September 2014
Has Scotland ever had a more important month?
Perhaps not just Scotland. People in the rest of the United Kingdom, and
further afield, are abandoning political apathy as they await the result of the
suspense story which is the long-awaited referendum on September 18.
Or as a London journalist[1] put it recently:-
“it’s almost a relief,
as an English Brit, not to have to come to a decision about that deceptively
simple referendum question Should
Scotland be an independent country? My usual rule of thumb on Scottish questions
(what would the Proclaimers do?) doesn’t seem quite adequate on this occasion.”
The refrains of their 1988 song - “I’m gonna be (500
miles)" - sung in pronounced Scottish accents by Auchtermuchty twins rekindles
fond memories of last month’s Commonwealth Games.
The image of a Jamaican resident, the fastest
man on earth, gyrating to a paean to Scottish success became an unintentional global
highlight of a glorious summer of sport.
Commonwealth Games
Organised and hosted superbly by Scotland’s second city,
the most important outcome was an unexpectedly high medal haul for the home
nation.
If ever there were an
advertisement of collective national determination and pride there it was, emphatic
in full public view.
The Games were intended as a respite from politics
economics and the daily grind.
And yet,
observers couldn’t help speculating whether or not the exuberant performances
of Scotland’s athletes might somehow sprinkle magic dust and a smidin of momentum
over the Yes campaign.
One easily-quantified fact was the enormous
boost that the Games provided to Scotland’s image and tourism industry.
For marketing professionals, this must be an
easy sell anyway. Here is a place with a
unique appeal and a clear identity. Maybe
time to remind the world that people make Glasgow – and Scotland too for that
matter.
It has, after all, been a few
years since Braveheart hit the big screens.
Visitors admire, nay watch with jealousy, the unselfconscious
pride that Scots take in parading their folklore and customs.
The sight and sounds of massed ranks of kilted
Scotsmen and women with droning bagpipes at events like the Edinburgh Tattoo,
the artistry of Scottish traditional dancing including the sword dance, the
wearing of tartan national dress at weddings and international rugby matches –
all of this makes an indelible impact on outsiders.
Shared heritage
Ireland, both north and south, can easily identify with
this display of cultural pride.
The
Scots are our celtic siblings.
The
comedian Billy Connolly joked once that the reason why the Scots and Irish are
mad is that we have become bewildered by switching populations on countless
occasions throughout our history.
These repeated population movements substantially
pre-date (and also post-date) the seventeenth century Plantation of
Ulster.
There is evidence that the
Romans’ original name for Ireland was Scotia.
The Scoti people were originally Irish but later resettled in Scotland.
According to the Trinity College Dublin website:- In “The
Book of Armagh folio 16v
a text inserted around the year 1005 celebrates Brian Boru as Imperator Scotorum (Emperor of the Irish). It was written to record an agreement between Brian and Ireland’s most powerful church, Armagh."
a text inserted around the year 1005 celebrates Brian Boru as Imperator Scotorum (Emperor of the Irish). It was written to record an agreement between Brian and Ireland’s most powerful church, Armagh."
As I said at my son’s recent wedding in a
twelfth century castle in quaint Quothquan South Lanarkshire, this process of
exchange has continued through the ages right up to the modern era.
So much so that, with two daughters and a son
now living and married in Scotland, this family can claim to be helping the
relationship on its special way.
The music and dancing of Ireland and Scotland, both in
traditional and modernised forms, are enjoyed throughout Europe and further
afield. The sheer depth of beauty evoked
by the instrumentation and singing stimulates the full range of emotions from
haunting sadness to ecstatic happiness.
The North Uist songstress Julie Fowlis[2], who sings in Scots Gaelic
as well as in English, achieves this feat in a style and language similar to
Donegal’s Altan[3].
And almost as if to dare to take on the Scots
at their own speciality, the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band from County
Antrim has won the World Pipe Band Championship in Glasgow for the tenth time[4]. Omnes ad unum.
Kilts, clans, ceilidhs, jigs and reels, not to mention uisce
bheatha, folk musicians, and ancient games like shinty and hurling and are
examples of the common heritage of both nations.
So too are the sonorous and clueful Gaelic place-names
and surnames, signposted bilingually throughout Scotland.
Invention
Scotland has inspired some of the world’s great
inventors.
Consider the achievements of people like Alexander Graham
Bell, John Louden McAdam, Thomas Telford, John Logie Baird, James Watt and Adam
Smith.
Where would the world be without telephones, macadamised road surfacing, design of roads bridges and canals, television, the steam engine condenser, modern economics and the Age of Enlightenment?
Where would the world be without telephones, macadamised road surfacing, design of roads bridges and canals, television, the steam engine condenser, modern economics and the Age of Enlightenment?
