National treasure created Robbie Burns Night 1942

If you've followed my posts, you know I love tartans, in part, because of the stories that are associated with them. Well, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) tartan is one of Canada's national treasures, and it has a wonderfully storied history.

The tale begins on "Robbie Burns Night," Jan. 25, 1942 in Summerside, P.E.I. Group Captain Elmer G. Fullerton, a Nova Scotian commanding No. 9 Service Flying Training School, had formed a pipe band to perform that night, and decided it should be dressed in regalia that included a tartan reflecting the air force colours. The design he sketched out was sent to a weaving house in New Brunswick which added a white line to his maroon and blue pattern. 

Fullerton then submitted the tartan to his superiors. It was approved by the air force in May 1942 and officially recognized later that year by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland. At this point, the RCAF became the first air force in the world with its own official tartan.

Canada's armed forces came into their own during the Second World War, fighting for the first time as Canadians rather than as members of Britain's armed services. The RCAF tartan was just one of the many ways the nation served notice it was fighting on behalf of Canada and not just as a dominion of the British empire.

In 1968, Canada's armed forces were unified and the tartan was abolished, along with the distinctive blue uniforms worn by its airmen. Instead, all members of Canada's armed forces were dressed in generic green uniforms. However, the RCAF Association, a group of air force veterans, preserved samples of the tartan when the RCAF stocks were destroyed. In the late 1980s, when distinctive uniforms for the army, navy and air commands were restored, the RCAF tartan was also resurrected. Thanks to the foresight of the RCAF Association, samples of the tartan were available so the fabric could once again be woven and worn by Canada's service men and women.

Today, the RCAF tartan is worn by members of 402 Squadron and 17 Wing Winnipeg. It is also worn by Air Command Pipes and Drums, which was officially created in October 1949 and is the longest continuously serving Canadian air force pipe band. It constitutes part of the Air Force mess kit as a cummerbund, and is favoured by serving and retired members of Canada's air force.

The RCAF tartan 100% wool, made-in-Canada fabric we offer has always been a best-seller. We have shipped it around the world to serving air force members, as well as to retired members and their families. As swatches, the fabric has a place of honour as the background in many framed displays of medals and photographs commemorating the contribution of Canadian veterans.

Now, we are thrilled to be able to also offer this tartan in a washable, suiting-weight fabric. The specifications are as follows:

• 65% polyester/35% viscose
• machine wash/dry
• sett size 7.5"
• width 60”
• suggested uses:
• casual kilts and pleated skirts
• scarves and sashes
• ties and cummerbunds
• jackets, vests and waistcoats
• table coverings
• drapes

I don't recommend it for heavy upholstery projects, but this polyviscose blend fabric would look incredible if used in a den as drapes and throw cushions.

See prices on RCAF polyviscose fabric here

See prices on RCAF 100% wool fabric here

See prices on RCAF 100% wool fabric swatch here

If you can add to or correct any of the information I have provided here, I would welcome hearing from you!

Canada commemorates Battle of the Atlantic May 1st

Royal Canadian Navy tartan

It took me quite a while to find the story behind the RCN tartan. It is not on any Canadian Forces website, not registered with the Scottish Registry of Tartans in the U.K., and to the best of my knowledge unavailable anywhere other than Tartan House Canada.

But a buyer recently told me what he understands to be the history behind the design. According to him, a member of the navy wanted to put together a pipe band, similar to that of the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force), at the time. Now, since then our armed forces have been amalgamated into the CF with its various army, navy and air force branches. At the time, however, the RCN was still a separate entity.

In any event, the serviceman in question, and I have not been able to identify him (and it must have been a "him.," because this was also before the navy became all-inclusive), wanted his band to have its own tartan, just as the RCAF did, and so he either commissioned its design or designed it himself.

The pipe band has apparently not survived in any form but the tartan is popular with many navy servicemen and women. It played a prominent role in the Orillia (Ontario) Scottish Festival when the Royal Canadian Legion Orillia Branch 34 sponsored the festival in 2010 and commemorated the 100th anniversary of Canada's navy.

I have also shipped fabric to serving armed forces members for displays and to one woman serving on Canada's west coast who planned to wear it for her wedding!

Is it just me or is this totally inappropriate for a wedding tartan?

Kate Middleton and Prince William, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

In November 2010, after the announcement of the engagement of William and Kate (is there really any need to explain who they are?),McCalls Ltd. of Aberdeen, Scotland, designed this tartan to commemorate the event. At the time, the company described the design as: " a stunning contemporary plaid incorporating the beautiful royal blue of the dress worn by his future bride the day they announced they were to wed.
The deep blue also reflects the sapphire in Kate’s engagement ring – the heirloom that belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

"The tartan, the most recent addition to McCalls’ Pride range of tartans, is a stylish blend of black, charcoal, silver and Royal blue."

