The
scene…
The
4th Scottish Tattoo
at
The Royal Albert Hall
Sunday
21 April 2002 "Scotland Forever"
The script for this year is now released.
As usual copyright is with Ian McLennan The Scottish Tattoo.
The show is set for the Royal Albert Hall and although the script will remain, one or two changes to the line up will occur on tour.
Ian McLennan
The
scene…
MOIRA (joins Stuart also with guitar)
What
are you doing Stu?
STUART
Just singing the words to Loch Lomond and thinking about their meaning.
MOIRA
Ye’ll tak the high road and I’ll take the low road…
STUART
Whoa! That’s just it – we all sing it with great gusto – and it’s a great song, but really it’s very sad you know?
MOIRA
What do you mean?
STUART
Well, the song was written after Culloden. When the soldiers were marching back from Derby, some fell behind and were captured and jailed in Carlisle. Two friends met a very different fate. One was sentenced to hang and the other to be released – both at the same time.
MOIRA
So what’s that got to do with Loch Lomond?
STUART
Well,
it’s said that when you leave Scotland, you will always return – by normal
means – the high road or, if you die, by the spiritual road – the low road.
So, the soldier who was going to be hanged knew that his journey back
home to Loch Lomond would be much quicker on the low road than his friend’s
trek back on the high road. He also
knew that his impending death meant that he would never see his true love again.
MOIRA
I see what you mean! It really is a sad song!
STUART
Aye, but now everyone sings it with the thought of a positive return to Scotland and that’s a good enough reason to sing it with gusto don’t you think?
MOIRA & STUART
Sing
Loch Lomond – audience to sing too!
MOIRA
That was great – but what made you think about it in the first place?
STUART
Heroes!
Those Loch Lomond soldiers had answered the call of their Prince and understood
the price of freedom. Ever since William Wallace and Robert the Bruce we have been
fighting for freedom – to Scots it’s the meaning of life!
MOIRA (Steps forward to front of the stage)
Just imagine being Wallace or Bruce and standing high in front of your army from all Scotland with Norse, Flemish and Irish too, knowing that for you and no other, despite facing a great army, your people will give their life for the freedom of Scotland.
STUART
Aye (with power), I call upon you cocks of the north, to fight like you have never fought before, to die if you have to but to live if you can – not for glory, nor riches, nor honour (joined by Moira and both finish the statement together) but for FREEEDOM , which no honest man gives up but for life itself.
MASSED
PIPES & DRUMS
Cock
o’ the North, Glendaruel Highlanders
BRASS
BAND Fighting music!
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS (exit as entry)
Scotland
the Brave, Rowan Tree
MOIRA
(Excited by the sense of victory)
What great victories those guys had at Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn!
STUART
(Pride bursts forth!)
The best! Their heroism and leadership helped shape the Scottish psyche forever more. Just imagine the effect at the time – after their real David versus Goliath triumphs.
Aye, real festivities with the ultimate joy of freedom.
IRISH DANCERS
Celtic Celebration
GAELIC CHOIR
HIGHLAND DANCERS
There are another couple of heroes of mine, who died for King and country. James Graham the Earl of Montrose is the first. A man of principle. First to sign the National Covenant in 1638 to preserve religious freedom for Scotland, after Charles I tried to impose a co-ordinated Anglican – style worship. He led the Covenanters against King Charles’s man in the North, the Marquis of Huntley and won the battle of “The Brig o’ Dee”. But he was also true to the king and successfully led the king’s Highland army against “King Campbell”. The song “The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie” was written at the time of his victory. Against all the odds he became master of Scotland and the Kings Viceroy.
SCOTTISH
DANCE BAND
Medley including Bonnie
Lass o’ Fyvie
Montrose met a sticky end though. After Charles I was executed by Cromwell’s men, he fought to restore the throne for Charles II - but with only a small force he lost. He was then betrayed and taken to Edinburgh dressed in peasant clothes - tied to the back of a broken down nag.
STUART
They hanged him at Mercat Cross, and like Wallace before him, cut him up and exhibited the bits all over the kingdom.
CLIAR
Medley inc Piper o’ Dundee
MOIRA
I can guess your other hero – the Bonnie Dundee!
You can read me like – a history book!
Yes John Graham of Claverhouse – Viscount Dundee!
He fought for James VII against William of Orange and was an inspirational leader.
