Scottish grans only

You’re on a roll today TerriBull. I couldn’t even begin to better your post. Thanks for reminding everyone what England has in it’s identity!??????? (??)

kevincharley

It has an identity which England seems to miss.
Tartan, whisky, haggis, Loch Ness monster, bagpipes, the saltire.
What has England got? Even it's flag has been 'stolen'.

Well off the top of my head, Stonehenge, The Roman Baths, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, Canterbury Cathedral and all the other Norman Cathedrals built around the same time, Stratford on Avon, The Lake District, The Peak District, The beauty and wildness of Northumberland, Warwick Castle, Windsor Castle and umpteen other castles, Cornwall (rude people, allegedly) but still lovely and majestic, South Hams, Devon sublime. Shakespeare, Christopher Wren, Isaac Newton, Jane Austen, Dickens, Shelley, Keats, Mad bad Lord Byron, The Bronte Sisters, Thomas Hardy, London a world class city, Bath a city of known for the beauty of it's Georgian Crescents and Roman Baths, York another city with a magnificent cathedral steeped in history, Oxford and Cambridge world class universities, The Beatles and all those that followed in their wake and put us right up there on a world stage, Tim Berners Lee who gave the world The World Wide Web.

Keven Charley, maybe it's your sense of irony but The Lock Ness Monster, hate to tell you this, doesn't exist, part of Scottish mythology.

As for our identity if you know your history we like The Romans have absorbed aspects of other cultures from the wave upon wave of immigration England has had from various parts of the world, so you see today it's all a bit merged. However, I think you'll still find a naice cup of tea and a scone on the green to the resounding thwack of the cricket bat is still the hallmark of all things English, or even Morris Dancing, hope that answers your question as to what has England got.

It has an identity which England seems to miss.
Tartan, whisky, haggis, Loch Ness monster, bagpipes, the saltire.
What has England got? Even it's flag has been 'stolen'.

"We all know our political history. (Churchill sending troops to George Square..."
Dear LovelyLady, may I suggest that - in this particular case at least - you don't know your political history? This absolute guff about Churchill sending the hated English Troops and Tanks to Glasgow to strike-break and massacre innocent Scots workers is a myth fabricated by Independence Supporters and Socialists at the time; manipulated by politicians every so often to suit their particular agendas; and trotted out afresh every few years by the SNP and swallowed whole by their uncritical adherents. Here's a couple of links to articles outlining what really happened:

winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/glasgow-tanks-george-square/
and
gordon-barclay.net/blog/mythologies-2-churchill-sent-english-troops-and-tanks-into-george-square-glasgow-in-1919-to-crush-a-strike-stop-a-revolution/

Both are good reading, and illustrate very well how historical facts may be shamelessly revised for political rabble-rousing ends.

I agree Mollygo and whilst I appreciate most Scottish people are charming and lovely, my first experience in Scotland as
a young adult was not altogether a positive one. I worked in the London branch of a Scottish Life Assurance company, I got sent up to the head office in Scotland a couple of times. On meeting one or two of my Scottish counterparts, there was a definite underlying hostility and unfriendliness. At the time I related that to the fact as pointed out by them a resentment towards the fact that the staff in London got something called London Weighting, a paltry allowance that topped up salaries to assist with the cost of commuting, plus we got something like .15p a day in Luncheon Vouchers, which didn't really stretch to the cost of half a sandwich and had to be saved all week to buy anything significant. I got chapter and verse from one particular woman on how privileged and lucky we were in London and how unfair it was, that we received what in reality amounted to very little. I tried to point out that commuting from the suburbs, no one can afford to live anywhere near the centre of town, on filthy trains that had clapped out rolling stock, liable to break down and could be cancelled at the drop of a hat for a whole gamut of reasons "leaves on lines" and the "wrong type of snow" could hardly be called a privilege particularly when they in Scotland could take advantage of a modern coach supplied by the company to get them to work. I lost count of the times I arrived at Waterloo to find everything cancelled wondering just how I would ever get home that night. To add to that at head office they enjoyed a slap up subsidised (massively) 3 course meal for mere pence . When I went back to London I did ask my boss if this one particular employee who seemed completely over the top in her animosity "is it just that, the misconception that we somehow have more than them, or does she dislike me for some reason or other, or is it something more" his reply went something like this "it is something more that particular individual is known to have a visceral and irrational dislike of the English you need to read your history books" I told him "I wasn't prepared to be her whipping boy or girl in my case Bloody hell, it's not as if my ancestors were all English anyway, and even if they were, how the hell am I responsible for whatever England was doing to Scotland back in the day"

