Carrying on with more interviews to students about typical Scottish stuff!
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Interview with Carolyn McLean
Here, you can listen to the interview with Carolyn McLean (Student Association of Dundee College) about typical scottish food and fashion.
I hope you like it!
SCOTTISH MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS
Scotland has a great film industry and some of the most successful movies in cinema history. Who can forget “The 39 Steps” (1935 directed by Alfred Hitchcock) or more recently “Red Road” (2006 directed by Andrea Arnold) or “The Illusionist” (2010 directed by Sylvain Chomet).
However, the most famous and well-known soundtrack is clearly BRAVEHEART. Listen to a snippet of the soundtrack. It was composed and conducted by James Horner, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.
After listening to…What did you think about the film soundtrack?
Would it have been as successful without these tracks?
MUSIC OF SCOTLAND
I want to start this blog doing a review about the most important styles of Scotland’s music, their famous instruments and history.
Do you know something about traditional Scottish music? Maybe the most famous Scottish music band was Jethro Tull whose singer Ian Anderson mixes traditional Scottish music to folk or rock and roll, always with his flute. And I can’t forget Franz Ferdinand, from Glasgow, with more than five millions discs sold out. Their music blends punk with art rock.
Now, let’s look at their famous instruments: accordion, bagpipes (its original music is called Piobaireachd, which literally means 'piping' in Gaelic. It is also known as 'cèol mòr' which means 'great music'), fiddle, guitar, harp or tin whistle… do you know what I mean? There are the traditional musical instruments that everybody remembers. But, Scottish music is much more. It’s a mix up between different cultures from the rest of the Europe and United States, and thanks to emigration, is influenced and makes many forms of music. The instrumental music forms the base of all melodies of every kind of dance.
Originally, gaelic music is probably the oldest traditional Scottish music. Currently you can listen to this kind not only in the Highlands and Islands, but also in other regions through the country. The “Mod” is the annual festival where Gaelic poetry and music is commemorated.
In addition, the lowlands have their own tradition. It’s the folk music, whose ballads speak about current problems, daily facts of the country, as well as love, freedom and life in general. At the moment, the “big bands” of folk are Capercaillie or Runrig. Have you heard of them?
If this summary is not enough for you interests…wait for the next instalment!!!
The kilt
Is a knee-leught garment with pleats at the rear , originating in the tradicionals dress of men on boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has been become associated with the wider culture of Scotland ingeneral, or with celtic (and more specifically Gealic) It is moste often made of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.
Tartan
Is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans orginated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials.
How the kilt is worn
The Scottish kilt displays uniqueness of design, constrution and convenction with differentiate it from other garment that is a tailored garment that is wrapped around the wearer's body at the natural waist (between the lowest rib and the hip) starting from one side (usually the wearer's left), around the front and back and across the front again to the opposite side. The fastenings consist of straps and buckles on both ends, the strap on the inside end usually passing through a slit in the waistband to be buckled on the outside; alternatively it may remain inside the waistband and be buckled inside.
The wee bag on the kilt
The wee bag attatched to the kilt is called a sporron also know as '' THE HIGHLANDERS POCKET''. As
the kilt did not come with the luxury of pocket this was used as a type of storage for money, food, water.
Scotch Pie
A Scotch pie is a double-crust pie filled with minced mutton, often highly spiced with pepper and other ingredients. In Aberdeen and in Dundee it is quite often known as mince pie, to differentiate it from other types of pie such as steak pie, steak-and-kidney pie, steak-and-tattie pie and so on. You can try it with a side dish, such as mashed potatoes, baked beans, brown sauce or gravy.
Fish & Chips
As in every part of the United Kingdom, this is the most traditional fast food in Scotland as well. Deep-fried battered fish is the standard choice but you can also order it in breadcrumbs. Cod and haddock are the most popular fishes, but you can also order white (oatmeal and pork sausage) or black (blood sausage) pudding with your chips.
And if you visit a ‘chippie’, definitely you´ll have to try a deep fried Mars bar!
Haggis
If you come to Scotland, you will try this typical dish. But, you have to have a strong stomach!
Scottish people like to tell a story when a foreigner asks them what a haggis is: ‘A haggis is a small, furry four-legged creature whose stumpy limbs are shorter on one side than the other, making it perfect for running around the peaks of Scottish mountains (its most common habitat) in one direction only’. As you suppose, no, that isn´t a haggis, but I think is better that you try some haggis with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatos) and don’t think about its composition. It’s really really tasty!
Scottish Breakfast
English breakfast is very well known all around the world, but what´s happened with the Scottish one? You can try this glorious breakfast in many pubs and B&Bs, formed by bacon and egg, but typically with the addition of local favourites such as black pudding (blood sausage) and potato scones. Porridge is another option, made with cooked oatmeal and sprinkle on some sugar.
Highlands games and other sports
Other popular sports in Scotland are curling (it's said that this sport was invented in Scotland in the sixteenth century), cycling, basketball and shinty, a traditional game similar to hockey.
Finally, the Highlands Games: sport plays an important role in Scottish culture and every year, from May to September, there are traditional events to celebrate Scottish and Gaelic culture, which include music, dance competitions, and sporting events.
Rugby
Rugby is very popular, especially rugby "sevens" which began to be practiced in Melrose. The Scottish national rugby union team take part in the Six Nations and have a great rivalry with England. Scotland also participate in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years.
Football
Football has a long tradition: the Scottish national football team is the oldest in the world together with England and the national Stadium is Hampden Park in Glasgow. In the Scottish Premier League, the most important and successful clubs over the years have been Celtic and Rangers, the two Glasgow clubs known as the " Old Firm".
Golf
The main sport is certainly golf. Scotland is considered the " Home of Golf" : according to legend, it was invented by a Scottish shepherd. In Scotland there are over 540 golf courses. The most famous are The Old Course at St Andrews (which is one of the oldest golf courses in the world), Royal Troon, Carnoustie, Muirfield, Turnberry and Gleneagles.
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