Hail Caledonia

New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 495, 17 December 1948, Page 11

Hail Caledonia

"T)jOUR" and "pawky" are two adjectives which nobody would apply to any but a native of Scotland; but do they réally apply to most Scots, and haven’t the Scots any other prevalent characteristics? These were thé main points of the St. Andrew’s programme from the Scottish studios of the BBC, appropriately heard from 4YA. I sincerely hope there were other than Scots or descendants of Scots listening-just in case any of them had previously had the idea that all Scots" are (1) dour, or (2) pawky. In this programme, two Scots spent a deal of time in discussing the true Scottish characteristics, but after much argument (argument being another such characteristic), they allowed some Scottish music to speak for the race; and here we had one of the loveliest programmes imaginable, composed ‘of old folk-songs, well-known airs, dances, and the poetry of (you guessed it!) Burns: Listening to this programme in Dunedin I wondered why so many of our local Scottish concerts are such dull affairs-apart from the music, of course, for Scottish music, whether sad or cheerful, is never dull. The Scottish ancestry of Dunedin, I often think, hangs more like a pall than a plaid to decorate the city. Why do we take it so seriously and refer to it in the staid and stately tones better befitting a defunct but not lovable relative? Why not turn it into a living heritage’ by occasionally (as was done in this programme), taking it with a grain of salt, and producing a good laugh about it, and about ourselves also?