The French island of Ouessant is looking for a Scottish island to twin with, ideally one that has it's own tartan and a distillery! Ouessant had it's own tartan registered a few weeks ago, and this move will help to strengthen ties between the French and Scottish Island communities MSP Rob and Jean-Yves Cozan, Regional Councillor for Ouessant The idea of Island linking has received a warm welcome from Rob Gibson Scottish MSP for the Highlands and Islands "Then I thought, maybe one of our northern isles could be a first by adopting a Norse tartan! Just as Ouessant is the first Breton Isle to create a tartan. Both Orkney and Shetland already have a distilleries, why not a tartan of their own?" the MSP will be contacting Scottish councils on the look out for the perfect Scottish partner.
The island of Quissant situated 20 miles off the coast of Brittany has created it's own tartan, registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans. The tartan design includes black and white stripes, in reference to the Bretton flag, blue and green colours in reference to ancient celtic druids, as well as red and yellow taken from the Island's crest. "A few of us wear kilt on Ouessant to cock a snook at outsiders as a joke. So, after a trip to Scotland, we thought 'Why not design a tartan in our islnd's colours?" Serge Cariou the tartan's designer. The tartan will be know as 'Eusa' taken from the Breton name of Ouessant 'Enez Eusa'. The tartan becomes the 12th Breton tartan registered. The other breton tartans are: Brittany National, Brittany Walkin and nine county tartans Kerne, Leon, Tregor, Gwened, Dol, St. Malo, Rennes, Nantes, St. Brieuc. "this tartan is not a gimmick, it's an act of cultural identity to assert that we have roots" said Jean -Yves Cozan a regional councillor of Ouessant.
This year the 60th year of Edinburgh's Royal Military Tattoo takes place between 6-28 August Against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, the world's most spectacular Tattoo will host a celebration of talent from four continents including pipers, gymnasts, singers, dancers and an amazing motorcycle display team. And of course it's a great opportunity to see a magnificent range of highland outfits! The highlight of the event the is the unique Massed Pipes and Drums and that of the Massed Military Bands which features an enormous band
This weekend volunteers including soldiers and ex-soldiers of the Gordon Highlanders will be taking part in a 'Life in the Trenches' exhibition, bringing to life the experience of Scottish Soliders. During the great war The Gordon Highlanders regiment saw 30,000 killed, missing and wounded. Using displays of photographs and postcards as well as items such as gas masks, shrapnel fragments and helmets. Volunteers will re-enact the roles of both soldiers and nurses on the front line. Scott Neil, events coordinator at the museum, said: "For many Scottish soldiers, the kilt caused its own problems, often getting caught on barbed wire and with pleats that provided a home for lice." however Scottish soilders didn't want to part with their traditions, as Dave Clarke a History teacher and group member explains - "There were various attempts to put the Highland soldiers into trousers but it was extremely unpopular," he said. "Despite the cold, despite the lice, despite the fact it captured on barbed wire, the kilt was an iconic image the soldiers were proud of and they wished to retain them. When you see them up to their knees in mud and filth and slush, the vast majority would have been wearing nothing under the kilt." The event takes places on the 7 and 8 August at the National War Museum
Next month Scotland will begin its qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championship. The first game against Lithuania kicks off on the 3rd September and the last game will be against the reigning champions Spain. This tournament is the 14th European championship which will be held by joint hosts Poland and Ukraine. The qualifying matches for the final tournament are being played between august 2010 and Nov 2011. This is that last Euro championship limited to 146 national teams, the next Euro in 2016 will expand to 24 teams. Stricker Kris Boyd talking to Scotland's new manager, Craig Levein. Scotland is playing in group I alongside Spain, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Liechtenstein. Get into the game and support Scotland with our range of football tops and casual kilts.
