So its Coldstream-the last or first toon in Scotland depending on direction of travel to take over as the latest civic week, festival, whatever as you can read here For Reiver read Coldstreamer throughout. I was particularly struck with this passage :

Presenting Coldstream chairman Jim Leifer reminded those present of the nonsense that the late Stuart Tait brought to the week's festivities - in particular the international golf competition which involved hitting golf balls across the River Tweed from the Coldstream bank onto the English bank of the river. An added dimension to the competition came about when Stuart persuaded a game Englishman to dress up in armour* and be one of the targets!


I wonder which "game Englishman" was persuaded some time back to offer his head for the ball in the original Duns Ba' Game?

(* Armour? Bit of a wimp? Blog ed)

Coldstream's town motto has an interesting history an old 'streamer tells me.

In the first of those tedious competitions for 'Best wee Toon' Coldstream came second.

It was the only entrant.

Thus Nulli Secundus


Second to none

Labels: Coldstream, Duns Ba' Game, Flodden, Reivers

  ¶ 9:42 AM (0) comments

  The Campbells Are Coming-Can see them a mile off


Tartan Codology has been taken to new heights-or plumbed new depths perhaps with the creation of a special outfit for 'Return to the Ridings' If you can bear it read about it here I suppose that at least this new creation can claim some Scottishness although tartans traditionally have had no connection with the Borders-being almost exclusively a Highland tribal skirmish recognition device. But now anyone can order their own tartan without having the slightest connection with Scotland. I am seriously thinking about investing in a Chinese woven Huttonian Tartan with matching accessories complete with free CD of traditional Borders' Airs: 'You'll take the 32 Bus and I'll ride Shanks Pony..and I'll be in Hutton afore thee..etc etc.

One feature of the new creation is it being made out of Retroreflective® yarn, which is designed to increase night-time safety, has minute glass beads and reflects light back to the source. Now that might catch on with revellers leaving the Cross Inn late at night with drink taken and wishing to avoid being struck down by a passing car; on the other hand I fear it will lead to a rash of new sightings of USOs Unidentified Staggering Objects- anyone seeing a glowing green figure, lit up in both senses of the word, shimmering towards him in dark down town Paxton at 2 am is going to reach for his mobile and disturb the slumbers of the Berwickshire News Cub Reporter.

Hold the third page.

Its nice and appropriate that the model for this new tartan is a woman. If she was to examine the traditions of the Common Ridings she would find that until recently the distaff side were long discouraged if not actually banned from taking part in the ride outs. OK being a Reiver but his Lass was better off 'at Hame'

doing the dishes.

Labels: Reivers, Return to the Ridings, Tartans

  ¶ 10:20 AM (0) comments

 
Duns still Dings A'

"Wi' lads singing, wi' hooves ringing
And standard straining braw-
Past the Castle's grey auld towers
And ower the Law;
Frae Merse clear tae Lammermuir.
The wind, blawing Caller-Pure,
Will joy to hear the galloping cheer
For it's Duns dings a!"

You will of course recognise the chorus from 'The Reiver's Gallop' written by the Rev.Hugh Mackay as long ago as 1974. Huttonian came across it in the Duns Summer Festival programme-a snip at £2.50 at most outlets in Duns. The week begins tomorrow with the Kirkin' O' Reiver (I doubt if the 15th century lot went any where near a Kirk) and ends next Saturday with the Closin' Ceremony.

One of the images in the souvenir programme show the 1958 Reiver on his 'Rideout' stopping for a glass of milk at Borthwick Quarry

A Glass of Milk!

Did Robin Hood and his Merry Men take time out from robbing the rich for a nice cup of tea, two lumps and just as it comes?

Nice thought.

In the meantime the Festival will be worth a visit-especially the Ba' Game, about which more, later.

If I am spared

(Yes, yes I have used this image before of three Reivers waiting for someone to bring them their milk as a horse enjoys his greens. The telephone pole adds a touch of modernity to this ancient scene)

Labels: Duns Summer Festival, Reivers

  ¶ 5:57 PM (1) comments

 
Duns Summer Festival

Bloggees have asked about the Duns Summer Festival and here is the bare bones from the Traditions of the Borders Website


The town's most important event is the Duns Summer Festival which started in 1949. This is held in July when the festival principals, the Reiver and Reiver's Lass, lead the Riding of the Bounds to the summit of Duns Law. there The Wynsome Mayde is chosen by the pupils of Duns Primary School and is crowned during the festival. There are also sports, concerts and parades.

As reported previously the principals: The Reiver and the Reiver's Lass have been chosen for 2008. Huttonian has yet to observe these festivities at close hand so will reserve judgement until he has. It just seems rather odd to an incomer to have a festival celebrating perhaps the greatest bunch of rogues to have ever infested these islands -a crew of murderous thieves, sheep stealers, cattle rustlers and outlaws who owed no allegiance except to their temporary paymasters -better disowned than romanticised I would have thought. Maydes in those days, in the aftermath of rape, kidnap and ransom, raddled with dreadful diseases, would hardly have been wynsome and possibly not much of a role model for Primary School children.

