Tassie and the Tartan Army

You can learn all sorts of things from the friends you see in the park of a morning.

Meet Lhasa Apso ‘Tassie’, she of the playful demeanour and piercing bark. (Gail, why are you saying “pot, kettle, black”?)

Some weeks I see Tassie every day and some weeks not at all. She tells me this is because her Dad supervises the deck crew on an oil field diving support vessel, and when he is away offshore, for up to a month at a time, her exercise regime with 'the wife' is more relaxed.

Well it seems that this week, Tassie is going to be alone with 'the wife' for a different reason. Dad is off down to London for three nights with his Tartan Army pals, the main event being of course the England versus Scotland football match at Wembley on Wednesday night.

It surprised me to learn that Tassie’s Dad, whose normal parkwear is a well worn sweatshirt and track pants, is quite the snappy dresser when following the Scottish football team.

Apparently he has just purchased some brand new Timberland boots, beige in colour, because, to quote directly “ye cannae wear auld trainers wi’ a kilt”. Gail asked politely which tartan his kilt is made from. He seemed uncertain of the clan, but told her it was a purple plaid and that he hoped it would still fit around his expanding girth.

I guess this is the look Tassie's Dad is aiming for:


We also learned from him that airport security is a problem for the kilt wearer, as not only the belt, but also the sporran and the kilt pin have to be removed before you pass through the scanner, and all skean dhus are confiscated, including those made from plastic.

Worse, the Scotland fans are not allowed to take bagpipes into Wembley Stadium, also ostensibly on grounds of security, although Tassie confides in me that the real reason is because the English have no equivalent noise producing instruments.

Well, Gail and I shall be watching the football on the telly on Wednesday night, shouting and barking for our respective teams, and maybe looking out for Tassie’s smartly clad Dad in the crowd.

A household with divided loyalties