MOIRA
He’s one of my favourites too but he wasn’t all good! He was also known as “Bloody Clavers” for slaughtering many Covenanters. But as Bonnie Dundee, like Montrose, he united the Highland clans for King James’s cause.
William had the upper hand when he cut off King James’s Irish reinforcements at the Battle of the Boyne.
IRISH DANCERS
BRASS BAND
MOIRA
Soon after, William called a Scottish parliament – even though only the king could do that. It was a bit of a fiasco and at first Dundee said that King James had called the parliament – until he lost the vote - then he called it a “convention” and stormed out shouting to the king’s followers to follow him and return with their broadswords.
“To
the lords of convention ‘twas Claverhouse spoke,
Ere
the kings crown goes down there are crowns to be broke!”
MOIRA (Sings)
“So
each cavalier who loves honour and me
Let him follow the Bonnets of Bonnie Dundee”
Altogether now…
“Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can
Come saddle my horses and call up my men
Unhook the West Port and let us gae free
It’s rousing stuff right enough but once again he was a dead hero killed in battle!
STUART
Aye, the result was the Battle of Killiecrankie – which the Bonnie Dundee won - but was killed at the moment of victory when the clansmen were charging and killing all before them. With no leader, the clan chiefs quarrelled and that was that.
So William lost the battle to John Graham of Claverhouse, but gained Scotland because of a stray musket ball….what might have been?
STUART
It’s odd to me that as part of Great Britain we helped create and lead the British Empire - yet we never managed to expand in our own right.
MOIRA
We came close once. Andrew Fletcher an Anti-unionist at the time of William of Orange met William Paterson, the Scot who eventually founded the Bank of England. Paterson had a grand idea for the “Isthmus of Panama” – Darien as it was known then.
STUART
Hmmn
“Isthmus” – that’s easy for you to say! That’s where the American
continent is divided by just 30 miles of land with no mountains – the overland
link from the Atlantic to the Pacific without going round Cape Horn.
MOIRA
That’s it. Paterson’s plan was to transport cargo to either side overland. Then dig a canal….the Panama canal. If Scotland colonised Darien, they would gain the wealth.
STUART
Yes Fletcher and Lord Bellhaven raised all the money from within Scotland – a mighty feat!
MOIRA
Yes and in 1698, 3 ships and 1200 colonists sailed from Leith with great optimism and the hopes and wishes of Scotland sailing with them
COUNTRY DANCERS
A Scottish Tribute
HIGHLAND DANCERS
STUART
It ended in bankruptcy, which
eventually led to the union between England and Scotland. Andrew
Fletcher earned the nickname “The Patriot” for his anti-union speeches.
He voiced the opinion of the ordinary people on both sides of the
border!
MOIRA
With the English covering the debts of Scottish nobles, it bought their votes and the act of union went through in 1707 - England and Scotland joined forces as Great Britain.
BRASS BAND “British Music”
MOIRA
At that time, it was never an easy alliance and we had the ’15 and ’45 risings.
STUART
Aye, the Bonnie Prince raised his standard at Glenfinnan. Imagine Prince Charlie’s face as Cameron of Lochiel came over the hill to answer the call. (calls out across the hills …the stalls and circle!) “I call upon you Highlanders to put aside your clan differences and unite under my banner and fight for your rightful King, for Scotland and for your freedom”
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS Piibroch o’ Donuil
Dubh
MOIRA
We both know that his father was the rightful king for both crowns so Charles had to try to march to London or regret it forever.
STUART
Aye they swarmed over the border and won all their battles on their way to Derby. But few English Jacobites joined the cause and they turned back – and all was lost. Once the Highlanders had no cause to stay and fight, many drifted off to their families and farms.
MOIRA
Except that the few remaining bravely charged the Duke of Cumberland’s army at Culloden Moor. (Pause) No quarter was given and the blood of their slaughtered bodies mingled with the flowing burn, or stained red the bog where they lay.
COMBINED BANDS
The Bonnie Prince sailed to Skye and away, leaving the Scots and the Highlanders, in particular, to face the consequences.
CLIAR
STUART
Bloody consequences there were – but even then the Highlanders were true to their prince. Despite a £30,000 reward on offer, he was never betrayed and once more they had stood for the freedom of their country.
BRASS BAND
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS
Roses of Prince Charlie, Skye Boat song, (Exit)Will ye no come back again
STUART
That was a sad end to our chat Moira
– I think I need to reflect on some other heroes for a wee minute – but
unlike Charlie, I’ll be back in 20 minutes!
