I went to Scotland for the first time ever on the weekend.

I have to say I found the locals very friendly and the city was really nice (albeit a bit cold).

Now I'm only talking about Edinburgh here but I never found any anti-english resentment that went beyond friendly-rivalry. I found no "bad" nationalism and only a hint of "non-bad" nationalism. I saw no republicanism at all. I also say the UK flag a lot more than I saw the EU flag. I saw the Saltire a lot!

The place was crammed full of Welsh people (and I have to say a tiny minority irritated and embarrased me - luckily the Edinburgh folk have a cracking sense of humour).

Also - imperial was well and truly arrived - none of the metricisation that I'd "feared". Did you know that kilts were graded in ounces?

I went to a building where theres a huge "pin hole" camera on the roof with a mirror that you can see the whole of Edinburgh in. The guides were two young girls who expressed all measurements in feet, inches and miles. I cannot remember what it was called but I recommend anyone visiting Edinburgh to check the place out (just tell the taxi driver to take you to "the mirror/lensy thingy where you can see all of edinburgh thats near the castle"

The guides enlightned me to a road called "The Royal Mile" - which leads to the castle. She mentioned that its actually a mile and one eighth - that being a "Scottish mile". All really good stuff.

Oh and we thrashed the Scots 46 - 22 !

(had to drop that in!)

I also had a smashing curry after the match - courtesy of local recommendations for which I am eternally thankful.

So there you go folks - go and visit Edinburgh - its great!

(go to Cardiff first though!)

"Also - imperial was well and truly arrived "

Erm! Read that as "alive" not "arrived"!

Strangely, I happened to be in Edinburgh on Sunday too.

It was t-shirt weather! Can't understand why the Welsh were wrapped up warm!

Scotland v Wales (and v Ireland & Italy - the other home games this year) is always a friendly affair - no matter what the result is!

Once the game was lost (about 15 minutes in!), many Scots in the crowd applauded some of the good tries scored by our visitors.

"Did you know that kilts were graded in ounces?"

Yeah I did! But I wasn't going to volunteer the info! In addition, a kilt is usually made from 8 yards of cloth.

Did you know that the kilt was banned for many years after the '45? We Scots demand our right to wear our "skirts"!

"the mirror/lensy thingy where you can see all of edinburgh thats near the castle"

I would recommend the Camera Obscura too! There is also one in the Cricket Pavillion in Kirriemuir! JM Barrie (Peter Pan author) built it.

The "Royal Mile" will still be called the Royal Mile after 31/12/2009 no matter what Tony may claim! It links the castle to Holyrood Palace.

"The largest, longest and finest street for Buildings and Number of Inhabitants, not only in Britain, but in the World..."
(Daniel Defoe, 1723)

OK Steve, we've both done our bit for the Edinburgh Tourist Board!!!!

We had Nepalese post-match. The only pint drinker switched to the 680ml "Gurkha" bottled beer halfway through :-) I was on fizzy water because I had to drive :-(

Ban Sunday Six Nations matches!!!!

Edinburgh has also been described as 'Soctland's unhappiest city'. This recent report from 'The Scotsman' helps to explain why (part snipped):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fri 18 Jun 2004

printer friendly email article
Drugs tsar pledges Capital crackdown

JANE BRADLEY


EDINBURGH’S new drugs tsar today vowed to crack down on the Capital’s growing drug and alcohol problems.

Tom Wood, the current Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, is set to be appointed as Scotland’s first city-wide drugs tsar next week.

Mr Wood, who is currently in charge of a multiple murder investigation, is expected to take up his new post in the autumn as soon as the inquiry is concluded and he retires from the force.

In his new role, he will work with the Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Action Team to tackle growing problems in society arising from drug and alcohol misuse.

Mr Wood said he was looking forward to starting his new job. "I am delighted to be given this role", he said. Mr Wood said he preferred to be known as drugs champion and disliked the term tsar.

A council report published last month showed a sharp rise in the number of drug-related deaths in Edinburgh, and an increase in alcohol consumption in the city. In the first three months of 2004, 11 people died as a result of drug abuse - nearly half the total number of deaths for the whole of 2002.

The report also showed that nearly half of all 15-year-olds drink on a regular basis, while 27,000 men and 9,500 women in the capital city have alcohol problems.

