SCOTTISH TRIVIA

                                          Interesting Trivia

• The thistle has been the symbol of the country for 500 years. Legend has it that sleeping Scots were awakened by invading Vikings when they cried out after stepping on thistles in their bare feet. The Scots won the battle and the guardian thistle made it into history.
• Language originally was Celtic based with some Gaelic and a smattering of Norse dialects. By 1980 less than two percent of the population understood Gaelic. Gaelic is most popular on the Isle of Sky where 60% of the population speak the language. Accents and dialects have not developed in Scotland as they have in England.
• The Highland games started more than 1000 years ago. Bagpipe playing and dancing are always part of the games.
• After a wet harvest centuries ago, finding a way to use rain soaked barley resulted in the national whisky known as scotch. Scotch is the whisky, not the name of the people who inhabit the country. They are Scots, and the adjective is Scottish.
• All the museums in Glasgow are free.

      Big Bertha, a huge crane is now a monument to the vast and prosperous ship-building industry that the city of Glasgow was famous for. The last ship built on the Clyde was the Q E 2 in 1962. During W W II a warship a day rolled off the rails into the River Clyde. The 24-hour a day operation was incredible when 2000 ships hit the seas in a six year period. Before the war most of the ships built were passenger ships including all of the Cunard line ships. At one point the shipbuilding industry employed over 200,000 people. The ships were not only built here, but fully outfitted here as well. To say something is Clyde built means that it is quality and built to last. The River Clyde is but 78 miles long and has as much as a 20-foot tide here in the city.

      In Dornoch. We visited the 1239 Presbyterian Church where a couple of elderly docents told us this where Madonna had her son christened and that Prince Charles also had visited the church. The ladies proudly told us that the hotel across the street was once the home of Andrew Carnegie,

     They forgot to tell us that Dornoch is the area where the last witch burning in Scotland took place in 1722. An old woman was accused of turning her daughter into a pony and riding it around town. She was sentenced to be burned alive in a pot of boiling tar.

MONTREAL TRIVIA

                                             City Odds and Ends

Montreal comes from Mont Royal.

People were very friendly and helpful. Several times people would stop to ask if they could help when they saw us studying a map. English was not a problem as it seems everyone is bi-lingual doing very well with both languages.

In the city’s heyday of the 1920s, Saint Jacques Street was known as Canada’s Wall Street. The Royal Bank’s former head office, with its 23 stories, was the tallest building in the British Empire when it was built in 1928.

Lots of stairs to climb getting in and out of Metro stations. Escalators are available only after getting down into the station.

Except for the streets, Montreal does not appear very handicap friendly.

The city is very easy to get around, as it’s pretty much laid out on a grid. It is also a very easy city to walk. The city and Metro maps are excellent, complete and easy to follow.

Canada is the world’s largest producer of mustard.

The French Pavilion from the 1967 Expo is now a casino and one of only two buildings from the Expo that survived.

       McGill U was all white male until the late 1800s when a benefactor gave money to educate women.

      Sainte Catherine Street, stretching 15 kilometers across the city, is Montreal’s renowned commercial thoroughfare. Lined with major department stores, shops, and restaurants, it has been the pride of Montreal for over a century. There are eight metro stations on the street.

Poutine, French fries with cheese curds and gravy, is a typical dish unique to Montreal.

Canada also produces 70% of the world’s maple syrup and Quebec accounts for 90% of that.

With the flavors of many cultures on every street corner, eating in Montreal is a culinary adventure. The city has 5000 restaurants that represent 80 different countries.

We noted very few cell phone users and actually saw many regular phone booths around the cities.

People seem to follow a relaxed routine. In the Metro the on and off process is very orderly with no elbowing one’s way. Let the people off, then board.

Exactly seems to be a frequent and proper response to a statement or question. It is often delivered with a tilt of the head and an emphatic expression.

