PUBLISHING SCOTLAND BURNS SUPPER January 26

THE SCOTTISH WORLD Stirling Literary Society, April 16

SCOTTISH NATIONALISM  in Production

CHEERS!  BBC Radio 4 Hogmanay, 10.30 am

PUBLISHING SCOTLAND BURNS SUPPER

Billy will deliver the Immortal Memory at the Publishing Scotland Burns Supper at the Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh on January 26. 7pm – Midnight.

For more information call Publishing Scotland 0131 228 6866.

THE SCOTTISH WORLD Stirling Literary Society April 16, 2012

I very much look forward to giving my talk on the Scottish World  to the Stirling Literary Society on the evening of  Monday April 16, 2012.  The Society has been a great supporter of my work over the years, and it is always a pleasure to go back there and renew auld acquaintances.  

SCOTTISH NATIONALISM  in Production.

BBC Radio Scotland has commissioned a 4 part documentary series on the history of  Scottish Nationalism to be broadcast in 2012.  My working title is Scotland for Ever!   A History of Scottish Nationalism

This is a great subject for me to explore  and I am loving doing the research and conducting the interviews.  More details to follow in 2012, but to whet the appetite,  here  is a letter I wrote on the subject to the Scots Independent newspaper.

Brither an Sister Scots,

I have been commissioned by BBC Radio Scotland to make a series of four documentaries on the history of Scottish nationalism to be broadcast in 2012/2013. My aim would be to make a fascinating series of compelling programmes which would become a vital part of the debate on our constitutional future as we approach the referendum on Scottish independence.

Many of you will have been part of the rise of the SNP in recent decades which will  be at the core of the later programmes, and I would welcome your ideas of who and what should be covered in the modern era. But I would also like to call on your passion for the cause and knowledge of the tradition by suggesting  incidents from the history and literature, moving stories, quotations, songs etc  which touch you personally and are now part of your identity. 

The stories can be positive patriotic and heroic, but they can also be the opposite. For many Scots of my generation, Scottish Studies were a futuristic dream!  The first time I came across John Maclean e.g was as a teenage boy when I saw his name on the wall of Lenin’s tomb in Moscow. Around the same period browsing the book shelves of Kilmarnock’s Dick Institute, I discovered a book called The Scottish Insurrection of 1820 which was full of references to my native Irvine Valley. My reaction to both incidents was one of astonishment that we had been taught so little of our own history and this galvanised me in my determination to learn more for myself.  Many of you will have similar stories, but also ones where you were simply proud to belong to the great Scottish tradition summed up in John Barbour’s words “Ah Fredome is a noble thing.”

I would love to hear your idea of what you think is essential for inclusion in a series on the history of Scottish nationalism which will run to almost two hours of broadcasting time.  By far the best way to contact me for this is by e mail to billykay@sol.co.uk , but other ways are included below.  Perhaps the Scots Independent might be interested in publishing some of your suggestions when the programmes are broadcast!

Scotland for Ever,

Billy Kay

p.s. One of my own favourite quotes which I think might well make the final cut in the series is from R.B. Cunninghame Graham: “The enemies of Scottish Nationalism are not the English, for they were ever a great and generous folk, quick to respond when justice calls. Our real enemies are among us, born without imagination.”  

CHEERS!

 BBC Radio 4 at 10.30 a.m. on Hogmanay “Cheers – a History of Toasting” recorded at Clare College, Cambridge with beautiful music from Clare College Choir, and contributors like John Sergeant, Ivan Day, Judith Hawley and yours truly. A big thank you to Hilary Dunn, Elizabeth Burke and Hannah Marshall of Loftus Productions for making it happen. 

 What a pleasure it was to declaim Jacobite, anti Union toasts in such a delightfully English setting!  It might be too early in the morning for you to join in the toasts, but it will definitely get you in the mood for the celebrations later on that evening. Hope you enjoy it.  Again it will be available for a week on the BBC iPlayer. 

Here are more details from the Radio Times billing for the programme:

“For New Year's Eve, John Sergeant invites his guests to a musical celebration of the ancient art of toasting. The programme is recorded in Clare College Cambridge, in the fellows' Senior Combination Room, with its wood panelling and huge fireplace.

Toasting has a fascinating history. The way you toasted revealed your politics – whether you were for or against the monarchy, and which political party you supported. It wasn't just the rich who toasted – farm labourers had elaborate ritual toasts for harvest time (they toasted in cider). Men toasted women, of course – women could even become known as "a toast", which was tantamount to being called a slut.

John Sergeant hosts a party and invites three food and drink historians to tell stories about toasting in the past: Scottish wine buff Billy Kay, food historian Ivan Day, and Professor of Literature Judith Hawley. There is also music during the party: toasting songs arranged by David Owen Norris and performed by student members of the Clare College Choir. These include drinking songs 'For Auld Lang Syne' and 'Here's a health unto his Majesty', as well as a revolutionary toast sung by English supporters of the French Revolution. There is also a sexy musical toast from the  17th century to a woman with wonderful thighs.

We may have forgotten the history of toasting, but something of it remains deep in our collective memory, when we look each other in the eye and chink glasses. Cheers!”