Government The United Kingdom, often called Britain or Great Britain, is a constitutional monarchy. The British monarch is the head of state, but a cabinet of government officials called ministers actually governs the United Kingdom. The prime minister is the chief official. Parliament makes the laws. Parliament includes the monarch, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords. Members of the House of Commons are elected from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Scotland elects 72 of the 651 members of the Commons. The Lords has limited power. Most of its members are nobles who inherit their seats.
The Scottish Office. Scotland's chief minister is the secretary of state for Scotland. This official is appointed by the prime minister and is a member of the Cabinet. The secretary's office, called the Scottish Office, is based in Edinburgh, with an additional office in London. The Scottish Office has five main departments. The Agriculture and Fisheries Department deals with Scotland's agricultural and fishing industries. The Industry Department deals with industrial and economic development. The Environment Department is concerned with such fields as environmental protection, housing, and public utilities. The Education Department supervises public education. The Home and Health Department oversees criminal justice, police and fire protection, prisons, and public health. A secretary runs each department.
Local government. Scotland is divided into 32 unitary authorities. Unitary authorities form a single level of local government directly responsible to the central government. Each unitary authority is supervised by an elected council. It is responsible for providing a full range of local services, including education, fire and police services, libraries, refuse collection and disposal, road planning and maintenance, and social services. Devolution. Most Scots long believed that Scotland should have greater control over its own affairs, and they supported some amount of devolution (the granting of self-government). In 1997, British Prime Minister Tony Blair proposed a referendum on plans for a Scottish Parliament. On September 11 of that year, the Scots voted to accept the plans. Under the plans, legislative body will decide most Scottish domestic affairs and will have the power to raise or lower Scotland's taxes by 3 percent. The British Parliament in London will retain control of such matters as foreign affairs, defense, employment legislation, and social security.
Music Scottish music has traditionally centered on the bagpipe. The Scots divide bagpipe music into big music and little music. Big music includes warlike or sad songs called pibrochs. Little music includes marches and music for dancing. The Scottish reel, the Highland fling, the sword dance, and other traditional dances are performed to little music. The Edinburgh International Festival of the Arts, held in Edinburgh each August, features musical and dramatic productions.
Bagpipe is a wind instrument that consists of a leather bag fitted with one or more pipes. Bagpipes produce a continuous flow of penetrating, somewhat shrill tones. There are many varieties of bagpipes. Practically all types produce melodies within a range of nine notes. Bagpipes are used as solo instruments--often to accompany folk dances--and in military bands. The most common type of bagpipe is the Scottish Highland pipe, a famous symbol of Scotland. The Highland pipe has five pipes: a blowpipe, a chanter, and three drones. A player blows air through the blowpipe into the bag which is held under one arm. The player presses on the bag to force air through the other pipes, creating sound.
The structure of Bagpipe
The melody is played on the chanter, which has a double reed and eight finger holes. Each drone produces a single, steady note. Two drones sound one octave below the tonic note of the chanter, and the other drone sounds two octaves lower. The bagpipe dates back thousands of years and is one of the oldest instruments still in use. Its origin is unknown. Different forms of the instrument evolved in various places.
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