having a drink.

The Centre of the Universe

At 0630. From whence all this emanates.