Braid Claith an Ilkaday Duds

On the road hame the day, A noticed thir twa lines fae Robert Fergusson's poem "Auld Reekie" pentit on the wa ben the Canongate branch o Starbucks:

To Holy-rood-house let me stray,

And gie to musing a' the Day

Wha'd 'ae thocht it: Rab Fergusson gettin yaised tae sell coffee and hap yin o the mucklest symbols o globalisation in local claes! It's no exactly "guid braid claith"; mair gettin a splash o local dye tae yer furrin duds. A hae nae objection at aw tae seein a swatch o Ferguson on a cafe wa. Still, A'm wonderin whit gart them chaise yon? There no that mony ordinar punters kens wha he is. Mibbe it's a nod tae the Scottish Poetry Library roon the corner. Mibbe it's a nod tae the braw statue o him ower the road. But there maun be a nod tae the Pairlament doun the road, mibbe wi a tait irony. Whitanever wis in the mind o the Starbucks management, there maun be a literary buddie amang them tae be tentin tae Fergusson's presence and poem at aw.