Daniel Muir
I retired in 2005. Currently I am a volunteer & Trustee at The Devil's Porridge Museum <www.devilsporrige.org.uk> I am also Session Clerk at Gretna Parish Church of Scotland (see Facebook page)
Location Gretna, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Activity
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Those buildings did not strike me as having any particula religious significance, nor did they appear to me to have any great architectural merit. Yes they could be regarded as works of art, in their own right, as well as containing some great examples of art works within them, but that is all they conveyed to me.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Links did not work properly.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
An interesting video. Although I had not previously heard of the Syriac Christians, I was aware that a separate branch of Christianity existed in Southern India, allegedly established by St. Thomas, and another branch in Ethopia. There is a great danger in relying on either Latin or Greek sources as being definitive. The early Celtic Christian Church in...
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@BrianO'Brien Are you sure that "Christian" thought regarded the Syriacs as heretical, or was it "Roman Christians", whom many also regard as heretics, who promulgated that point of view?
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The video ahows the importance of looking for many sources of information, and not relying on one single source, when compiling a narative. In particular, many latin sources are extremely dubious, as is evidenced by the Reformation.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I have not found this week very helpful or enlightening. Nothing have I seen to make me believe that the teachings of Muhammed stem from God, or an intimate knowledge of the teachings of God in the Old Testament.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I believe the teachings of my church, the Church of Scotland . I do not accept any theology that claims Mary is the mother of God. She is the mother of Jesus, the human being, and not the mother of the divine part of Jesus. It must be obvious that the human part of Jesus, entering life as a new-born baby would need a human father as well as his human mother,...
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I could only see one reading, and it clearly denounces Muhammed as a heretic.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I did not understand a single word that she said. What did she mean by ""Christology""? If she means "Christianity" then why not say so. The birth of Christ was foretold in the Old Testament. Does Islamic teaching not include this? I too havedifficulty with the Christian concept of the Trinity, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, as I see the Father & the Holy Spirit...
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Listening to the poem being read was like listening to monkeys jabbering in the zoo. It did nothing for me. As for reading the translation, it made no sense what-so-ever. This has not changed my belief that Jesus is the Son of God, or my belief that the Qur'an is heretical.
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A load of gibberish! could not understand a word. Even the translation is nonsense.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I could not follow that text. It seemed very jumbled to me.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Why do Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is the final messenger? Why do some Christians (and some Muslims) believe that God no longer speaks to Mankind and that there are no longer any Prophets? I cannot accept that proposition, and, as a Christian, believe that God still speaks to people, even on a daily basis. If God is a caring & loving God, and I...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
More baffled than ever
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Very confusing! What exactly did they mean?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Hi Everybody, I'm Danny and I live in Gretna, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. My highest accademic achievement was a BSc at the Open University. Until recently I was an active member of the Kirk Session, but deteriorating health has forced me to retire from that role. However, I still participate in Kirk life. ( for those of you who do not know, "The Kirk" is the...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
To the best of my knowledge, I do not know any Muslims but I am a practising Christian, and do believe that Christ is the only begotten son of the one true God. However I find the concept of "The Holy Trinity" hard to understand. I also am given to understand that Muslims, whilst accepting Jesus as a "Holy Man" , do not accept his divinity.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Having shared in the Easter celebrations at my local church, I am moved to find out more about how other Abrahamic religions share our views, and how they differ. I had always been led to believe that Islam was heretical, but, obviously, all the Abrahamic religions have a common root. Iwish to find that commonality, and at the same time i wish to discover...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
From E Tudor : Beware those Jocks want my throne.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I do not intend to waste any more time on this. If week 2 is not much improved, I'll quit.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
That was a total waste of time, sitting for so long watching a circle spinning. What was it meant to achieve? All it taught me was that despite their claims, Open Reach's fibre optic network is incapable of delivering. Don't be gullable and believe the adverts.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Is this for real?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I cannot be bothered to participate in this exercise. I am a retired person and do not need to advertise myself, or any product.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Were I to have a livery, I would wish it to be based on my Clan Tartan and badge. Of course I do have an equivalent in that I wear a Kilt in the Muir Tartan, and, depending on the occassion full Prince Charles Edward Stuart jacket & dress shirt, or a Lovat jacket & Braveheart shirt.
