Scotland

As suggested, here's a separate thread for Scotland. I was born in England but moved to Scotland when I was about a week old. It's where all my family come from, although we are now spread out throughout the UK and world.



Capital city: Edinburgh



Largest city: Glasgow



Flag: The St. Andrews cross



Patron saint: St. Andrew (St. Andrew's day = 30th November) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Andrew%27s_Day

We are very proud of our history and culture. One of the best ways to insult a Scot is to say s/he is English or refer to Scotland as part of England. In football, we will generally support any team playing against England. The English don't understand this (and it's not true of all Scots) but it is a wonderful way to wind them up. I, for one, will be rooting for Switzerland at the World Cup in South Africa. We have our own parliament which can legislate over certain issues such as education but generally we are ruled by the British government which is based in London.

A few famous Scots:
John Logie Baird (inventor of the television)
James Barrie (creator of Peter Pan)
Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone)
Robert Burns (author and poet, writer of Auld Lang Syne, Burns' Night celebrated on January 25th http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_supper)
Sean Connery
Arthur Conan Doyle (author of the Sherlock Holmes books)
Alex Ferguson (legendary trainer of Manchester United)
Amy MacDonald
Ewan McGregor
Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island)
Rod Stewart

And the groups Franz Ferdinand, Travis, Biffy Clyro, The Fratellis, Garbage, Glasvegas to name just a few.

Other "typically Scottish" things:
Kilts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilt - yes, both my dad and brother have kilts

Tartans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan
My surname is "Stewart" so we have some of the most famous tartans. Each "clan" (family) has their own tartan and some clans have more than one. These are the Stewart tartans: http://www.scotclans.com/scottish_clans/clan_stewart/tartan.html

Bagpipes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagpipes
Haggis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggis
Scottish country dancing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_country_dance
Nessie i.e. The Loch Ness Monster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster

And by the way, this myth that Scots are mean with money is NOT true. We are just careful and don't go throwing it around.

wooow thanks a lot ! you've done a great great job with this thread !
(great idea to put names of famous scotish by the way ! i should do that for the France thread. Ewan McGregor is one of my favourite actor )

it makes me feel so good to read all this, cause i've got so great memories in Scotland (and i misse Scotland and Scottish people so much).
I agree with the cliché of Scotish being mean with money ! that's absolutely not true, they're careful with it, don't waste it, but i've meat the most generous people in Scotland (generous on every point).
Hmmmm hope i'll be able to go back there anytime soon !

Oh and i love Edinburgh! The buildings (not only the castle but everywhere in the old city) are amazing ! And the Loch Ness is such a peaceful place :) but no sign from Nessie i was disappointed =P

do you often go back to Scotland :) ?

Aw, thanks, it always makes me happy when people tell me they have had a great time in Scotland and that they found the people really friendly

I don't get to go back to Scotland a lot because my parents, brother and my friends all live in London. The last time I was there was in 2004 for my cousin's wedding in St. Andrews. That's a long time ago.

Great post, AreYouAwake, thank you so much! I've never been to Scotland, shame on me, but it's definitely on my to-do-list as I love the accent, the music (you've mentioned some of my favorite bands - Franz Ferdinand and Glasvegas -) and the landscape (well, as I've seen it on pictures and in movies...).

thank you for this nice summary
I learned a lot
it makes you want to go there ^ ^