The ThistletireJULY-AUGUST 2019

Caledonian Club of Florida West, Inc.

Your Board2019-2020

BOARD:President

Mary Ellen McMahonVice President

Susan EltonheadSecretary

Janice IversenTreasurer

Jean Walker

DIRECTORS:Donald Campbell

Manning EdmondsRachel “Gay” Haines

Allan McIlraithDr. Mary ThompsonMargaret (Peg) Tonn

SPECIAL CHAIRPERSONSMembershipBill Wallace

Thistle EditorDr. Michael Wolfe

WebmasterPaul Johnson

Sunshine LadyJennifer Meinert

Media Coordinator( Open Position )

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Dear members:

For those of you who are year-round residents here I do hopeyou are staying cool during this very hot time of the year. Forour members who have traveled north I hope you are enjoyingyour time in the cooler climate.

Our first summer social in June was great. Kudos to Gay Hainesfor organizing it. By the time our newsletter is published we willhave had our second 5:30 Social at the Lazy Parrott in Sarasota.Our last one in August will be at MacAllisters Restaurant inLakewood Ranch.

Our new season will “kick-off” in October with our HeritageLuncheon with a tentative date of October 26, 2019.

I do hope you check the Caledonian Club web-site as we arelisting other clubs/organizations events to keep you all informed.

I hope to see you at our next 5:30 Social.

My best,

Mary Ellen McMahon

Oak Ridge Cemetery • Arcadia, FLMay 27, 2019

Sixty-two years DeSoto County has helped mourn and also celebrate the sacrifices of those whoserved here during World War II. The Rotary Club of Arcadia organized the annual memorialservice for lost airmen who had served in DeSoto County at air training fields. U.S. Air ForceBrig. Gen. Bradley Swanson made the trip from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa to delivercomments on those buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery, on the sacrifices Americans recognize onMemorial Day.

The British Memorial Service hosted by the Rotary Club of Arcadia honored these pilots, also those trainingthem, pretty much anyone associated with the task of preparing men for war. The British graves are neatlylined in two rows, tended over the years by locals funded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Ross Allen of the Jacobites Pipe and Drum Band of Sarasota plays Amazing Grace as he walks by thegraves of the 23 British student pilots buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Participants in Monday’s ceremony at Oak Ridge Cemetery helped decorate all the graves of the Britishstudent pilots with tradition poppies, the Union Jack, and other mementos to honor their memories. Severalgroups also brought flower wreaths to adorn the British Plot.

Veterans, families and well-wishers also honored DeSoto County’s fallen soldiers, sailors andairmen at the courthouse grounds. Memorial Day, perhaps more than any other recognition, isAmerica’s most solemn and a tradition dating to the Civil War.

Each year, a formal commemorative service is conducted graveside at the British Plot in Arcadia’sOak Ridge Cemetery by the Rotary Club of Arcadia. Many members of the Sarasota ScottishSociety, Daughters of the British Empire, Canadian organizations in South Florida, British veterans and former instructors as well astowns’ people take part in and attend the ceremony which honors these twenty-three Royal Air Force Cadets who “crossed the river torest in the shade of the trees.

Each year on Memorial Day a service coordinated by the Arcadia Rotary Club and the localAmerican Legion is held to honor 23 RAF trainee pilots and their American instructors who werekilled training at the nearby Carlstrom and Riddle flight schools during World War II. In the pastthe Caledonian Club, St. Andrew Society, Sarasota British Club, and others, have all sentrepresentatives to this Service.

The ceremony was complete with bagpipes and Mel Jackson’s rendition of “God Save the Queen,” as the U.S flag and the Union Jackwere lowered to half staff. After, Audrey Tait said, “It was very emotional.” But Neil, a retired policeman, said he had been comforted tosee how well his father’s grave is cared for, adding he would like to return.

Judy Kirkpatrick, Arcadia Rotary Club representative, sent an email to BIll Dalgarno (Caledonian Club) to tell him how much the ArcadiaRotary Club and the attendees of the 2019 British Memorial Service appreciated your contributions to the Service. Michael Wilcox, pastpresident of the St. Andrew Society, provided moving comments during the service and many individuals stated after the ceremony howmoving the comments were.

