I’ve been doing a bit of thinking about Scotland.  I was doing a search yesterday for a surname that I could read properly and found 14 of you of Scottish decent, the Macs and the Mcs.  So three things on this:

 

1)       Sometimes I allow myself to be incredibly plebian and have been watching… The X factor.  There are two Scottish boys called the Macdonald brothers, they are a bit like the Everly brothers or the Proclaimers but not as good.  Now I’m not slagging off Scottish music, they gave us (the British people, which I do know includes Scotland) Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, the Eurythmics, Texas etc.  But there are so blatently rubbish, that I can only conclude that the whole of Scotland X factor viewers are voting for them because they are Scottish.  This idea is based on several prejudices.

 

2)       Both my Grandparents are from Scotland, one from Edinburgh and one from Glasgow.  My Grandpa always says deliberating confusing things in Scottish dilect, like where do you stay?  Meaning and where are you living now? I also believe this is because he doesn’t like the English

 

3)       One of my Scottish friends said that he would definitely cheer for any other team that was playing against the England team in football, I asked, really do you care that much?  He said, that he thinks Scottish people are still angry about the occupation of their lands by the English – I’m sure this isn’t true?? Or is it?  He also gets annoyed when English people use England when the mean Britain, yes that is a bit annoying.

 

All this makes me feel a bad for being a bit of an ignoramus when it comes to our neighbouring country, what things can we find out about Scotland:

 

1)       Scotland are world leaders in terms of wave energy technology, hydro-tastic

2)       Unwitnessed holographic wills are valid in Scotland but not in the rest of the Uk

3)       Around 5 millions people live in Scotland

4)       Female Midges, the swarming pesky flies prolific to lochs and such, are the only ones that bite, having detected their prey by the carbon dioxide it produces.

5)       Talking of Lochs the largest is Loch Lomond at 27.5 square miles (71.1 square km)

6)       Drambuie the golden liqueur based on Scotch malt whisky, sweetened with a hint of heather honey and flavoured with herbs was apparently a secret recipe passed on by the Bonnie Prince Charlie who was helped to safety by Flora Macdonald who rowed him to safety in 1745, this tale has been immortalised by the Skye Boat Song: “Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing…”!!

7)       Robert the Bruce, on his deathbed in 1329 asked that his heart should be removed and taken into battle as he himself had been unable to go on a crusade, in

1818 when his body was exhumed they found his ribs had been sawn through and presumed the death wish had been carried out as asked.The tallest man is

  Scotland was Angus Macaskill from Berneray off the Hebridean island of Harris, born in 1825 he grew to 7ft 9inches tall, a true giant by their recording!

9)   Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in Scotland at 2,406 feet.

10) Couples are able to marry in Scotland at age 16, even without parental consent, this has given rise to many an eloper hopping up to Gretna Green to tie the know, there are some legal requirements though such as “Both parties must not be related too closely - some of the less obvious prohibitions include aunt, uncle, niece, nephew.”- Just so you know.

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