Quote Originally Posted by OC Richard View Post
That's a step in the right direction... difficult as it may be to define just what "tat" is, and so forth.

As I've said before, I think there should be legislation protecting certain items as "Scottish Cultural Items" and banning importation for resale, to protect Scottish sporranmakers, kiltmakers, kilt jacket makers, and pipemakers from the flood of imported junk.

If the lawmakers don't wake up soon there won't be any of these craftspeople left.

(This would not prevent a Scottish piper from buying a set of American-made pipes for his own use, or prevent a Scottish kiltwearer from buying a Canadian-made sporran for his own use.)

Sorry Matt and other non-Scots who are making kilts etc of the highest quality- but I feel that the local Scottish craftspeople MUST be protected before they all disappear.
If A Scottish piper isn't going to buy Scottish pipes and and a Scottish kiltwearer isn't going to buy a Scottish sporran, why oh why should anybody else?

So the Scots can buy from anywhere in the world, but the rest of us have to buy from Scotland only?

Legislation will never happen in that respect. It is restrictive and discriminatory and will cause job losses all over Scotland. It is probably against EU law on restrictive practises.

There is no law protecting the thatchers or the blacksmiths or the harness makers or the pargetters or the candlers or the cobblers and cordwainers or the hosiers or the milliners or the blockers or the lace makers or the button makers or the ribbon makers, so why should sporran makers be given special preference?

Protectionism has never worked for any country. All that would happen is that the sellers would re-locate south of the border and carry on trading.

And while we are at it - where did all the blackwood and ivory come from for these Scottish made pipes - the tropical rain-forests of the highlands? I suppose that is why there are no herds of elephants wandering round the Great Glen - they have all been shot for their ivory tusks. And the wool - where does that come from? And where is it woven into tartan cloth? It's all happening in the highlands is it?

I have no wish to be cruel or rude or brutal, but I don't think it does us any good not to live in the real world.

Regards

Chas