Things those in England and beyond believe Scotland (light hearted).

[Cryofthecurlew]

Ive moved from England to Scotland and love it here it never ceases to amaze me how little others know or understand about Scotland here are some examples.

1. I think many think Scotland isn't much bigger than the Isle of Wight . E.G. A coupe of friends have come to stay: "I love the programme Shetland can we go to Shetland for the day?" "err no because it 450+ miles away" (I live in Dumfries and Galloway). Friends looks totally stunned. Another can we "pop" into Edinburgh to see the Castle? Again "not really its a 2 3/4 hour drive" Again friends looked totally stunned. One said does the Edinburgh Festival affect your parking? See previous comment.
2. On the other hand we may be the size of the Isle of Wight in many peoples eyes but our distance from the rest of England is huge. One friend happily drove to right down into Cornwall approx 300 miles but said she said as she didn't like "long distance driving' I live just over 300 miles from her she would come to see me on the train which involved 4 changes and someone driving her to a station and me picking her up and took well over 8 hours (we are just over 5 hours by car).

When I drive back to England many say how many stops do you take? Reply 'usually only 1" "Gosh you drive ALL that way and only stop once?" Same friend drove to London 157 miles does stoop at all fair enough but it only double the distance.

1. A very common heard comment: "Of course the Scots hate the English dont you find that difficult?" I have never met such a friendly bunch as the Scots in fact when I go back to England I now wonder what the hell is wrong with everyone because where I live you would always stop and talk to someone you meet. Even in a big city like Glasgow `I find many people smile and acknowledge you when you walk by them.
2. "Nicola Sturgeon is so awful I regularly hear this. I have no views either way and I don't constantly hear my Scottish friends say this even if they dont support independence so I always ask why they don't like her. Nobody seems to be able to explain why they say she's awful.
3. Finally why didn't you move to the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales its sooo beautiful there? I have lived in many places and know both the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District I agree the scenery is beautiful but I think many Scotland is as beautiful if not more beautiful including where I live and its not heaving in tourists!!

@Polyanthus2

The National anthem is pretty anti -english - and the version of history which is spouted everywhere is anti english. What they ignore is that Scotland was v divided and Scots fought on both sides, and we were very split on religion. Protestants in the south, Catholics mostly in the Highlands, we weren't a united country and still aren't in my view.

I don't recognise that account to be honest

When my friend was planning on relocating for a job in Scotland, she was really worried because she’s Muslim and thought there would be no other Muslims. She had been told that there were barely any ethnic minorities! She thought she was going to stick out and be watched all the time. She was surprised to discover there are both and no one batted an eyelid at her. Makes us laugh now because of how panicked she was and was really considering not taking the job and her team have been nothing but lovely!

@anothername007

The Scottish do hate the English. Not on a one to one level but on a nation to nation. The most confusing Scottish to English thing I find is how posh Scottish sound English and my OH can tell they they're Scottish! (OH is Scottish)

Are you English, so does your OH hate you or your fellow country men?

A lot of Scots hate Westmonster, but then again so do a lot of English people 🤷🏻‍♀️. There is also sport, especially football rivalary. But otherwise IME the "hate" is very much over reported.

Haha the distance thing I get a lot and but it's really far to visit why don't you come here.......same bloody distance!

I dislike NS though don't agree with her or the way she refuses to answer reasonable questions in parliament!

As for disliking the English I have been on the receiving end of anti English rhetoric before especially during the referendum which wasn't pleasant. Wouldn't say Scots hated the English as a whole, there can be some pretty nasty individuals though.

I have also strongly disliked games at Murrayfield where the crowd have booed through the English anthem as to me this is completely unsporting and not necessarily at all.

My English PIL’s neighbours told me we’d be glad to hear that their house was full of fans of our Nicola Sturgeon. But then again they aren’t actually living here and suffering the consequences of SNP ineptitude.

As an English person, I always thought deep fried Mars bars were a joke, a myth. I didn’t believe Scottish people really ate such things.

Then a couple of years ago I happened to be in Paisley one evening and walked past a fish & chip shop which actually had them on the menu. Paisley isn’t the sort of place which would do this as a tourist gimmick, so it turns out they are really a thing after all. Who knew?

Haha the distance thing I get a lot and but it's really far to visit why don't you come here.......same bloody distance!

Yeah, but it's downhill.

@StarryEyeSurprise - Bonnie Prince Charlie - everyone's romantic hero was Catholic, mostly lived in Europe, not very Scottish at all. Treated his followers poorly, died a drunk.