Ah How about Robin Hood? A sort of English Reiver perhaps. Well at least he appears to have had a code of honour-robbing the rich to benefit the poor; bringing back the 10p tax band, that sort of thing-an Old Labour figure and a Green one to boot given his environment.
I doubt if the Reivers went in for any such income redistribution unless it was strictly in their favour.

And no I am not displaying anti Scottish prejudice. There were English Reivers as well, just as awful, and both lots had not a jot of patriotic fervour to their name. Scottish Gold was as good as English silver any day and never mind the border.

I doubt if either side would have been welcome in 16th Century Duns.

Labels: Duns, Reivers, Summer Festival

  ¶ 3:26 PM (0) comments

  Back to the Borders

It is good to be back in the Borders proper-Dumfries has the air of being in deepest Alba athough barely 30 miles from England-and to find that we are moving along with the usual rites of Spring -selection of the Greenlaw Maid, the Duns Reiver and Reiver's Lass, Wynsome Mayde etc etc-we will have a really good view of these rituals from the Small House in Duns. And we know that the Silly Season is approaching fast when the Berwickshire has room in its letters column for another effusion from the Regent of Scotland :

#SIR, - What was in Ian Smith’s article in both the Berwickshire News and Berwick Advertiser recently, headed respectively ‘Lords dismiss Berwick moving into Scotland’ and ‘Lords minister dismisses Berwick move to Scotland’ calls for this response as a further contribution from here to the ‘Great Berwick Debate’.
Berwick north of the Tweed is, under the still valid 1329 Treaty of Edinburgh/Northampton, legally and constitutionally in the Kingdom of Scotland so has not to be moved into it and so also no referendum of its population is required nor any negotiating over it with the Kingdom of England.
MICHAEL RITCHIE,
Greenlaw.

I suppose someone cares?

Meanwhile in the ongoing open online Poll in the paper the People of Berwickshire (Scotland) do not favour having Berwick upon Tweed (England)'back' into Scotland (Scotland) and feel happy that it is in England (England).

Perhaps we could all give this 'issue' a rest and concentrate on important matters-like the Wynsome Mayde and all the other exciting commemmorations of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Labels: Borders, Regent of Scotland, Reivers

  ¶ 4:10 PM (2) comments

 
The following notice in the Berwickshire caught Huttonian's eye:

DUNS Summer Festival organisers want to hear from anyone over the age of 18 who lives within a three mile radius of Duns and is interested in joining this year's Reiver's party to lead Duns Summer Festival celebrations in July and represent the town at summer festivals throughout the Borders.
Anyone interested is asked to contact:

I am over 18.

I will soon be living in as down town in Duns as is possible.

Should I apply?

(that is a rhetorical question)

Thankyou catfink' for your flickr image of Borders' Reivers.It is apparently modern and therefore unlikely to be genuine 14th C. The riders seem to be taking it easy after a day of carousing, rapine and raiding. Nice work if you could get it and the Duns Summer Festival may be a good a starting point as any

Labels: Duns, Reivers

  ¶ 10:39 AM (0) comments

 
The Wynsome Mayde, no less, has switched on the Duns Christmas Lights-and what message of seasonal good will is blazoned out in glowing carbon positive letters of the deepest Red? 'Happy Christmas'?, 'Oh come all ye Faithful'? ,'Peace on Earth?'

No, none of these:

'DUNS DINGS A'

What's that again?

The official history of the town sheds some (non seasonal) light:

Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, invaded Scotland in 1377 and seemingly met little opposition. Upon reaching Duns, he relaxed his vigilance. The townspeople saw that the English were off their guard. The Scots made "a kind of rattle, made of dried skins distended round ribs of wood that were bended into a semi-circular form and fixed at the end of long poles". When shaken, they produced a horrendous racket that frightened the English horses, causing them to bolt. The Earl's men fled and were subsequently routed by local people. It may be from this episode that the town takes its design for the Burgh Arms and motto "Duns Dings A'".

The English had long memories as the history goes on:

The English razed Duns to the ground in 1544, 1545 and 1558.

So Duns Dings A' can be translated as 'Duns beats them all'

Stirring stuff. If not always accurate. As a glance at the recent playing record of the Duns Rugby Club illustrates.

But as a general statement reflecting the general desirabity of the Burgh vis a vis other Border Toons:

Fair comment.

(The image is of last years Christmas Tree. Borrowed from Flikr. Thankyou JDSTYNX)

Labels: Christmas lights, Duns, Reivers

  ¶ 10:21 AM (0) comments