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Musings from the Merse
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
 

Will ye No come back again? (For a brief visit?)

An article in the recent Berwickshire News starts thus (see the rest here)


MANY Borderers are set to put pen to paper and invite their friends and family back to the region to 'Return to the Ridings'.

The Border common ridings and festivals have launched the Return to the Ridings invitations, a selection of iconic postcard images for each of the participating events, which residents can send to all their friends and family.
The Return to the Ridings is part of the Homecoming Scotland programme, extending the invitation to Border Scots throughout the world to return to their ridings and join a series of co-ordinated ancient festivals across the Scottish Border towns


The Homecoming Scotland is making use of a Big Burns Commemoration in 2009 to attract expat Scots to revisit the Hameland and spend many Dollars, Euros and Muckles* (a prototype currency for a future Independent Alba)to revitalise the depressed Scottish economy. So out of tax exile will come the fervent patriots Sean Connery, Donald Crump, Gordon Brown et alios attracted by (says the blurb) the whisky, the golf and the music. Donald Crump may not quite appreciate the irony of the Golf.

The image above is one of the 'iconic' postcards now winging their way (Lost Christmas mail bags permitting) to exiled Borderers urging them to revisit the ancient Ridings festivals some of which go all the way back to the 1950s.

Next year will see a lot of this sort of thing.

Ad Nauseam

springs to mind

* At current rates of exchange many Mickles equate to a Muckle.

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Comments:
Depending on which web site you hit, the ridings either had their origins in the 13th century or the 18th century. Any idea how they originated?
A. Peasant
 
Yes but the modern commemorations as eg enshrined in the Coldstream and Duns civic weeks/festivals are a mid 20th century innovation. And why glorify the thuggish thieving Reivers?
 
I suspected that they were modern crypto-folk rituals for horsie types. Some of my ancestors were reivers - think I'll issue an apology for them and, true to current political practice, that will make it all right. Beating the bounds per se is a much older form of ritual. Not sure I'm that keen either on the "Englishman's heid" aspect of the Duns fitba' game. We need rituals to punctuate life's long path - any idea what we could have as a modern ritual?
 
How about 'countin' chickens afore they hatch' as a new Borders 'ancient' game. Played on horseback. Commemorating fowl deeds by A. Peasants ancestors.
 
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