Andy Hall and the Mearns

"That is The Land out there, under the sleet, churned and pelted in the dark, the long rigs upturning their clayey faces to the spear-onset of the sleet….That is The Land – though not quite all. Those folk in the byre whose lantern light is a glimmer through the sleet as they muck and bend and tend the kye, and milk the milk into tin pails, in curling froth – they are The Land in as great a measure."
-Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Scottish Scene

Yesterday I mentioned I was looking forward to hearing more about the emotional attachment people from this area specifically have to their concept of Scotland. It is interesting to note that when Scots make arguments in favor of independence, these arguments are primarily emotional, based on the attachment they have to the land and the history of the people. Conversely, whenever an argument is made against Scottish independence, it is an institutional one: that Scotland would be unable to exist without the close economic and cultural ties that currently exist between Edinburgh and London. I was initially skeptical about how a presentation from a photographer could possibly relate to our theme of exploring Scottish identity from a historical and literary perspective, but Andy Hall quickly changed my mind with his enthusiasm and passion for the Mearns and the Scottish countryside at large. He is the author of a book, A Sense of Belonging, in which he asked over 100 prominent Scots to describe their favorite place in Scotland in 300 words or less alongside his photographs of the places. The passion displayed by all these individuals (incidentally including Ewan McGregor) for their homeland is remarkable given what we call patriotism in the US. Even after only four days over here, only two of which have actually been spent in Scotland, the strong cultural and literary traditions of this country shine through in every interaction and experience I have had. To be Scottish isn't necessarily to support independence, but the emotional arguments made by the nationalists are easy to relate to because of the strong sense of "us" shared by all Scots. This is an important part of what Andy Hall tries to capture in his photographs, and it seems that for the people of the Mearns, being Scottish is far more important than being more Scottish than the Highlands or Borders.