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| Billy Kay and Rod
Paterson at the 'Kilted Skirlie' |
Billy Kay and Rod Paterson at the 'Kilted
Skirlie'
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enlarge
In his most
recent book, The Scottish World,
Billy explored the impact and influence the Scots have had on
different cultures and communities throughout the world. Billy
shared his research into this fascinating history with the
audience through a combination of lecture, personal anecdote
and musical accompaniment from Rod. He emphasised the role
that exile has played in shaping many of the great Scots folk
songs.
Billy told us about the Auld Alliance between
Scotland and France which reached its apogee when the Scots
fought with the French to expel England from their last
territory in south-west France. As a reward for her
assistance, France conferred privileges in the wine trade on
Scotland, giving the latter a commercial advantage over other
nations. A Scots colony was created in Bordeaux. The links
between Scotland and France grew during the aftermath of the
Jacobite rebellion, when many Jacobites settled in France. Rod
sang a beautiful song called The Sun Rises Bright
in France which celebrates the beauty of
Scotland from a position of exile. Rod also sang an old French
folksong, Le Garçon Malheureux,
which celebrates a high Scottish mountain where lovers go
every day and where there is a fountain, surrounded by roses,
and serenaded by nightingales; Billy gave a wry glance in the
direction of the Ben as we all tried to collectively imagine
where this mythical mountain could be, as the rain battered
against the window.
Billy told us how the Scots went to
Poland, Prussia, Lithuania and Russia during the seventeenth
century. A Scots community grew in Danzig (Gdansk) and so many
Scots became pedlars that the words Schotte and
Szot became interchangeable as terms for pedlars or
Scottish people. The Scots were to play a major role in
helping to initiate the Enlightenment in Russia.
The
array of countries in which Billy told us the Scots have had a
presence and an influence was quite extraordinary. He told us
about the influence Sir Walter Scott had on the American
South, which embraced his idea of an orderly, chivalrous
feudal society. However, Scott also inspired one of the great
leaders of Black America, Frederick Douglass, who loved
Scott's tales of the heroic Douglas clan so much, that he
changed his name to Douglass, from his slave name of Bailey.
Rod sang The Slave's Lament by
Burns, who had become increasingly aware of the plight of the
slaves. The influence of the Scots reached into Africa and
Billy said that upon visiting Africa he was surprised at the
depth of affection in which David Livingstone and Mary Slessor
are held.
Billy gave an insight into the role Scots
have played in national liberation movements, from Boswell in
Corsica to Byron in Greece. The theme of freedom continued as
Rod gave a stirring rendition of Hamish Henderson's
Freedom Come-All-Ye. Billy left us
with one final thought about the reach of Scottish influence:
three of the astronauts who went to the moon had Scottish
ancestry. The evening concluded with Rod singing
Auld Lang Syne to its original
tune.
The whole evening was a real success. Billy's
delivery of anecdote, history lesson and song was thoroughly
absorbing, whilst Rod's clear and strong singing filled the
capacious lounge, without the need for a microphone. Many
members of the audience snapped up copies of Billy's books and
a large number of people said that the evening had given them
a whole new perspective on being Scottish, and they could take
a new pride in the achievements of their forebears.
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