 Scotland
Welcome to my home and the
greatest wee country in the world!
Read the Jeely Piece Song and the poem "Where is the Glasgow" to get a humorous taste of
what Glasgow (the city where I live) was like earlier in this century.
 Where is Scotland?
We are one of the countries which makes up the United Kingdom (UK) and are situated North
of England (not in the North of England!)
We occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain. our borders are Atlantic
Ocean (to the North); the North Sea (on the east); England (on the South East); the Solway
Firth (on the South), which partly separates it from England, and by the Irish Sea; and on
the west by North Channel, which separates it from Ireland, and by the Atlantic Ocean.
And no, its not an American state or a place in America... and yes I have
been asked!
 Tell me more (History & Stuff)
The Scots are
descended from an ancient people, the picts - and from the Irish and British Celts who
lived in the British Isles before the coming of the English.
 Since 1707,Scotland has been one of the nations making up the United
Kingdom. With its own laws, its own education system and an established (Presbyterian)
Church, Scotland has retained its traditions, though the last two decades have seen many
changes. Aberdeen, for example, has become a town of the offshore oil boom, whilst
traditional industries such as ship-building have declined. Independence has recently
become an issue again, and some hope (or fear) that it could happen in the next few years.
We regained our own parliament in 1999 after a break of some 200 years.
We have always had our own legal system and are famous for having a "Not
proven" verdict in trials. Our education
system is also separate, and both of these are (were?) widely seen to be better
than in the rest of the UK.
For
over 200 years Scotland had a higher percentage of its population educated at
primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe.
The differences in education most noticeably resulted in the high number of
Scots who went on to become leaders in their fields during the 18th and 19th
centuries. Scotland has 4 ancient universities founded in the medieval
period.
 We have two flags, our official one is the Saltire - a white diagonal cross on a dark
blue background. It represents St. Andrew, Scotland's patron saint. The Lion Rampant - a
red lion usually on a yellow background - has been the Royal Arms of Scotland since the
days of King Alexander II (1198 - 1249). Our national anthem is The Flower of Scotland.
Our national emblem is the thistle, a hardy tenacious plant whose bright purple flower
is protected by prickles.
Our land area is 78,132 square kilometres.
Scottish Inventions
As a by-product of our historically excellent, advanced education system,
we have invented TONS of everyday stuff that has advanced civilisation as we
know it!
Who lives there?
ME! and about 5,078,399 other lads and lassies (as of June 2004).
We DO NOT all wear kilts and we DO NOT all have bright red hair, so lets scotch that
myth straight away!
Kilts are worn mainly for special occasions, like England-Scotland rugby matches and
weddings.
 They are making something of a comeback now,
and young men can now be seen wearing them casually.
You will find us a friendly, likeable bunch who are cheery even when it is really
pissing it doon outside!
We tend to drink a lot and you'll find the social life in most towns revolves
around the pubs (public houses).
What are its good points?
 Our fabulous world famous
single malts speak for themselves...
We have utterly amazing scenery that draws tens of thousands of tourists
here every year - if you don't believe me, come and see!
We have good natural resources such as ample fresh water and crude oil (in the North
Sea).
Scotland's larder holds a fantastic range of food, from delicious salmon and rainbow
trout to fresh venison.
We have marvellous music of all types - Rock, Pop, Celtic etc...
Our cities are vibrant places, full of culture and commercialism.
 People
slag off our climate, saying that it is always raining. This isn't (quite)
true but what the rain does mean, is that we are always marvellously green.
We have a wide range of winter sports during the winter months including skiing at a
selection of resorts in the highlands.
What are its bad points?
As you might expect, I'm going to skirt lightly over this! We have all the usual
problems of any modern country - e.g. Drugs, alcohol, poverty. Our population is often the least
healthy in the UK due to our love of unhealthy, fattening food!
We have unemployment because the major industries for which we were famous in
the past have declined and the more recent technology companies are leaving for
cheaper labour markets.
 What's with this English-Scottish thing?
There is a friendly (for the most part) rivalry between Scotland and
England and this is most evident at England-Scotland sports matches - most
noticeably Rugby and football (soccer).
England is not Britain! In the past it
seemed to many Scots that the English were confused and thought that England
was the same as Britain. Many also incorrectly seem to think that
England is an island.
However - the devolution of the Scottish and Welsh
parliaments has helped clarify things and the English now have a much clearer
national identity. This is a good thing for everyone. Some are
arguing for a separate English parliament and in my view this is a good idea -
but it should be somewhere different like Manchester.
In the past at sports matches where the English team was playing, the Union Jack flag
(The flag of the United Kingdom) was frequently seen being waved in the crowd.
This annoyed us immensely because the union flag actually includes the Scottish flag - and they wave
it even when they are playing against Scotland!
 There
are still problems however and the 2005 BBC Weather Map used on television
highlighted this!
This new 3D map gave a view of the British Isles as if
you were flying above the South of England.
The effect of this was to
dramatically shrink Scotland because it was "far away"!
Compare this map
with the one at the top of this page showing everything in proportion.
A completely random list of Scottish web sites.
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