Infamy (They've All Got It!)

Fame and ignominy were ever ephemeral and, in the grand schemes of things, more often than not, fleeting and insubstantial.  Sometimes though, as with most things, there are exceptions and a conspiracy of forces write fame deep into both history and folk memory.  There are a few such notable instances in Scots cultural consciousness, for good or ill, which have ensured fame or infamy, in the manner of the cult of personality we tend to associate more with their contemporary strains.

The subject could not be broached without mention of Wallace and the Bruce.  And of course, Mary, Queen of Scots, who got her head chopped off.

Beyond those broad strokes of cultural infamy there are those whose fame is inscribed in finer detail.  This is a fame the machinations of which are brought to bear through association with achievment in a particular field, the half life of which is wholly dependent on the values ascribing significances in space and time by the society which gave rise to them.  Such a fame was won by the celebrated architect Sir William Bruce, both in his lifetime and beyond, through his great works which still stand testimony to it.  I have singled Bruce out here for his relevance also to the last of the three 'cult' like figures mentioned above, or at least to a building forever associated with her.

When Bruce began construction of Kinross House in 1686 as his own home, he intended to make a grand professional and personal statement.  It was to become one of his finest works and was called by Daniel Defoe 'the most beautiful and regular piece of architecture' as well as being widely regarded as the most important early classical mansion house in Scotland.

In laying the groundwork of the gardens and the foundations for the house, Bruce took great advantage of the grounds proximity to and alignment with Castle Island in Loch Leven, on the shores of which the house came to stand.  The island is home to Loch Leven Castle, once a prison infamously escaped from by Mary, Queen of Scots.  The castle is used as a deliberate, precocious and 'picturesque' orienting device for the mansion and formal gardens.

In this way, Bruce can be said to have telescoped or focussed the fame of history onto his works.  Thought to have first been built during the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Castle had associations with power, fame and of course infamy long before it became Mary's gaol.

Due to its strategic position, kings held court at Loch Leven Castle and it changed hands between warring  Scots and English sides on not a few ocassions.  It is thought to have been once returned to Scots hands by the forces of William Wallace.  Robert the Bruce is known to have used it on at least two instances of significance.  From the fourteenth century it came to serve as a state prison, holding mainly captives of some import.

It was thus Mary was imprisoned there from the 17th June 1567 until her infamous escape on 6 May 1568, during that period miscarrying twins from her ill fated union with the Earl Bothwell.  In 1675 the estate, including the island with castle, was bought from its owners, the Douglas', by Sir William Bruce.  After the building of Kinross House the castle was never used as a dwelling again, preserved only to give a focus for the principal axis of the house and gardens.

All of these things were fascinating to me when arriving at our new home in Kinross, very near Kinross House and Loch Leven, as a matter of respite and care for my disability.  Since then, there has been little to exacerbate the effects of Frontal Lobe Epilepsy which I could attribute to living among the gentle hills and folk of Kinross-shire.  That is until yesterday.

From late afternoon, throughout last night and today, likely persisting for the next day or two, the exacerbating excessive proximous noise levels, the erratic outbursts, the random chanting and screaming, the gathering crowds, all have irreversibly andf significantly impacted on my seizure thresholds.  This is to the extent, easily gauged through current clustering seizure activity, where I am certain to be still feeling the effects for a week or more to come.  Significantly impacted/lowered levels of GABA, the amino acid which regulates seizure thresholds and activity for all people with epilepsy and is of particular significance to those who are refractory (resistant to medication), as I am, since management of them is the only way to manage seizure acticvity and its impacts, will make sure of that.  (Fuller descriptions for greater understanding of Frontal Lobe Epilepsies and their impacts can be found here  and here ).  And this time it is due to the most unlikely of phenomema, that peculiar worship of transitory fame among young, mainly girls, in what currently masquerades as pop culture, known as Beliebing.

For yes, that contemporary update to infamy which is the curious gold fish bowl of a young 22 year old Canadian pop performer's life came to Kinross this weekend as the Justin rented out Kinross House, allegedly handpicked so he can enjoy peace and quiet away fromn screaming fans whilst he is in Scotland for his three sold out gigs in Glasgow.  The distance from the gated, locked and walled entrance of the frontage to the House is significant, perhaps 300 metres.  Barely a whisper of Belieber's noise will reach their idol's ears inside.

On the contrary, being less than 20 metres in the opposite direction from the gates, where I live has no room in which to escape the cacophony.  The erratic nature of the noise, its sudden eruptions when a sighting may be in the offing perhaps, has triggered direct instances of startle epilepsy.  The clustering nature of Frontal Lobe Epilepsy, wherein management of my condition tends to focus on attempting to restrict impacts so that my seizure count remains at the lower end of the 40-120 seizures I have every single day, means Justin, his entourage and all the willing Beliebers will soon be gone but I will be feeling the increasing impact of their visit for some time after.

As I write a group of stalwart fans remain outside the gates despite the convoy of blacked out windscreened cars having left, carrying the diminuitive popstrel gigward, over an hour ago.  A photographer or two remains too, encamped awaiting the later return but likely aware that the weekend's 'money shot' was caught on Friday evening.  It made national press, some international.  The most contentious the headlines got were that it was 'a little cold for this sort of thing'.

In what other world would we excuse, nay expect in certain quarters, a celebration of, this?  Where else would the potential headline '22 Year Old Man Dances In His Underwear for Teen and Pre-teen Girls' be considered 'just a bit of fun' or 'good for the local economy'?

Not only does the type of fame, constructed first by Disney, marketed, click baited relentlessly by others ever since, highlight its own, showboating, remain in the spotlight even when your not or the media wont propagate the myth further, ephemeral nature but also the cynical, touch the hem of his (absent) robe, opportunism of capital which even saw the local butcher try to sell more pies because Bieber was in town!  Yet the image of a troubled, some might say broken by fame, young man, dancing in his underpants outside one of Scotland's most significant classical architectural buildings may be the first many have heard of the building at all.  Its infamy, for the current owners may bring more business but it will be because of Bieber's boxers not Bruce's buttresses.

For this local, disabled resident, the direct implications to health are real and palpable and a result of that cynical placing of corporate interests and infamy above those of people and community.  I wonder too of the consequences for those vulnerable children staying in the CHAS Hospice at Rachel House, right next door to Bieber's weekend retreat.  Even if for some the excitement was a short lived joy, whether Bieber chose to visit his next door neighbours directly or not, I cannot help but think the longer term upset will be worse for at least some.

So many of those rapt, peering through the railing fans were brought to the grounds by parents, some waiting, watchfully nearby, so they could add their excited voices to the chorus of Beliebing.  Is this the kind of fame, the levels of hollow infamy, you allow your children to worship at the altar of?  A cynical, money buys access to all areas, without moral question, and cares nought for local community or culture or the impact the blatant disregard has for it?  Shame on you all.  Shame on us all for allowing such a situation to develop and persist; time to stop your children beliebing and find something they can truly believe in.

And as for this disabled man facing the individual consequences, I say roundly and without regret, fuck you Justin and the circus you rode in on, your infamy will live little longer than your fleeting career, enjoy it while you can.  And stop dancing in your pants in front of our children, its just creepy.