Huttonian feeks very honoured as the rant is now the subject/object of a link from a very fine website
http://www.coldstreampipeband.co.uk/ that of the Coldstream Pipe Band-a site as Scottish and as musical as you can get in a month of Sundays. There are links to all the pipe bands in the region and for a lover of this type of music it is the place to visit.This site has also a number of (other) interesting links of a truly Scottish flavour-some modest some fairly far out and transatlantically sentimental in a Gallic misty sort of way.
Closer to home is a link to the 1513 Flodden Club:
http://www.flodden1513club.com/main.html "
The principal aim of the club is to commemorate the Scots who died at the Battle of Flodden, which was the last medieval battle fought between England & Scotland, on 9 September 1513.
2. In so doing the club carries out a short ceremony at the Battle of Flodden War Memorial, near Branxton Village, in North Northumberland at 7pm on 9 September each year. Club officials commemorate James 1V& the Scots who died with him on that bloody battlefield when the Scots army was completely overwhelmed and most of the Scots nobility and youth of the country was wiped out in a few hours. A wreath is laid and a local piper, normally Pipe Major Robert Bell or his son, Piper Duncan Bell play the bagpipes. Members of the public are made welcome at this ceremony.
3. On the immediate Friday after this ceremony the Club holds a commemoration dinner in the clubrooms of the Royal British Legion, Coldstream, where guest speakers toast "King James", "Border Men Who Fell" and "Toast to the 1513 Club"In the "Border Men Who Fell" toast the speaker usually ends his speech by referring to the Border Men who Fell at Flodden but during the speech reference is normally made to the significant number of Border men, hailing from both sides of the Border, who fell in the Great Wars."Huttonian feels as an (60%) English incomer to ask why the Club is out of kilter with the annual 'official' Flodden commemoration, which honours the
dead of both nations. Apparently, it is because the Club focuses on the fact that almost the entire Scottish nobility, and many Border families, were wiped out. So they are the people who need to be mourned
Indeed but someone (James IV) should have thought of that possibility before invading England(and the English suffered heavy casualties as well) for no better reason than coming to the help of the French. The French? For goodness sake. Surely he could have thought of a better reason.
The Society seems uncritically Scottish. Fair enough But in the interests of historical accuracy should there be no discussion of noble Scottish (Border) families who, according to some historians didn't pull their weight at the battle? One Glaswegian taxi driver, hearing that the wife was living in the Borders ranted away about how they had lost out to the English because of much of the Borderer contigent left the field in the course of the battle, with their booty and this, he felt, contributed to the ensuing slaughter of the Flower of Scotland. Rather like Messrs Beckham, Owen and Rooney leaving the English team at half time when 2 down to Germany in a World Cup Match. A bit of self criticism might be in order and perhaps a bit of reconciliation. 1513 is quite a long time ago. Go on, move on and go to Branxton for a bipartisan knees up!
