Tattoos and Emotions

This morning I finally persuaded the small people in the house that it would be good to head to Redford Barracks in Edinburgh to see if we could see the rehearsal for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2009. Last year we had attempted to do the same thing, but had arrived in the afternoon - only to discover we had missed it by a couple of hours. So this morning we headed along mid- morning.

We were a little later than I had planned, so the show was half way through when we got there, and there was a good crowd gathered to watch. Those in the know had obviously turned up early enough either to get a good seat, or vantage point. Not only were the audience on the surround of the parade ground, but on the grassy banks around the ground. Some had brought chairs and picnics. There were people of all ages. It had a very familiar Biblical image to it - without the water, bread and fish perhaps.

Going to the rehearsal seemed a good thing to do. It's free - although a donation is welcome at the end- and an opportunity for small people to encounter some of the differing people from around the world. We watched the Secret Army of Basel perform, and there were an Asian dance group sitting near by waiting to return to the parade ground for the finale. It also offers the opportunity to have a good and tuneful encounter with the Pipes and Drums of Scotland. There was some interesting singing - some tuneful, some not so, and some powerfully emotive words and imagery.

I'm very aware of how much more emotional I am becoming as I age. The National Anthem still doesn't stir me: the Billy Connolly jokes are too well integrated into my imagination and my republican sentiments too deeply held. Yet as we are asked to think of those serving in foreign lands, and the words and music of "Abide with me" brought the parade ground to a comforting gentle hum of noise, the tears stung in my eyes. There will be mulling over why. Then another wave of pride and tears rose again with the skirl of the pipes and "Scotland the Brave".

Examining the emotions of this morning, I know that I do feel a pride in Scottish Heritage. Perhaps sometimes blindly so. But I am proud that this small nation has in the past, and maybe even today, responded to many of the difficulties of the world in which it has found itself - not just in armed forces, but in medical science and presence, in missionaries and teachers, in convicts and pilgrims.