DOWN UNDER THE KILT
SYDNEY CONFIDENTIAL - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA)
19 OCTOBER 2002

Hoot toots. The Confidential team canny believe that visiting Scotsman Hamish Clark, star of ABC TV’s Monarch of the Glen, will scale the Harbour Bridge next week in nothing but his kilt.

“Things on my ‘to do’ list are seeing a Kangaroo, eating lots of great seafood, having a go at a didgeridoo – I hear it’s the local bagpipe – and I’m going to look into climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but I hope nobody will look up my kilt,” Clark, who plays Duncan, told Confidential at the airport prior to his departure from Inverness.

“I’m from a coastal town and was brought up by the water – I’d love to try surfing whilst I’m in Australia and want to do some sailing as well.”

Clark is in Sydney to launch the Scottish website www.ancestralscotland.com on Tuesday at The Establishment.

He has also courted Australia’s most famous Scot, Jimmy Barnes, to play unplugged at the bash.

Clark, who has been performing his show Hamish Whips it Out at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival launched the website in the UK.

It enables people to track down their Scottish roots and provides information on where to go and who to see should they travel to Scotland to walk in their forebear’s footsteps.

Clark did this himself – and surprised one of his ancestor’s turning up unannounced on his doorstep.

Confidential hears that at the party he’ll be whipping out a video of his experience, and guests can search for their own Scottish roots.