It's all in a name as Scots reel over a jig

By BILLY ADAMS

EDINBURGH - It is one of the world's most traditional dances, but these days the mere mention of its name tends to provoke outbreaks of laughter.

Many fans feel the Highland jig called the Gay Gordons suffers from an image problem - all because the modern meaning of the word "gay" is very different from its old fashioned counterpart.

Last week the tranquillity of the glens was smashed when it was found one of country's premier festivals had changed the name.

Organisers revealed an attempt to set a world record for the number of dancers taking part at one time in ... the Gey Gordons.

There was a smell of conspiracy in the Highland air.

Homosexual groups feared the name change was the result of an anti-gay sentiment, and traditionalists thought the dance's proud heritage was at stake.

Staff at the offices of Gordon 2000, a three-day traditional Scottish celebration expected to attract thousands of people from around the world, felt like they were under siege.

But embattled organiser Lyndsay Clark insisted: "The change of spelling has got nothing to do with the word's sexual connotation. This has all been blown out of all proportion."

Confusion reigned. The dance was originally named after the Gordon Highlanders, once described by Winston Churchill as the finest Army regiment in the world.

They were based in the northeast of Scotland in the Aberdeenshire town of Huntly, and Clark said locals referred to them as the "Gey Gordons."

"Gey is an old Scots word meaning excellent, superior or overwhelming," she said.

"And those words are certainly appropriate when used in connection with the Gordon Highlanders.

"When I took over this festival I inherited a skeleton of the event which referred to the 'Gey Gordons.'

"To be honest, I never batted an eyelid. I knew this word existed in old Scots and I've got many events to organise, so we thought it was natural to go ahead with what we thought was the dance's proper spelling."

But country dance traditionalists were up in arms.

"The original tune was written by James Scott Skinner of Banchory," fumed Robbie Shepherd, the Queen's favourite compere at the annual Royal Highland Gathering in Braemar. "It is a ridiculous idea to change the spelling."

And the Royal Scottish Country Dance Association said there was no record of the dance ever being known as the "Gey Gordons."

Up to 30,000 people from around the world, including a contingent from New Zealand, are expected in Huntly, which has a population of just 4000, for the three day festival.

Visitors will be treated to a host of traditional Scottish events including pipe bands and Highland dancing. More than 5000 dancers are expected to set the world record for the Gordons jig on Sunday, August 6.

Whether or not the event is recorded as the "Gay Gordons" or "Gey Gordons" remains to be seen. It is now thought that the regiment itself was originally known by the old Scots name, but that the dance has always been the "Gay Gordons."

Clark said that if a mistake had been made they would look at changing back to the more well-known, and snigger-prompting, spelling.