Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
on 19/12/2000 5:37 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In America, you're a city if you want to be. I mean, I don't think it takes an act of Congress or a Presidential Proclamation for a place to refer to itself as a city. You just look around, say to yourself, "Hmm, we're big, lots of people, got a transit problem and too much traffic, we must be a city."Well, I joke a bit, but not much! Is it different in the UK? Would Stirling catch it if they said, "visit our city" but the Queen of England hadn't told them they could call themselves that? Does this go back to the idea of Burghs being granted by the crown? Or am I completely off-base and you wish I'd go away? It's got to do with the concept of legal entities - ownership of land, ownership of rights, entitlement to rents, and the right to pass local laws. The various levels of burgh in Scotland - barony, regality, Royal Burgh etc - reflect different degrees to which the community (as an entity) can deputise or act on behalf of the state or monarch. In practice it often meant grants of land (common land) similar to the estates a king might grant to a noble. But the heart of it is the concept of the whole town having a 'corporate' identity as if it was a person. And being allowed to hold markets and fairs, etc. Cities have a set of additional privileges. They get a new coat of arms (I don't know if Inverness is doing this or just enhancing an old one) and they get a Lord Provost (in England, a Lord Mayor) instead of a plain Provost or Mayor, with a bigger chain to wear and some extra regalia. They used to have an Archbishop instead of a Bishop, a Cathedral instead of a church, and if they were on the Monopoly board you would have paid more to land on them. Cities could also grant free status to a bondsman, but I don't know how that worked in Scotland. They could issue charters to incorporate guilds of craftsmen or traders, but so could Burghs in Scotland. In practice, the powers of a City Council (=Corporation =legal entity) are much the same as a shire County or a town Borough but - which someone else can probably illuminate in respect of Inverness - they are usually separate from the surrounding County. Thus Edinburgh wishes to maintain its status as a City council, with its own elected councillors, controlling everything within its city limits. It does not want to be split in two or three, and have parts taken over by West, Mid and East Lothian or just be the middle of a big Lothians region, even though that it its geographical role. Does Inverness, becoming a city, actually change its local government structure? Does it suddenly acquire redrawn boundaries, with its own government internally, and leave the running of the surrounding countryside to a County? Somehow I think not. That would be the *historic* effect of elevating a place to city status. But Inverness is already the adminsitrative centre for the surrounding area. I'm pretty sure the administrative and electoral structures will be untouched and all you will get is a change of title for the Provost, some new badges and signs and ornaments, and a load of name changes and adjustments to local ceremony and protocol. 25 years ago I worked in South Yorkshire which was a newly-created County. I worked for the county council on contracts, and the rivalry between it and Sheffield City Council - sitting like a peninsular attached to its former county now run from humble Barnsley - was considerable. There is bound to be a Scottish local government expert reading this who can clarify. I'm just a journalist who did the usual stint covering local government years ago, had to learn about it, and continue to take some interest. I would say it is rather like ennobling an individual. It is the equivalent of giving the city a peerage or a knighthood, of saying 'Rise, Sir Inverness'. But no, a town can not just decide it is going to be a city. I've driven through some of those American cities with two stores, one lamp-post and no dog! It can't happen here... David Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
Fortunately there aren't many songs with Inverness in them. It just doesn't sing well as a word. Four and twenty virgins came down from Inverness... === http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ === Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
on 18/12/2000 1:00 pm, Derek Hoy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Her Maj today declared that as part of the Millennium Fun, Inverness is a City. Only 3 new cities for the whole of the UK, which is a bit mean. She could have amused herself better by introducing a few wild cards- like Dechmont maybe. The City of Wallyford has a ring to it. Fortunately there aren't many songs with Inverness in them. It just doesn't sing well as a word. The words acceptable for places in songs are limited to 'town', 'toon', 'burra toon', 'burrows toon' (for rabbits) and 'burgh'. Real ballads never mention cities. Presumably Inverness now also has a cathedral, or did it already? David Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
