Scots’ Hospitality

VL Angus until 2009 was a Branch of the Victoria League Scotland and has operated in Angus since 1952.  Today we are a stand alone group of host families living in Angus who enjoy having overseas visitors to our homes.  We have no charitable status of our own, but have historical ties to the Victoria League in Scotland which is now the Victoria League Charitable Trust Fund.  Instead of providing hospitality directly to overseas visitors this is now a grant giving body based in Edinburgh.  Up until 2009 our branch was part of the Victoria League in Scotland, but with it’s change in purpose, it’s new remit prevented us from operating as part of this charity in it’s new format.  However as our branch wanted to continue our very active hospitality program, we have become a group referred to as VL Angus.

The original concept for the League was conceived in the late 19^th century by Lady Jersey, wife of the Viceroy of Australia. She was distressed to find that many young Australians returned from a trip to the “old Country” without visiting a British home. When Lady Jersey returned to Britain she determined to start an organisation which would offer friendship, closer understanding and hospitality to the people of the Empire. She started campaigning and attracted Queen Victoria’s interest and support. In 1901 the League for Commonwealth Friendship was formed.

In 1907 the Edinburgh branch was formed, concentrating its efforts on offering hospitality to overseas students and sending as much literature as possible to lonely settlers in the Commonwealth. At that time freight costs for literature were free and whole libraries were sent out to the great delight of those who received them. Even after the Second World War magazines continued to be dispatched until the cost of postage became too high.  In the beginning, hospitality was arranged by the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer – Lady Wallace who held parties in her house for newly-arrived students to which she invited potential hostesses. By the end of the evening every student was invited to something by somebody. However, in 1914 at the start of the Great War, it was obvious that things had to change. A Day Club was opened for overseas servicemen in Rutland Square with a dining room and two lounges but it was soon apparent that more was needed. By the end of the war, the Victoria League had four residential clubs where they had provided accommodation for 300,000 and served over 1 million meals.

Between the two World Wars, the Victoria League continued to have a Day Centre at 19 Coates Crescent and hospitality was arranged in Scottish homes as well as parties, picnics and outings for students.  In 1940, the King George and Queen Elizabeth Victoria League Club was opened at 121A Princes Street. This again proved to be too small and different annexes had to be opened in other parts of Edinburgh. During the years of World War 2 accommodation was provided for 807,860 men and 2,021,890 meals were served. Servicemen could get a bed in a dormitory for 1/3, a bed in a double room for 1/6 and, if they wanted privacy, a single room for 2/-. A typical meal menu was Victoria Broth 2d, Fillet of Haddock and Parsley Sauce 8d (equivalent of 3&1/2p in today’s money), Scotch Haggis and Tatties 6d, Empire Fruit Dumplings and Custard Sauce 3d, Coffee 2d and Tea 1d.  The club had a Hospitality desk which was constantly mobbed. Servicemen were sent to hostesses all over Scotland with some hostesses taking up to eight men at a time. Unfortunately, former guests were apt to turn up again, without prior warning.  One hostess arrived home one evening to find no fewer than 14 would-be guests (including an entire Canadian bomber crew) waiting hopefully in the drawing room! It is not recorded what she did with them all.

The Victoria League in Scotland became autonomous in 1951 and it was then that branches, like the one in Angus were formed around the country. Lord Dalhousie was the driving force behind the formation of the Angus branch. A meeting was held at his home, Brechin Castle and a committee formed with Lord Dalhousie as chairman, Lord Airlie as President and the Provost of the burgh of Brechin as Honorary Vice-President. By 1954 there were 27 members, 22 overseas visitors had been given residential hospitality and 134, day hospitality. Of these 70 were Canadian schoolgirls. According to the minutes of the AGM that year, the day hospitality included a welcome by the Provost of Brechin, a tour of Glamis Castle by the Earl of Strathmore, tea with the provost of Kirriemuir and hostesses from that area, and a tour of Cortachy Castle by the Earl and Countess of Airlie.

