Loch Leven Castle, Kinross-shire

Ok, so this emperor has an obsession for visiting castles .... and I've never denied it.



Our most recent foray, took the imperial court to my home of Kinross-shire on the beautiful banks of Loch Leven. The small ferry boat carried us to the historical Castle Island; site of the famous stronghold that once served as a prison to the unhappy figure, Mary Queen of Scots .

Queen Mary's imprisonment (for a period of 288 days) was only broken by a dramatic night-time escape on 2nd May 1568. She was spirited away by boat, with the surreptitious help of the youth William Douglas, who stole the castle keys and locked her captors inside before discarding them into the loch.*

Its fair to say that Mary's stay at Lochleven Castle was an unhappy one and her later web posting on Trip-Advisor was less than complementary of its amenieties; a fact that must surley have led to the castle's current decline as a recreational retreat.

This Emperor's visit was lucky to catch a sunny day - one of those 'Last Days of Summer' gems that only September in Scotland can offer.

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*On the issue of the stolen castle keys: the 'Annals of Kinross-shire' make an interesting note that a rusted set of ancient and mighty keys were discovered by a local boy - William Honeyman - in the Autumn of 1805, during a period of particularly low water level for the Loch.

Seneca on Stoicism & Restraint

"... indulge the body just so far as suffices for good health. It needs to be treated somewhat strictly to prevent it from being disobedient to the spirit. Your food should appease your hunger, your drink quench your thirst, your clothing keep out the cold, your house be a protection against inclement weather. It makes no difference whether it is built of turf or variegated marble imported from another country: what you have to understand is that thatch makes a person just as good a roof as gold does. Spurn everything that is added on by way of decoration and display by unnecessary labour. Reflect that nothing merits admiration except the spirit, the impressiveness of which prevents it from being impressed by anything."

[Seneca, Letters VIII.2]

Image of An Emperor: Domitian

"He was tall in stature, his countenance modest, and inclined to rudeness, with large eyes, though his sight was dim. His presence was graceful and comely, especially in his youth, excepting only that his toes were bent slightly inward. In course of time, he became disfigured by baldness, corpulence and the slenderness of his legs which were reduced by a long illness."

[Suetonius, Domitian, 18]