In a message dated 12/18/00 10:23:43 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Fortunately there aren't many songs with Inverness in them. Hmm. I never thought about this before. But I happen to have two tunes in my repertoire that have Inverness in the title: The Cross of Inverness and the Prince's Welcome to Inverness. But then, I think Inverness is a nice town, so perhaps I'm attracted to tunes with Inverness in the title. --Cynthia Cathcart Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
RE: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
How about: ITC's Farewell to Inverness 78th's Welcome To Inverness High Road To Inverness, The Inverness Bonnie Braes Pipe Band Inverness Bridge Inverness Fiddler, The Inverness Gathering Inverness Lasses Inverness Militia's March, The Inverness Pibroch, The Inverness Piping Society Inverness Rant Inverness Reel, The Inverness Shire Militia's March Inverness Strathspey, The Inverness To Dunskellar Key Stone of Inverness Leaving Inverness Lovely Lass of Inverness Market Place of Inverness Rocking Stone of Inverness Scott Skinners Welcome to Inverness Vera Henderson's Visit to Inverness Wade's Welcome To Inverness Regards, Ted PS: Motherwell has a Cathedral - does that make it a city too? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 18 December 2000 18:00 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL In a message dated 12/18/00 10:23:43 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Fortunately there aren't many songs with Inverness in them. Hmm. I never thought about this before. But I happen to have two tunes in my repertoire that have Inverness in the title: The Cross of Inverness and the Prince's Welcome to Inverness. But then, I think Inverness is a nice town, so perhaps I'm attracted to tunes with Inverness in the title. --Cynthia Cathcart Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
Cynthia said: ... But then, I think Inverness is a nice town, TOWN ??? You'll have to be re-programmed. Scenes of carnival are breaking out in all quarters of Inverness. The Provost was on the news saying "We're really very pleased". The fitba team, Caledonian Thistle, are to be re-named 'Inverness City'. The power balance of Old Scotia has seen a seismic shift. Even better, there were no new cities in WALES. Defence forces are on standby there, as trouble is expected once the pubs shut. Derek Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
David said: Presumably Inverness now also has a cathedral, or did it already? 'Highland Cathedral'- inspiration of that meisterwerk of the piob mhor. Derek Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
on 18/12/2000 8:21 pm, Ted Hastings at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How about: ITC's Farewell to Inverness 78th's Welcome To Inverness High Road To Inverness, The Inverness Bonnie Braes Pipe Band Inverness Bridge Inverness Fiddler, The Inverness Gathering Inverness Lasses Inverness Militia's March, The Inverness Pibroch, The Inverness Piping Society Inverness Rant Inverness Reel, The Inverness Shire Militia's March Inverness Strathspey, The Inverness To Dunskellar Key Stone of Inverness Leaving Inverness Lovely Lass of Inverness Market Place of Inverness Rocking Stone of Inverness Scott Skinners Welcome to Inverness Vera Henderson's Visit to Inverness Wade's Welcome To Inverness Ted, when I said there were not many SONGS with Inverness in them, I was omitting pipe and fiddle tunes wi'oot words! I'm sure one or two of these have a lyric attached to them but there's a hantle of 'em look as if they don't... Inverness rhymes with useful words like undress, caress, press, cess, stress, bless and mess but somehow these seem to lend themselves more to limericks. Any offers? David Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
RE: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL
I quite agree, but please note that my reply was to Cynthia Cathcart's message which was about tunes. Regards, Ted -Original Message- From: David Kilpatrick [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 18 December 2000 23:17 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [scots-l] Inverness a City- OFFICIAL on 18/12/2000 8:21 pm, Ted Hastings at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How about: ITC's Farewell to Inverness 78th's Welcome To Inverness High Road To Inverness, The Inverness Bonnie Braes Pipe Band Inverness Bridge Inverness Fiddler, The Inverness Gathering Inverness Lasses Inverness Militia's March, The Inverness Pibroch, The Inverness Piping Society Inverness Rant Inverness Reel, The Inverness Shire Militia's March Inverness Strathspey, The Inverness To Dunskellar Key Stone of Inverness Leaving Inverness Lovely Lass of Inverness Market Place of Inverness Rocking Stone of Inverness Scott Skinners Welcome to Inverness Vera Henderson's Visit to Inverness Wade's Welcome To Inverness Ted, when I said there were not many SONGS with Inverness in them, I was omitting pipe and fiddle tunes wi'oot words! I'm sure one or two of these have a lyric attached to them but there's a hantle of 'em look as if they don't... Inverness rhymes with useful words like undress, caress, press, cess, stress, bless and mess but somehow these seem to lend themselves more to limericks. Any offers? David Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