By the 1960s most overseas visitors being given hospitality were from Sandhurst and Dartmouth and the branch paid for their accommodation at “The Burn” in Edzell. Other accommodation adopted by the branch was a room at the club in Edinburgh, contributing to its upkeep, but by the late 1970s it became apparent that the club was no longer financially viable. New fire regulations, the increasing cost of wages and the availability of subsidised university accommodation all contributed to the decision to close it down. From now on VL concentrated on organising the Friendship Scheme, ceilidhs and coach trips. Gradually the scope of the Victoria League in Scotland had widened to include students from all over the world, not just from the Commonwealth.

In 1987 the Overseas Student Counsellor at Dundee University approached the, as it was then, Victoria League Angus Branch asking them to offer hospitality to overseas students studying at Dundee University. It was felt that many of the students who came to Dundee would benefit from having contact with a Scottish family. Many came from countries with a very different climate and culture from Scotland. They arrived in autumn with the weather becoming colder and the nights drawing in. Moreover they had left their friends and families behind and often had pressure to attain good degrees to justify the sacrifices their families had made to send them abroad. A friendly welcome from a local family could make the difference between academic success and failure. Branch members in Angus responded enthusiastically and some of these original hosts are still hosting students. Many have remained in contact with students they hosted and some even have visited the students in their own countries.

Chibueze from Nigeria explains his reasons for requesting hosts through the Home Hospitality Scheme “I came into Dundee & Scotland for the first time in January (2008) with little or no idea about the life and culture of the people in this part of the globe.” He goes on to explain how he was put in contact with Penrose and John who live near Montrose. “I took a train to Montrose on the day and John was there to receive me. I was a total stranger but I was received more like a son who was returning home. He took me on a site seeing tour of the city of Montrose and eventually we got home to meet Penrose. She received me with great delight.” Chibueze describes the remainder of his visit and subsequent one. “I still have and open invitation to visit Penrose and John anytime I wish. I soon realized that Penrose and John had been in this business of welcoming strangers and giving them a good foot to stand in a foreign land…………….. Frankly, I feel more at home now and have got another home away from home.”

It is easy to see why the Hospitality Scheme is popular with students but what are the benefits to the hosts? Obviously there must be, otherwise hosts would not continue to be involved for so long. Contact with overseas students gives the families a special insight into the country and the culture of the student. Some hosts have lived and worked abroad and have fond memories of their time there. The students are keen to talk about their country and show hosts aspects of their culture e.g. by preparing typical food. If the hosts have children, they have their minds opened to a different culture and may have the possibility of visiting the country during a “gap year”. Here is a comment from one 10 year old whose family have been hosting for many years.

“Having students over to your home is great fun and a nice way of making new friends and it helps the students feel more at home and like they have sort of got at least one friend in a new country. It is also a good way to learn about different countries. So if you are interested in a country get in touch with the VL.”

Different cultures have different acceptable forms of behaviour which means people can react differently to situations. One of the Angus hosts recalls a visit made to his home by two students – one from Sri Lanka and the other from Japan. Conversation flowed easily between the Sri Lankan student and the family but the Japanese student said next to nothing for most of the visit. The hosts concluded that he had not enjoyed his time with them until they received a letter from him. After thanking his hosts for an enjoyable visit, he apologised for not saying very much but explained that in his culture it was polite in conversation to allow a pause to develop before starting to speak on another subject. The student was concerned that his hosts had considered him rude for saying so little but the others had begun to speak again before his natural response allowed him to continue the conversation. The explanation put a completely different meaning on the student’s behaviour and it is easy to see how lack of understanding of another’s culture can lead to problems.

