March 9, 2016
Hello from Scotland, i’m at my cousin’s house they live in Edinburgh, we are having dinner, some angus beef, lamb, and a huge chocolate tablet, those are just a few of Scotland’s foods. The angus beef was very juicy, it tasted like steak almost, the lamb was cooked very nicely, it was delicious. And the chocolate tablet was very creamy.
I’m going to walk around, i need my coat, it’s only 51 degrees fahrenheit. Scotland is beautiful, there are so many pretty waterfalls, hills, mountains, trees, and forests. Scotland is part of the UK so they have a monarchy, the current ruler is Queen Elizabeth II.
I’m going back to my cousin’s house for lunch. Dinner didn’t fill me up so they were nice enough to make some Haggis for me. Haggis is a traditional dish in Scotland. haggis, is a savoury pudding containing sheep's heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, spices and salt. Traditionally encased in the sheep's stomach, although nowadays most haggis is prepared in a sausage casing. The Haggis was very delicious, Haggis looks like weird shaped meat with seasoning and mashed potatoes on the side. The Haggis was delicious, it was very juicy and sweet.
Scottish food is very delicious! It was starting to get dark so I went upstairs to the spare room to get some sleep. When I woke up their dog named Jack was licking my face, I had to push him off to even get up, he’s a german shepherd so it was a bit hard!
I’m currently in Perth, i’m going to explain the sports in Perth or across the country, pretty much anywhere.
I watched Curling today, let me tell you how to play Curling. Curling is where the players slide stones on a sheet of ice towards a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones. The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a game points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each end, which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones. A game usually consists of eight or ten ends.
The curler can induce a curved path by causing the stone to slowly turn as it slides, and the path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms who accompany it as it slides down the sheet, using the brooms to alter the state of the ice in front of the stone. A great deal of strategy and teamwork go into choosing the ideal path and placement of a stone for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine how close to the desired result the stone will achieve. This gives curling its nickname of "chess on ice".
I also watched Rugby today, let me tell you how Rugby works. Rugby is a type of football. developed at Rugby School in Rugby Warwickshire, one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. The two main types of rugby are rugby league and rugby union. Although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now separate sports.
And last but not least, I watched Shinty i’ll explain Shinty. Shinty (Scottish Gaelic: camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Highlands of Scotland, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, and was even played for a considerable time in England and other areas in the world where Scottish Highlanders migrated.
While comparisons are often made with field hockey, the two games have several important differences. In shinty, a player is allowed to play the ball in the air and is allowed to use both sides of the stick, called a caman, which is wooden and slanted on both sides. The stick may also be used to block and to tackle, although a player may not come down on an opponent's stick, a practice called hacking. Players may also tackle using the body as long as it is shoulder to shoulder.
The game was derived from the same root as the Irish game of hurling and the Welsh game of bando, but has developed unique rules and features.
I’m in Glasgow Scotland and i see people wearing dresses, skirts, and kilts. I’m going to see if i can find out more about their clothing!
The highland dress is usually made of tartan, plaid patterns in some form, including dress tartans which are modified versions which include white in place of a more prominent colour. Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice, and headwear can also be worn, along with clan badges and other things indicating family and heritage. Men's highland dress includes a kilt or trews of his clan tartan, along with either a tartan full plaid, fly plaid, or short belted plaid. Accessories may include a belt, sporran, sgian dubh, tartan socks, garters, kilt pins and clan badges.
A kilt is a knee-length non-bifurcated skirt-type garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly. It is most often made of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.
Although the kilt is most often worn on formal occasions and at Highland games and sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of informal male clothing in recent years, returning to its roots as an everyday garment.
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. Tartan is often called plaid in North America, but in Scotland, a plaid is a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder as a kilt accessory, or a plain ordinary blanket such as one would have on a bed.
Tartan is made with alternating bands of coloured (pre-dyed) threads woven as both warp and weft at right angles to each other. The weft is woven in a simple twill, two over—two under the warp, advancing one thread at each pass. This forms visible diagonal lines where different colours cross, which give the appearance of new colours blended from the original ones. The resulting blocks of colour repeat vertically and horizontally in a distinctive pattern of squares and lines known as a sett.
Highland games are events held in spring and summer in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture. I went to Aberdeen to watch the games, let me tell you about some of the games, these are just 3 out of 80 games!
Caber Toss
The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber". It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland the caber is usually made from a Larch tree and is typically 19 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds The term "caber" derives from the Gaelic word "cabar" or "kaber" which refers to a wooden beam.
The person tossing the caber is called a tosser or a thrower.
Tug O’War
Tug O’War is one of the oldest athletic contests known throughout recorded history. Tug O’War is serious business in Scotland and Ireland. Tug O’War leagues with professional sponsors are popular throughout the United Kingdom.
The contest is settled by the best of three pulls. The winners must pull their opponents a total of six (6) feet to win. The rules are: No cleats on your shoes. No hand over hand pulling. You can’t wrap the rope around your body.Each team consists of 15 pullers each with a weight limit of 2,200 pounds for women and a 2,500 pound weight limit for men. Best two out of three pulls, simple elimination. When the winner pulls their opponent the necessary six feet the contest is over. Teams switch sides and do it again.
Piping
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin.
http://www.highlandgames.com/extra-activity-event/tug-owar/
https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/events/highland-games/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinty