What Did History Ever Do For Us?
It’s easy to believe that we shape our own destiny and draw our own pathway through life, yet might we be wrong? Does history influence us more than we think? So the question is: What did history ever do for us?
We may not choose to study the past, but we cannot remove ourselves from it’s impact on our day to day existence, can we?
Culloden Battle Field
Scotland’s North East is positively dripping in history. It’s a region favoured by the early Kings and the powerful bishopric. There are battlefields which hosted history-changing encounters and before all of that, a host of mysterious pagan worship sites to boot. Our lifetimes are tiny flashes of time in relative terms, and to ignore the learnings from those who came before us, may be a mistake.
Leonardo Da Vinci once said “It had long come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” And isn’t that still so true today? We have the do-ers, those who spot opportunities and dive right in. And then there’s everyone else.
We may not all be go-getters and potential history makers, but by learning from the mistakes of others, we can avoid some of life’s banana skins and save our energies for more positive endeavour. We lead our children and those around us by example, and so even in that small way, we are changing history, and can count that as our valid contribution to human development.
Maryculter House. The Great Hall.
Image Credit Maryculter House
Knights Templar
Maryculter House Interior.
Image Credit Maryculter House.
Maryculter House is one of the North East’s top drawer hotels. Doused in history, tracing it’s origins back over 800 years. The lands around the hotel were granted to the Knights Templar back in 1227.
It’s Managing Director is Peter Walker, who has used teachings from the past to shape a new destiny for his business. Peter began his teenage years in rural Aberdeenshire, with little idea of where his career might lead.
His first job as a paperboy however gave an early indicator of his attitude to customer service. He quickly realised that his clients should get their morning paper early enough to read it over breakfast. This meant a very early start, making him probably the least visible paperboy in the town, but certainly the one with the happiest households! His belief, which still determines his approach to hospitality today, is that you should do anything for your guests. A great premise from which to shape a career in this exacting business.
Peter was encouraged by an observant school teacher to take work experience in a local hotel. In turn this became a part time job, and led to a college course to study hospitality. With an opportunity to go on to University, Peter opted to take the less crowded route by heading straight into full time work.
The renowned Pittodrie House Hotel was where he found Theo Smith, a respected hotelier of drive and discernment. He, along with other equally illustrious names, shared with Peter the knowledge and rich experience they’d acquired over many years. All of this was absorbed and directed as Peter determined to explore every facet of the trade he was making his own. From the exacting standards of fine dining, to the multi disciplines of event management, taking the learning and direction of those who’d gone before, led Peter to be appointed a Master Inn Holder, a remarkable accolade for one so young.
May 2022 sees the launch of the ‘Girly Getaway’ at Maryculter House. So get your friends together to enjoy 2 cocktails each, cream tea, brasserie dinner, overnight stay and breakfast, plus a Molton Brown gift set.
All for £149 per person.
Humans have found a way to leave their mark on history. From the days of painting on cave walls to heroic deeds which will be remembered long into the future. Martin Luther King stated that “We are not makers of history, we are made BY history”. So perhaps, when we understand the impact of history on each of us, we can allow it to guide us to our own individual success in whatever shape that takes. We may not choose to study the past, but we must surely acknowledge that it shapes us more than we might have realised.