MOIRA Aye, I’ll see you then Stu.
MOIRA
Good to see you back Stu – and ready for more heroics I hope!
STUART
Aye, I’ve a head full of heroes now! You know, after Culloden it was a bit of a North/South divide. Tartan was banned and no weapons could be carried – unless you were away in the British Army building the Empire!
MOIRA
That’s right Stuart and did you know that at Clachan Seil, on the wee island just south of Oban there is a hotel known as Tigh-an-Truish - the House of Trousers. This is where the Highlanders were landed when returning from army duty. They had to change into trousers - leaving their kilts and weapons until they returned.
HIGHLAND DANCERS
Seann Trubhas
CLIAR
STUART
It was different in the South – there was stability after Culloden – everyone knew where they stood. This enabled the southern Society to develop and it was a golden era for writers, scientists and inventers. The whole world, flourished as a result of these Scots accomplishments – Scots led the industrial revolution and cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh were booming, taking in immigrants from the Highlands, Ireland and England to fuel their expansion.
IRISH DANCERS
It’s amazing how just a few geniuses can change the course of a country’s history.
Never mind the country, they changed the world and made history.
I know that Patrick Miller invented a manual paddle-boat used by King Gustavus III of Sweden. He gave Miller a gold box with some seeds inside as a thank you. They grew into Swedes’s – the vegetable not the people – and transformed the winter fodder for Scots cattle so preventing the need to slaughter as winter approached.
STUART
MOIRA
I remember my history now – Henry Bell was the entrepreneur who launched the Comet Paddle Steamer in 1812- the first steamship service in Europe running between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh. That led to the Clyde pleasure steamers and encouraged the shipbuilding industry. 30,000 ships were built on the Clyde including Britannia the wooden paddle ship that sailed from Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 12 days.
STUART
Not to mention the three Cunard liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I & II that sailed round the world!
MOIRA
MOIRA
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS
Tipperary, Pack up your troubles, Dolly Gray
MOIRA
When you talk of the
British soldiers at war we have had two very distinguished Generals.
STUART
“Fighting Mac” MacDonald. Now there is a hero. He rose from the crofts to be be Major-General – leading the Highland Brigade in the Boer War.
MOIRA
It was said by his commander at the Battle of Omduman – “One might see 500 battles and never see such able handling of men in the presence of the enemy”
STUART
General Haig was an unbending general. He so admired the Scots as fighters that he kept using the Scots regiments in the fiercest battles. The Somme, Passchendale and Arras where of the 120 battalions 44 were Scottish. Far more Scots died as a result – 147k - more than a quarter of all the deaths and 10% of all the Males between 45 and 49.
MOIRA
We paid a high price for his admiration.
COMBINED BANDS Highland Cathedral
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS Battle of the Somme, Heights of Dargai
STUART
Enough of these wars for a minute – let me tell you about the man who literally took the piss out of Glasgow – and got away with it!
MOIRA
This had better be good!
STUART
The best! Glasgow’s Charles MacIntosh is
the man and he is responsible for protecting the whole world!
MOIRA
Against what?
STUART
Rain! He invented the raincoat. But the story is much better than that. He lived in late 1700’s to the early 1800’s – a time before sewers in Glasgow.
MOIRA
When people used to open their window and tip their bucketful into the street!
STUART
Dead right. A great time to catch a disease and die! Anyway, MacIntoshes’ family owned a die works, where ammonia was used in the process. As the business expanded, they could not get enough ammonia until MacIntosh had the idea to buy up all the urine!
MOIRA
So they extracted the ammonia and cleaned up the streets at the same time! What a great idea! I bet the people sang and danced in the street – without their wellies!
COUNTRY DANCERS
New Zealand 1990
CLIAR
IRISH DANCERS
STUART
That was just the beginning. He then experimented by distilling the leftover tar from the Glasgow Glass Company and produced Naphtha a solvent. He used this to dissolve rubber and produced surgical gloves - which he gave to the Glasgow infirmary – that eradicated many of the post operation infections that patients died from. He added cloth to the solution and discovered that it was waterproof. With that he made inflatables and, of course, the Mac which is worn all over the world.
MOIRA
So that inflatable doll
you have you owe to Charles MacIntosh! Seriously,
that is a great story of a great and clever man and I am proud to be from
Glasgow! (Sings) “I belong to Glasgow". We’ve had some
canny inventers and builders but what about other leaders that have made their
mark overseas and maybe reflect the Scottish psyche?
