I didn’t find this piece on a “Scottish” town in Tuscany very compelling or informative, but I did get a kick out of noticing that the BBC’s player volume goes to 11. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15127389
Tag Archives: scotland
Scottish Advent Calendar / Funny Pictures / cSlacker.com
http://www.cslacker.com/images/funny/clever_amusing/scottish_advent_calendar/ Fellow Scot BobbyVardar sent me this “Scottish advent calendar”. Sadly, my family’s tendency is to open five or six days’ worth at once…
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Council in road cone statue plea
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4264683.stm The Duke of Wellington’s statue on Queen Street has long attracted the attention of late night revellers clambering up to adorn him with a hat. However, the continuing prank has resulted in damage being done to one of Scotland’s oldest bronze monuments. Wellington had no connection to Glasgow or Scots, outside of “leading” them […]
(Untitled)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRrk3zZmksE Another diaspora Scots phenomenon: The inability of North Americans to understand the accent. I’ve got friends who’ve had lengthy conversations with my parents only to reveal afterwards that they only understood about 50% of it. (This despite the fact that my parents have been here for nearly 40 years, and no longer sound anything […]
(Untitled)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHz2eUdMyCA Two very funny, very charming boys illustrate the accent-recovery phenomenon that occurs when diaspora Scots sit down for a wee blether.
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Drivers taught Glasgow patter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8010036.stm I spent a few months in Glasgow in 2007, and was surprised to note how many Eastern Europeans had moved there to work. Most didn’t speak much English, though I suppose it could be argued that the Glaswegians don’t, either. One bus driver has taken it upon himself to teach foreign colleagues the basics […]
And the Band Played Badly – New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/opinion/09mccallsmith.html?_r=1&em&ex=1205294400&en=2577a894a7e814e3&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin Another well-cured article that bears posting. In fact, I’m surprised nobody had “discovered” it ahead of me. Certainly speaks to why Stumble Upon is loosing its grip on me… Alexander McCall Smith explores that bizarre British tradition of supporting those “artistes” (cf. Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, William Topaz McGonagall) who are so outlandishly bad […]
Nemo me impune lacessit – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_me_impune_lacessit Nemo me impune lacessit… is the royal Scottish motto, used historically for the Kingdom of Scotland where it appeared on the Royal Arms of Scotland… A more colloquial translation into English would be “No one attacks me and gets away with it.” Similarly, in Scots this is usually rendered as “Wha daur meddle wi […]
William McGonagall – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGonagall Biography of the infamous Scottish “poet”, William Topaz McGonagall. My parents gave me a book of his poetry – generally considered some of the worst ever written – as a kid, and even then I could distinguish its awfulness. It’s amazing to think that someone so immune to taunts and abuse could have been […]
Irn Bru 32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhHP3hP_0Pg An Irn Bru ad – even Scotland’s ads are menacing!