Blog

When I started writing this blog, Ann and I decided that I would write about current events and life in Scotland. So far, I have enjoyed finding my patriotic side and sharing some of the light-hearted examples of our culture. But this week, the whole of the UK has come to a standstill due to the horrific attack in Manchester. I’m sure it is in your newspapers, on your twitter feeds and tv screens as much as it is on ours, and the purpose of this blog isn’t to discuss the sadness or the horrors that have taken place. It is to teach you a different side to British Culture, the side that has shone even in these terrible circumstances.

I saw this lovely quote on Facebook, “When I was a boy I would see scary things in the news and my mother would say “Look to the helpers, you will always see helpers” And there have been hundreds of helpers doing everything they can to support the victims and the city. There were taxi drivers who worked through the night, hotels that let people stay for free and the queue to give blood went on for miles. A fundraising page was set up with a target of £15,000 and the target was smashed within hours with donations from Tom Hardy, Wayne Rooney, Russell Brand and thousands of others.

Every day our emergency services prove their hero status, but in addition to them, one man has now been named the “Homeless Hero”. Steve Jones was sleeping rough nearby, but a man who has nothing gave absolutely everything as he ran into the arena to help. As a result, the owner of West Ham United (a London football club) managed to find him and is going to pay his rent on a new home to thank him for everything he did on the night. How great is that? Out of something horrible comes something positive.

British people are known for our dry sense of humour and it’s something even a tragedy like this can’t take away. Shortly after the attack the UK’s threat level was raised to critical. And what was the general public’s response? On twitter #BritishThreatLevels started trending. These social media jokes make fun of the British National Character and stereotypes to lighten the mood. When reading some of the examples, I just couldn’t help but laugh. I struggled to find my favourite example to include in the blog, so instead suggest you look them up and find your own (or ask Ann to explain it!)

But my favourite of all the “good news” stories from this horrific attack had to be the response of the people in Manchester at one of the vigils. They held a minute silence to show respect for all the victims and at the end burst into the Oasis anthem “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. The song has become a symbol of Manchester’s spirit in the face of tragedy. The band Oasis come from Manchester and are one of the UK’s most famous bands ever. “Don’t Look Back in Anger” has always been a British Anthem but a chorus of this song is being sung more and more at each tribute and is a fitting response. Here is one example of the town coming together singing this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT8sJuLjx7Y

I’m sorry for a more subdued post this week on the blog, but anything other than this felt wrong and disrespectful. I hope that I have managed to show a little bit of our strong British spirit. Those of you who have been reading my blogs or who took part in the activity a couple of weeks ago will have noticed that I always manage to fit in a Harry Potter reference somewhere and this blog is no different. I’ve realised that Dumbledore can say what I’ve been trying to much better than me when he said, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”. And so, I urge you all take a moment to be thankful for everything that you have, and that you all have a safe and happy week.

Gemma xoxo

I was so excited to take part in the Scotland activity last Friday night. I considered a few different phrases we could discuss this week, but thought I would do something a little bit different and teach you all a few Glaswegian words to try out! The dialect in Glasgow is almost completely different language. There is no sensible explanation for it but I will try my best to explain it!

Ginger

So, the word ginger has two meanings. The first one is to describe people with red hair. We aren’t redheads in Glasgow, we are Gingers. The most famous family of “gingers” is arguably the Weasleys in the Harry Potter books, but I think my family is close to giving them a run for their money as my dad, three brothers and I all carry the ginger gene (and ginger temper!)

Ginger is also the term used to describe a fizzy drink. You can perhaps see the link between irn bru and redheads, but a “bottle of ginger” can be used for any kind of juice. So, if you ever ask a Scottish person if they would like something from the shop and the reply is “a bottle of ginger” we don’t mean the spice!

Blether

Meaning to have a conversation. So, on Friday night I’m looking forward to having a good blether with you all during the activity!

