The kick-off of the 2001/02 Scottish Football Season is a reminder of just how important sport is to the Scottish Nation. Both football and golf are synonomous with Scotland, however, a splendid, recently published book "Sports, Scotland and the Scots" - edited by Grant Jarvie and John Burnett ( Tuckwell Press £16.99 ) reminds us that both sports were once  banned by the Scottish Parliament! In 1457, The Three Estates, declared "it is ordanyt and decretyt... at ye futbawe and ye golf be uterly cryt done and not usyt." James II's decree of 1457 is significant as the earliest known reference to golf in Scotland. It was found necessary to repeat the Acts in Scotland in 1471 and 1491, when golf was decried as an "unprofitable sport". Tell that to Tiger Woods! The Scottish Parliament at the time was far more concerned that Scots practise archery for obvious reasons of defense.

 

The book, the first comprehensive social history of present-day sporting life in Scotland, covering curling, bowls, cricket, hockey, horse-racing, quoiting, rugby, shinty and swimming, as well as football and golf, and of course, Highland Games. "Sport, Scotland and the Scots" fully demonstrates that sport has always been a part of Scottish popular culture and shows the way in which sport both reflects and shapes that culture.

 

Sporting winners always have good reason to celebrate and are free to decipher the Celebration Cake recipe which concludes "The Anniversary Cook-Book of the Dumfriesshire Federation SWRI" referred to last week.

 

Celebration Cake

 

Ingredients : 1 cup butter; 4 large eggs; 1 teasp. baking powder; 1 teasp. salt; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 or 2 quarts Whisky; 1 cup flour; 1 cup dried fruit; 1 teasp. baking soda; lemon juice; nuts

 

Before you start, sample the whisky to check for quality. Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup etc. check the whisky again, as it must be just right. To be sure the whisky is of the highest quality, pour one level cup into a glass and drink it as fast as you can - repeat. With an electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of thugar and beat  again. Meanwhile, make sure the whisky is of the quietest hality. Cry another tup. Add two arge legges, two cups of fried druit and beat 'til high. If druit gets stuck in beaters, just fry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the whisky again, checking for tonscisticity. Next, sift three cups of salt or something. Sample the whisky. Sift half a pint of jemon luice. Fold in chopped butter and strained nuts. Add one babblespoon of brown sugar, or whatever colour you can find and wix mell. Grease the oven and turn cake tin to 360 gredees. Now pour the whole mess into the the coven and ake. Check the whisky again and bo to ged.