My husband, also many years ago, when staying with his longstanding wonderful Scottish friend and equally lovely family was in a bar with said friend, some acquaintance his friend knew wandered over x went to introduce them with "this is x from London" and that person literally turned on his heel and just walked off leaving my husband nonplussed and friend embarrassed So yes really shocking and hard to fathom how such prejudice can be dished out by virtue of where someone comes from.

Personally I wouldn't eulogise any part of England or its people, I think where I live is lovely gorgeous that's personal to me I wouldn't hold it up as a unique example of loveliness either because there are so many places that could be described in such a way . The people are friendly, and guess what we also strike up conversations apropos of nothing in particular in shops and other places where the public congregate. Like everywhere else there will also be grade A arses, strange as it may seem there is propensity of the good the bad and the prejudiced wherever you go. It comes under the umbrella of the human condition I do believe!

Marydoll I'd love that! Thank you

I just assumed it said Scottish grans only because, unlike Mumsnet, there isn’t a specific Scottish board.

And it didn’t appear to prevent non-Scots joining.

Good post TerriBull. We have never been treated any less politely in Scotland than anywhere else or found people any less or more friendly in Scotland than elsewhere. Perth is my favourite place for a warm welcome in Scotland.
Working for a Scottish firm if you’re English is a different matter. They were unhelpful, put Dh’s requests to the end of the lists, which made it difficult to do his job and would tell fellow workers in the background, when speaking to him on the phone, that they were speaking to ‘that English Git’. From the ensuing noise in the background he gathered they were of much the same ilk.
Poor manners, wherever you’re from, tends to make the recipients tar everyone from there with the same brush. E.g. “Cornwall was the most unfriendly place I’ve ever been.” “Working for a Scottish firm . . .”

I love Orkney which is beautiful no matter the weather. Where history and wildlife are everywhere and the people are friendly and welcoming.
Walking on the cliffs and watching the sea birds ( I hope that they don't all catch bird flu.) Sheila Fleet jewellery too!

Oh *annodomino• please not Highland Cathedral, it was not only written by two German composers but it breaks one of the key ‘rules’ of pipe music, namely the fourth measure is only related very very loosely musically to either the first or the second measure.

There are innumerable laments that could be played at that solemn occasion, that are so much more Scottish and less dreck, talk to a real piper and ask her to play you a few.

The accent, the scenery, the fact you can walk anywhere you want as long as it's not private land.

Esspee I originally wasn’t going to post as I also felt that your use of “unique” felt a wee bit exclusionary. I think there are many other areas of the UK where the people are friendly, welcoming and equally proud of where they live, where the scenery is stunningly beautiful, etc.
That’s not to say that I don’t love Scotland and Dundee in particular.
I love that we can experience all four seasons not just in a day but in an hour!
I love our sarky sense of humour, taking the p… out of each other is virtually an art form in my family.
I love that we grow and produce some of the tastiest foods known to man-kind, e.g. Haggis, deep fried Mars Bars and Irn Bru ?
I love that the unicorn is our National animal and the Thistle is our National flower.
I love that Dundee once elected Teddy Scrymgeour, the only Prohibitionist ever to be an MP (and he beat Winston Churchill who’d been the previous incumbent for 14 years).
I love that William McGonagall, the “world’s worst poet” is forever associated with Dundee.
I also loved the previous thread you referred to, but alas I still haven’t found a decent buttery ☹️

These things aren't exclusive to Scottish people. Here in Birmingham people are warm, kind, funny, most say thank you to bus drivers.
We have beautiful scenery within walking distance of here - a country park with lakes, wildlife and fields.

