Concerning success, I am certainly not as affluent as some of my forbears, but I am also not as prone to alcoholism, marital infidelity and overt and vicious racism as they were. That I consider my life to be a happy one is success enough for me.

Before we tread down the path of Romanticism, let's not forget that some of the Diaspora was kicked off the Auld Sod for being thieves and murderers and some of the Native Scots got to remain that way because they were on the landlord's side during the clearances. Neither is more or less noble or ignoble than the other. Shaking the family tree invariably brings down a few pieces of rotten fruit.

Let us also not forget that the kilt is the garment of what some would call mountain dwelling barbarian thieves and raiders (as my American neighbours say - Booyah!).

I wear the kilt because it sets me off from the rest of the boring and homogeneous modern world and it is comfortable to boot. My Scots roots are a bonus and not a pre-requisite. I wear my kilt appropriately to the occasion because that is what a gentleman does.

Finally, I reserve the right to look at my past through rose coloured glasses as long as I openly and honestly acknowledge the colour of those lenses.

Life is too short to not be filled with fun.