I am
listening to Scottish singer songwriter Dougie MacLean who lives near Perth and
is best known for his wonderful song 'Caledonia' which he sang at the
Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony to great effect in July. He wrote the song on a France beach when he was thinking of his
homeland of Scotland.
Since the
70s it has been truly wonderful the resurgence in the Scottish arts. Back then
Scottish music was viewed as twee or backward looking but not anymore! In fact a lot of the music coming out of Scotland is
admired worldwide. I used to travel
across Edinburgh on the top deck of the bus via Princes street to
my secondary Grammar school (these don't
exist anymore) in Leith and I wondered who these
young people with their fancy blazers and posh English accents were.. shockingly
a quarter of Edinburgh's
children attend private schools! We were
made to feel second class then in Scotland. This is not the case in
Ireland - my parents come from Ireland and we visited there each summer and it
seemed to me that the Irish had more pride in who they are.
Informed
journalists are for YES.
Most
Scottish musicians, authors and artists are for yes. Our respected historian
Tom Devine is for yes.
Scottish authors are also having a golden age with many respected writers - Iain Banks, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, Irvine Welsh, Christopher Brookmyre, Liz Lochhead, Alan Bissett, Iain Macwhirter, Ian Bell, Ian McEwan, Alasdair Gray, William McIIvanney.
Scottish authors are also having a golden age with many respected writers - Iain Banks, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, Irvine Welsh, Christopher Brookmyre, Liz Lochhead, Alan Bissett, Iain Macwhirter, Ian Bell, Ian McEwan, Alasdair Gray, William McIIvanney.
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Lau |
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Admiral Fallow |
I have been fortunate to photograph many outstanding Scottish artists, my Scottish portrait gallery here - http://pkimage.co.uk/scottishportraits

Emeli Sande

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Karine Polwart |
Does this
matter, of course it does!
It used to
be we were told we were too wee, too incapable and too poor. At the same time we had this
hidden history of a past Scottish golden age that we were not taught at school
- great Scottish inventions, The Enlightenment, trade with Europe, The
Declaration of Arbroath and influence on America's founding fathers and
more. I did History higher in Edinburgh
when I learned of the Tudors and 17th century European history!.
I attend Edinburgh book festival,
as well as Celtic Connections, each year and it seems that there is a flowering
of Scottish talent and pride and identity does matter a great deal.