Scottishness - Reflections on identity

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Scottishness 2006

Below is a taster of the 2006 edition of "Scottishness - Reflections on identity". For further information on 2007 sponsorship & advertising or to order a copy of the 2006 edition please select the relevant menu item or hyperlink.

Shirley Manson, singer

“It's an island mentality for sure but it is also a vast continent of strong character and unflinching determination.
An unwavering sense of humour under grave circumstances.
A solidity and sense of identity in a world that is rife with uncertainty.
An unflinching eye when faced with the reality of life, in all its glory and its horrors.
A liberal tendency.
A short fuse.
A generosity of spirit.
An innate sense of justice.
And more than one strong drink.”

Brian Cox, actor

“The youth employment officer who I went to see to discuss possible ‘career’ choices and my desire to work in the theatre, said to me “now laddie, hae some common sense, you’ve got to stop all this pie in the sky nonsense. It’s no feasible, you couldn’t be an actor,” and I suppose from his position it was a nonsensical notion, but then there is a part of the Scottish character that is prepared to embrace the nonsensical. It’s like a brilliant engineer who says “you cannot build a damn across that water, it will not work. it is not going to happen, you can’t create hydroelectric power”, and a Scots engineer comes along and says “if you do this, this, this and this, with a modicum of that, it will work”. And that’s the unique Scottish character.”

Albert Watson, photographer

Kate Moss, by Albert Watson

“The French have the word brut, meaning uncut, rough or raw; there is something of this in the landscape of Scotland and in its people. But I don’t find it ugly; I find it romantic. There’s a northern simplicity, an earthiness. Scotland is about survival. You look at somewhere like the Polynesian islands: you want something to eat, you go fish in the blue waters; you want some fresh fruit, you pick from a tree. I’m not saying it is always easy for them, but you look at a fishing community in the Hebrides, now that was a brutal existence.”

Alex Salmond MP, leader of the SNP

“The popular sovereignty of the Arbroath declaration, the humanity of Burns, the economic acumen of Smith, the moral philosophy of Hume, the internationalism of Hardie, the compassion of a Slesser, the grace of our churches, the vitality of our artists and the hope of our young people.
Combine these and we have a Scotland with an eye to the future and a heart to forgive the past.”

James Robertson, author

“Characteristics such as resilience, kindness and egalitarianism grew out of a grindingly hard climate, poverty and hardship in the past, for many people. These conditions also caused some folk to be narrow-minded, embittered, violent and cruel. The conditions in which people live, the families and streets they grow up in, the values they learn at home and at school, these things shape character, and will do so in the future.

Atta Yaqub, actor

“Scotland has contributed in every way to the person that I am. The vocal aspect is pretty prominent, and the way we laugh and joke, the humour, that’s Scottish. At the same time, we’re very caring people, we’re a small nation, and think about what the people around you are like and consider them as well. We’ve not been deprived but we’re a small nation and I think because it’s a small community you try to live with that and have fun with it. Scots are a fun kind of people.”

David McCrone, academic

“Scottishness is not to be found in the recesses of people’s brains (the Scottish gene?). It is not a matter of emotion over reason, of heart over head. Rather, Scottishness is sustained in and through the institutions we have created for ourselves: education, church, social organisations, law and, since 1999, Parliament. We are Scots because we are governed in a Scottish way; it is self-sustaining, and even more so since we recovered greater self-government in the last few years.”

Andrew Fairlie, chef

“I was having debates with non-Scots about Scotland and having to defend the stereotypical impression of Scots as drunkards, hard men and bigots. I felt that I was continually having to stand up for my culture, music, dance and people, which angered and frustrated me. It angered me that people had this almost comical and disparaging view of everything north of the Border to the point that I was even trying to defend our weather. Really, was Chas and Dave or morris dancing any less cringeworthy than, say, Andy Stewart or the Gay Gordons?”

Hugh MacDiarmid, poet

“The Celts with all their follies, weakness and savageries
Never fell into that cardinal blunder of mistaken mean for ends.
The ends they pursued, often blindly and wildly,
Were the fostering of individual dignity,
And of the spiritual imagination."

Aly Bain, musician

“Our post-Second World War, baby-boom generation came into a world changed beyond all recognition. The war had taken my father’s generation away from their crofts and factories and sent them all around the world to defend democracy. They came back very different people… By the late 1960s, I had changed, as had my Shetland homeland. Oil was being discovered, bringing with it great economic progress and corresponding social reorganisation. The differences between Shetland and Scotland gradually blurred and became similarities. We had become very Scottish indeed.”

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