Relations with the English have never been very good, indeed for the main part of the last 700 years  war has existed between the people of Scotland & England, or their component parts. 

     Long before the time of the Wallace & the Bruce, Scotland & England were at war.  One of the most famous ancient battles in Scotland took place between the Picts & the Angles & was known as the battle of Nechtansmere.  The battle was joined at Dunnichen hill which is in the Angus region of Scotland.  The Picts were led by their king Brude Mac Beli & inflicted a heavy defeat on the Angles, who were the aggressors. 

     War continued on & off for many years after that.  All the Scotspeople have ever wanted is to be left alone, but there has always been the attempts of the English to undermine our country & its independence.  Although Scotland has been invaded by the Romans only, even they had to give up because even the might of Rome could not conquer the people.  It didn't help of course that we signed a treaty with France which began the Auld Alliance.  The English & the French have never been the best of friends!  Many of the greatest tragic events to happen in Scotland occured because of this alliance.  The Battle of Flodden Field is perhaps one of the most tragic of these.  Flodden was a battle of the 16th century.  The Scots king, nobles and a huge amount of Scotsmen lost their lives there.

     In Edinburgh, where I come from, a curious tale is told concerning this battle.   

     At the head of the High street stands the great church building of St Giles; though often called a cathedral, it is more correctly the High Kirk of Edinburgh.  within the square that stands outside it, you will find the Mercat Cross, and to it is connected a strange tale with links with the battle of Flodden in 1513. 

     Originally the Mercat Cross was the place were city proclamations were read out to the inhabitants of the city.  In August 1513 a city merchant, Richard Lawson, was passing by early one deserted morning.  He was startled to see at the cross the figure of a ghostly herald.  The manifestation lifted his scroll & from it began to read a list of all the men who were to die on the battlefield.  The list began with the king (James IV) and the herald read out hundreds of names in descending order of rank: dukes, earls, viscounts, lords, knights & gentlemen.

     Lawson was unable to move as he listened to the many names, but when he heard "Richard Lawson, merchant of Edinburgh," he fell to his knees & began to pray, asking for the lord to have mercy on his soul & when he did this the manifestation vanished.

     Come September Lawson had either forgotten the warning of the herald or was a very brave man, for he joined the Scots forces on their march to assist France in their fight against the English.  Some 35,000 Scots followed the king southwards & after a few days met on field at Branxton, in Northumberland (Flodden).

     The Earl of Surrey led the English forces to victory, killing 10,000 Scots, including the king, 15 earls, 70 lords & numerous knights.  The only person not to die whose name had been read out on the list at the Mercat Cross was Lawson.  He returned safely to Edinburgh, where he often recounted his strange tale.  It was included in the book by contemporary Scots writer Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie (c.1532-1580) called the "Historie & chronicles of Scotland." 

     The last major battle to be fought on mainland Britain however was not really the Scots against the English.  1746, saw the battle of Culloden, which should have been a victory for the Jacobites therefore restoring the exiled Stuart king James VIII to the throne.  Scotland & England were by this time both part of Great Britain.  James was a catholic monarch & this excluded him from sitting on the throne.  In the highlands his son landed & gained much support amongst the highlamd clans re: his fathers rightful claim to the throne.  Many people at that time in the highlands were catholic or espiscopalian.  In the lowlands most people were presbyterian.  Therefore it was a religious war more than anything else, because to our eternal shame, a lot of people in the lowlands also fought for the Government forces.  I don't think I have to go into what happenend next, needless to say Gaelic, highland dress, highland music (bagpipes), the right to bear arms, the right to use a highland name were all banned.  This has caused a lot of friction in Scotland which exists even today, in the hearts of all true Scots patriots.  This was just the beginning of some of the attrocities the Government would carry out on the Scots people, and not all of it would ever make the history books, but I think it goes some way to explain the way we feel about the southerners who never fought with honour & had butchers as ancestors.

     Take a look even at the so-called national anthem of the UK, "God Save the Queen".  This has got to be one of the most racist things ever written, especially since it has a verse which reads "...General Wade rebellious Scots to crush."

     It is little wonder then that many Scots do not acknowledge this anthem but have our own, albeit unofficial one, "Flower of Scotland."