“Taps Aff”

Translated into proper English Taps Aff means “tops off” but here in Glasgow it is used to describe a warm day. This week we have been treated to some great weather. The temperature has reached 18 degrees and I promise you there will be people making the most of it and men will be walking around with their “taps aff.” I’ve just checked the weather in Zaragoza can and see that the temperature is reaching 31 this week, so I understand you might think we are a bit crazy, but we must make the most of any sunshine we get here! This week could possibly be our entire summer!

Aye/ Aye right

Aye simply means yes. But just to complicate things “aye right” is a phrase when you don’t believe something you are told. You might have been thinking “aye right” when you read that we believe 18 degrees is the height of our summer!

Greet 

“Greet” is common Scottish slang for crying.

At the weekend, it was my grandpa’s 80^th birthday. We went to Celtic Park and did the stadium tour. He got to lead us all out the tunnel onto the pitch, which is one of his biggest dreams coming through. We were all feeling emotional about it and everyone was about to greet!

I hope you have enjoyed learning some words from Glasgow. I’ve tried my best to describe them and hope it makes a bit more sense now! If you really want to test yourself with  Glasweigan conversation then I recommend trying to watch a bit of the BBC Scotland program Still Game, but maybe with the subtitles! Looking forward to our activity on Friday night and hope you can get a few of these phrases into the conversation then!

Gemma xoxo

Hi,

I’m feeling quite patriotic tonight when writing this week’s blog. There are loads of reasons to visit Scotland, after all how many places are there in the world where you could get sun burnt and build a snow man in the one week? As well as being the home of Robert Burns, Sean Connery and Andy Murray, it’s also down to Scots that we have the television and the phone. If that’s not interesting you then hopefully my top five reasons to visit Scotland will convince you that it’s worth a visit.

Number 1- Glasgow

There’s a famous saying here that “People make Glasgow” and I think it’s a fitting advert for this brilliant city. There is nothing better than a day out in Glasgow, it’s always buzzing and Buchanan Street is always full of shoppers, tourists, music and twinkly lights (even when it’s not Christmas!) Because Glasgow is my home I sometimes take for granted just how beautiful the city is, how can this not take your breath away? If you are looking for a bit of culture then you will find it in more than one place as there are several museums to choose from, but my personal favourite is Kelvingrove art gallery. Not only can you look at the wonderful displays  but twice a day you are treated to a free recital from the famous organ. Here is a clip of Kelvingrove’s tribute to David Bowie in January https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Tq8w-akNM

Number 2- Edinburgh

Edinburgh is our capital city and has a magical feel to it. It’s a place steeped in history and a visit to the castle is a must. The Royal Mile, which connects Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace where our Scottish Government sit is always worth a visit. Littered with shops, bars and restaurants there’s always something to do here. During the summer months, you will find The Edinburgh Festival which attracts new and upcoming artists of all forms of arts from across the country, making the city one of the most exciting places to be in the world.  However, my favourite time of year to visit Edinburgh is Christmas time. The markets will leave you full of Christmas spirit and a trip to the dome to see their spectacular Christmas tree and decorations will finish off your day in style.

There is one “to do” in Edinburgh I am still to tick off my bucket list. I am a massive Harry Potter fan, it is my favourite book series and I honestly think I have read them at least one hundred times! JK Rowling booked herself into room 552 at the Balmoral hotel to finish The Deathly Hallows book. The highlight is a marble bust of the Greek god Hermes on which she scribbled in black marker: «JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007. However, to stay in this historical and now famous suite for only ONE night, will cost you £965! I’ll start dropping hints to my husband Stephen now!

 Number 3-The Scenery

Scotland is a truly beautiful country. Wonderful landscapes and breath-taking scenery. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve not seen nearly enough of it. Perhaps one of the most iconic destinations in Scotland is Loch Ness known all around the world thanks to the elusive monster Nessie. There have been rumours of the beast dating all the way back to the 7^th Century. You can experience Loch Ness by taking bus or boat tours allowing you to relax and enjoy the beautiful views from the comfort of a viewing deck.

I am a city girl, I’m not made for the countryside. However, the one exception is when we visit Nora in the Black Isle in Inverness. If you are ever coming to Scotland and want a trip to the highlands then you need to put this on your list of places to visit. A beautiful cluster of little towns and beaches. I take my girls on little holidays and they absolutely love it, and with beaches like this, why would they not?

