A long way from Arbroath is

the Andalucian town of Teba

- but there is a link. Sir James

Douglas, one of the signatories of

the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320

is to be found 10 years later carrying

in a silver casket the heart of the Bruce  

to the Holy Land. On route he offers the services of his army to King Alfonso X1

in an attempt to oust the Moors from the

Castillo de la Estrella. In his last battle

'The Black Douglas' is slain although

the casket containing Bruce's heart is

retreived & returned to Scotland, to be

buried within Melrose Abbey in accordance with the wishes of Bruce's son, King David 11. A later crusading army under the Earl of Selkirk brings with them a one ton slab of Dumfries - shire marble which today remains as a commemoration of Scottish assistance to Christian Spain & enjoys pride of place in the renamed 'Plaza de Douglas'.

It is not however until 1389 that the Castillo de la Estrella (Castle of the star) is finally wrested from Moorish hands.

The editor, his wife & his cousin, visit Teba, Andalucia in November 2007

   (above) Sir James Douglas in the

    heat of battle

   (below) The Castillo de la Estrella

   as it would have appeared in 1330

    ***paintings by Andrew Spratt***