For me Scottish hospitality has always meant a desire to feed and water guests. In days gone by this extended as far as providing shelter for those who appeared on your doorstep, often cold, hungry, and weary. However, in my lifetime it has always meant a time of celebration. Whether it was a run of the mill Saturday night with cousins from Glasgow, the annual day out at Melrose Sevens armed with rucksacks packed with sandwiches, pies, beer, and whisky, or a more formal holiday celebration at Christmas I’ve always enjoyed that feeling of being among people who are sharing food, drink, warmth and hospitality.
The Scottish calendar increasingly has three times when that celebration spills beyond the nation’s borders, where the rest of the world comes to visit and celebrate, or we Scots fill foreign lands with kilts, pipes and the aromas of meat and drink of the homeland.