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GLOBAL: Scots In London in the Media

News - Scots In London

Written by Scots In London

Monday, 18 December 2006

Scots In London (SIL) is delighted by the recent spate of great publicity about SIL in the media (radio, books and newspapers). Here are two articles, which formed a full two page feature about Scots In London, in the St Andrew's Day edition of the Daily Record, pages 4 and 5. These articles will be of particular interest to newer SIL and the 365 SIL St Andrews Day bash attendees - you may be pictured (see press section on website to find out).* Your help in spreading the word and encouraging friends to sign-up to SIL is very much appreciated.

There's a special christmas gift waiting for the person who provides the most referrals over the next week. Please quote referrers name - click here to subscribe. I hope you enjoy the articles.

Season's greetings to you and yours, thanks for your support and cheers to Whyte and Mackay and Maclay, Murray and Spens - great sponsors of SIL - and the Daily Record and the plethora of other Scottish organisations (too many to mention) for their support.

Article One: London Calling.
For hundreds of years, Scots have been lured by the bright lights of London. A fledgling organisation, Scots In London (SIL), has now planted a Saltire firmly in the heart of England's capital. Founder Eddie Tait explains the work of SIL.

There are around 400,000 first and second generation Scots living in London - and if they were all living together in Scotland they'd make the country's third biggest city. Despite being hundreds of miles from home, there's a vibrant Scots community in London and SIL is their first port of call.

Scots In London was created "for Scots, by Scots" in 2001 with a grand total of nine members. I had been asked to help recruit new and younger members to my schools' former pupils club which I had joined after moving to London to work for a bank in 1996.

It soon became clear that many of the Scots clubs in London - some of which have been established for hundreds of years - were having the same problem.
Unlike many other nationalities, the Scottish community have been slow in developing a formalised group for their cultural network although there are lots of niche Scottish groupings, from venues to sporting groups.

SIL began helping various organisations get their news out to the community. And since then we have gone from strength to strength. We now host regular quarterly drinks and entertainmenty gatherings in top London venues.

And instead of a handful of guests, 400 of our 5,000 members often attend functions. Our most recent gathering was our St Andrew's Night 2006 event, which took place last Tuesday (21st November) at The Caledonian Club in London.

As well as marking our patron saint's day a week early, we also celebrated the opening of the GBP 6.5 million wing of the exclusive Scottish private members club in Belgravia. Scottish tenor Nicky Spence, who is also a SIL Ambassador, sultry songstress Emma-Jane Thommen, Pop Ceilidh Nation, fiddler Donald Stewart and piping group the Pinstripe Highlanders provided the entertainment- ideal for the refreshments provided by SIL sponsors Whyte and Mackay.

And for that bit of added spice, we had a watchful eye on the Battle of Britain Champions League match between Celtic and Manchester United.

The Scots are a nation, which have produced a disproportionately high number of world firsts, including the telephone, the television and penicillin. In today's modern world, without these great contributions by inventive Scots, it's hard to imagine what life would be like.

As individuals, Scots have excelled in many fields and reached the top of their tree in many professions around the world. Collectively, with the exception of the Tartan Army, the Scottish voice at the centre is not as strong as that of the individuals. Imagine what could be achieved if Scots worked as well together as they do as individuals?

SIL has proved this already. We are the centrepiece for the Scottish diaspora (community) - a solid, modern, passionate, diverse and independent network for Scottish clubs and societies, businesses, charities and individuals.

We are a modern and dynamic organisation - 30 per cent of our members are female, unlike many of the traditional clubs - and our regular email bulleting has put us at the forefront of promoting Scottish interests in London.

Scots In London is aimed at all Scots and friends - ordinary Scots from all backgrounds, members of Scottish clubs and societies (presidents, secretaries, webmasters), Scottish professionals (chairmen, chief executives, board members, trustees, entrepreneurs), consumers, sellers, wholesalers, recipients of charity, business managers, Tartan Army footsoldiers, students and housewives. We're all Jock Tamson's Bairns!

Article Two: Looking After Our Own Folk.
Scots In London (SIL) promotes Scottish charities and has close links with ScotsCare, formerly known as The Royal Scottish Corporation - the 403 year old charity for needy Scots living in London, and Eddie is the youngest trustee.

SIL is keen to promote the cause of key Scottish charities, such as Scots Care and Borderline (a homeless charity) and also groups such as London Scottish Rugby Club.

To keep pace with increasing demands, Scots In London plans to launch a new website in 2007 and also launch a business club. People joining the Scots In London network are increasingly coming from all corners of Scotland.

The Scots in London network was predominantly focussed around individuals and clubs and societies from London and the home counties in the beginning. However, there is a growing number of communters and high-flyers from Edinburgh and Glasgow, and other areas north of the border, now signing up, as well as more dynamic and passionate Scots from around the globe.

SIL is delighted to have three Scottish celebrity ambassadors - rugby legend Kenny Logan, young Scottish tenor Nicky Spence and distinguished songwriter Bill Martin of Congratulations and Puppet on a String fame.

With public support, Scots In London hopes to lobby for a Scottish cultural centre in London to organise key high-profile, one-off joint Scottish events or a week of celebration in London to commemorate St Andrew's Day, Tartan Day (6 April) or Burns Day (January 25).

Full details of both articles, including photos, can be found in PDF format by clicking on the top two images on the right hand side of the following webpage: www.scotsinlondon.com/silpress.htm . Thanks so much to all SIL for your continued support in spreading the word about Scots in London (SIL).

Be dynamic and passionate and spread the word - subscribe/unsubscribe to SIL network, news, events, social and business networking et al via www.scotsinlondon.com/contact.htm or see below for more full contact SIL details. Please check out our testimonials below and please do sign up! Together we're stronger!

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