For religious symbolism I choose the empty Cross. I do not choose a crufix,... -
Daniel Muir made a comment
OK for pageants etc. but are they of any relevence today? Given that Ireland is no longer a kingdom of the UK, and that Scotland was never a Tudor kingdom, surely both the Shamrock and the Thistle should be removed from the uniforms. Let's face it the current monarch is the first Elizabeth to be queen in Scotland. I find it offensive for the symbol E II R to...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I have worked in places where what one may wear and may not wear were dictated by Health and safety regulations. For example loose clothing may be banned in areas where fast moving parts of machinery are exposed, and could easily catch loose clothing. Hard hats and protective footwear may also be compulsory in certain situations.. I also wear a uniform when I...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Fashion Police? Or should that be (in a modern setting) Riot Police. I'm certainly not a dedicated follower of fashion, and if I want to wear welly boots & a dickie bow, then that's what I'll wear.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
What a palaver.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Are the Tudors unforgetable? I believe that unless you are English they are eminentaly forgetable, and it is only the upsurge in English Nationalism that is bringing them to the fore again.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I don't think a lot of Tudor fashion. It looks uncomfortable to wear. I do not think that many of the general population would wear such items I fel that we are being asked about "courtiers fashion" and that to courtiers fashing would mean emulating the styles of those prominent personages in court society, just as we copy the rich, the famous, our heros, today.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
As Elizabeth Tudor was never a British Monarck I do not believe that she should be called Elizabeth 1.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Hi, I'm Danny and I live in Gretna. I've been addicted to MOOCs for years. They are a great way to passthe time during lock-down. As the Tudors were "the Auld Enemy" it will be interesting to see how they dressed. More importantly it will be interesting to see if the Stuarts brought any changes.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Why will the links not open?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I did not understand a single word of that. It was so much jargon to me. Made me think of Max Bygraves "( wanna tell you a story"
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Daniel Muir made a comment
None of this makes any sence to me. I cannot understand what they are talking about.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Surely reading eMails cannot count as consuming content. I spend a bit of time daily reading and deleting eMail.I do not spend nearly as much time browsing.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Why do I not believe that the average person spands 4 - 8 hours daily contemplating digital content?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Hi, I'm Danny and I live in Gretna. I am now retired, and do MOOCs for fun. I graduated from the Open University about 20 years ago and thought that this course might tie in with my other leisure interests, which include the Devils Porridge Museum in Eastriggs (www.devilsporridge.org.uk) which commemorates HM Factory, Gretna, a WW1 Munitions factory, and the...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Once I have shuffled off this mortal coil I shall habe no further use for my body, including the skeleton. I know from the bible that when the las day comes all will be restored. So, in the meantime why should my remains not be used to advance human knowledge? All I ask is that you treat me with respect, remembering at all times that I once lived in that body....
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Useless video, totally inaudible.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Pity that the podcast was conducted as a whispered secret, rather than as a confident lecture to mature students. My eyesight problems mean that downloading the transcript as a PDF is not very helpful to me.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Where do I find the video refered to?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Excavation of human remains? I'd have found it gruesome, that I was violating the sanctity of the deceased. But then that is why I did not take up archeology as a career. I am fascinated by history and what archeology can tell us about our past, but I, myself, could not perform many of the tasks which our researchers undetook.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Something seems to have changed. There no longer seems to ba a "completed button" at the end of each section. How do I distinguish between the sections that I have wirked through and those that I have taken a quick peek at? I remember attending an OU summer school at York University and all the geese on campus.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Week 1 great, Week 2 rubbish.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I see little point in sending out an eMail inviting me to join a course this week (Tue 6/10/20) only to be told not to expect tutor engagement after 18th Sept. 2020.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
No I already have my BSc from The Open University.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
If I have completed week 1, why does it say 5 steps to go?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
??? I do not understand???
