On 11 April 1839 John Galt, the Scottish novelist, died.

Much of Galt's work revolves around the North Ayrshire and Inverclyde areas of Scotland where he was born and lived, although some of his later works include novels set in Canada and the United States, among the first novels to be located there, and a pair of ironic political novels, entitled, The Member and The Radical.

Apart from his work as a novelist, Galt was also a friend of Lord Byron and wrote the first biography of the tragic poet.

On this day in 1999 Scotland won the final Five Nations Championship. Scotland became champions by default when Wales beat England 32-31 at Wembley. If England had won the last game of the championship they would have been the champions. Both teams had won the same number of games, but Scotland won the title on points scored. The last time they won the championship was in 1990. The following season, Five nations became Six when Italy joined the competition.

Today's recipe: a fish dish featuring in-season sorrel. Salmon fillet with fresh sorrel and spinach sauce.