Number 4 – The Food

I love going on holiday, who doesn’t?  Especially if it means getting a chance of some guaranteed nice weather and some relaxing family time but the one thing I always miss is some of the Scottish food! I must admit, I’m quite fussy and despite the fact I’m 26 and have lived in Scotland my whole life I have never eaten haggis (but both my dad and husband absolutely love it!) and I’ve never seen a deep-fried mars bar never mind eaten one (you couldn’t pay me enough!) There are some things you just can’t replicate or replace! Why would you not want to start your day with a roll with square sausage and potato scone? And there is nothing better than steak pie for your Sunday dinner. Sweet tooth? Then you need to snack on some shortbread or tablet and there’s only one thing you can have to wash it all down, a cold can of irn bru. I promise it’ll cure the worst hangover and tastes amazing!

Number 5 – A party

We Scots love any excuse for a party, after all, our New Year’s Eve Hogmanay party is world famous. My family love a celebration, in fact I’m pretty sure my mum managed to make her 50^th birthday celebrations last the entire year! Should you ever get invited to a ceilidh then your answer should be a yes! It’s the most energetic and fun dancing you’ll ever do. My husband and I got married in January 2014 and the dance floor wasn’t empty once. My brother in law is English and this was his first experience of a proper Scottish “knees up” and his review was that dancing in Scotland just contains a lot of jumping and shouting and to be honest, it’s a pretty accurate summary. If we aren’t dancing to the Gay Gordons, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DizrIpehgE then we are definitely dancing to proclaimers 500 miles and finishing our celebration in real Scottish style with “Runrig” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHu0h9XaNcg

So there we are. Scotland quickly summed up. I hope I’ve convinced you it’s worth a visit because there really is nowhere like it. Have you visited Scotland before and have your own highlight? Share with me if you do!

Gemma xoxo

Hi Everyone,

I’ve sat at this computer for the past two days trying to think how to introduce myself to you all. I’ve so far managed the basics. I’m Gemma, I’m 26 and I’m married with two beautiful girls and we live just outside Glasgow in not so sunny Scotland. I’m really excited to have been given the chance to write on this blog and hopefully get to know you all. I’m looking forward to sharing some of my Scottish culture with you, and hope in turn I’ll learn all about your Spanish lifestyle too. I love Spain. The first thing my husband Stephen and I do when we have a babysitter is book a table at our favourite tapas restaurant (Café Andaluz) in Glasgow, however, im sure the chorizo tastes so much better wherever you are reading this! I’m desperate to bring my girls to Spain, Tarragona is one of my favourite ever holiday destinations!

I absolutely love to read and I have a slight Netflix addiction, so will be sure to share any good recommendations here. One of my favourite books is written by a fantastic Spanish author; “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Have any of you read it? I absolutely love it! If you haven’t read it then you need to put it at the top of your summer holiday book list, you won’t regret it.

I love music. I drive my husband crazy with my constant singing. I listen to just about everything and cannot resist a song with a beautiful piano. Biffy Clyro and Belle and Sebastian are two of my favourite bands and they are both from Glasgow, give them a listen if you haven’t already heard of them (don’t worry, no bagpipes, I promise!) my favourite songs are Mountains (Biffy Clyro) and The Fox in the Snow (Belle and Sebastian) I’m always looking for new recommendations, so pass on any good recommendations you have for me too.

Next year I’m planning on going back to university to finish my studies and will finally become a primary school teacher. I hope by then I’m brave enough to have at least attempted some Spanish conversations with you! Here in Scotland our government is trying to encourage that all schools teach 2 additional languages to all children. My oldest daughter is 5 and started school in August, I love that she is already learning new languages, I think it’s fantastic that children are being given a chance to learn languages so early in their lives.

Please get in contact if you have any suggestions about what you’d like to see written about here! Leave a wee comment or feel free to email me. (gemma@englishonthecorner.com) Looking forward to starting this new adventure and learning with you all at English on the Corner.

Best Wishes all the way from Glasgow!

Gemma