Comrie Probus Club
There was a full house in Comrie Bowling Club on Wednesday, November 15, as members gathered to hear a talk by Brian Wilton on ‘Tartan - Scotland’s Gift to the World’. President David Nicolson introduced Brian as an expert on tartan and an ambassador for its promotion across the world.
Brian established the Scottish Tartans Authority a number of years ago and now provides a tartan design and advisory service as far afield as Canada, the Middle East and China. He described the global symbolism of tartan and how it had become an icon of Scottish identity in modern times. He gave as examples of its significance the fact that samples of tartan were taken to the top of Mount Everest in 1960 and to the surface of the moon by the Apollo mission in 1969 and he explained how special tartans are used to forge a sense of belonging to a wide variety of organisations.
Brian explained various theories regarding the origin of tartan and dispelled claims that it was invented by the Victorians. The current theory points to a burial site in China 3000 years ago which contained fragments of tartan material. Various archaeological and historical references trace that distinctive pattern across Asia and Europe and include descriptions by Greek and Roman historians of the design being worn by Celts. No one knows how tartan survived but it only survived in Scotland.
Brian then explained how the basic design has been developed and applied in more recent centuries. Today patterns and colours contain references to significant events. The interest generated by Mr Wilton’s talk was shown in the many questions from the floor that followed and in the vote of thanks by Graham Newbold.
The next meeting will be on November 29, when Gordon Banks will give a talk on ‘Westminster Experiences’.