In a wider context, the hospitality scheme helps overseas students form a positive view of Scotland. This could be beneficial to future relations between the countries as many of the graduates will eventually be involved in the business and government structure of their country.  Here is a comment from a student about the hospitality given by VL in Angus which shows their appreciation of it.  “ I have come across many friends in my life but such a wonderful friendly and lovely approach to a stranger I have never ever seen.” This Indian student goes on to describe how he and his host walked on the beach and he spoke of his love for his own country and then “…… I love Scotland and Scottish family, my love towards Scotland become 10000 times more because of Mr &Mrs ………. . Thank you very much.”

Some of the mature students are accompanied by their wives and families which bring other concerns for the student. Hiroshi from Japan writes: “I came here with my family (my wife and three daughters) and first, I was a little anxious about how we were able to set in and adjust ourselves to a new country. We are very lucky that we met Euan, Susie, Sophie and Jock via VL Angus. They kindly invited us and show the Scotland Beauty not only the nature but also the human. ……………….. We are so touched that Euan and Susie gave warm-hearted hospitality. My wife have been enjoying communicating with Susie, and it certainly helped her staying in Scotland very much. We had a nice about how Sophie and Jock have been nice to our daughters and how our daughters have been feeling comfortable and been relaxed talking to them.  We never forget this, and we strongly feel that we should do the same thing to the people from outside after going back home. Studying abroad is not easy for the students and their family, but we are very glad we can replace this anxiety to the nice memory.”

The Dundee University contact for VL Angus’s hospitality scheme is Susan Scott, International Student Adviser of the Student Advisory Service. She made this comment:  “We have many international students arriving from 80 countries in September and January and it is vital that these students are welcomed and supported at every stage of their time in Dundee. As well as promoting the University’s extensive support service during induction and welcome events, we also recognise that international students enjoy the opportunity to integrate with the wider community. This is where VL Angus provides a unique opportunity for the students to experience Scottish hospitality first hand.  …………… There is no doubt that the excellent home hospitality offered to our International student community has a part to play in the overall international student experience at the University of Dundee and we look forward to maintaining these links for many years to come.”

While VL Angus has a core of dedicated host families, each year more are required to maintain the number of students hosted. Families often keep “their” students for the three or four years of their degree or family circumstances sometimes mean they are unable to host students in a particular year. So to extend the scheme requires the recruitment of even more families.

What is required of a host family? Firstly, it is not necessary to live in the Angus area. We have families who live in Kincardineshire and North-east Perthshire and anywhere within an hour’s journey from Dundee is an acceptable distance for the students to travel. Mostly the students travel by bus or train to visit their hosts and are picked up at the station by the host family but, in some cases, it is more convenient for the host to collect them.  What sort of hospitality does a host have to provide for the student? It is left up to the host family to decide what they offer. Many begin by inviting the student for a meal.  Sometimes families and/or the students prefer to visit in pairs as it eases conversation at first. As the friendship develops students may be invited to visit for the day, or if the host family stays an hour so distant from Dundee then an offer of an overnight stay might be made. Like all friendships some become firm, affectionate connections but others are cordial, casual encounters which fade away after a few meetings. However, the initial contact may be a vital one for the student concerned, providing a welcome in a strange country and allowing him or her to settle to study.

During the year VL Angus also organise a Tea Party and Ceilidh for overseas students in a village hall. This allows students the opportunity to meet some of the hosts informally before deciding if they wish to join the Friendship Scheme. The Tea Party is held in October at the end of a bus tour around Angus which lets them see a bit of the local area. The Ceilidh, held in March is much enjoyed by students and hosts alike. Traditional food like stovies is served and dancing is led by the Sound of Dun, an enthusiastic group who appear to enjoy the event as much as the dancers.

The main characteristic of our hosts is the ability to provide a warm welcome to a stranger in this country and to offer them friendship.  Obi from Nigeria gave the vote of thanks at one of the Tea Parties. He described how he was told before he left his home that Scotland was a cold country and that he would need thick sweaters to keep him warm. He agreed that he did need his sweaters “………… yes, Scotland is a cold country but the people – they are warm.”

How wonderful for our country and its people to be viewed in this way.