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| Friday, 1 October 2004 |
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Glimpses of Scotland - I : The best in Scotland - its people by Lionel Wijesiri Fort William is the largest town in the west Highlands of Scotland and is the commercial centre of Lochaber, an area renowned for magnificent scenery with an important history. It has the highest mountain in the UK - Ben Nevis, and Loch Morar - the deepest lake, with beautiful glens, forests and beaches in between. Talking of people, Fort William and Lochaber are full of warm and friendly people. I met Ms. Marie McAdam at the History Museum situated in the middle of the town. She was the Assistant Librarian and a lady well read and quite thorough of the Scottish history. She offered to take me around the Museum and at end of the tour briefed me about the history and the nature of the modern Scotsman. In general the nation of modern Scotland derives from three main racial sources. The Celts, the Scandinavians or Teutons and the mysterious and shadowy Picts. These Picts, historically speaking, were the first inhabitants of what they now call Scotland. They came in by the beginning of the first century. They were a small tough people and have left their strain in the blood and occasional marks in the land and language. After three centuries, they were conquered by the invading Celts from Ireland who, incidentally, were called Scots and from whom the name of their nation comes. Two and three centuries later, however, the Celts retreated into the north-western hills and islands, their place in the east and south lowlands being taken by the Scandinavians, Teutons and Angles. Hence the celebrated division of the Scottish people into Highlanders and Lowlanders. It was a division, which marked the distinction between people of different culture, temperament and language. Strains It is from the Celts that there comes the more colourful, exciting and extravagant strain in the Scots. The Gaelic language and song, the tartan, the bagpipes, the Highland panache, and so on. It is from the Lowland strain that there comes the equally celebrated Scottish tradition of dourness, implacability and splendid courage in defence, providing a complementary virtue to the splendid Highland courage in attack. A little over two hundred years ago nearly all Scots living north and west of the Highland line which, geographically speaking, still runs diagonally across Scotland were true Celtic Highlanders. That is to say they spoke the Gaelic language, lived under the ancient Celtic system of land tenure and, of course, as members of clans, bore Highland names. South and east of that line in the Lowland towns, villages and in the countryside, Highland names were rare. The truth is that since the break-up of the old Highland system in the 18th century they are in Scotland all so mixed up in blood that most of them combine something of the characteristics of both Highlander and Lowlander. Yet, Scots still cling to their identity and take pride in the fact that they are different from the English people although many people from other countries are still unaware of this. Image Ms. McAdam stopped speaking and looked at me for over a minute in silence. Then, suddenly she asked, "So what is your image of us Scots?" I could not answer because I never thought about it. She continued: "You will probably think us as standing on a misty hillside looking over a highland landscape, playing the bagpipes while the wee wife is at home pouring her man a dram and preparing the haggis, oatcakes and shortbread for dinner. If this is what you expect then you are unlikely to find it because most young Scots nowadays are more likely to drink Vodka and prefer an Indian curry to haggis". "We are certainly a very proud people who can be dour and aggressive at times. But we are also extremely open and friendly. In Glasgow for example, many visitors are taken aback by the openness of the people. It is almost impossible to go into a bar alone in Glasgow without getting into a conversation with someone. The same thing applies to shops, restaurants and even on the street with passers by. When socialising, your main problem may be in understanding the local accents, particularly in the West of Scotland. Scots there tend to speak very fast, omitting some letters, slurring others and over pronouncing the rest. The good news is that we know that we do this and won't take offence if you tell us you can't understand us. We'll generally acknowledge this by carrying on as before". Story One thing for sure is that for such a small country Scots have managed to produce many of the World's greatest inventors, writers, politicians and doctors. Ms. McAdam concluded her chat with me saying that there is a story often told, tongue in cheek story for that matter, often shoved in the face (in the nicest possible sense) of English people. The average Englishman in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume - a shabby raincoat - patented by chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland. En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by John Macadam of Ayr, Scotland. He drives an English car fitted with tyres invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Dreghorn, Scotland. At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by John Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland. During the day he uses the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, Blacksmith of Dumfries, Scotland. He watches the news on T.V., an invention of John Logie Baird of Helensburgh, Scotland and hears an item about the U.S. Navy, founded by John Paul Jones of Kirkbean, Scotland. He has by now been reminded too much of Scotland and in desperation he picks up the Bible, only to find that the first man mentioned in the good book is a Scot ~ King James VI ~ who authorised its translation. Nowhere can an Englishman turn to escape the ingenuity of the Scots. He could take to drink but the Scots make the best in the world. He could take a rifle and end it all but the breech loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick Ferguson of Pitfours, Scotland. If he escaped death, he could find himself on an operating table injected with penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming of Darvel, Scotland, and given an anaesthetic, discovered by Sir James Young Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland. Out of the anaesthetic he would find no comfort in learning that he was as safe as the Bank of England, founded by William Paterson of Dumfries, Scotland. Perhaps his only remaining hope would be to get a transfusion of guid Scottish blood that would entitle him to ask "WHA'S LIKE US?" |
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