Urquhart Castle Loch Ness 'Big Brother' sculpture 2003

Postcard

 

• Picture / Image:  Big Brother Stone Sculpture May 2003. Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, Inverness, Scotland.
• Publisher:  n/a
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  1st class Scottish regional
• Postmark(s):  [illeg.]
• Sent to:  Hayes
• Notes & Key words: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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Urquhart Castle (57°19'27?N 4°26'41?W? / ?57.32417°N 4.44472°W? / 57.32417; -4.44472Coordinates: 57°19'27?N 4°26'41?W? / ?57.32417°N 4.44472°W? / 57.32417; -4.44472; Ordnance Survey grid reference NH530286) sits beside Loch Ness in Scotland along the A82 road, between Fort William and Inverness. It is close to the village of Drumnadrochit. Though extensively ruined, it was in its day one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland, and remains an impressive structure, splendidly situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness. It is also near the castle where the majority of Nessie (Loch Ness Monster) sightings occur.

The earliest history of the castle may begin in the time of St. Columba in the 6th century, when the predecessor of the castle may have been mentioned in Adomnán's Life of Columba: it is probably the site called Airchartdan, visited by Columba in the latter half of the sixth century during one of his visits to King Brude son of Maelchon of the northern Picts. Columba took the opportunity to convert Emchath, who was on his deathbed (Anderson & Anderson 1991, 202-3), and his son Virolec to Christianity. Unfortunately, Adomnán’s text gives no specific link to the castle and the location of the episode is described as being the agrum of Airchartdan. This probably means the estate and certainly does not refer to the settlement in which Columba stayed. In view of the use of the term agrum, it would be as easy to see Drumnadrochit as the location of Emchath's residence as there is no mention of a fortified structure. However, one of the radiocarbon dates obtained by the late Professor Leslie Alcock in his 1983 excavations within the castle was in the range 460-660 AD. It is thus probable that there was a fortified settlement on Strone Point during the time that Columba visited the area, and it is reasonable to assume that this would have been the home of Emchath. No other noble is mentioned in this episode, so it is probable that Columba stayed at Urquhart Castle on his way to visit Brude at Craig Phadraig, Inverness.

It is not known precisely when the castle was built, but records show the existence of a castle on this site from the early 1200s. The area had been granted to the Durward family in 1229, and they were probably the builders of the castle. It was certainly in existence in 1296, as it was captured by Edward I of England at this time. Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood was Constable of Urquhart Castle in 1329, and his grandson Robert Chisholm succeeded him in 1359. The castle was seized from the Crown in the mid-fifteenth century by the Earl of Ross, but recovered shortly afterwards. In 1509, it was given as a gift to the Grants, whose ownership lasted until 1912. During this period, the MacDonalds captured the castle in 1545, while it was also captured by a Covenanter force in 1644. The castle was then largely destroyed in 1692 by Williamite troops who had been holding the castle against Jacobite forces (Gifford 1992, 217). The intention was to ensure that the castle could not become a Jacobite stronghold, an intention that was fully achieved as the castle was never repaired and remained as a ruin. Subsequent plundering of the stonework for re-use by locals, and natural decay, further reduced the ruins.

Big Brother is a reality television series broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Channel 4 and E4, and on S4C in Wales. Internationally, it is broadcast on the Polish network TVN.^[1] It is part of the Big Brother franchise first developed in the Netherlands, and is currently the longest running series in the franchise. Channel 4 has confirmed that it will not broadcast Big Brother after 2010.^[2].

Big Brother is a gameshow in which a group of contestants, called housemates, live in isolation from the outside world in a "house" that is custom built but includes everyday objects, such as a fully equipped kitchen and a garden. The House is also a television studio, and includes cameras and microphones in most of the rooms to record the activity of the housemates. The only place where housemates can escape the company of the other contestants is the Diary Room, where they are encouraged to voice their true feelings.

Each week all housemates nominate two of their fellows for potential eviction. The two or more housemates with the highest number of nominations face a public vote conducted by phone and, in some years, text message and the one with the most votes is evicted from the House. Occasionally more than one housemate may be evicted in a week. The last contestant remaining in the house is declared the winner and awarded a large cash prize. The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1948 novel 1984, a dystopia in which Big Brother is the all-seeing, omnipotent leader of Oceania.

The main television coverage takes the form of a daily highlights programme narrated by Marcus Bentley. The launch programme, introducing the contestants to the House, live evictions and the finale programme are hosted by Davina McCall. The show is produced by Brighter Pictures, an Endemol company.