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LONDON: Scots In London - London Calling

Written by Scots In London

Friday, 01 December 2006

This article about Scots In London appeared on pages 4 and 5 of the St. Andrew's Day 2006 Edition of the Daily Record. We thank them for their great coverage...

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.

Our St Andrew's Night 2006 event took place on 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 reproduced courtesy of Daily Record - Read full article here .

Image courtesy of Ian Macaulay .

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