More events commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden in September have been announced this week.
The Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum’s plans include five books, two beers, a Rose & Thistle ice cream, a marmalade, oatcakes, an opera, a tartan and a historian-led guided walk, timed to the battle’s day and hour 500 years ago.
Project co-ordinator Alistair Bowden explained: “This is about commemoration and we take our cue from the plaque on the cross which stands guard over the battlefield today, placed there in 1910 – ‘To the Brave of Both Nations’. It was an event which shaped our country, and is as much about where we are today as remembering the past.”
Other listed events include the Borderers’ Re turn from Flodden Ride – a horseback ride from September 5 to 8 around the whole of the area covered by the Scottish Army – organised by the Flodden 1513 Club in Coldstream, who are also holding the annual commemoration at Flodden Monument on September 9. A service of solemn commemoration also takes place on September 9 at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, arranged by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
In Selkirk, there will be a concert and the official opening of the town’s Peace Garden on September 7, while on the same day Norham is putting on a Scottish rock and English folk music concert.
Drama follows with a costumed actor at Etal Castle and a tug-of-war at the Berwick Food Festival from September 7 to 8, and Flyting, a new opera by Matthew Rooke at the Maltings theatre in Berwick-upon-Tweed on September 9.
Among the products revealed are Flodden marmalade using blood oranges and research into Tudor recipes, and Edinburgh’s Nicolson Kiltmakers is creating a Flodden tartan in the four colours (white, Tudor green, golden yellow and red) worn by the English and Scottish troops. More details at www.flodden1513.com