Santa Song Not Banned Says Red-Faced Beeb Boss
Forty-eight hours ago I decided to ban the song Santa's A Scotman from the airwaves of BBC Radio Scotland. The reaction has been swift and vocal. Well, there was this piece in AllMedia Scotland and then this morning and I had an e-mail from German freelance journalist Udo Seiwert-Fauti telling me:
"just reading you banned „Santa is a Scotsman“……..nice try and a wee bit late ? Ken Bruce played it daily (!!!!) last year on Radio 2 , he is obviously Scottish , and you ban it this year ? Maybe in 10 years time you ban „Flower of Scotland“, very anti-English….
All the best and I keep my Santa is a Scotsman record.,……ever heard of Scottish humour ?? Maybe not in the North…"
As a result of this pressure I have decided to buckle, er, I mean review our policy with regard to this song. I now accept it does indeed have artistic merit and, moreover, it is probably the case that Santa is indeed a Scot.
I accept that lyrics which refer to Scots as pie-munchers with a weight problem were intended as a "bit of fun". As someone who last experienced fun in 1978 I have difficulty recognising it in others.
My final plea goes to Santa himself: check it once, check it twice, but please don't put me on the naughty list.
POSTSCRIPT
Such is the fast-moving nature of the modern news media, my u-turn is now making headlines. Have a look at this story from tonight's Edinburgh Evening News.
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