TerriBull

There is something rather exclusionary about the title of this thread, "Scottish grans only" insomuch as how many of us would have winced at say once upon a time at something pertaining to "men only" "whites only". In this age of inclusivity it kind of smacks of "don't post here if you are anything but Scottish and not a grandparent either!" Maybe that's not the intention but there's a subliminal message and a certain amount of "throwing down of the gauntlet" by a minority. For example, God's Own Country, We Scottish have nice manners, we all treat each other equally, we look after our neighbours and on and on. We of course south of the border treat our neighbours like rotting chopped liver and as one poster intermittently posts "The English don't speak to their neighbours!" All supposition take the worst of what you hear about a country, magnify it and conflate that with our history and hey presto every English person is a perfect incarnation of Oliver Cromwell. It's a shame because there are so many lovely Scottish posters here who clearly would go out of their way to be as hospitable and express that pride in Scotland without turning it in to a political point scoring lecture. As indeed there are those Scottish grans who have travelled and lived in other places and know that, as beautiful as Scotland undoubtedly is, no one place has the monopoly on scenic beauty and kindness, but of course that takes an attitude that is neither parochial or insular.

Good post Terribull

paddyann54

As a weegie I say people ,people who are the most generous ,friendly helpful that you could ever hope to meet .Stand at a bustop and swap life stories with a stranger ,ask for directions and find the person you ask will get in your car and take you where you want to go .
I have always had wonderful neighbours ,folk who become like family who help you through bad times and join you for the good .Of course I live in a lovely part of the country so theres great scenery ,good restaurants brilliant history and lots more.
Why would we ever want to live anywhere else ?This as our minister friend tells anyone who'll listen is Gods own country

I'll second that.

As a Scot who has lived elsewhere in the world it is the warmth of the people and the hospitality. I have seen lots of wonderful mountains, rivers, scenery in other countries but not always experienced warmth and hospitality like you do in Scotland. It is our sense of humour and being able to make people laugh, our interest in others and their story (some say we are nosey).

Daisend1 - I don’t live in Scotland, but I can assure you I always say ‘thank you’ to the bus driver !!

Buying a home in Scotland is fairer than in the rest of the UK.

Terribull We had a lovely thread about our language not so long ago and I was hoping this would be a lighthearted one about things that we love about our country. There was no subliminal attempt at exclusion. I simply hoped to hear what fellow Scots love about our country.
I am sorry some people chose to be negative and/or misinterpret the subject.

Excellent post Terribull. This attitude of Scottish exceptionalism makes people blind to its faults and is quite sinister. Nowhere is all good/bad. I’ve moved countless times over the years, including to Developing World countries and everywhere has its pluses and minuses.

It is rare I need to use public transport but on the occasions I do would not leave with out thanking the driver Neither does it cost anything to smile and say ' hello' when getting on the bus.

I think most of us think where we live is unique. I think where I live is beautiful and unique.

I’m also English and my Scottish friends were going to a wedding and as I knew her sister she invited me along. I got abuse off few ppl in shops. But her husband came to my aid telling them in so many words as a Scottish man he was ashamed that ppl would treat me that way. Because I was English. Like he said he can give me abuse but his isn’t in a nasty way. I was with his cousin wife who by the way is Irish so yes you had us all in same place lol

Nonny, Yes its true I have English friends who have sometimes been made to feel unwelcome. The Scotland /England thing is still happening!!

But, despite being Scottish when I lived up North, in a wild place for a while, I was never accepted there . The comments were, 'Well at least you are Scottish'... this condescending comment because I come from the lowlands!!

I have lived in many other countries... Sweden, California, France ,India...all beautiful in their own ways but the thing I love in Scotland is the quality of the light and despite the few Xenophobic people I experience the people have poetic souls, are welcoming and generous and are a highly creative people.

The land is lush and green thanks to all the rain we complain about and you are never far away from a a green area, a mountain or water and I can walk anywhere I like without being challenged. Also we have a lot of space up here which is wonderful.
I come from Edinburgh but I have to say the people from Glasgow and the West are by far the friendliest people I have ever met.

What an excellent post TerriBull. Let me stress that even though I've encountered being made unwelcome in areas of Scotland, there are other areas where we've been made to feel like royalty. I still now have a sense of genuine pride that our daughter graduated from one of the finest universities in the world with a first class degree. Like already has been said, there's good and bad all over the world.