As tartans go, it is lovely and will run up nicely as kilts, ties and other clothing for men. But to commemorate a wedding, I would have liked it to reflect a bit more of a feminine influence. As it is, is reminds me more of a mourning tartan, and specifically to mark the death of William's mother, the late Princess Diana, including as it does the blue sapphire among shades of grey and black.

A post on the Lochcarron website, states: "Ian Hawthorne from McCalls describes the tartan as 'Young, understated and strong.'" Personally I see strong, and certainly understated, but "young?" Not so much. In fact, I don't think it reflects the youth and vitality of this couple at all.

So, I will be watching for someone to design something much more lively and cheerful to mark the wedding of William and his new duchess.

Maple Leaf tartan officially recognized as national symbol

The Maple Leaf tartan, a national symbol

In 1964, in the run-up to Canada's 1967 centennial celebrations, Toronto-based designer David Weiser produced the Maple Leaf tartan. It quickly gained popularity as "Canada's tartan" and took its place alongside the other provincial and traditional tartans beloved by Canadians from east to west.


Weiser was inspired by Canada's quintessential national symbol, the maple leaf, and the changes through which it progresses in various seasons. Green in summer, turning to yellow and red in fall, and then brown come winter.

Since its conception, the tartan has been adopted by the Second Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Pipes and Drum corps, and National Defence has approved its use by Canadian Forces pipers and drummers who do not have a specific regimental affiliation.

Yet while it has always been a popular traditional tartan, it had never been officially recognized  by Parliament as Canada's tartan. On March 9, 2011, Heritage Minister James Moore announced the formal recognition of the role the Scots and those of Scottish descent have played in Canada's exploration and growth as a nation.

I called it! The King's Speech takes top honour at Oscars 2011

I had heard some buzz about a film concerning King George VI of England called "The King's Speech." It didn't seem to have tremendous advertising support behind it but word was it was a fantastic film starring some of my favourite British actors: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Jennifer Ehle.

I loved everything about the film, and was blown away by Firth's portrayal of Prince Albert. In fact, every one of the historic portrayals - from that of his father, King George V, to Bonham Carter's Queen Elizabeth (later, the Queen Mother), to his brother Edward VIII - bore out what we now know to have been the family dynamics and individual personalities involved. And I like Edward even less now that before, if that is possible.

If Oscars are truly awarded based on artistic skill, I believed Firth would win best actor and the film will be chosen as best film. I thought Helena Bonham Carter deserved recognition for her portrayal of the reigning monarch's mom, too, but somehow I didn't think that would happen given the rest of the field for best actress.

The sets and art direction were amazing and true to the period in the smallest detail. It was a joy to watch the story unfold, and the experience was made even more poignant when I learned that the writer had withheld completing the story until after the Queen Mother's death at her request.

King George VI (left) and Colin Firth portraying the king

And at the end, I cried. I was so proud of "him"! Of Colin Firth for his amazing performance, and of Bertie for his strength of character. Contrasting the behaviour of elder brother Edward with that of younger brother Albert, the world should be grateful George VI was at the helm during the Second World War. Born to rule or not, he was clearly the right man for the job. 

Colin Firth will now be, forever in my mind, Mr. Darcy and King George VI.

When is a tartan, a plaid? A plaid, a tartan?

The Tartan Weaver's Guide

Prior to receiving this question I had maintained that a tartan was a design registered with the Court of Lord Lyons in Britain, representative of a Scottish clan, a military regiment, a corporation, even a fashion design (such as Burberry). To me, everything else was just plaid.

It turns out I wasn't wrong, but it wasn't the whole story either.

Historically, a plaid is a garment, and originates in the Gaelic word for blanket. Ancient Scots wore belted and unbelted plaids, or large blankets gathered around the waist or as large shawls. As modern Highland dress, plaid refers to any tailored or untailored garment about the shoulders. Regardless of the pattern or colour, plaid traditionally refers to clothing.

Plaids, the garments, were often of a pattern, including tartan patterns. Tartans are representations of clan membership. The combination of colours, the pattern in which they are woven and thus intersect, and the resulting pattern of colour tones and half-tones make up a tartan. Typically tartans are symmetrical, the pattern repeating in setts or at regular intervals, although some tartans, and in particular old unnamed tartans, can be asymmetrical.