Memorial Service to Honor 23 RAF Trainee Pilots

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By Jaime LevisMay 15, 2019

about the CeltsThings you didn’t know

http://www.kiwireport.com/things-didnt-know-celts/1 Source:

THR, August 22, 5:29:59pmMacAllisters, Lakewood Ranch

8110 Lakewood Main Street

CALEDONIAN CLUB OF FLORIDA WEST

British Idiomsand Their MeaningsA guide to helping youunderstand many of thewords and phrases usedin casual conversations.

BOB’S YOUR UNCLE

Tends to mean achieving some level of success or a conclusion. An American equivalent mightbe “and there you have it.” The phrase supposedly originated with Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, who appointed his nephew, Arthur Balfour, to several high-profilegovernmental posts. Balfour would go on to have a successful public career on his own merits,but would never have gotten his start without his uncle’s help.

BEYOND THE PALE

For something to be “beyond the pale” means that it’s gone way too far. This could be somethingsaid in a discussion or an action taken. A “pale” is an old term for a stake that served as a boundarymarker, meaning that once you went “beyond” it, you were in a place you shouldn’t go.

CHINWAG

Chinwag means an idle chat, though it can also mean catching up or sharing gossip. If you talkexcessively, your chin “wags” a lot much like a dog wags its tail.

CODSWALLOP

A British slang word for “nonsense,” codswallop came about because of Hiram Codd, a sodasalesman who developed a bottle with a glass marble stopper in it and when the bottle was shaken,the carbonation pushed the marble into the neck and formed a seal. Around the same time, the word“cod” was a little-known slang term for a hoax, so it seems more likely that the latter word laterdeveloped into the term we know today, though evidence is scant on exactly how this happened.

CHUFFED TO BITS

“Chuffed” typically means overjoyed or full of pride, while being chuffed “to bits” means thisfeeling is pushed to its maximum. The original meaning of “chuff” comes from the 16th Centuryand originally meant “stuffed full of fat” and over time lost its original meaning to its slang usage.

GOBSMACKED

Typically, this word means to be shocked, so overcome with surprise that you don’t know what to say.The origin of the idiom is the 1950s and combines the slang term “gob” meaning “mouth” with the pasttense verb “smacked” as if something hit you so hard in the mouth that it left you speechless.

MINGING

The word ordinarily means that something isfoul, gross, smelly, or even ugly. It originallycomes from the Scots-English word “ming” forexcrement and started being used to describeother smelly objects sometime around the1970s, though some sources cite it as early asthe 1950s.

NOSY PARKER

A “Nosy Parker” is someone who can’t mindtheir own business and comes from Archbishopof Canterbury Matthew Parker, who served inthe office from 1559 to 1575 and, aside fromhaving a large nose himself, conducted a lot of investigations into the clergy during his tenure. It’salso believed the phrase comes from the last name “Parker,” which originally described a “parkkeeper,” some of whom got busted spying in courting couples in their parks. The first usage of thephrase dates back to a 1907 postcard labeled “The Adventures of Nosey Parker.”

PEAR-SHAPED

This is a catch-all phrase that means everything’s gone wrong. There are multiple theories about howthe phrase came about from potters whose work collapsed to a cleaner way to say “tits-up,” a similarphrase that originated with the Royal Air Force. The first documented use was in 1983, though theidiom is believed to have been used decades beforehand.

POPPYCOCK

A word often used by people who are trying to emulate British speak without knowing what they’resaying, “poppycock” means “nonsense” or “rubbish.” The word comes to Britain in a roundaboutmanner, first starting as a combination of the Dutch words “pap” (or “soft”) and “kak” (meaning “feces”).Dutch settlers in America brought the phrase over with them as an Americanized form of “pappekak.”Eventually, it made its way over to England and became more well-known in Britain than America.

THE FULL MONTY

To give something, “the full monty” typically means you’re going all the way, giving it everythingyou’ve got. It can also mean that something is the real deal and not at all faked. This idiom came toprominence with the release of the movie in which six unemployed steelworkers decide to becomestrippers to earn money, going “the full monty” by getting completely naked.