I love Scotland and really can’t wait to come and visit again. Here are my ignorant thoughts on the matter:

• From London (which I know is not the centre of the universe) it looks further on the map to Scotland than it does to Cornwall. I wouldn’t relish driving to either but if you’re south or west of London it adds an additional barrier.
• Trains are amazingly quick from London to Edinburgh, so a day trip would be tiring but possible. So based on that, people might assume that you can travel relatively long distances within Scotland in a day.
• I’d imagine we’re probably all influenced by the weather map which makes Shetland look nearer. And in the TV series Shetland they do seem to pop over to the mainland quite easily.
• I’m really interested in the subtle cultural and language differences between Scotland and England and would probably highlight these in a conversation with a Scottish person, even though it’s no big deal.
• Every time there is snow/storms/inclement weather down south we are all called wusses and that they just get on with it in Scotland, so you tend to assume it snows and rains a lot there.
• I must admit I’m pretty unaware of the counties in Scotland, but a lot of the time counties are only worth knowing about if you’re to live there, rather than just visiting or just verbally knowing about. For example, I know roughly where Worcestershire is in England, but would probably not pick it out on a map because it doesn’t matter day to day to me.
• I don’t have any major opinions on Nicola Sturgeon but I did kind of get the vibe that Scotland was closed for business over the past couple of years so didn’t want to book any visits until that’s all died down. Really hoping to come up this summer.

You do know not all English people are ignorant idiots don’t you? And that there are people all over Britain with silly misconceptions about other parts of the country. Eg I imagine lots of Scottish people think everyone on London is rich etc. I certainly get asked stupid questions about the part of England I’m from 🤷‍♀️

Ime people who live in the south of the UK head to Europe for hols as it's nearer.
So have no clue of stuff north of Watford. These are people with no rellies or other reason to head north. I imagine I would be the same in that position - beautiful though Scotland is the weather is iffy.

I agree with the lack of understanding of distance. When I was living in the south of England I worked for a company which had its Scottish branch just outside Glasgow, near the airport.

The number of times I had colleagues outraged that the engineer couldn't just "pop in" to a client in Peterhead, or Wick, or Ullapool. They didn't get that Glasgow - Peterhead and an on-site fix was a full day's work.

DH was doing a job in Aberdeen with English colleagues and and they asked him if there were cash machines there and if shops took card payments.

@Polyanthus2

The National anthem is pretty anti -english - and the version of history which is spouted everywhere is anti english. What they ignore is that Scotland was v divided and Scots fought on both sides, and we were very split on religion. Protestants in the south, Catholics mostly in the Highlands, we weren't a united country and still aren't in my view.

No worse than the third verse of God Save The Queen is towards Scotland

‘The English don’t really understand us or where we live’ 🙄
‘my English friend wonders if we have electricity here’
Giggle, giggle, grievance, grievance…

This thread is embarrassing, patronising and pretty insulting to the majority of us folk who live in Scotland, who have access to global news, don’t eat fried mars bars and manage to travel further south than Berwick on a regular basis. We understand where Newquay is in relation to Ullapool and how one might travel between the two.

We all live together in the U.K., where the steak bakes from Greggs taste exactly the same whether you’re in Glasgow or Nuneaton, FFS.

No worse than the third verse of God Save The Queen is towards Scotland

Yea, but it doesn't get sung rather than the 'in yer face' attitude of the scottish fans at internationals.

@BitOutOfPractice

You do know not all English people are ignorant idiots don’t you? And that there are people all over Britain with silly misconceptions about other parts of the country. Eg I imagine lots of Scottish people think everyone on London is rich etc. I certainly get asked stupid questions about the part of England I’m from 🤷‍♀️

Exactly this

This thread is embarrassing, patronising and pretty insulting to the majority

But is it true - I've never heard any daft comments made about Scotland and am in England a lot. Not a thing, Nada!

[quote Polyanthus2]@StarryEyeSurprise - Bonnie Prince Charlie - everyone's romantic hero was Catholic, mostly lived in Europe, not very Scottish at all. Treated his followers poorly, died a drunk.[/quote]
So the grandson of the man who was not allowed to be King because he was a Catholic was also a catholic?! Thanks for informing me, I've been teaching The Jacobites all wrong (!)

Not even about whether our cash is legit south of the border? (Hint, if it says "pounds sterling" it's as good as BoE notes.)

I've never thought any of those things.

You must just know some dim people.

It's lovely to hear that you're pleased with your new life in Scotland @Cryofthecurlew

I'm sure Scottish people moving to England could make a similar thread,

All English people are reserved and unfriendly
An Englishman's home is his castle
All of England is like the SE, warm and dry.

I hate borders. They cause nothing but trouble. I'm Scottish and I love this beautiful country with its gorgeous varied landscapes but it's just chance that I happen to be Scottish. I'm fascinated by London, it's amazing transport system, the diversity of people, immense wealth of cultural riches, the horrific housing problem..... I'd like to see the diversity/things we have in common throughout UK celebrated. Bring on federalism.

You missed out ‘all English vote Tory wherever they are in the U.K.’

@OnceUponAWhine

You missed out ‘all English vote Tory wherever they are in the U.K.’

WhenI started working for a very Scottish company I made it very clear that, although I might be English, I had never voted Tory in my life, I voted Remain, I despised Johnson and everything people like him represent, and I was every bit as pissed off by the shitshow that had been going on down in London since 2016 as they were.

Seemed to go down well.

The long summer days become really apparent when Wimbledon is on. It's dark and their turning on the floodlights and it's still bright here.