Am I Scottish?

[Grooticle]

I have one Scottish great grandparent, was born in Scotland and lived there till I was 9.

My other ancestors were English, and I’ve lived in England since I was 9.

So I don’t think I’m Scottish (although I might say I’m “originally from Scotland” if it came up).

Turns out a close friend (who is very definitely Welsh) thinks of me as being Scottish, which I was surprised by, and now I’m curious what other people would think!

It's funny isn't it, British identity. I have Scottish grandparents on one side but was born and raised in England. So of course I feel English, but have some Scottish heritage. However, I've been told off before online for saying I'm technically part Scottish 😂 Young Scots (teens/twenties) seen to despise anything (and anyone) English.

I've also been called 'coloniser' a number of times online as an insult. Not sure my mining and farming ancestors would like that one.

What gets my goat is people on mumsnet saying things like 'dirty English', 'filthy English' and when I ask them not to, they say it's a joke.

Id say you're scottish, or at the very least a mix of Scottish and English but tbh wouldn't blink if you said you were English. I support it comes down to a mix of where you were born, where you feel you spent your pivotal childhood/evolving years and which place you felt at home.

When you do come back up where do you go? If we need to derail this thread let's make it about lovely places to visit rather than nationalism

I was born in Scotland due to my dad being posted there with the military at the time. He was posted back to England before I was 2. My parents and grandparents are all English, so that’s what I consider myself.
As I was once told by a ‘proper’ Scot, Jesus was born in a stable, didn’t make him a horse... 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

I think that anyone who was born in Scotland and/or raised in Scotland and/or lives in Scotland is Scottish. We adopt anyone who moves here (if they want to be adopted that is).

People who have Scottish ancestors from 8 generations ago, but who declare themselves Scottish because a DNA test that says they have 47.3% Scottish genes are absolutely definitely not Scottish.

@RealLifeHotWaterBottle - I’m very fond of west coast Scotland - not been in a while but Culzean Castle for example is lovely. Feel free to tell me where else I should be going!

I love to visit the islands- Skye and Arran, Jura and Harris. Harris in particular has beautiful beaches, lovely cafes and a brilliant gin distillery to visit. West coast generally is beautiful if you don't mind the occasionally inclement weather!

Once lockdown and its safe/sensible to travel we're planning to drive from Ayshire up the west coast to Ullapool, over to Lewis and then get the ferries down to Arran.

My other half was born in Glasgow to a Scottish father and English mother. They divorced and he moved to england with his mum when he was 10. He's 30 now and he has a full Yorkshire accent - no trace of the Glaswegian one he had as a child and he considers himself very much English.

@RealLifeHotWaterBottle - I’ve somehow never made it to the islands, which is ridiculous! Definitely on my list for when the kids are a bit older (and it’s safe...and legal...)

You could start a thread asking for tablet recipes and babdoc would be along to rant about the SNP and how all Scottish people are nasty thugs who hate the English.

Does anyone have a tablet recipe incidentally? Not even joking.

If you feel that you’re Scottish then that’s fine by me, no skin off my nose

British identity is strange. MIL, for instance, was born in India during the late colonial period to a Scottish father and Welsh mother. A few generations back she had an Indian great grandmother (who, sadly, was given no part in raising the child she had by a British man because colonialism), making MIL 12% Indian according to those DNA tests. She has lived in Scotland since the 60s and absolutely considers herself Scottish, extremely pro-independence, will not be called British. And I wonder if her absolutism in that respect comes from having been born just British, as all the other babies born in former colonies were, without being able to say which part of Britain specifically. As I said anyway, the more the merrier if folk feel like they’re Scottish.

@kurtrussellsbeard

Does anyone have a tablet recipe incidentally? Not even joking.

Hello @kurtrussellsbeard

Tablet recipe:
1 can condensed milk (372g/small can)
150ml double cream
450g caster sugar
115g butter
Square tin with deep sides, about 20cm x 20cm.

1.Put all the ingredients in a big pan and melt over a low heat until sugar and butter have melted. Stir slowly.

1. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes until reaches the soft ball stage or 115-118°c on a thermometer. Stir continuously, making sure to scrape the bottom so nothing sticks.

1. Remove from heat and stir or beat vigorously until it thickens and looks less shiny. This takes about 10 minutes.

1. Pour into a tin lines with greaseproof paper. Cool. After about 15 minutes cut into squares as leaving till totally cold makes this tricky! But keep it in the tin until totally cold. Makes about 30 pieces. Or 1 very big giant piece.

@Babdoc please stop. If Scotland is one of the home nations in the Uk then we have not been 'bailed out' and have no reason to be grateful. You can't have it both ways.

Fabulous thank you @DanielODonkey very much appreciated!

@CorianderBee so young Scots in their teens/twenties seem to despise anything and anyone English? That's quite a claim. How many did you poll? None of the young Scots of my acquaintance have ever expressed feelings like that. Support for independence is higher among the young, but that does not equate to dislike of people because of their nationality.

So most of your ancestors are English, you have lived most of your life in England and 'feel' English. I imagine when abroad people would say you had an English accent. I also imagine you know more English history/trivia than Scottish. So you are currently English, (definitely culturally English) and just happened to be born in a Scottish hospital.

Also if there was another Scottish Independence referendum the SNP will stop English people like you having a vote, so they dont think of you as currently Scottish.

It’s a funny one isn’t it?

I have 2 Scottish parents but was born and grew up in England. Lived 7 years in Scotland as an adult. My grandmother was
most disappointed to have English grandchildren! My parents always taught me to say I was 2 halves Scottish and one half English. I have an English accent so would feel a fraud to say I’m Scottish. Now live happily in Wales. Give the short answer that I’m British and elaborate if asked.

I have in my head that DS will play for the Welsh national team though. Go figure!

Aren't we all British? Our geographical descriptor is 'Great Britain' or the 'British Isles' and our nationality would be the country we were born in.

I'm from the island of Great Britain and the country of Scotland.

My country happens to currently be in a political union but that doesn't have any bearing on my nationality.

I was born abroad, lived in Scotland between the ages of 3-25, have zero Scottish ancestry. Now in a third country, everyone assumes I’m Scottish and it’s easier than a big long explanation. You can be whatever you can get away with 🤷‍♀️

Yeah that’s an interesting thing about the snp - they wouldn’t let me vote on independence, but if they get it they would let me become a citizen. It’s almost like their decisions about who should vote are influenced by how they think those people would vote

And I’m going to admit now that I don’t like tablet, so I think I am definitely english!

Anyway, thank you to all the Scots on here for humouring me and answering my questions :)

@Grooticle

Sacrilege!! I need a lie down in my tartan bedding and an Irn Bru IV to recover

But seriously, pick the bits that suit you best. Doesn't need to be one or the other! Culturally we're mostly quite a mix and that's a nice thing.

will you be listening to the proclaimers and snacking on deep fried Mars bars too?

Yes I agree, it’s a good thing that we are a mixed nation.