Scottish Sports, Culture And The Arts

Scotland is renowned as the home of golf, but " soccer " is without doubt the national passion, and England the favourite opponent. Other popular sports include hill-walking, skiing, rugby, shinty, lawn-bowling, fishing, darts and curling. There are also great annual Highland Games held throughout the country during the summer months. In addition, almost every village in Scotland hosts an annual Fair or Fete.

Scotland offers an excellent program of the performing arts. The Edinburgh Festival and Fringe is the largest celebration of its kind in the world, and there are literally hundreds of smaller festivals. The key to enjoying Scotland is to stay flexible and keep your eyes open for local events. Many wonderful Jumble Sales, Craft and Antique Fairs, Folk Nights, Ceilidhs and the like will only be advertised in the most local of newspapers. Or simply by a single billboard and a few posters.

The range of Music and Song emanating from Scotland is truly amazing. There is something for everybody, ranging from Opera, Gaelic Song, Bagpipes, Country, Accordion, Fiddle, Contemporary Folk, and so on. Traditional music has experienced a renaissance with influences from all over the world. With an estimated four Scots, such as myself, living abroad, for every one living in the homeland, this influence is not surprising. Bands like Macumba combine bagpipes with Brazilian percussion to wonderful effect. Groups such as Runrig and Wolfestone are famous for their brand of electric folk, whilst individuals such as Rod Stewart and Sheena Easton sing to the world in a Scottish accent. Scottish Bands and performers constantly tour the world, and may in fact be more readily seen abroad than at home.

In dance, on offer are the various delights of Scottish Country Dancing, Highland and Ceilidh Dancing, Ballet and Contemporary Dance. The Scottish Film industry is booming, following the success of Local Hero and other movies. And of course Scotland was the setting for movies such as Braveheart and Rob Roy.

Although only a minority of Scots speak Gaelic, the language has been boosted by increased funding for Gaelic Radio and Television Programmes. Scottish Literature continues to be extremely strong, with no shortage of respected authors and poets following in the long literate tradition of Scotland.

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