STUART
Nae bother – remember that there are 12 Million people who can claim Scottish descent in North America. In the USA 60% of their presidents have had Scottish origins and 9 of the first 13 US Governors were Scots! That’s why more US and Canadians speak the Ghaidhlig than in Scotland and the Highland culture was preserved after the Clearances.
GAELIC CHOIR
SCOTTISH SMALL PIPES
CLIAR
MOIRA
Right - so name some of these leaders who have reflected the Scottish psyche.
STUART
Ok so – in Canada the MacKenzie’s have done well with providing Prime Ministers and also charting what became the MacKenzie river.
MOIRA
And Sir John McDonald persuaded the provinces to become a confederation – and became Prime Minister. He also had the vision for the Canadian Pacific Railway – which Scots controlled and built!
STUART
In the USA Andrew Carnegie made his fortune by being a very determined businessman. He then decided to retire and spent the rest of his life giving his money away to the poor. His philosophy was “Do better for the poor than they could do for themselves”.
MOIRA
Then there’s John Paul Jones, who was born in Dumfriesshire – and lived the American dream – a rags to riches story – from pirate to Commander in Chief of the American Navy
STUART
The US Navy Manual still quotes him “ The credit of the service depends not only in dealing fairly with the men employed in it but on their belief that they are and will be fairly dealt with”.
HIGHLAND DANCERS
STUART
You know Moira today there are 20m people of Scots descent all over the world – four times more than at home. Many of them leaders of their communities.
MOIRA
That’s amazing Stu. Did you know that Stewart Lamont has written a book in which he sums up some of the Scottish traits? I have a few things he captured here. (Unravels piece of paper with her notes on) For instance – all our songs are about fighting the English – but we have fought with them not against them, for 250 years!
Away from home we are great leaders
– we’ve had 8 British Prime Ministers – 9 if you count Tony Blair who was
born in Scotland!
Everybody’s equal no matter what their rank. Then there’s our great put down to someone too big for his boots – “Och I kent his father”
STUART
The
motto on our Scottish Arms is “Memo
me impune lacessit” – Who dares meddle wi’ me?
MOIRA
Or in Glasgow “See you Jimmy”!
We’re proud fighters – and we fight in all ways – at our best defending a principle. We have even been known to be a wee bit violent to each other on occasion!
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS
Green Hills, When the Battle’s O’er
STUART
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote:
"The old land is still the true love,
the others are but pleasant infidelities. Scotland
is indefinable, it has no unity except upon the map. Two languages, many dialects, innumerable forms of piety, and
countless local patriotisms and prejudices, part us among ourselves more widely
than the extreme east and west of that great continent America.
When I am at home, I feel a man from Glasgow to be something like a
rival, a man from Barra to be more than half a foreigner.
Yet let us meet in some far country and whether we hail from the braes of
Manor or the braes of Mar, some ready-made affection joins us on the instant.
It is not race. Look at us
One is Norse, one Celtic and another Saxon.
It is not a community of tongue. We
have it not among ourselves; and we have it almost to perfection with English,
Irish and American. It is no tie of
faith, for we detest each other’s errors. And yet somewhere, deep down in the heart of each of us,
something yearns for the old land and the old kindly people".
Stuart, I think we have found some of our heroes and maybe touched the soul of our people past, present and future. We are truly blessed to be able to say we are of the same stock as these people.
STUART
Aye – let’s remember all our heroes, born in Scotland or of Scots descent, living and dead, some who have changed the world, and many who have given their lives, at home and overseas, to defend our freedom.
CLIAR
STRING QUARTET
Ashokan’s Farewell
BRASS BAND (with some pipes)
Alone with my thoughts (Erik Spence)/ Sunset
(This is a world Tattoo premiere. Thank you Erik)
LONE PIPER
COMBINED BAND & SINGERS
Flower of Scotland
STUART
Sings Alba Gu Brath, Scotland Forever
We tell a good story Moira and we love to sing Auld Lang Syne – it may not always be the Christmas no.1 but it see’s in the new year the world over.
MOIRA
Aye as usual great talking to you Stu and I think a few others were eavesdropping our wee chat!
STUART
Nae bother Moira. As Keir Hardie said – “We’re all Jock Tamsin’s bairns”
COMBINED BANDS
MASSED PIPES & DRUMS
We’re no awa tae bide awa, Highland Laddie, Black Bear
Thanks
and good night to all
Haste ye back