Nov 10
Kilts are for women says EU!
EURO INSULT: KILTS ARE FOR GIRLS Nov 10 2003
They’re branded womenswear
By Amy Devine
EUROCRATS have ruled that the kilt is ``womenswear’’.
Spaniard Pedro Solbes, an EU commissioner, insists our national dress should be listed asa skirt on official forms.
And kiltmakers could be fined up to £1000 if they don’t comply.
There was a furious reaction from kilt wearers last night. Movie legend Sir Sean
Connery said: ``If this is the case, I have been wearing a woman’s skirt for
more than 45 years now.
``I own several and I find them very comfortable.
``Joking apart, I am very proud to wear a kilt. It is certainly not womenswear.
It is an important part of Scots tradition and also smart evening wear.’‘
The EU forms insult hundreds of thousands of Scots worldwide who wear their kilts with pride as well as Hollywood heroes such as Vin Diesel, Samuel L
Jackson and Braveheart star Mel Gibson.
51st State star Jackson said: ``When I finally got the kilt and stood in front
of the mirror looking at myself, it looked very cool.
``All of a sudden I had this whole sort of gladiator thing going on.’’
The controversy is down to EU government agency Eurostat, overseen by Solbes, member for economics and monetary affairs.
His department collates information from 15 member states to drawup business
trends for the EU.
Scots kiltmaking king Patrick McGroarty is standing firm and refusing to
complete the offending document unless it is amended to include Scotland’s
national dress.
Patrick, 53, is the director of Caledonian Highland Dress Manufacturers, who
made kilts for hit BBC series Monarch Of The Glen.
The Perthshire firm also supply kilts to expat customers in far-flung places
like Vietnam and Nigeria.
Yesterday, dad-of-three Patrick hit back at the bureaucrats responsible for
branding kiltwearing Scotsmen transvestites.
Patrick received the questionnaire after his company were chosen at random for a survey.
He started filling out the fivepage form about the company’s takings and
products but stopped when he realised therewas no suitable section for kilts.
The UK version of the form was sent out on Eurostat’s behalf by the Office of
National Statistics.
Patrick said: ``I phoned up and told them that they had made a very offensive
mistake.
``They told me just to fill in the number of kilts I had sold in the space they
had provided for women’s skirts.
``But we don’t make skirts and if they wanted figures from a women’s apparel
company, they should have gone to one. This makes no sense at all. The kilt isan
internationally renowned tradition, so I don’t know how this was allowed to
happen.
``It would be interesting to find out what proud kilt-wearing Scots would think
of these people saying that they wear ladies’ skirts.’’
Patrick, who runs two workshops and has 11 staff at his Abernethy site, was told
there was no suitable category for his tartan creations and if he didn’t return
the form, he would face the consequences.
He said: ``I had decided to just cast the form aside, but my book-keeper picked
it up andnoticed a line which said I would be fined up to £1000 if it wasn’t
returned.
``If they change the wording of the form I will gladly send it back, but not
until then.
``This is ludicrous. The form I was sent was cheeky and insulting.
``To call one of Scotland’s most famous traditions a skirt is just degrading and
they should rectify this mistake immediately.
``It is absurd that officials from Europe are asking me insulting questions on
something they obviously know nothing about.
They are ignorant to our traditions and background.’’
Scotland’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, Frank McAveety, wore the kilt on an official visit to Hollywood this month.
He said: ``If Vin Diesel can wear a kilt and not feel any less of a man, that is
good enough for me and should be for the rest of Europe.’’
An insider from Monarch Of The Glen insisted there was no gender confusion among fans of screen hunk Hamish Clark, whosecharacter Duncan wears Highland dress.
She said: ``Given the response we have from female fans, it’s clear they
understand better than Euro chiefs that kilts are not for ladies.’’
Howie Nicholsby, of Edinburgh’s Geoffrey (Tailor) Kiltmakers, who have kitted
out some of Hollywood’s biggest names, said: ``Vin and Samuel would both
recognise these comments for what they are.
``They know the differences between a kilt and a skirt.’‘
Gee wonder what this lot will think of my leather kilt. Well the real men brigade will have a good chuckle but the Scots, Axl Rose and I, are not best pleased. How will the SNP react to this insult? Will they still be so keen on an “Indepedent Scotland in Europe?”
Via: David
Update: Ben is reporting the EU is backing down on this daft ruling. You some meathead in Brussels realised that this would probably kill support for the EU in Scotland?
3 Comments so far
It’s Gaultier, Dammit!
UP
Ironic, no? It is sometimes said the Scots would favour devolution inside an EU federal state, but the EU has just called the kilt-wearers a bunch of girls.
In other words, creeps like Romano Prodi have insulted the manhood of Sean Connery and William Wallace. The EU is in deep, deep trouble!!!!
Surely Kilts can be listed as menswear and womens wear. Do we not live in a society of gendar equality?