Bed Sheets

For some reason the Scots don’t believe in bed sheets. You have the fitted sheet that goes on the bottom of the mattress and then the comforter. There is no sheet in between you and the comforter. Instead, they make removable sheets for the comforter and you wash that sheet instead. It’s like a duvet. I don’t really like the concept because sometimes the comforter is too warm, and you just want to be covered by a bed sheet. Plus, changing the sheet on the comforter is so much more complicated than just putting a fresh sheet on the bed. Hermmff. Grumble grumble.

St. Andrew's Day

Yesterday was St. Andrew’s Day, and I didn’t even know it till I got to my usual Wednesday evening Zumba class. (Our friend from Edinburgh, Scott, does Zumba btw!) Our instructor reminded us that we had come for a special St. Andrew’s Day Zumba and he disappeared into the back and started playing some pipe music over the speaker system. For those of you back home, traditional Scottish music is pretty much the same as traditional Irish music, very Celtic. After a bit, “Sandy Zumba,” our instructor, emerged in a kilt and sporran (Gaelic for purse). Scottish Zumba…It was good crack!

If you’ve never seen a proper kilt, they are quite heavy! Loads of material wrapped round and round saving space for a bit of middle age weight gain. Scottish men typically are given a kilt at their 18th birthday and they wear it to formal occasions for the rest of their lives. Midway through Zumba, Sandy was getting quite warm, I could tell. As you probably guessed, a strip tease ensued. Off came the kilt to reveal some very pasty white legs and a pair of Scottish flag short shorts (like really short and really tight, cerca 1960s basketball shorts). All in all it was good fun. I really do appreciate how Scotland has kept enthusiasm for one of its oldest traditions in modern times, when let’s be honest, how much more feminine can a skirt and purse get? Although, I think certain lines between masculinity and femininity are less clear here as I once saw a man on a British reality show straightening his hair…
Surprisingly enough, I knew in advance that yesterday, was going to be strike day before I knew it was St. Andrew’s Day. I feel a little bad for Scotland for that. Apparently, St. Andrew’s Day is supposed to be the national holiday. You know how every other country always celebrates an Independence Day with much vigour and national pride? Well what does Scotland have? They never really got away from the English…O well they have ceilidhs!

Didn’t really follow the strike too much, just knew it would be a day off from class! It was a public sector strike, only not really. It was planned out in advance, and they kept a 1/3 of public services open. Their hospitals obviously had to keep running for emergencies and some dentists stayed open as well. Most kids didn’t have school though. I guess the Royal Mail isn’t public sector? I sent a package yesterday. Anyway, from what I gather it didn’t do a whole lot. What can you expect from a half arsed strike? I’m not even sure everyone in the public sector really wanted to strike. I don’t actually know, shouldn’t be commenting on it…But yah… Happy St. Andrew’s Day!