SOME SCOTTISH TRIVIA

                                                Fun Tid Bits

v  The thistle has been the symbol of the country for 500 years. Legend has it that sleeping Scots were awakened by invading Vikings when they cried out after stepping on thistles in their bare feet. The Scots won the battle and the guardian thistle made it into history.

v  Language originally was Celtic based with some Gaelic and a smattering of Norse dialects.  By 1980 less than two percent of the population understood Gaelic. Gaelic is most popular on the Isle of Sky where 60% of the population speak the language. Accents and dialects have not developed in Scotland as they have in England.

v  The Highland games started more than 1000 years ago. Bagpipe playing and dancing are always part of the games.

v  After a wet harvest centuries ago, finding a way to use rain soaked barley resulted in the national whisky known as scotch. Scotch is the whisky, not the name of the people who inhabit the country. They are Scots, and the adjective is Scottish.

v  Big Bertha, a huge shipbuilding crane, is now a monument to the vast and prosperous ship-building industry that made the city of Glasgow famous. The last ship built on the Clyde was the Q E 2 in 1962. During W W II a warship a day rolled off the rails into the River Clyde. The 24-hour a day operation was incredible when 2000 ships hit the seas in a six year period. Before the war most of the ships built were passenger ships including all of the Cunard line ships. At one point the shipbuilding industry employed over 200,000 people. The ships were not only built here, but fully outfitted here as well. To say something is Clyde built means that it is quality and built to last. The River Clyde is but 78 miles long and has as much as a 20-foot tide here in the city.

v  In Dornoch. we visited the 1239 Presbyterian Church where a couple of elderly docents told us this was where Madonna had her son christened and that Prince Charles also had visited the church. The ladies proudly told us that the hotel across the street was once the home of Andrew Carnegie,

        They forgot to tell us that Dornoch is the area where the last witch burning in Scotland took    place in 1722. An old woman was accused of turning her daughter into a pony and riding it around town. She was sentenced to be burned alive in a pot of boiling tar.

v  All the museums in Glasgow are free.

A BIT OF BAHAMIAN HISTORY

                              Nassau, A Popular Port 

      When I took my granddaughter to the Bahamas as a graduation present, it had been years since my first trip which concentrated on the out islands. Then only two and a half days had been spent in Nassau, so a little review of my diary refreshed my memory. The Bahamas is an archipelago of 700 islands and 2400 uninhabited cays and islets extending 720 miles. It is just fifty miles off the Florida coast. The capital is Nassau on New Providence Island.  The Arawak Indians were the first inhabitants and the first British settlement took place in the 17^th century.

    No longer a sleepy little town that often characterizes its sister islands, Nassau stands out for its high-energy atmosphere and dynamic attitude. The capital city of the Bahamas with a bustling port, Nassau’s history can be traced back to days of the legendary pirate Blackbeard.

     Beautifully preserved cathedrals, pastel-colored Georgian buildings and 18th-century fortresses collide with bouncing jitneys, street vendors and duty-free shops and occasionally fine shops. Historic Bay Street is great for local markets, pubs and cafes, while the nearby straw market offers unique crafts and Potter’s Cay is the place for fresh produce, conch and fish.

   I was anxious to introduce her to a new culture and show her the city. We had a fabulous time and pretty much covered the entire island, often walking and walking. We enjoyed riding the local jitney to and from our distant  hotel.

     I was happy to find many positive improvements such as the lack of litter and friendly people instead of pesky and annoying people trying to sell you something or take you for a ride..

Music

Throughout the islands, music is woven deeply into the fabric of daily life. Musical traditions reflect both the impact of history on the islands and a homegrown, distinctively national character. Blues and spirituals made their way down from the American South and took on a Bahamian flavor---in breezy shore-side church choirs where "rhyming spirituals" are sung, and on homemade guitars in the hands of virtuoso performers.

Junkanoo, goombay and rake 'n' scrape all incorporate the handclapping and drum rhythms of West African dance music. Goombay is a secular Bahamian tradition, danceable music full of stories about love and other daily dramas.

