Monday, April 13, 2009

God save us from the wrong national anthem

With apologies in advance to Montague Burton, this is indeed a post about Scotland's sensational triumph earlier today at the World Curling Championships in Canada. But before everyone looks away, what it's really about is the fact that in honour of the victory, the event organisers played that well-known Scottish national anthem God Save the Queen at the closing ceremony! But I'm thrilled to see a couple of Canadian blogs were as quick as anyone to express dismay at this blunder.

Of course, technically speaking it wasn't a mistake - dirge though it is, God Save the Queen is the official anthem of the whole United Kingdom, so it's just as logical to use it for a Scottish curling rink as it is for the England football team. But of course the organisers should really have played the anthem requested by the national governing body in question - and if by any chance the Royal Caledonian Curling Club did sanction God Save the Queen, then some very serious questions need to be asked!

4 comments:

  1. I didn't think the United Kingdom had an official national anthem.

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  2. No need for apologies, James. Mr Murdoch had an overinflated sense of self before, now that he's finally equalled Hammy's achievements, his crowing as the second best curler in D&G has some substance...

    Offended that a sport that is only played in Scotland, played by and supported by Scots should have to suffer the strains of GSTQ. We must play it for the Canadians next time they visit Scotland...

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  3. When I first came to Canada they would play GSTQ in cinemas before the film started and everyone would stand to attention. When I didn't folks got offended and threatening. Now they have "Oh Canada" that few know the words to and nobody gives a toss.

    Changed days.

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