Thefreedictionary.com describes a tartan as "any of numerous textile patterns consisting of stripes of varying widths and colors crossed at right angles against a solid background, each forming a distinctive design worn by the members of a Scottish clan."

While accurate, this definition isn't complete. There are also Irish tartans and tartans designed and produced for military, corporate and national purposes. Irish clans did not typically have clan tartans, unless they emigrated to Scotland and either established a clan there or came under the protection of a Scottish clan.

The Irish tartans available commercially were commissioned by a U.K. weaving company, are named after the Irish counties and not registered with any tartan authority.

In North America, any textile in a pattern of criss-crossing lines of varying colour and width, that is not a tartan, and thus not registered as representative of membership in a Scottish clan, is called a plaid. But this is a North American term, not a historically correct term for either a plaid or a tartan.

"The Eagle" portrays early Scots

Let's start at the ending, so that I can say I liked almost everything about this movie... except the ending.

 

I wasn't dismayed by the fact that there were no CGI or 3-D or other extra-special effects. I am of the generation for whom British novelist Rosemary Sutcliffe's book The Eagle of the Ninth (published 1954) was required reading in elementary school. So, just as it is it is a much-better representation of that story than would have been available before now.

The Eagle of the Ninth is a childrens book, and the first of a fiction series that depicts the Roman occupation of Britain in the second century AD. The movie, The Eagle, is rated PG and intended as family entertainment with just enough blood and gore to amuse 12-year-old boys in these early years of the 21^st century. (To wit, the meal of a raw dead rat; one obvious decapitation resulting is a rolling head; several bloody battles and two off-screen throat-slittings.)

For the most part, the film was true to the original work. There were a reasonable number of Celts, Druids, and Picts portrayed battling a beleaguered, smaller number of Roman military and Romans-turned-Caledonians, rather than hordes of any of these races. No gratuitous love story or female characters were added, and in that it was faithful to history as well. There were few if any Roman ladies present in northern England and men posted there generally took local "wives" to bed and fathered mixed-race children who were abandoned when their dads were recalled to Rome.

Pictavia, as the Romans called the land occupied by a tribe they named Picts, is said to have merged with another northern tribe to form the Kingdom of Alba, which we now call Scotland. The Picts never called themselves such; Rome gave names to the people and places they conquered. We don't know what the Picts called themselves but in the movie, they are referred to as the Seal People.

The "seal people" are a reference to an ancient folkloric tale about shape-shifting inhabitants of the Orkney Islands who were said to be able to change their shape from that of a seal to human, so as to mate with human females. These "silkies" or "selkies" were the inspiration for the far-northern inhabitants wearing seal furs and coated in bluish mud that the movie portrays as having devastated the ninth Roman legion.

There were a few token ginger-haired Picts and Caledonians, but if you were looking for a lot of red-haired wives and bairns you would be mistaken, as the red hair for which the Scots and Irish are famous was the result of the Viking blood introduced violently into their cultures some time later.

Most of the action scenes appear to have been shot in Hungary, while the panoramic scenes Esca and Marcus view after they travel past Hadrian's Wall were shot in Scotland. Unfortunately the time of the year portrayed appears to be early spring, as there was still snow on the ground in places and the rain was incessant. So if you are hoping to see green and purple Scottish Highland vistas in the film, you will be disappointed. The film does the Scottish tourism folks no favours.

As was Sutcliffe's intent, screenwriter Jeremy Block's words deliver a message: Rome is bad, freedom is good and Romans are mean, old men who take away the freedom of the poor Britons. At one point, Roman Marcus is reduced to the position of slave, while Esca becomes his supposed master and all manner of behaviour and acts are inflicted upon Marcus with the end result that the young Roman comes to appreciate the plight of Esca and all Roman slaves everywhere.

All in all, I have two major criticisms of this movie.

First, I was expecting British accents for the Roman characters. Maybe I am just conditioned to expect Brit voices when it comes to Romans, having watched and loved all 22 episodes of the BBC television series, Rome. But I just couldn't get past the American and Canadian accents (nod to Donald Sutherland) whenever the "Romans" spoke.

As for the ending... blah. Marcus the Roman and Esca the Briton walk off into the sunset as equals, after Marcus delivers a snipe to a snot-nosed Roman in a toga about his former slave's better understanding of freedom and honour. I pictured Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo. It was lame. And it set up the audience for a sequel that will never be filmed.

Despite its many good qualities, this movie will never make enough at the box office to justify the expense of shooting the next book in Sutcliffe's series. But as for depicting a realistic picture of ancient Scotland, it didn't do badly at all.