And like many of my generation, the sights and sounds of cowboys, gunfighters, Comanches, wagons, outlaws, the US cavalry; not forgetting ballads sung by the old campfire following hot coffee and a plate of beans (on the windy plains!) have continued to thrill me with nostalgic excitement.

Whether it was on the big screen, or small black & white screen, western adventures filled my youthful imagination… I saw myself as an amalgamation of John Wayne, Roy Rogers & The Lone Ranger.

Of course, for today’s younger generation, westerns are often looked upon as old hat (or should that be an old battered stetson.

Yet their enduring popularity can still be witnessed by the amount of cowboy movies regularly cropping up on numerous channels, featuring everyone from Gary Cooper to Clint Eastwood.

Not so long ago, I was conferring with some amigos (in other words, old pals) about what movie titles you could give to an invented new genre: the “Scottish Western”? Or would that be better described as a “Haggis Western”...or even a “Porridge Oater”.

Here are some potential titles: ‘A Fistful Of Vapes’, ‘The Good, The Bad & The Thrifty’, ‘Once Upon A Time In The Kirkgate’, ‘Johnny Bagpipes’, ‘The Man From West Pilton’, ‘Ruaridh Rides Alone’, ‘Buckfast Buckaroo’, ‘Duel At Duke Street’ or even ‘Tumbleweeds Through The Trossachs’.

Scotland’s connection with the American Wild West (both fact and fiction) is rich in so many ways, that it’s often overlooked how much of a contribution our country has made out on the dusty prairies.

Take for instance, the legend of The Alamo. Did you know that there were four Scotsmen who fought and died during that famous battle in Texas. They included one John McGregor, the stranger who wore a kilt. One Eyed Jocks according to historical sources, played the bagpipes on the battlements, while accompanying Davy Crockett on the bow & fiddle. A fact that John Wayne omitted to include in his 1960 version.

Then there was the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency formed by a Scotsman: Allan Pinkerton, who were instrumental in tracking down the notorious Jesse James & Cole Younger outlaw gangs.

Another almost forgotten Scottish pioneering figure, was Alexander MacKenzie, who was the first white man to cross over the north American continent to the Pacific ocean. No doubt he encountered a few risky moments when coming face to face with some of the Native American tribes. His accent would no doubt have caused a few puzzled faces. Perhaps that’s were the phrase “White Man Speak With Forked Tongue” first originated?

In Hollywood, the odd Scots figure would crop up in Western movies, usually as comic relief, whilst wearing a tartan bunnet to easily distinguish him.

One of the most popular was Andy Clyde who played sidekick to matinee hero, Hopalong Cassidy. While Falkirk’s Jimmy Finlayson played the proprietor of “Mickey Finn’s Palace” of Brushwood Gulch, in the classic Laurel & Hardy comedy Way Out West.

Much later, Scottish screenwriter Alan Sharp was responsible for writing two westerns in the early 1970s with a slight tartan tinge to them. In 1972, it was the violent Ulzana’s Raid, with Burt Lancaster as a veteran cavalry scout going by the name of ‘Mr McIntosh’. Although perhaps wisely, Burt avoided tackling the tricky accent, preferring to tackle the Apaches instead.

Two years later, came another western called Billy Two Hats, with Gregory Peck cast as a bewhiskered Scottish outlaw going by the name of – Archie Deans. With an accent as thick as a bowl of porridge, Mr Peck gamely did his best in getting his tongue around the scripts Teuchter flavouring, whilst evading the lawman hot on histrail.

For my money, the worst example of a Hollywood actor playing a Scotsman out west, was Brian Keith, opposite Jimmy Stewart in The Rare Breed. With a ginger toned ‘See You Jimmy’ wig atop his head while clutching the bagpipes, he mangled and chewed up the accent, easily producing the most outrageously hammy caricatured image of a Scotsman on screen ever!

I wonder while preparing for the role, if he feasted on a steady diet of old Hogmanay shows, just to get the vocal inflections right?

Of course, Scotland’s most famous movie star, Sean Connery took a temporary break from shaken Vodka Martinis, by heading west in Shalako.

By all accounts, he had no issue producing the appropriate accent!