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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">===========================================<br>
L O W L A N D S - L - 02 January 2009 - Volume 04<span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 104, 28);">Thomas Mc Rae</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe"> </span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:t.mcrae@uq.net.au">t.mcrae@uq.net.au</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L Book Review Being A Scot by Sean Connery</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">BOOK REVIEW</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">"Being a Scot"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">by Sean Connery and Murray Grigor</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2008 ISBN
978 0 297 855556 9)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Both Sean Connery and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair went to Edinburgh's
very exclusive Fettes
College. The only
difference was that, while Blair attended as a pupil, Connery turned up very
early each morning with his horse drawn delivery cart deliver ing the
day's milk. This youngster who illegally quit school at thirteen
was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2000. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Readers expecting a wealth of
information on James Bond and other aspects of his long movie career are in for
a disappointment. The book is devoted to Scots and Scotland, History, Arts, Culture,
Industry, and even Humour among many other things including the smashing of
some of the many myths surrounding my great wee country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Scots raconteurs tend to
wander off subjects regularly, diverting to other aspects, then finally getting
back to the main point. This probably arises from the ancient vocal Bardic
tradition of the Celts and still confuses and amuses non Scots. Connery also
wanders around but stimulates our intellects as he does so while teaching us
some valuable lessons. He recounts this minor country's very major
contributions to world development, contributions now largely ignored even in Scotland.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Despite the accepted idea
that the 18th Century Enlightenment arose in France
he reminds us that Scotland
was the place from which this new liberated culture spread around the world,
including to our Gallic neighbour. He details the influence of Scottish
architects such as Robert and William Adam and James Gibbs; an architecture
which influenced not only England
but also America and Russia. This
self educated man shows greater knowledge of the subject, and puts his messages
over, more clearly than many's an academic of my acquaintance. Like all
chapters of the book this section is profusely illustrated with photographs,
plans, and paintings. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Similar treatment is given to
Painting, Sculpture, Literature, and aspects of the Sciences while Philosophers
are far from neglected. His dispelling of myths accepted as truth even by Scots
gives me the hope I can shake him by the hand some day. The Rosslyn Chapel and
Knight Templar garbage get very unsympathetic treatment and excellent mention
is made of the work of Bro Robert Cooper, Grand Librarian of the Grand Lodge of
Scotland. Particular attention is given to his "The Rosslyn Hoax ?" From hints
given here and elsewhere in the book methinks that handshake would be far from
a normal one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Like a traditional Celtic
Bard I now diverge back to the book's beginning where we learn of Connery's
formative years growing up in an Edinburgh slum tenement, no hot water, one
communal toilet three levels down, and onstantly assailed by stenches from
local breweries, rubber mill, and toffee factory. We learn of his two
grandfathers, one a foreman stonemason the other a pedlar, with a horse driven
cart, driving around buying rags, empty bottles, and similar junk for sale at a
collection depot. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">2.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> A well known local character
in those days was a carter who sold tripe, a cheap food for poorer people that
tasted like boiled toweling. He would drive around wearing a glengarry and
yelling "Cum awa. cum awa, sheeps' bags...shite an' aw." I wonder if this was
Sir Sean's maternal grandfather ? After all the abattoir was not far away.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> We learn of his joining the
Royal Navy but being invalided out, working as a life model at the Edinburgh
Art College, as a coffin polisher, semi pro footballer, and finally a dancer in
"South Pacific". Here fellow Thespians recognised his potential, helped him
lose his very thick Scots accent, and set him on a path of self education that
ended with him as a top class actor with an excellent grounding in
literature. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Moving on to other aspects of
Scottishness; to detail all of which would take innumerable pages, let me just
mention his history of the Scottish film industry and the role Scots have
played in movie making in other countries. There is a large chapter on Sport,
something I avoid like the Plague but even here he is a fascinating raconteur.
He tells of Scotland's all essential role in world wide soccer but laments the
poor showing Scots make in Internationals despite the country being fitbaw
daft.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> He recounts archery being
promoted and how the Royal Company of Archers, was set up by Sir Walter Scott
and appointed the Sovereign's bodyguard when in Scotland by the moronic Geoge IV.
Thank God for MI5,6,7, 8 etc, Police Special Branch, and SAS as that mob are
hopeless! At their Annual Shoot the safest place to stand is before the target,
arrows fly everywhere else and the winner is the man whose arrow gets nearest
to that target. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Golf gets great coverage and
he is now a fanatic but it was the movie "Goldfinger" in which Bond played
against Auric Goldfinger that got him interested. This eventually lead to him
marrying a delightful French world class lady golfer. We learn of Sir Thomas
Lipton's futile attempts to gain the America's Cup and the disgusting
snobbishness of the British Upper Classes who refused him entry to Britain's
premier yacht club as he was a mere grocer. Class distinction remains the Pox
of the British Isles even now!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Another Celtic Bardish
deviation occurs in this chapter as he tells of Scotland's Stone of Destiny.
How it was stolen by Edward 1st and placed in Westminster Abbey, how four young
Scots "acquired' it from there and returned it home at last. Returned to
England years later Prime Minister John Major tried to curry favour with the
Scots by returning it permanently just prior to losing an Election. The Scots
were not taken in. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> There is a wonderful chapter
on Scottish humour in this comprehensive volume, starting with Sir Thomas
Urqhart of Cromarty's brilliant 17th century translations of Rabelais'
"Gargantua and Pantagruel" I love this stanza...</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">When Yolande saw her spouse all
armed for fight,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">And, save the codpiece, all in
armour dight</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">My Dear, she cried, why of all the
rest</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Is that unarmed that I love the best
?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">3.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Urquhart was far from the
first promoting ribaldry in Scotland. In 1962 renovation at Preston Grange
revealed a naughty ceiling painting from 1581 called 'Drollerie' a picture of
this glorious work is shown in which a Mr Punchlike man wearing a gigantic
codpiece proudly struts his stuff. Examples of the innumerable jokes about mean
Scots are included, most created in Scotland. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Great music hall comedians of
Bygone Days such as Sir Harry Lauder and Will Fyffe are well covered as are
contemporary performers such as Billy Connolly and the legendary Chic Murray. I
was delighted to see that my Victorian hero William Mc Gonagall, the world's best
bad poet, was not left out. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> Sir Sean ends on a very
serious note deploring the new wave of ghastly buildings in disharmony with
surrounding historical sites and describing his unsuccessful efforts to
have this stupid policy reversed. If only those in power would take notice !</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> In a grand finale his friend
Murray Grigor tells how prominent Scots were invited to donate something they
considered meaningful to a special gallery at the New Museum of Scotland. Sir
Sean offered his facsimile of The Declaration of Arbroath, the 1320 Declaration
of Scottish Independence. When it arrived at the Museum it was rolled up and
stuffed into an empty milk bottle !</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> I have no hesitation in
recommending this superb book to anyone with even the slightest interest in Scotland
and it crazy creative people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Tom Mc Rae</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><span style="word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="word-spacing: 0px;">Regards</span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Tom
Mc Rae</span></p>