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November 17, 2003

Under a kilt?

Firstly, this is not a picture of a ballerina. And, no, he is not standing on his toes to wave at the crowd. In fact, he has just spun around several times and hurled a 22 pound (10kg) stone weight with a handle attached (see upper circled area). The reason for this photo is it provides at least one answer to the age old question - what does a Scot wear under his kilt?

The oldest story I can find about it came from a tattered collection of "military legends" where it is mentions Queen Victoria and a victim from the Crimea War (do those two actually match?) who was a Scotsman. The legend was that the Queen spoke to the wounded soldier about the conditions (he had lost a leg) and happened to touch briefly on the question of what was worn beneath the kilt. The old soldier drew himself up and responded: "I canna speak for all but there's nothing worn beneath my kilt - it's all in perfect working order".

You can find more responses (and pictures) at this site. If that isn't enough for you, check out The Straight Dope. I guess that means the athlete at the top is not "going regimental"!

Of course there is the Andy Stewart song that I have quoted before:

...A lady passing by me, suddenly fainted at my feet.
If you want to know my lad, well here's what happened then,
I looked down and she looked up and she fainted once again...

Finally there is a lovely poem (from ShirleyPipeBand.com):

Well, a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar one evening fair,
And one could tell by how he walked that he'd drunk more than his share.
He fumbled 'round until he could no longer keep his feet,
And he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.

About that time two young and lovely girls just happend by,
One says to the other with a twinkle in her eye:
"See yon sleeping Scotsman, so strong and handsome built?
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt!"

They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be;
Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see.
And there, behold, for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt,
Was nothin' more than God had graced him with upon his birth.

They marvelled for a moment, then one said: "We must be gone.
Let's leave a present for our friend before we move along."
As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon tied into a bow,
Around the bonnie star the Scotsman's kilt did lift and show.

Now the Scotsman woke to nature's call, and stumbled towards the trees.
Behind the bush he lifts his kilt, and gawks at what he sees.
And in a startled voice he says, to what's before his eyes,
"Oh, lad I don't know where ye been, but I see ye won first prize!"

Posted by Ozguru at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Comments

Thanks for the education regarding what lurks beneath ... it certainly is "Down Under" - yup. :-)

Posted by: Cindy at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

That is good, Because spinning and skirts and not much else isn't a good combo. but the people i know that wear kilts... well... i don't think we would be so lucky to see shorts. :-(

Posted by: TL at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Cindy: It certainly was "down under" in both senses of the phrase. I don't think the Scots would normally hold Highland games in 40 degree heat wearing Akubra hats. Also there seemed to be a lot more beer and less whiskey than one might expect (although the raffle prize was 4.5 litres of Teachers). I will post some more photos tonight or tomorrow. TL: Hmmm. Note that I refrained from commenting on what I personally do (or do not) wear under my kilt. I was somewhat surprised to see the athletes all wearing spandex style tights. I am assured that this is to absorb sweat (in that temperature and with that amount of exercise it makes sense). I wonder if we could form an anonymous poll of bloggers who wear kilts :-O

Posted by: ozguru at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Is there a reason why you circled the electrical box? I think the ball is a little to the left...

Posted by: Peskie at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Pete: You are right - I missed it. I was looking for a squarish shape and missed the fact that it was end on. You have better eyesight that I..... I will try to correct and repost the photo.

Posted by: ozguru at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Corrected photo reposted. Sorry for the error.

Posted by: ozguru at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

I'm relieved to see that the kilt rumors are false, at least for this guy.

Posted by: Tony S. at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

www.blogpoll.com is anonymous poll that you can creat the questions and answers for. It is cool, and I am glad the picture is fixed. I was confused, but you did say the ball had a handle so I thought I might have been wrong.

Posted by: TL at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

As an occassional kilt wearer, I can say that in the tradition as I have received it is that there is nothing under the kilt if a King is on the throne, and a pair of matching tartan shorts if there is a Queen. Speaking for myself, its too B****y cold to go without the shorts!

Posted by: pgc at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

The problem with the tartan shorts theory is that nobody sells them (at least not Down Under - pun intended). In fact most kilt makers seem to go out of their way to avoid suggesting appropriate "accessories". In fact if you ask what they have to go under a kilt they suggest socks and brogues.

Posted by: ozguru at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

The old joke: Q: What's worn under the Kilt? A: Nothing - it's all in perfect working order.

Posted by: Alan E Brain at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Whatz that title? Under a kilt? Tiger talks tech [not] * I had no idea what this was about. The title is catchy, to me! Is It Time For The Human Brain To Retire? A New Style Linkfest? I've Heard of Downloading Drivers, But... Blog fatigue You can't go home again, but we...

Posted by: Technically Speaking at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Whatz that title? Under a kilt? Tiger talks tech [not] * I had no idea what this was about. The title is catchy, to me! Is It Time For The Human Brain To Retire? A New Style Linkfest? I've Heard of Downloading Drivers, But... Blog fatigue You can't go home again, but w...

Posted by: Technically Speaking at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM

Searching ... Thanks to Phil Baker, I have found something more interesting than looking at search queries in my web logs. Unfortunately there are two problems - first Phil does not provide any way to link to his article so it will vanish at some point in the future...

Posted by: GDay Mate at November 17, 2003 12:11 PM