John Robon, “Ten More Brilliant British Idioms and Their Meanings.”Source:July 26, 2018. https://www.anglotopia.net/british-identity/ten-brilliant-british-idioms

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QUANGO (Acronym)

Quasi-autonomous non- governmental organization. An organization that’s usually started by thegovernment or has governmental powers that’s not run by the government. It is usually a place tosend troublesome politicians by giving them cushy jobs. Examples are the BBC, Visit Britain, andThe TV show “Yes, Minister.”

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL THE APOSTLES2850 75TH STREET WEST, BRADENTON, FL 34209

Special Olympics Forida-manatee County.Proudly Presents

A Celtic Christmas CelebrationSaturday, December 14, 2019 — 1:00 to 3:pm

Ss Peter and Paul the Apostles Catholic ChurchMonsignor Moretti Center

2850 75th Street WestBradenton FL 34209

•Featuring a Heart Warming Show for Your Pleasure

The All Women Blue Skye Pipes and Drums: Amazing EntertainersComedy and Songs by Paul Duffy: Famous International Irish Star

Celtic Dancers, and more…•

Pre-sale tickets $15 per person and $20 per person at the door.Forward checks made payable to:

Special Olympics Florida- Manatee County3657 Cortez RoadW #120, Bradenton FL 34210

ALL PROFITS FROM THISPERFORMANCE WILL BE

DONATED TO THESPECIAL OLYMPICS FLORIDA

MANATEE COUNTY

For more information,Contact Pam Fazio

Office 941-751-0049Cell 941-228-1468

pamfazio@sofl.org

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Ashley Boat House on the Union Canal in Edinburgh

WELCOME

Summer Welcomes New Members

LYNNE LOCKE and JOHN OWEN were brought together again 60 years after they first met inhigh school in Springfield, Illinois. Still active although retired (semi!), Lynne is a “Mindfulness”instructor at New College as a member of the Mindfullness Institute and enjoys painting and thewriting of poetry and essays. John is a forensic engineer—on call when catastrophic events occur,such as Hurricane Katrina, where, among other things, he had to climb atop the Coliseum as a“small” part of his unusual work. Lynne will be writing for the Thistle newslettert and volunteeringat the Scottish Games.

Dougarie (estate) on the Isle of Arran

Scottish Sunset

DATE EVENT PLACE SPONSOR

THR, AUGUST 22, 5:30PM Summer Social AUGUST MacAllisters Grill & TavernLakewood Ranch, FL CCFW

Caledonian ClubCALENDAR OF EVENTS

July-August 2019https://floridascots.org

DATE EVENT PLACE SPONSOR

St. Andrew SocietyCALENDAR OF EVENTS

July-August 2019http://www.standrewsocietysarasota.com

DATE EVENT PLACE SPONSOR

SAT, JULY 20, 6:30PM McCurdy’s Comedy ClubWorld Series of Comedy SARASOTA, FL BritClub

Sarasota British ClubCALENDAR OF EVENTS

July-August 2019www.sarasotabritishclub.com

DATE EVENT PLACE SPONSOR

SUN, JULY 28, 1:00PM Sunday Brunch Carrabba’s Italian GrillSarasota, FL GCWC

THR-TUEAUG 29-SEP 1, 2019

North American Festivalof Wales Milwaukee, WI Welsh North American

Association

Gulf Coast Welsh SocietyCALENDAR OF EVENTS

July-August 2019www.sarasotawelsh.com

DATE EVENT PLACE SPONSOR

SAT, JULY 27, 6:00PM Kilt Night:Martin Dillion and Friends

Unknown:Not Mentioned

In EmailGCWC

New World CeltsCALENDAR OF EVENTS

July-August 2019https://www.NewWorldCeltsSarasota.com

DATE EVENT PLACE SPONSOR

SAT, AUG 31, 10:00AM SICC vs. Trini AbroadCC

Sarasota Cricket ClubSarasota FL SICC

CALENDAR OF EVENTSJuly-August 2019

https://www.sarasotacricket.org/

Sarasota InternationalCricket Club

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