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Missing the Highland Show: How to Experience Scottish Culture in 2020.

Each year the Highland Shows are a celebration of all things Scottish. The Royal Highland Show is Scotland's largest agricultural gathering. Sadly, with the global pandemic necessitating bans on large gatherings, the 2020 show was cancelled.

We must wait another year to experience the missed festivals, common ridings and events which would usually take us through to the end of the summer. So, how can we go into the long autumn and winter nights a little more comforted against the sense of a summer bereft? 

Never fear. Below we have four alternative ways to enjoy and experience Scottish culture in 2020. Read on.

For us, the costumes on Outlander always steal the show. The popular TV series, which has just screened its fifth season, is based on Diana Gabaldon’s historical novels. In the series Claire Randall, a nurse from the Second World War, travels back in time to Scotland in 1743 just before the Jacobite risings. Not surprisingly, Outlander’s costumes have been admired by fans since the programme first aired in 2014, and they have ignited an interest in Scotland’s 18th-century styles across the world. There are many ‘How to’ tutorials on Youtube, popular with fans keen to recreate Outlander’s Jacobite styles. 

A sporran is an important and traditional item of the highland outfit. Traditional kilts are made without pockets, and sporrans would have been used to carry items such as small portions of food, or money. Today, sporrans are used to hold more modern items - mobile phone, wallet, and perhaps even a hip flask! Today there are three types of sporrans that are suitable for different occasions.

Your kilt is a timeless article of clothing, and if cared for correctly it should last you a lifetime. But sometimes your kilt can be worn with use, perhaps it has shrunk in the wardrobe (as we say in the shop), or perhaps you’ve inherited it from someone who is a different size to you. There are a variety of ways that you can adjust, or alter your kilt to fit you perfectly again.

The Sgian Dubh is an integral part of your Scottish Highlandwear, along with your kilt and sporran. Yet, the sgian dubh has only really been a part of a traditional kilt outfit since the 1800’s. Earlier, it may have been common to carry a sgian achlais (armpit knife) in the coat sleeve. This could potentially be used for self-defence, but more likely for cutting up and eating your food.