Fiona Armstrong finds a fellow tartan wearer in a most unlikely spot

A chance meeting with a colourful character gets Fiona Armstrong thinking about tartan’s global appeal

Iam at Carlisle and waiting for a train south when something colourful – or rather, someone colourful – catches the eye. This person has blonde hair and blue eyes. For that alone, she stands out on a grey winter’s day. But there is another reason that this woman is unmissable – for she is wearing a full-length, red and blue tartan coat.

Now I have a similar red and green offering which, like hers, also goes down to the ground. Mine is fashioned from MacGregor tartan. It is a real show-stopper but it is not something I would choose to wear on an English railway platform.

No, my coat of many colours is sported at clan gatherings and evening events. It is paraded when we are on parade. It is sported when I am with the chief – and certainly not worn south of the border.

So I am greatly intrigued by my fellow traveller’s panache and as the train is late, I sidle over to say hello…

We chat away and our conversation reveals that what she has on is not Scottish tartan. She is, in fact, wearing what is affectionately known as an ‘African blanket’.

Her coat is made from a piece of ‘Shuka’ cloth which is the fabric worn by the Maasai people of East Africa. And the reason she has chosen to be dressed in this rainbow garb?

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I like her style, but how she came to be wed to a member of the Maasai tribe is another matter

‘I live in East Africa and am married to a Maasai warrior…’

This legendary semi-nomadic tribe populates Kenya and Tanzania. Tall, thin, and famed as formidable warriors, the men hunt for food in the wildest areas. Here the sun bakes in the day whilst the nights can be bitterly cold.

The heavy-duty fabric the Maasai cover themselves with helps to protect them from the elements. But where do the rainbow shades come from? Well, one thought is that a bright colour may have been a useful way to scare lions from the cattle.

It’s known that the Maasai were experts in creating dyes by using animal blood, plants and crushed insects to produce vivid reds, blues, greens and blacks. Yet there is another theory. And that is that the Shuka may be a throwback to the tartan brought to Africa by colonial troops and Scottish missionaries.

Even if the good Dr Livingstone did not wear a kilt to tramp through the jungle, he was seen in a tartan jacket on one occasion. It proved fortuitous. When our intrepid explorer was attacked by a lion the thickness of the plaid is said to have saved him from being too badly injured.

I wonder how many lions our blonde lady at the station has had to brave?

I like her style when it comes to dress – although how she came to wed a member of the Maasai tribe is another matter.

Meanwhile, my own warrior has decided not to pack his tartan as we head south for a Gurkha reunion. This gathering of former officers is taking place at a stately home in Leicestershire. It is a boy’s weekend, but to make sure it does not get completely out of hand wives are also invited to attend.

It is just as well. A shoot is followed by a party. And can those army chaps party. The festivities are just taking off when I make my excuses at midnight. The chief says he came to bed at four, but I think it was nearer to six. Memories are relived. Old stories are told. There is a lot of laughter and there are a few tears.

Breakfast is a subdued affair. But then the most colourful nights always make for the quietest mornings…