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Daniel Muir made a comment
No I did not enjoy it. In fact I did not do it.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I'm not looking for an award or academic credit, and for that reason I do not do assignments.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
What qualities do you think a researcher needs in order to be successful in making field measurements? Share and discuss your responses with other learners in the comments. An ability to communicate in a clear and precise manner, with other team members and other listeners. I could not understand his language/accent.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
What benefits do you think research into measurement of free-radicals will bring? That is what I joined the course to learn. A rather silly question to ask.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
It would have been much better if a professional actor had read the words. I could not make out much of what he was saying, and viewing the transcript did not help.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I do not think that chemistry will solve the problem of global warming, but understanding how the chemistry works will help us to understand what the underlying problem is, and where to look for solutions.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Ah. Yes. I remember the O-H molecule from the time that I was studying chemistry at the Open University, when I was studying for a BSc to advance my career.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
So do I hope that I enjoy the course.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Why did WW1 start? Politics Politics and inequalities. More & more people objected to the results of their labours ending up in the pockets of a few rich individuals.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Why did war break out? There are as many answers as there are historians. Why were so many nations of the world engaged in that war/ That is the important question, not the reason why the war took place.. Countries make alliances with other countries because they perceive a mutually beneficial relationship. The leaders of those countries must then decide,...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Our educators seem to regard the British public as a homogenous mass having very similar social and cultural values. This is far from being the case. For example the Scots and the English can have a very different perspective on a similar issue. A common expression among Scots regarding human relationships is "We are all Jock Thamson's bairns", denoting our...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Clear as mud.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
People talk about remembering "the War" I was born in 1943 and have no memories of the war, nor has anyone younger than I. No one alive today remembers WW1. Why do people use the word "remember" in relation to events that happened long before they were born. The Sunday nearest to 11th November is called remembrance Sunday. Why? In my mind remembrance is about...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Sorry but none of those so called works of art appealed to me. Nie wieder Krieg, seemed to me to be celebrating the Nazi party of 1930s Germany, and I find it incredible that the German post office should select that to mark the centenary of the outbreak of WW1. Art is a very subjective topic and it is not always possible to see what the artist was trying to...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
If she derived comfort from that, then, fine, good, OK. However, it conveyed nothing to me. It could just as easily have been a radio plat that I was listening to, a work of fiction devised by a fine wordsmith read by fine raconteur.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
On 4th May 2019 at Rigg Cemetery Gretna a ceremony was held to unveil a new headstone honouring Vesale van Ruymbeke (13/7/1890 - 22/11/1918) A Belgian citizen who served in WW1 who unfortunately succumbed to his wounds and died in Gretna, far from family & friends. His epitaph reads "In him we have lost a very able and gallant gentleman, as well as a friend...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Why would artists, authors etc. seek to make sense of War? War is senseless. It represents total failure. The sensible thing to do would be to try to resolve our differences via discourse, and it is our failure to do so that results in war.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
It was the great 'flu pandemic of 1917/18 which killed my grandmother, but her daughter, born only months before granny's death survived until earlier this year.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Being a "country loon" I never experienced real hunger, although I do remember war-time rationing (WW2) Rabbits were plentiful and dad grew neeps or cabbage in abundance, and we kept chickens.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
What is confusing about we Scots referring to turnips as neeps? I find that statement very patronising. The entire world celebrates "Burns Night" (the birthday of Robert Burns, Poet) with a feast of Haggis, neeps & tatties and an evening of enjoying the Bard's poetry.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Surely in medieval times when siege was laid to a fortification, castle. etc. the objective was to starve the occupants into submission. Since that was how war had been waged for 100s of years, why should the German Chancellor have expected WW1 to be different?
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I do not think that this type of warfare was new. It was just on a grander scale. When the Campbells mascaraed the McDonalds in their beds at Glencoe, innocent civilians were slaughtered. This was in the 1700s King William had to make an example of those rebellious McDonalds and bring them to heel. History is littered with such examples. What was different in...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
War is both brutal, and a brutalising experience. I believe this to be true of all was, from the conflict between Cain & Abel right up to the present time. The bigger the war, the more brutalising it becomes. When we come into conflict with our neighbour, that neighbour becomes the focus of our animosity. When that neighbour is the person across the street it...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Perhaps week 2 will be better than week 1. One can only hope.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I have no experience of Shell Shock or PTSD, so I do not feel qualified to comment.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
The term "shell Shock" may well have been coined during WW1, but I feel certain that it was experienced long before that time. Reading Sharpe's, or Hornblower's (fictional) adventures it is clear that soldiers & sailors in the Napoleonic wars suffered similarly. The big difference appears to be that more enlightened medical opinion now recognise it as a real...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Pretty useless film. What happened to the sound/commentary? I could have been watching Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd or Laurel & Hardy. Not even a transcript of what was being said. 0/10 OU
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Daniel Muir made a comment
It is impossible to compile an accurate figure for the number of casualties from WW1. Taking just one aspect, H.M. Factory Gretna , at peak of Production there were 60,000 employees, mostly young women. Part of the process was nitrating cotton, a very toxic process. Those employed in that process became unfit for work after about 6 to 9 months. Many would...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
That poor man! What agonies he must have suffered! not just the physical pain, but the mental anguish. The stares, the turning away of heads, the rejection by society. What courage he must have had to undergo all the years of painful operations in order to reconstruct his face. Man's inhumanity to his fellow man.
