Grandma was a Mackenzie and Mcandrew.
I got to go to the Bobby Burns celebration several times. A black tie dinner with poetry and Haggis.
When I was a child I was allowed to have it with honey and milk, when I became a cretin age I was expected to choke it down like a man.
Silvan asks:
Hey, what the hell. Go for it. It's your life. Shorten it any way you wish.
But reminds me of a basement shop I once had: when I took it over, one light fixture had been pulled aside, and a receptacle wired on--dangling. Into which a coffee pot was plugged.
Cost me about $500 to rewire that place, but before I spent a cent, I yanked that receptacle.
No dangles, please.
Charlie Self
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. " Ronald Reagan
Blair Chesterton asks:
Neither do I. I don't really want to, either. WV is West Virginia. Motto is Wild & Wonderful. I'm missing on the second part at the moment.
Charlie Self
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. " Ronald Reagan
Luigi Zanasi responds:
Yeah, well...where Silvan lives, he's within maybe a 20 minute drive of one of the major Highland Festivals in the U.S. And it is amazing how many of these things there really are. Ya gotta love the pipes, though. Tossing cabers is simply not enough.
Charlie Self
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. " Ronald Reagan
Mark responds:
Shoot, man...or is that hoot, mun? You need to combine it with southern flair and go to some of the groups that choke down the annual chitlin' cook. I ain't never, and never will. The smell used to send me running, so now my knees are too screwed up for me to run, I'm just much more careful about where I go to dinner.
Charlie Self
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. " Ronald Reagan
Yeah, I forgot about the bird tongues...
I never knew about garum. Gack.
OK, maybe you were afraid of the bagpipes then. :)
I wouldn't eat haggis or garum or any of myriad other things unless I was moments away from starving to death, but I love bagpipes.
You should try Ontario, very wild and wonderful up north, not so wild or wonderful in the south, unfortunately, I live in the south!
Blair
Yeah, well...my knees are too old to go north with the rest of me, so there's a problem.
Charlie Self
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." E. B. White
Funny thing is, I even *went* to RU, and I've never been to one of those things. I always remember it the day after. It sounds like a lot of fun.
Wow, that got me thinking. The woman who used to live in this house used to
*love* those. I have old appliances in the kitchen, so more than likely one or all of them have been used at some point in the preparation of a fine plate of the finest guts a hog has to offer.Bleah.
Blair Chesterton wrote in news:M5hub.6225$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:
I have 4 2-bulb 8 foot fixtures in a 18'x20' shop and it isn't enough for me. I have also painted the wall and ceiling bright white. There is no such thing as too much light in my opinion. If you don't think you will use all of the light, all of the time, then wire it up so that you can turn on "sets" of lights in the shop in order to increase light levels incrementally.
On 23 Nov 2003 16:46:16 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.comnotforme (Charlie Self) scribbled:
Remember, I'm in Canada, where the Scots probably had more influence than anywhere else in the world, including Scotland, and where it seems that every town outside Quebec has a pipe band and a Scottish/Highland (and now Celtic as a nod to the Irish) festival. Not to speak of pipe bands for every single military unit from platoons on up, even those that don't wear skirts as part of their dress uniform.
Some historical notes: Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to cross the continent and reach the Pacific north of Mexico (1793), "discovered" North America's longest river and reached the Arctic ocean. I went to a university named after its funder (yes, funder), another Scottish fur trader (McGill). Canada's first two Prime Ministers were Sir John A. Macdonald and another Alexander Mackenzie. The longest-lived one was Mackenzie-King, who was the grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, of 1837 Rebellion fame.
And, Scots Gaelic is still spoken in parts of Nova Scotia.
Luigi Whose tird (superfluous "h" omitted) language is English, but who can nevertheless do a pretty good Gleska accent.
Luigi Zanasi responds:
Yeah, it didn't get that bad (good) here: few if any military pipers. But for much of the southeast inland of the coast, the Scots-Irish "invasion" of the mid-1700s created an influential base that is being tapped more, at least culturally, then ever before.
Charlie Self
"If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner." H. L. Mencken
I never considered that until just now. People from Lynchburg toward Danville and thereabouts have a funny accent characterized by words like "aboot" and "hoose." Just like Canadians. Just like Scots.
I read an article recently that explained that the main difference between the US and Canadian accents was the influence of the Scots in Canada. They also pointed out that the US accent is gradually changing to be more like Canada's. Must be all those Canucks in Hollywood...
I was at a dinner last week where an honour guard of the metro police marched in wearing (St. Andrew's?) tartan and playing pipes. Black, white and I don't think a single Scot among them. Ah, Canada...
Mike
On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 04:00:26 GMT, "Michael Daly" scribbled
That's 'cause we speak pure English without any accent.
Well, my friend Narissa Rosati is a member of the Midnight Sun Pipe Band. Guess what her non-ethnic origin is. (OBWW- She's a renovation contractor. Motto: For stress-free renovations, call Rosati Construction.)
Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required