Nature's tartan!

Good lord, I've just wasted a good few minutes in the intricacies of tartan. Did you know:
Tartan is made of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours
The resulting blocks of colour repeat vertically and horizontally in a distinctive pattern of squares and lines known as a sett. 

The sett is made up of a series of woven threads which cross at right angles 

The earliest documented tartan in Britain, is the  "Falkirk" tartan, dating from the 3rd century AD and found near the Antonine wall and was a simple check design
The tartan as we know it today is not thought to have existed in Scotland before the 16th century. 

Efforts to pacify the Highlands led to the Dress Act of 1746, banning tartans,  repealed in 1782

Clan tartans date no earlier than the beginning of the 19th century,  and were due to the Highland romantic revival

Queen Vic loved a bit of tartan
Today there is a massive variety of tartans, 25000! Rather pleasingly this is almost like All Ireland Green


Actually once you start looking at videos of men in kilts you're doomed:


the humble plaid - the garment not the pattern

kilted yoga - yes really



I have to confess to being very impressed by men in kilts and cannot be allowed out in Edinburgh on my own. The kilt and bagpipe combination - fatal! (I am half Scottish so that must explain it  but my lot were mostly Borders rabbit catchers and shepherds)
I have resisted Donald where's my Troosers but crikey! 
And the original object has Kiwi origins!