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Daniel Muir replied to Lucinda Borkett-Jones
Hi. I'm Danny and I live in Gretna, Dumfriesshire. I am a trustee at The Devils Porridge Museum (www.devilsporridge.org.uk) in Eastriggs, The museum which tells the story of H.M. Factory, Gretna, the worlds greatest ever munitions factory (9 miles long x 2 miles wide).The factory was built to manufacture cordite during WW1 The British army was loosing the war...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I should not like to be tasked with the task of preserving the interior of Abbotsford, and, at the same time, making it accessible to visitors & the general public.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
It must be a difficult choice between displaying an important original and a replica. Here at The Devils Porridge Museum (www.devilsporidge.org.uk) we rarely have to make that choice. The Nitrating Pans which we have on display are originals, but not the cordite. Fortunately there is a readily available and much safer substitute, shop bought spaghetti and...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
It is always difficult to read longhand script. This must be doubly so if regional dialect is used. If you ask a West Cumbrian "What,s a mara" ? you will be informed that a mara is a friend, Ask the same question of a Glaswegian, and (s)he will assume that you are enquiring "what is the matter"?. In Ayrshire a young girl is a lass, but in Aberdeenshire she is...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
This morning (Thur. 10/9/20) I was on duty at the Devils Porridge Museum (my rota shift) and we had a fair few visitors, mostly grandparents relieved from child minding duties now that schools are back in. One couple came from Hawick, not so far from Scott country. I'm looking forward to this week and hoping I pick up a few tips on how we may improve the...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
No comment
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I had no idea of his charitable works regarding returning soldiers, widows & orphans, and yes it did surprise me.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
A number of inaccuracies in this commentary & timeline. The reformation did not result in Scotland or any Scottish Christians ceasing to be Catholic. The Church of Scotland remains part of the Holy Catholic Church. The reformation was about the rejection of Roman heresies which were prevalent at the time. The definition of Presbyterianism is wrong. The...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I do not believe that Jacobinism ever had the popularity in Scotland that was suggested in that video. John Knox is still a powerful, if declining, influence in modern day Scotland. Secularism may well be in decline, at least I hope it is, but it has not yet been eliminated from Scottish life, especially in the central belt. I think of the Celtic/Rangers...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Scott was having to fight the Albaphobic attitude of the English Hoi-poloi, an attitude which is even more widespread today, in his efforts to keep the United Kingdom united. The effects of the Jacobite rebellion were still being felt, and although England was more Jacobite than Scotland, because the Scottish Clans remained loyal to their chiefs, who mainly...
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Daniel Muir replied to Alyson Kelman
@AlysonKelman Perhaps he over romanticised in his attempts to get the King more interested in his Scottish Kingdom. Most Scots thought of the King as "the wee wee German Lairdie"
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I used to live in the Central Belt in Scotland when I was younger. We frequently went to Loch Katrine for a day out. My great grandfather was a coal miner in Fife, who came through to the West when Glasgow Corporation were constructing the first aqueduct from Loch Katrine to Mugdock (nr. Glasgow) to work making the tunnel. The level of the loch had to be...
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@WendyMcCoy I visited Rosslyn Chapel several times years before Dan Brown's book was published. My interest was the Apprentice's Pillar, which I still find more attractive than any Da Vinci code.
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Of course he didn't Rachel. Scotland has the best scenery in the world, and it all resides cheek-by-jowel.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I could not enlarge the text big enough for me to be able to read it. ( currently I am attending the hospital for eve related problems, cataracts & blephitis)
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Scott's landscapes? Plural, but what we got was Melrose and a brief glimpse of the Lady of the Lake sailing on Loch Katrine, but nothing to tell us of the connection with Scott.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
What makes someone Scottish? To my mind it is a love of Scotland and all things Scottish, regardless of place of birth, religion or colour of Skin. I regard Tony Singh, the internationally renowned Chef & Restaurateur from Leith, every bit as Scottish as I who can trace my ancestors back to 1600s Aberdeen. My g.grand-father was from Fife. and many of my...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
The words strike a chord with me, for Scotland is indeed my native land, for many generations past. Indeed some of my American cousins tell me that they have traced their family tree back to King James III
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I was more or less correct in what I thought the mystery object was used for.
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Daniel Muir made a comment
I've always regarded Prince Charles Edward Stuart as a rather effeminate person and can well understand him being attracted to that pocket book. I can well imagine Rob Roy McGregor (and other cattle drovers) using one, probably less elaborate, on his cattle droving enterprises. Banker's Promissory Notes, and Bills of Exchange, which were the normal currency...
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Daniel Muir made a comment
Hav'n't a clue, or any imagination.
