Rudders at Home

We’ve recently added quite a bit to our kilt collection here.  The project has moved on since the last time I posted about it., and hopefully I will catch you all up on it soon. Today, though, I’m highlighting Paul’s belt buckle.

Belt buckles for kilts have all sorts of designs on them, from celtic knots to Scottish saltires, to the rampant lion or a clan crest. We picked a nice Scottish thistle design for Paul’s belt buckle.  I really like the thistles on it and think compared to a lot of the design’s I’ve seen, it’s quite unique. You can’t see it here, but the belt also has a Scottish thistle design, and Paul’s sgian dubh also has the shape of a thistle on the hilt.

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One sheep, two sheep, red sheep, blue sheep! I mentioned that there were numerous instances of sheep over our bank holiday weekend. I thought I would give you a sample of some of the pictures I got of said sheep. Notice most of the time they’re walking away from me. For some reason, they didn’t seem to want to pose for the camera. Go figure.

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So, Paul and I went to the Borders for an Easter break this year. We weren’t counting on good weather at all, being April in Scotland, so we were pleasantly surprised when we had full on sunshine for the weekend.

We had two options at our disposal, take full advantage of being in Scotland and find a good pub, or take advantage of being in Scotland and do some outdoor activity. So, we decided to go on the Three Brethren Walk, a walk up a big hill with three cairns at the top. And boy was it something.

Here’s the view down the first hill in the walk that we went up. This was a wooded area and there was a stream running along side this road. Once at the top of the hill, the scenery changed slightly.

The hill leveled off and there was a nice bit of flat space to walk down, with a nice stone wall along side it. The landscape opened up here as well, and the ground gradually sloped upwards.

And another scenic picture of the heather and the inclined walk. Not to mention the sheep. There were sheep all over the place, and I can’t tell you how many pictures of sheep I have. But there were lambs everywhere as well, so I think the excessive photo taking was justified. The landscape here just continued in a similar way, with more and more heather (the dark bit on the hill in the distance). And the path became increasingly rougher and steeper.

And after the last arduous bit of the walk, we were greeted by the three brethren (cairns) at the top of the hill and a glorious blue sky. Once up there, we took a break and had a look around and enjoyed the view.

And what a view it was, too. Overall, it took us about 3 – 4 hours (we didn’t time it precisely!) and the walk was around 9 miles long. What a great walk, apart from the wet foot. But that’s a story for another day.

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Following on from my introduction to my kilt project, I thought I would highlight the first purchase in this project, the sgian dubh. So, have a look below at Paul’s sgian dubh.

The purchase of this sgian dubh (pronounce it like “skeen doo”) was my introduction into kilt wear. I bought it as a wedding gift to Paul, with advice from my mother-in-law. I didn’t know anything about what I was doing at the time, so I picked what I thought looked good.

This particular sgian dubh wasn’t outrageously expensive but it is a serious knife. It’s got quite a sharp edge and the whole knife is about 6 or 7 inches long. Sources say that the word “sgian” means knife or dagger, and that the word “dubh” means black, which generally refers to the color of the handle, even though you can get sgian dubhs which are made from wood or horn. It’s worn tucked into the top of the kilt hose, normally on the right leg. The purpose for wearing it is only ceremonial and for decoration mainly. In the UK you aren’t allowed to carry weapons of any sort, but an exception is made for when traditional Scottish dress is being worn.

These knives can be quite elaborate, and I think this one falls on the modest side. You can see the Scottish thistle on the handle, with a piece of topaz glass inlaid at the top, and Gaelic design in silver on the scabbard. Considering the scabbard is hidden withing the hose, I think it’s really the handle that you want to concentrate on for design and embellishments.

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The boys in my wedding wore kilts. And I loved it. Particularly the boy on the left. Since then, I’ve been trying to get Paul back into a kilt every chance I get.

Believe it or not, it happens more often than you would think.

Each time we need a kilt, we have to rent one. Unfortunately we’ve found that renting a kilt down here in London can be a bit awkward and complicated. Wait a minute, I bet you’re thinking – rent a kilt? Didn’t he come with one? No, no, they’re not built in, and that’s exactly what I thought when the first black tie do came around. I soon discovered that’s not how it worked at all.

Problems that arise from renting are numerous. Besides the obvious fact that everyone and their brother has worn the kilt before you, there’s the crucial bit that you might not be able to find the correct tartan. Apart from that there are other things, such as the quality of the accoutrements. The sporran may be a bit low quality, the shoes may not fit well, the coat may be a bit worn, there are kilt hose to think about as well and to top it off, the person fitting you may not know the proper way and you could end up with a kilt way too short!

I’ve also found good reason to believe that a black tie event is not required in order to wear a kilt. One could happily wear one to a ceilidh, or a wedding, or anytime you might want to look smarter than average. (That’s better looking than average, not more intelligent!)

This has brought me (and Paul) to the conclusion that it would simply be best to invest in a kilt of his own. Not only would it be nice to have things on hand here in London, but when we eventually move to the States, I have a feeling we won’t be able to rent a kilt at the drop of a hat.

And so, my kilt project was born.

Buying a kilt isn’t as straightforward as you may think, especially when you live in London and the man wearing the kilt tends to be a bit snobby about some things. There are tons of things that go into it, and these items will vary depending on what ocaission you’re dressing for.

There are:

• The Kilt (obviously)
• The Kilt Hose (socks)
• The belt and belt buckle (to keep the thing up!)
• The sgian dubh or skean dhu, or skeen dhu or knife, or whatever you want to call it. (in case you want a snack, or need to defend your honor!)
• The sporran (to keep you bits and bobs in)
• The brogues (the shoes)
• The kilt pin (to make sure the kilt doesn’t fly open! – I saw a guy lose his mid-dance at a ceilidh once – oh boy!)
• The flashes  (to keep those hose up!)
• The stuff for on top: shirt and tie, jacket, and vest/waistcoat

Now that’s a lot of stuff!

The plan is to get things gradually, one at a time, simply because things can be expensive, and Paul can be a bit picky about where we get them. We will mostly only be buying items in Scotland, so we have to be patient about actually acquiring these things.

As we start to invest in things, I’ll then blog about them. I’m strangely proud of the idea of Paul and his kilt, and I think it will be quite an interesting experience. There’s a lot for me to learn. Also, as you can see, there’s quite a bit that goes into traditional Scottish dress like this, and I thought this would be a good place to record the 21st century version of the process. Not to mention the fact that if we’re doing it, it’s guaranteed to be an experience!

So, don’t hold your breath, as things may move slowly, but please enjoy the posts that come under this subject in the future.

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