General Chat

Uilleann pipes or Bagpipes? Neither an easy instrument to learn.

Hi Potty

Yes it does :-D

I'm Scottish born, but I have a teaspoon of Irish blood.... my grandfather's great-grandmother (something like that, I'll have to check my tree!)

I'm getting in a wee bit early for St Paddy's day.



:-D :-D

Lady Scozz

Does the phrase on your avatar mean the same as the Scottish Gaelic "Pog ma thom"?

Where is everybody?

:-(

I don't mean where you live........... I'm wondering why there are so few posts.

<3

Have you heard of "Pride's Petition to Lord Prestongrange?"

You can find information here:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stenhouse/coal/pbl/Texts/pride_tack.htm

There's lots more if you google........ I'm not sure where it is, but the original document is in one of the museums in or near Prestonpans/Prestongrange.

Two of the men who signed it are my ancestors, Robert Pride b1710 (my 7xgreat-grandfather, James Pride (Robert's brother b1719) and their father James Pride born about 1678 (ofcourse, my 8xgreat-grandfather).

An interesting piece of trivia...... Robert Pride (my 7xgreat) is supposed to have fought at the battle of Prestonpans. With what? He was a coal miner, so he couldn't have afforded a gun or other weapons....... I'm trying to imagine him running onto the battlefield with a pick & a coal shovel.

There will be another Pride (now spelled Pryde) family reunion next year, I wish I could go!

Guess where I am going this June OFITG?
Yes... Skye, Lewis, Harris and Barra ...... have also booked a day trip to St Kilda!

Lewis and Harris has been named as the best island in Europe by an international travel site. It also beat rivals in Thailand, Chile and Madagascar to be included in the top five islands in the world.

Scotland featured several times on the list with Orkney and Isle of Mull also named in the European top 10.

Scotland also dominated the top 10 UK island list with six of the top 10 islands found north of the border. Skye, Arran and Islay took fifth, sixth and eighth places respectively in the UK list of winners.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-26247865

Well done Lewis and Harris & all the other Scottish islands :-)

Oh My Goodness!
I don't think I've eve seen such large snowflakes.
They are huge but so far are melting on the wet ground which was caused by last night's snowfall!

KenSE - you may well have a point there - the loss to Labour of about 40 Scottish MP's and the loss to the Liberal Democrats of about 11 Scottish MP's, all of whom currently sit in the House of Commons, would be a serious blow to both Labour and the Liberal Democrats, but would be a huge boost for the Conservatives :-(

I have a cynical view about Cameron's speech. I think it is designed to push the Scots away while paying lipservice to the Union.

Think of all those non-Tory constituencies that won't be sending MPs to Westminster. ;-)

OFITG

Not only disliked in Scotland ;-) ;-) ;-)

To be honest I find it insulting that he should even suggest such a thing.
I wouldn't dream of suggesting to anyone how they should vote in any election.

My OH is Scottish,both my sons are Scottish and we have lots of relatives in Scotland but it's up to them how they vote.
Sorry for the rant.
Take care
Von

I left Scotland at the age of 46, I was born there and lived and worked there up until I moved to Kent in 1989. I am proud to be a Scot and I love Scotland dearly, that said I cannot see how Scotland can thrive as an independent country.

Since Scotland and England were united in 1707 there have been good and bad decisions made on both sides of the border and the suspicion and mistrust of the UK Parliament is as strong today as it has been for the last 300 hundred years and when I look back in time that does not surprise me.

Despite some of the downsides of the union, Scotland has thrived as a country and has contributed much to the economy of the United Kingdom, likewise Scotland has benefited much from being part of the United Kingdom, so the fears at the time of the union that Scotland would simply become a far flung region of England have proved to be unfounded.

Scotland since 2004 has had it's own parliament giving it control of a lot of its own affairs and I believe that efforts should be concentrated on strengthening the powers of the Scottish Parliament instead of breaking up the union - I think such a move would be disastrous for Scotland and it's people.

If the people of Scotland vote for independence it will be a sad day for that proud country and I am genuinely concerned about what that would mean for future generations of Scots.

Much to the annoyance of my daughter ,there are members of my own family who, for personal and religious reasons have never exercised their right to vote.

They have however, been checking that they are on the electoral roll... and will be voting for the first time ever!

We are all in the "No" camp too.

This brought a smile to my face - David Cameron is to urge Scotland to vote against independence in September's referendum, saying: "We want you to stay."

In a public speech at the Olympic Stadium in London, the Prime Minister will argue that the whole UK would be "deeply diminished" if Scotland opted to leave.

Personally I am in the "No Camp" - having said that I can think of no greater boost for the "Yes Camp" than this - has the man no idea how much he is disliked in Scotland?

probably the same red colouring that's in lots of soft drinks & sweets.

The Danes also have very strict rules about food additives.......... they've banned Vegemite!

Imagine a life without IrnBru & Vegemite! :-(

Princess Mary may not be happy........ she's a Scottish Aussie.

According to that link - Irn-Bru contains the food colouring Ponceau 4R. It is not permitted in foods for sale in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said in a statement to the BBC.

The colouring has been linked to hyperactivity.

In a separate statement, the agency told the BBC that Irn-Bru and Marmite were not "banned" from sale in Canada, but that particular formulations intended for sale in Britain that did not meet Canadian food regulations were not allowed.

Canada's loss not ours - well until our nanny state do-gooders jumps on the bandwagon ;-)

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=YouTube+Iron+Bru+Advert&docid=5010278152536841&mid=E1388EE82859B4B72EA2E1388EE82859B4B72EA2&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7#view=detail&mid=E1388EE82859B4B72EA2E1388EE82859B4B72EA2

IRN BRU......... what's in it?

I spotted this when I was googling for something Scottish.......


The owner of a British food shop in Canada says he has been ordered to stop selling Irn Bru because it contains illegal additives.

Tony Badger, who owns Brit Foods in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, told local media that food safety officials had removed IRN BRU from his shelves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25867613

I haven't looked at the link yet.

I could buy IrnBru here until a couple of years ago........ now I can't find it anywhere.



So tell me........... what illegal substances are you Scots having?

:-(

Nothing beats a good Scotch Pie and have been known to travel miles to get one - but Bromley in Kent to Saltcoats in Ayrshire is just a journey to far :-(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25751948

A North Ayrshire bakery has beaten off competition from 100 butchers and bakers to be crowned World Scotch Pie champion.

The Kandy Bar of Saltcoats also took a silver award for its large apple tart and three bronze awards.

The annual World Scotch Pie Championships aim to raise the bar in the industry by rewarding excellence.

Stephen McAllister from The Kandy Bar said he was looking forward to selling more winning pies in the year ahead.

BillinOz - your sitting there naked in front of the computer - to much information :-D :-D :-D

Hi Samantha,

You obviously come from good stock.

Happy new year to you. Keep in touch.