Rake 'n' scrape bands are purely instrumental. A carpenter's saw, a goatskin drum and an accordion are all traditional rake 'n' scrape instruments.

True Bahamian

Bahamian English is a fascinating mixture of the Queen's diction, African influences and island lingo. Unfamiliar sounding words you'll hear on the streets and beaches may be survivors from the early English settlement (true Shakespearian English!), echoes of Africa or local slang. The "h" is often dropped in daily speech ('ouse for house or t'anks for thanks). Conversation is easy here – the distinctive sounds of daily speech are all part of a true Bahamian experience. At times it seemed as if I were listening to a foreign language.

Food

Fresh seafood lovers can appreciate the Bahamian fondness for conch (pronounced "konk") that is the most popular seafood in The Bahamas. The meat of conch is firm and white, and local restaurants have found delectable ways to serve it. Conch may be served uncooked with lime juice, steamed and added to other dishes such as soup or salads, or deep-fried, which is known as “cracked conch”. This seafood can be found in some form at just about every traditional restaurant in the Bahamas. Traditional desserts feature coconut. The Bahamas certainly do not have a shortage of coconut trees, and shredded coconut is found on just about everything!

Next time Nassau sites.

FUN WITH LANGUAGE

Helpful to Know

I’m  fascinated with England’s language. It’s the same language I speak, but across the pond understanding can be confusing as well as humorous at times. Eating can be an interesting adventure and perhaps even a surprise. Let me spin a little tale for you.

In a restaurant you may wonder if you want a jacket potato (baked potato) and faggots (meatballs). How did a steamed suet pudding become spotted dick? The biscuits you ordered turn out to be sweet cookies. But no matter, you’ll have a little  jelly with them which turns out to be jello. So you order jam and settle for the jelly. The waiter has just returned from holiday (vacation) and asks if you want any afters (dessert).

Do you want crisps (potato chips) or chips (fries) with your refreshment. Be careful because if you drink too much you might get sloshed, paralyic, bevvied, popped up, rattled, or even pissed as a newt!  Maybe for breakfast you’ll have some bangers (sausage)

When all is said and done you leave your serviette (napkin) on the table and are glad you aren’t washing up (doing dishes) because you are quite knackered (exhausted) and since you’ve been traveling all night it’s been donkey’s ears (ages) since you’ve slept.

            The next day you choose a coach for your travels where you see many lorries (trucks) on the motorway (freeway). Every so often as you ride along you see petrol ( gas) stations. When the coach reaches the round-a-bout (traffic circle) it goes anti-clockwise (counter clockwise) and gives way (yields) to other traffic. The trunk of a vehicle is the boot and the hood is the bonnet. The off side of a vehicle is the driver side and the near side is the opposite side, which is the side closest to the curb. Remember the English drive on the left side of the road.

            You get off the coach to muck around (browse) in the chemist shop (pharmacy). You may be looking for sticking plaster (adhesive tape) or elastoplast (bandaids). Later you stop at the iron monger’s shop (hardware store) and look for a torch (flashlight). You might even ask where you can find a shooting stick (cane). Wandering over to the stationary area you look for rubbers (erasers), scribbling blocks (scratch pads) and you might even spot a cute souvenir money box (bank) for the grandkids.

In the pharmacy there are children with dummies (pacifiers) in their mouth and you hope their nappies (diapers) are dry. Older children are fussing for iced lollies (popsicles) and candy floss (cotton candy). And every mother of little ones knows eventually she’ll have to spend a penny for a trip to the loo (bathroom).

When I bought my first theater ticket I was asked, “Balcony or stalls?”

I was confused me as I was going to the theater, not the barn. I guess the look on my face said it all and the gal explained, “Stalls are the main part of the theater.”

I could continue on for a long time, but I think this is enough for one day. Hope this produced a smile from you.