Mr Wood today warned that without action the city could be on the brink of a heroin epidemic. But he said he believed the problem could be brought under control. He said: "The worry now is that the 'Trainspotting generation' is now the parental generation, and drug problems are often passed down through communities. Most drug problems are cyclical".

Mr Wood said he would consult other drug workers to gather a wider picture of Edinburgh’s drug and alcohol problems. "I’m going to speak to the people who have been working in this area very successfully for a long time", he said...

The council report, issued today, proposes appointing Mr Wood as "drug tsar" and as the chairman of Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Action Team at a meeting of the city council next Thursday. It is understood he has been given a two-year contract by the council to work a set number of hours a week...

>>>>>>
But I wasn't going to volunteer the info!
<<<<<<


Why on earth not?

Maybe coz he 'bats for the other side'?

Erm - no - hang on - that has other permutations.

Mind you, with all that skirt wearing....... ;-)

P.S. I also went for a meal after the match and *had* to switch to odd figured bottles of lager. Why? Because they served me *sweet* cider! Euurgh! Luckily the lager was "foreign" so actually tasted quite good.

"And sent them homeward, tae think again" it said on the official programme!

LOL!

Moment of the evening? The entire Welsh squad filtering past us at the airport.

The wife went into "girl mode" and got Henson's autograph!

He smiled at her.

I didn't get jealous though - after all, it *IS* Henson.
:-D

Tony

Lets think for a moment about high publicity drugs-related deaths of the last few years.

From the Scotsman

"Barrymore pool-death case closes

THE investigation into the death of a man who was found unconscious in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool has been closed down, it was announced last night.

Stuart Lubbock, 31, of Harlow, Essex, had been seriously sexually assaulted after a drug-fuelled party at the entertainer’s house in nearby Roydon, on 31 March last year."

Sounds like a lovely place!


Bryan

No-one asked me! When Steve brought it up, I did volunteer the extra info re the amount of material needed....


Steve

Did you get rid of the "funny money" OK? You could always send it to me - I'll offer a *generous* exchange rate..... :-)

Moment of the evening? The final whistle!

Disaster of the evening? Dropping friends off at the airport, then finding that an 8 mile diversion had been put in between there & the motorway!

Oops!

re (Beranger): "Tony - Let's think for a moment about high publicity drugs-related deaths of the last few years. From the Scotsman: 'Barrymore pool-death case closes...the investigation into the death of a man who was found unconscious in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool has been closed down, it was announced last night. Stuart Lubbock, 31, of Harlow, Essex, had been seriously sexually assaulted after a drug-fuelled party at the entertainer’s house in nearby Roydon, on 31 March last year. Sounds like a lovely place!"


REPLY: Barrymore, born in Bermondsey, and who lives in Roydon - near to but not in Harlow - lured Lubbock to yet another drug-crazed homosexual orgy for which he had become notorious in the neighbourhood. This one case of a man from Harlow being lured to his death by someone outside Harlow hardly seems to compare with the frequent description of Edinburgh as 'the drugs capital of Europe' (not so far away, I believe, from the 'drinks capital of Europe'...er, Glasgow!)

Gives a whole new insight into his phrase "awwight at the back?" dunnit?

[[shudder]]

Erin: "I fancy a swim, anyone know a good metric-only private pool I could use?"

Everyone on this board: "Hmm, yes. There's this place in Harlow..... (etc)"


;-)

Tony

I was only using your home area to make the point that both large & small communities have drug problems. I stay in a very small town, but there are still problems caused by drug abuse here.

Anyway, Google returns only 9 results on a search "drugs capital of europe" "edinburgh"

Substitute "London" or "Amsterdam" for "Edinburgh", and you get 43 & 65 results respectively.

Even "drugs capital of europe" "harlow" brings up one hit!

Remind me though, how far is Roydon from Harlow? The AA says it's all of 2.7 miles/4.3 kilometres/6 minutes.

And what has Barrymore's place of birth got to do with it? Are you suggesting that every drugs death in Edinburgh was an Edinburgh native?

I get this overriding urge to rent out a copy of "Trainspotting"

;-)

Trainspotting is set in Leith. Don't make the mistake of referring to Leith as Edinburgh if you're ever there!!!

There are scenes set in Edinburgh and the film ends in in (erm)...... London.