Bagpipe ban for tat shops

[Duke of Delrio]

When I was a young boy I loved Christmas. The snow, the scent of evergreen in the house, the color and the lights . . . I loved it all. Then the jewelry store began to play Christmas carols and seasonal songs on a loudspeaker that could be heard all over our small town. I liked that too for about fifteen or twenty minutes. After that, I wanted the loudspeaker torn out, the playing of White Christmas banned, and Irving Berlin killed in front of me where I could see it happen. It turned Christmas into an audible torment, and its carols into those fever dream tunes you can't get out of your head.

I can only imagine the resentment of a citizen of Edinburgh, whose eyes and ears are assaulted day in and day out along the Royal Mile by a cacophony that has turned the atmosphere of that great city into something to be avoided. Were I that citizen, I would have long since been moved to action for which I would probably have been arrested and for which I should confess to Father Bill . . . only I wouldn't confess it. I would brag about it.

[Father Bill]

I wouldn't be too hasty here, Father Bill. After all you are not dressing up a in a farrago of imaginary tartan accoutrements with a toy Scottie dog at your side and purporting to every passing tourist that this is a genuine representation of what Scotland and Scottishness is all about. You aren't are you? Please say that you aren't.
You don't repetitively broadcast loud music of a supposedly Scottish nature into the street outside your house. Do you?
If your answer to the above is No and No then you should have very little to worry about.
My earlier rant was not about who should or should not wear a kilt. Rather it was about how Scottish people really would prefer to be recognised. Not as kilt-clad, red-haired, hairy warriors waving their swords and skipping through the heather to the accompaniment of a thousand pipers. Rather as capable and confident forward-looking citizens of the modern world.
Anyone who says you have to be Scottish, or even worse, someone from a small, specific area of Scotland (which they, of course define to suit their own purpose), to wear a kilt is, quite frankly, delusional and of a narrow-minded and insular mindset such that they really only deserve your pity and derision in equal parts.

Good Lord! A proper 9yd tank in traditional tartan, knife-pleated, music only in the house or at highland games, and a Labrador Retriever, not a Scottie (although they're a lovely breed!)

Canada too has its "schlock centres." I would energetically direct you away from Clifton Hill at Niagara Falls in favour of the gardens, butterfly conservatory, and the Shaw Festival at nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake. I am in sympathy with those who decry the commercialization of what is important.

As I've posted in Craig's Corner, "Scotland For Ever" ... and let it be truly Scottish for ever and ever, Amen!

[Chirs]

Fellows, I'm starting to feel like an intruder for loving and admiring things that are Scottish. I'm starting to wonder if I should just wear trousers, sell off my kilts and jackets, and leave my membership here.

I completely understand what you're saying Father Bill. I'm already there.

[Father Bill]

I completely understand what you're saying Father Bill. I'm already there.

Hang in Chris, and read the messages of support too. We're on thinnish ice, but maybe far from falling through.

[Cygnus]

There are some wonderful and thoughtful responses here that I have found most enlightening, and I would like to thank everyone, especially the OP, for a great read!

I'm reminded of my first set of bagpipes that my parents purchased for me at just such a "tat shop". It was a really fine gesture on their part, and I was very grateful, but, as it turns out, the pipes weren't Scottish at all - they were made in Pakistan and were entirely unplayable! I was very disappointed, especially considering that the money spent would have been a decent part of a real set of Highland pipes. As is the case with most tourist shops, by the time this problem was discovered, we were far away and unable to contact the seller or return the item.

And that's the problem with most of the "touristy" shops that I've seen; they purport to be vendors of traditional Scottish items but are, in fact, shamelessly passing on cheap replicas to those who don't know any better. It's a good thing that I am more persistent than most people, otherwise I think the bad experience with the unplayable pipes may have put me off my Scottish heritage completely.

[sydnie7]

Hang in Chris, and read the messages of support too. We're on thinnish ice, but maybe far from falling through.

Not sure you're anywhere near the ice, considering threads such as this one. Seems not every Scot views (or wears) the kilt in the same fashion -- and let's hear it for the grand variety of life!

[Dixiecat]

Well I would have to ask a Q there... How many kilt makers, dancers, and pipe bands are there in Canada? That's not to mention regiments... I'd say that Canada has more than a fair claim to both kilts and its share of Scotlands heritage...

I can certainly remember my aunt coming over to visit the UK in 1976 from Barrington Passage in Nova Scotia and bringing with her Nova Scotia tartan... I can also remember mentions of jacket conversions being semi normal, especially for PC's...

I dont think the Kilt is just Scottish anymore...

I had to chuckle at this, especially when I remembered Billy Connelly in his first episode of Journey to the Edge of the World series. He was visiting a highland games in Fredricton, NB and saw all the kilties and pipe band members and dancers, all in kilts and other Scottish attire. He commented on how they were all 'pretending' to be Scots. They may have been all Canadians, but most of them can boast to unbroken generations of Scottish blood from the moment their families landed in the Maritime provinces!

[seanachie]

You may well be quite right, BUT therein lies the crux of the problem.

Jock:
I was in a place you may know, Gellions on Bridge Street in Inverness a few months back and the Castle Tavern (lovely spot) as well. And got varied responses in discussion. Do Scots not see the economic benefit in promoting the kilt beyond Scots? It keeps mills going, workers employed, food and clothing bought and sold etc. Is it possible as a Scot not to look at the kilt sold and marketed in other places to other cultures and see that as a point of pride rather than regret and dilution of culture? I ask this open minded but interested in your thoughts.

[artificer]

Jock:
I was in a place you may know, Gellions on Bridge Street in Inverness a few months back and the Castle Tavern (lovely spot) as well. And got varied responses in discussion. Do Scots not see the economic benefit in promoting the kilt beyond Scots? It keeps mills going, workers employed, food and clothing bought and sold etc. Is it possible as a Scot not to look at the kilt sold and marketed in other places to other cultures and see that as a point of pride rather than regret and dilution of culture? I ask this open minded but interested in your thoughts.

I can tell you this much, Mr. Dalgliesh certainly didn't seem to have a problem with our group of mostly non-native Scots ordering 128 double width yards of 16oz custom tartan

I'm willing to bet that MOST merchants are more than pleased to sell their traditional Scottish wares to anyone who'll buy them- Scot or not.

It's odd how many of the same people who complain about "diluting of the culture" by non-Scots** are the same ones who cry about the death of traditionally made products, not seeing that the MORE they market their real culture and influence, the better those products will do, as they create demand for the REAL thing instead of the cheap tat in the tourist traps.

ith:

**Let's face facts here, if you wanted to be really anal-retentive, only Highland Scots should be wearing the kilt, so most of the Scots in Scotland should be told off as well for wearing the kilt.

[Cygnus]

Jock:
I was in a place you may know, Gellions on Bridge Street in Inverness a few months back and the Castle Tavern (lovely spot) as well. And got varied responses in discussion. Do Scots not see the economic benefit in promoting the kilt beyond Scots? It keeps mills going, workers employed, food and clothing bought and sold etc. Is it possible as a Scot not to look at the kilt sold and marketed in other places to other cultures and see that as a point of pride rather than regret and dilution of culture? I ask this open minded but interested in your thoughts.

The problem is that a lot of the stuff being pushed to unsuspecting (and suspecting) tourists isn't Scottish at all - they're cheap, foreign-made knock-offs of the real thing.

I don't think you'd have nearly as many people up in arms about it if more of the shops were supporting the local economy and selling the "real McCoys", as it were.