Scottish inventiveness carries the hallmarks of gravitas,
originality and quality.
Natural beauty
The country’s geographical landscape is a priceless
asset.
Travelling outside the
magnificence of cosmopolitan Edinburgh and Glasgow, the splendours of rural
Scotland stir the senses.
The natural
beauty of the Caledonian countryside provides us all with a mesmerising variety
of scenic splendour which is way beyond a value.
I have been lucky to visit places like Orkney with its
majestic archaeology at Skara Brae; the Isle of Lewis where Sunday is special, strictly
observed and Gaelic is the first language; the Isle of Skye where our family surname is
used in Portree’s central square; Highland Games; National Trust Scotland properties such as Culzean Castle in Ayrshire; and more recently the rolling hills and
streams of the Borders.
 |
| Skara Brae Neolithic Orkney World Heritage site |
 |
| Somerled Square Portree, Isle of Skye |
 |
| Massed bands bagpipes & drums - Highland Games Crieff |
 |
| Tossing the caber - Highland Games Crieff |
 |
| 18th century Culzean Castle, former home of Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy |
All a million
miles from politics, and each place offering fáilte[5] gu Alba.
Public engagement
In the everyday world, the rational manner in which
Scotland’s people have conducted the debate has been impressively constructive.
I recall the robust debate among the politicians in the
UK in the lead-up to the UK joining the European Economic Community, the EEC or
Common Market, on 1 January 1973.
This
was intensified before the first-ever UK-wide referendum on any issue, and
which took place in June 1975. It was about
whether or not to stay in the EEC.
Both
the Labour and Conservative parties were split internally.
But the lively and healthy quality of debate
ensured that the issues were teased out fully.
The same thing has been happening in Scotland this year, and rationally so.
As one London correspondent[6] has put it
“The 95% of sane normal
voters on both sides have shown a level of maturity tolerance and knowledge
much higher than the politicians they’re being led by. It has forced the UK to think about the
things it takes for granted and it has made everyone aware of what Scotland has
and always will contribute to the world...”
Commenting on the TV debate between Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond, a leading journalist in Belfast [7] put it this way:-
Yes or No
Professor Tom Devine, a man described as “as close to a national bard as the nation has” justifies his recently reached decision to vote yes[8] as based on “a clear national narrative underpinned by objective and rigorous academic research...a resilient economic system and reserves of power (oil and wind)....”
“The thing that struck
home immediately is the difference between Scottish attitudes and our own, even
when it was a nationalist debating the border with a unionist....There were no
rows over what flag would be flown and no mention of battles long ago...The
debate wasn’t pitched in terms of treachery or loyalty...It is hard to imagine
constitutional change being discussed so reasonably here....It was a fact-based
discussion, not an emotional rant...We could learn from them.”
Yes or No
Professor Tom Devine, a man described as “as close to a national bard as the nation has” justifies his recently reached decision to vote yes[8] as based on “a clear national narrative underpinned by objective and rigorous academic research...a resilient economic system and reserves of power (oil and wind)....”
On the other side of the debate, some foreigners have
eschewed timorousness and voiced their opinion.
Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia,
is quoted as saying that Scottish independence would be a victory for the
enemies of freedom and justice...while an independent Scotland would make
little positive impact on the world stage.
The Times newspaper (whose proprietor also happens to be Australian)
endorses Mr Abbott’s stance that Scottish independence would be a blow to
Western liberal democracy[9].
If the result of the referendum reflects the opinion
polls and the outcome is close, the margin of victory will be small with a large
consequent minority.
If only for that
reason, the real debate about Scotland’s dependence or sovereignty will begin
on and after 19 September.
The closer the outcome, whichever side of the argument prevails, the more intense will be the subsequent talks.
The closer the outcome, whichever side of the argument prevails, the more intense will be the subsequent talks.
Whatever choice the people make, the world will not end. Scotland will still be Scotland the brave.
It will continue to have a border with England and remain
close neighbours of Wales Ireland and Norway.
It will still have heather, single malt whisky, the Edinburgh Festival, Scots
porridge oats, midges, shortbread biscuits, Irn Bru, the Lough Ness monster, Tam
o‘Shanter hats, beautiful islands loughs and mountains, romantic castles, fantastic museums, top universities, and
will still be the home of golf.
What an exciting time it is to visit, and witness history happening peacefully.
©Michael
McSorley 2014
[1]
Tim Adams Observer 3 Aug 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/02/commonwealth-games-just-about-the-games-not-independence
[5]
The Scots Gaelic fada faces back rather than forward (as is written above)
[8]
Observer 17 Aug 2014 p 7 “Scotland’s leading historian makes up his mind: it’s
yes to independence.”
[9]
The Times 16 August 2014 p6 “Scots independence a bad idea” Giles Whittell and
p26 (editorial)
