Bertie studied the picture of Baden-Powell in his Chief Scout uniform. He thought that the uniform looked rather nice; in fact, Bertie rather liked uniforms and unusual outfits of any sort and would have loved to have had one himself. Uniforms were frowned upon at the Steiner school that he attended, but Bertie would have willingly worn one, particularly if it was anything like the Watson’s uniform, with its plum-coloured blazer. And then there was the uniform worn by the pupils of Daniel Stewart’s, who sported bright red socks; or the kilts worn by boys at some of the other schools. Bertie would have liked to have worn a kilt, even if he were to be denied everything else, but again he discovered that his mother did not approve.

‘Kilts are reactionary,’ said Irene. ‘I don’t expect you to understand completely, as I do know that there are lots of people who wear them. But you must never assume that something is right just because lots of people do it. You do understand that, don’t you, Bertie?’

Bertie pursed his lips. ‘But some very important people wear kilts, Mummy,’ he protested. ‘Look at the First Minister. He wears a kilt. I saw a picture of him in the Scotsman. I saw it with my own eyes.’

‘One would hardly see with any other eyes,’ said Irene drily. ‘And as for the Scotsman, that newspaper is rather inclined to encourage that sort of thing, if you ask me.’

Bertie looked puzzled. ‘What sort of thing, Mummy?’

‘Oh, all this business of kilts and the like,’ said Irene. ‘It’s sentimental nonsense. If you go to the real heart of Scotland, Bertie, to the factories where people make things, then you don’t see kilts, I assure you.’

Bertie was intrigued. He was conscious of the fact that he was Scottish, but he was not quite sure what that meant. Did it merely mean that he had been born in Scotland – did that make you Scottish? Or was it something else? And as for these factories, they sounded intriguing, but where were they? ‘Where are these factories, Mummy? Have you ever been to them?’

Irene did not answer for a moment. ‘They’re in Glasgow, Bertie. But that’s neither here nor there. The point is that dressing up in kilts hardly solves the problems of the day, does it? Anybody can put on a kilt, but that changes nothing, does it?’