He has been asking, begging and nagging me for ages about going there, and what he demands ..
“So, why exactly should we go there?” I asked him.
“I can give you loads of reasons” he said.
- Because I am from there. Of course.
- Because you want to see what Gideon saw. Oh!
- Because they know how to play bagpipes. Funky!
- Because it is about time you see a bit more of the UK than London. That’s very true!
- Because I know you want to indulge voiciliciously sexy Scottish accents all day long for a day or two and a half. Oh you know me too well!
- Because they have men in kilts! Sexy!
- Because I know you love train travelling, the ride from London to Edinburgh takes about 5 hours. I do. And besides that we don’t want to be too much of a carbon criminal either..
- And because I need a break. That makes two of us.
“I see” I said. “Well, I can’t see why not”.
So I booked 2 nights in Yvonne’s Bed & Breakfast. I just spoke to her on the phone, she sounded extremely nice and Scottish (lovely accent) and I look forward to meet her.
I did a bit of research and I learned some things I didn’t know about Scotland:
You can pay with standard British pounds but they also have their own Scottish sterling banknotes. To make it a bit not at all complicated, Scottish banknotes are not legal tender in England, some shops do accept them, some don’t. Better to not take that many of them back to London when returning. And I thought the whole of the UK was using the same kind of money, but in London, and England for that matter, we use notes from the Bank of England. I never realized that. Don’t ask me why the UK has 4 national football teams (Wales, Scotland, England, N. Ireland) either.
There are quite some Scots walking around on the globe, in 2001 they were about 5,062,011 people. That’s nearly the whole of Denmark, imagine – that many people with that accent!
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, but Glasgow is the largest Scottish city.
Voiciliciously Scottish actors:
David Tennant (Dr. Who)
James McAvoy (Narnia, The Last King of Scotland)
Sean Connery (James Bond has been)
Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting and Stormbreaker)
Billy Connely (Still Crazy)
John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors (one of my fav. films))
Robbie Coltrane (Cracker, Harry Potter)
and Mr. Jones (ruler of the seas and guardian of my soul)
Things you probably didn’t know about Mr. Jones:
- Davy Jones, the supernatural ruler of the seas carved his heart from his body when he was unable to bear the pain of losing his one true love. (I can completely understand him.)
- Jones has since inflicted cruelty and pain onto others, even his crew on the Flying Dutchman. (Jones is no longer cruel I can assure you, and Flying Dutchman, could it be more appropriate.)
- Jones is invincible as long as his heart is not destroyed, but he appears to have a soft spot where love is concerned. (He is a tragic romantic – like me)
- Jones speaks with a clearly distinguishable Scottish accent (mmmm), and he has supernatural powers among which there are invincibility, command over the legendary sea monster the Kraken and teleportation. (And that often comes in handy.)
Not surprisingly at all, it brings us where it always brings us, as in the end Jones’ life is also just all about Love, Actually. And you thought he was just another pirate.
When we were in New York we met a man with black rimmed glasses who gave a live imitation of Mr. Jones for a couple of guys standing beside us. He did that re-mark-ab-ly well.
In 42 days we’re off to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Scotland and E´burgh is absolutely great. Lived there for 5 years and often miss it, although on a day like this (warm, sunny, blue sky) looking across the Århus bugt from my window is also not bad. Anyway – envy you a bit, and wish you a nice trip to my other homecountry…
Oh I had no idea you have lived in Edinburgh. I have heard some good things about it, and I look forward to finally go to Scotland.
When the weather is as you describe I sometimes miss Aarhus. London feels locked in when it is warm, I need a wide view sometimes. Aarhus wasn’t that bad really!
I’ve been in Edinburgh once – great city. Loads of things to see and nice little shops. I totally envy you!
Oh yes I did live in Scotland with this great Dutch person but when it was no longer just Love. Actually. I returned to sunny Århus…And no Århus isn´t that bad but when I read your blog I do sometimes just want to up and go. But well now I have other obligations and joys like family and children. Anyway looking forward to hear of your trip to bonny Scotland.
You know Jane, when I moved to London a year ago, I thought that London would be the solution to all my problems, and I also thought that London would be the most perfect place in the world to live, and that I never ever would get tired of it.
One year later I know that London is a fantastic place to live and it has so much to offer, but the most perfect place to live doesn’t depend on the actual location, it depends on how you live your life. The grass is always greener on the other side which is why I won’t move to New York :-) Be happy, do the things you like, pursue your dreams and life will be good, wherever you might be.
You will love Edinburgh (or Edinborough or whatever it is spelt). Actually. Trust me.
And that reflection about the perfect place to live is very insightful. I agree entirely.
You´re so right you know.
Ingrid, so true … it really is all about how you live your life, not geography (although some places do make living easier!) And having pirates and Bill and train trips and a wonderful imagination and an ability to express that – those are so important too.
… and flowers.
Hi,
Glad you enjoyed my city. Just out of interest, Scottish banknotes are actually perfectly legal tender in England though as they are pounds sterling. The problem is usually ignorant shopkeepers who don’t realise this or who worry that they won’t be able to get rid of the banknotes in other customers change.
Seems like you escaped South before the weather misery of the last couple of days anyway……
@Mark: I have corrected that. I took one 5 pound Scottish bank note back home with me. Not to use it in London, but to keep and make sure I’ll remember to go back there next year :)
I was extremely lucky with the weather indeed!