Scottish Miscellany. PDF
Preview Scottish Miscellany.
j :JC-ewitaon'a im SCOTTISH MISCELLANY World Exclusive! Do Scotland's political leaders believe in the Loch Ness Monster? Jim Hewitson's Scotland is a gey strange place. And his broth of off-cuts from the past, contemporary attitudes, outlandish lists, absurd tables, historical and hysterical trivia and off-the-wall observations is certainly one of the most curious Scottish books of the new millennium. In it, facts and figures collide with couthy anecdotes and unlikely yarns, all of which are shot through with that mystical ingredient which Jim has been trying to drag to the surface for thirty years - Scottishness. Its gems include: • a step-by-step guide to raising the clans (fiery cross included) • auld Scots tricks to make yourself invisible or turn yourself into a hare • how Rabbie Burns was ordered to ca' canny wi' the satire • how to build your own Scottish anthem • the greatest challenge: Munros, Corbetts ... and Hewitsons! Celebrating the best and worst of Scotland and its people and packed with a bizarre array of non-essential infom1ation you never knew you needed, this is the ultimate dip-in guide to all things Scottish. £9.99 JIM HEWITSON'S SCOTIISH MISCELLANY BY THE SAME AUTHOR Astonishing Scotland A Cheeky Thesaurus of Scottishness Tam Blake & Co The Scots in America Clinging to the Edge Journals from an Orkney Island Far Off in Sunlit Places The Scots in Australia and New Zealand Rebecca the Raccoon Scotching the Myths JIM HEWITSON'S SCOTTISH MISCELLANY BLACK &W HITE PUBLISHING First published 2003 by Black & White Publishing Ltd 99 Giles Street, Edinburgh EH6 6BZ ISBN 1 902927 84 2 Text copyright © Jim Hewitson 2003 illustrations copyright© John Marshall 2003 The right of Jim Hewitson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Publisher. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library. Cover design www.hen.uk.com Printed and bound by Creative Print and Design The publishers have taken reasonable care to ensure that the information contained in this publication is accurate and up-to-date, but accept no liability for any losses, damages, costs or otherwise resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any information or other content in this publication, including information supplied to them by third parties. TO LINDSEY apprentice to the silly sorcerer and for all those who patiently listened to my often bizarre inquiries and did not call the men in white coats. But in particular: Alastair Bonnington, Christina Mackenzie, Alan Raeburn, Jimmy Brown, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Elaine Low, Aly Macdonald, Scottish Natural Heritage, Liam Mcllvanney, Ronald M Douglas, Bobby Leslie, Stephen Arnott, Owen O'Leary, Ken Mutch, Catherine Walker, Linda McGowan, Ruth Neeve, David Forsyth, Helen Oark, Caroline Chinn, Fiona Marwick, Alex Robertson, Caroline Strachan, Tom Muir, Tommy Watt, Carol Anne Campbell, Noel Miller, Beverley Quinn, Sarah Barclay, Zoe Laidlaw, Fiona Harvey, Frank Hanlon, John Johnson, Rosemary Middleton, Paul Warren, Paul Jordan, Neil Greig, Elaine Fee, Barrie Cox-Dacre. INTRODUCTION How do you measure Scottishness? Is it in the fear some strength of your Friday night curry or the length of the eagle feather in your bunnet? Is it the belief that Scotland must regain her role in the international community or the sobering realisation that your life is a wee bit too closely mirrored in the latest River City storyline? One scary yet inspiring possibility is this - is our sense of Scottishness merely a reflection of the fact that we have not yet been fully absorbed into the uniform, featureless - frankly boring - world of Englishness? Do you have a rampant thistle tattooed on your butt or is there a tattered copy of Rabbie Burns' s poems somewhere in the house? If you feel you do not qualify as Scottish on any of these counts, then despair not - Scottishness is a big kirk with plenty of pews. This book is for Scots born and bred, for the new Scots - whatever colour or creed and whether they hail originally from Leeds or Lahore. It's for openly wannabe Scots, closet Scots and everyone who suspects, hopes and prays that we are a nation still - and a damned interesting one at that! JH
The list of books you might like