Citylink have developed a new luxury coach service, Citylink Gold, which promises to offer Britain's most luxurious form of coach travel. As well as leather seats and mahogany table trays - a new tartan has been specially created to add the finishing touches to staff uniforms and seatbacks. Stylist Lindsay Campbell said: "It is great that companies are using our heritage for their image, although this particular tartan is very strong." Of the tartan suits to be worn by the drivers, she added: "You may be a little confused as to what is a seat and what is the driver. "But it is certainly recognisable, bold and fun. It may even feature in some tourists' snapshots." Tartans have been used on other means of transport, buses companies who use tartan fabric covering the seats include Lothian Buses, who have their own tartan and London Routemaster buses who use the official London Transport tartan. Lothian buses tartan London Transport tartan The Flying Scotsman which made railway history as the first locomotive to travel non-stop between London and Edinburgh and which was the first steam locomotive in Britain to exceed 100 mph - is celebrated with an official Flying Scotsman tartan. Here you can see the use of tartan used on the Royal Scotsman It's not just on land where you will see tartan. Caledonian British Airways emphasise their Scottish roots for marketing purposes by adding the tagline "The Scottish International Airline" after the Caledonian name and by making its female flight attendants wear tartan uniforms. Caledonian British Airways tartan British Airways and Virgin have also had corporate tartan designs created. Virgin tartan The wide appeal and flexibility of tartan fabric has ensured that the development of new tartans for decorative and commercial purposes
Scots healthcare specialist Samuel Mayer, 30, from Edinburgh is part of the Grassroot Soccer programme in Africa which helps children whose lives have been affected by HIV and Aids. Set up in Zimbabwe in 2002, the scheme has now expended into 17 African countiries. Samuel Mayer with some of the children Grassroot Soccer is supporting The children are given knowledge, life skills and support to stay HIV-free, as well support to manage their condition if they are are infected. The nations passion for football has been harnessed to give hope to children living in difficult circumstances. Samuel Mayer, attended the opening ceremony and other matches with some of the children he works with as part of the scheme. Sticking to his Scottish roots - he wears his trademark kilt to every game. He said: "The kids I'm looking after are from rural communities in the area. They are all affected by HIV - Some may be infected and others may have family members who are infected. "These are very poor communities, and the children don't have a lot of hope in their daily lives - but they are obsessed by football. They grow up loving football and play wherever they get the chance, sometimes in bare feet with a makeshift ball. While the experience of watching world cup matches will live with them forever Samuel points out that the scheme doesn't stop with the end of the world cup "The programme doesn't just come for a few weeks and then leave the children behind. Our football coaches are often leaders in the communities and some play for local teams so they are looked up to." He said: "The kids love my kilt - they take one look at it and shout 'Scotland, Scotland'. Some call me William Wallace, and one even pointed at my kilt and shouted 'Ally McCoist'. It's a great ice-breaker with the children." If you're a fan of footie and tartans take a look at which competing countires have their own tartan, including South Africa, Japan, Australia and many more!
Although Scotland's tartan army won't be able to cheer on Scotland you maybe surprised to know how many of the countries palying have their own tartan. The South African tartan, part of the 'tartans for Africa' series, was created to strengthen the bonds of friendship between Scotland and Africa and incorporates the colours in the both countries flags. The Japanese tartan draws inspiration from the country's fascination with cherry blossom and includes pink, white, green and brown colours. The design is called Sakura, the Japanese for cherry blossom. Japanese tartan There are currently around 100,000 Argentineans of Scottish descent in Argentina. The Argentina District tartan is based on the Robertson tartan in honour of two Scotsmen, John and William Robertson, who started the first settlement of Scottish immigrants in Argentina in 1825. Argentian District tartan While Algeria doesn't have it's own tartan, the Algerian footballer and Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra believes that the whole of Scotland will be cheering him and his Algeria teammates on when they play England."Everywhere I go in Glasgow people stop me and tell me to beat England," he said. In the United States there are around 6 million people of Scottish descent. The American National Tartan takes its inspiration from the American flag. There are also US State and District tartans such as those for Georgia, New York and Idaho. American National tartan A popular choice of tartan for South Americans is the 'Cochrane' tartan which honours the South American naval hero Cochrane Tartan Spaniards with Celtic roots can choose the "Galicia" tartan. There is also a Espana Spanish Modern tartan. Galica tartan The Duke of Wellington began his Peninsular campaign from Portugal so the "Wellington" tartan is a good choice. Wellington tartan The 'Canadian Centennial Tartan', below serves as a national tartan for all Canadians. French players and supporters could opt for the Jacobite tartan. The French supported the Stuart cause for decades. French regulars fought to the last at Culloden Moor after the clans had broken and the 'Culloden' tartan would honour those brave soldiers. Culloden tartan For the Germans - Prince Albert, lover of the Highlands and himself a tartan designer, was a German. The "Coburg" tartan was designed to commemorate the Prince Consort. Coburg tartan The 'Dutch' tartan simultaneously represents the House of Orange and the MacKay family who have been prominent citizens of both Scotland and the Netherlands for many generations. Dutch tartan The New Zealand tartan is made up of black grey and white. The black represents the highest achievement of New Zealanders in sport, grey, the multi cultural society and white, the snow-capped Southern Alps. New Zealand tartan Three million Australians are either Scottish or of Scottish descent and there are a number of Australian tartans to choose from - The Australian National tartan The historical association between Denmark and Scotland extends over 900 years to the age of the Vikings. Their influence can be traced the numerous Norse place names in Scotland and in the original language of Scotland - Gaelic. The colours of the tartan combine the colours in the flags of Denmark and Scotland. The Danish tartan A third-generation Scottish/Italian, has had his design for an Italian tartan approved by the Scottish Tartans Authority. The design features the green, white and red of the Italian flag against the backdrop of the azzuro blue worn by the country's football team. Italian tartan
David Cameron missed the opportunity to wear a kilt in the Cameron tartan on his first visit to Scotland a Prime Minster which took place just a few days into his new appointment. While Cameron
In a recent poll to find the most popular tradtional item of clothing kilts came top of the list. 67% of those asked put kilts in first place ahead of the Japanese Kimono which came second and the Hawaiian grass skirt which came third in the poll. Not bad for a garment that dates back to the 16th century, and I'm sure that fact that it looks so good has helped keep the tradition alive!