Sticks Galore

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 962, 3 May 1930, Page 26

Sticks Galore

HARRY LAUDER COLLECTS THINGS SCOTTISH ON BIG SCALE

VARIETY OF PLAIDS There are two features of his stage wardrobe that Sir Harry Lauder is especially proud of. One is the richness and variety of his Scottish plaids; the other is his remarkable collection of walking sticks. The plaids used by Lauder in his kilties costumes are all woven from the finest Scottish wools and they are infinite in design and colouring. Every Scottish clan has its own plaid, and woe to Lauder if he ever sang a song typical of a wee lassie of the clan of the Macphersons or the Macdonalds in the plaid of a rival clan. During his entertainment Lauder changes his costume a dozen times, and it is accomplished with a facility that is surprising. Lauder’s sticks are legion. The singer has very little use for the conventional straight stick. His predilection is for gnarled, crooked and individualistic walking sticks, and for this reason one given to him by the Prince of Wales has a special place in his regard, quite apart from his appreciation of the thoughtfulness of the Koyal giver. It is said to be the crookedest walking stick in the world. On the road, the comedian carries a hamper full of w’alking sticks of every conceivable size and shape, and at his home in Scotland he has a room in which nearly a thousand sticks, from all parts of the world, are displayed. The majority of them were gifts from Lauder’s friends and admirers. Sir Harry wears the kilts both on and off the stage; but even without this distinctive costume there would be little difficulty in picking him out of a crowd. The “little Scot” has an individuality that readily distinguishes him anywhere.