Teh One Who Knocks
03-27-2015, 10:54 AM
Gary Marshall for Metro.co.uk
http://i.imgur.com/0Nvokrl.jpg
It’s official: the Scots are the friendliest people in the UK.
That’s according to a study of more than 400,000 Britons, which found notable differences in people from different parts of the country.
But why? Your correspondent, a Scot from a Welsh, English and Irish family, reckons it’s because Scots know they live in the best country in the world.
1. We’re gallus
Gallus is a Scots word that describes the country’s personality brilliantly. Gallus people are confident, a little bit cheeky and very irreverent. That’s a winning combination.
2. We sound friendly
The Scots accent is regularly voted the friendliest, most trustworthy and most calming accent in Britain. We suspect that means the lowland, West coast accent, but all of Scotland’s many voices are amazing.
3. We’re not hemmed in
London crams more than 8 million people into 1,572 square kilometres. There are fewer Scots – 5.3 million – and we’ve got much more room: 78,387 square kilometres to stretch out in. No wonder Londoners are more tetchy than we are.
http://i.imgur.com/9i0UVBS.jpg
4. We can see amazing things
Scotland has some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world, and even in the centre of Glasgow you’re only a half-hour away from it. There’s something about being so close to natural beauty that stirs the soul.
Our architecture’s great, too. Check out Edinburgh’s grandeur, the gargoyles and carvings on so many Glasgow buildings or the world famous shopping centre in Cumbernauld.
5. We’ve got God’s own larder
We have some of the finest ingredients, best chefs and deepest fried pizzas you can possibly imagine.
http://i.imgur.com/36nZrNO.jpg
6. We have the best music, and the best venues
King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and the Glasgow Barrowland always feature in world’s-best-venues round-ups, for good reason: they’re fantastic.
The music isn’t bad either: Chvrches, Honeyblood, Frightened Rabbit, Biffy Clyro, Teenage Fanclub, Young Fathers, Twin Atlantic, King Creosote… and that’s before we get onto our traditional and classical music scenes. Music’s in our bones.
http://i.imgur.com/37TAd7C.jpg
7. We can buy houses even if we aren’t billionaires
We look at tales of London cupboards going for tens of thousands in horror. We can’t quite buy a castle with a week’s wages, but where the average London house price is £514,000, in Scotland it’s £160,000. That leaves a lot of money left over for…
8. Whisky and Irn-Bru
The latter undoes the damage of the former.
http://i.imgur.com/8rkLCVK.png
9. We don’t take ourselves too seriously
Scottish humour is dark and self-deprecating. We like to laugh at ourselves.
10. We can breathe properly
There are exceptions – Glasgow’s Hope Street is so polluted you might start smoking to give your lungs a break – but most of Scotland isn’t urban, and that means we breathe clean air.
http://i.imgur.com/IOp2e4E.jpg
11. We’re Celts
Just like the Irish and the Welsh, we’re from a long line of hard-partying maniacs.
12. We’re bullsh*tters
From the Loch Ness Monster to tall tales of hunting wild haggis, we can’t resist telling tall tales.
13. We’re really, really funny
From Billy Connolly to Kevin Bridges and Frankie Boyle, some of the world’s finest comedians come from Scotland – and with superb venues such as The Stand and annual comedy festivals in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the ones that don’t come from here come to here.
http://i.imgur.com/zZ8g027.jpg
14. We invented everything
And we won’t miss an opportunity to tell you about it. The iPad? Reggae? Disco? Somewhere, there’s a Scottish connection to all of them.
15. The weather’s crap and we’re all going to die
It rains a lot, we have some of the lowest life expectancies in western Europe and most of our traditional industries are long gone. No wonder we’re so keen on having a laugh and making new pals.
http://i.imgur.com/UC2jwA0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0Nvokrl.jpg
It’s official: the Scots are the friendliest people in the UK.
That’s according to a study of more than 400,000 Britons, which found notable differences in people from different parts of the country.
But why? Your correspondent, a Scot from a Welsh, English and Irish family, reckons it’s because Scots know they live in the best country in the world.
1. We’re gallus
Gallus is a Scots word that describes the country’s personality brilliantly. Gallus people are confident, a little bit cheeky and very irreverent. That’s a winning combination.
2. We sound friendly
The Scots accent is regularly voted the friendliest, most trustworthy and most calming accent in Britain. We suspect that means the lowland, West coast accent, but all of Scotland’s many voices are amazing.
3. We’re not hemmed in
London crams more than 8 million people into 1,572 square kilometres. There are fewer Scots – 5.3 million – and we’ve got much more room: 78,387 square kilometres to stretch out in. No wonder Londoners are more tetchy than we are.
http://i.imgur.com/9i0UVBS.jpg
4. We can see amazing things
Scotland has some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world, and even in the centre of Glasgow you’re only a half-hour away from it. There’s something about being so close to natural beauty that stirs the soul.
Our architecture’s great, too. Check out Edinburgh’s grandeur, the gargoyles and carvings on so many Glasgow buildings or the world famous shopping centre in Cumbernauld.
5. We’ve got God’s own larder
We have some of the finest ingredients, best chefs and deepest fried pizzas you can possibly imagine.
http://i.imgur.com/36nZrNO.jpg
6. We have the best music, and the best venues
King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and the Glasgow Barrowland always feature in world’s-best-venues round-ups, for good reason: they’re fantastic.
The music isn’t bad either: Chvrches, Honeyblood, Frightened Rabbit, Biffy Clyro, Teenage Fanclub, Young Fathers, Twin Atlantic, King Creosote… and that’s before we get onto our traditional and classical music scenes. Music’s in our bones.
http://i.imgur.com/37TAd7C.jpg
7. We can buy houses even if we aren’t billionaires
We look at tales of London cupboards going for tens of thousands in horror. We can’t quite buy a castle with a week’s wages, but where the average London house price is £514,000, in Scotland it’s £160,000. That leaves a lot of money left over for…
8. Whisky and Irn-Bru
The latter undoes the damage of the former.
http://i.imgur.com/8rkLCVK.png
9. We don’t take ourselves too seriously
Scottish humour is dark and self-deprecating. We like to laugh at ourselves.
10. We can breathe properly
There are exceptions – Glasgow’s Hope Street is so polluted you might start smoking to give your lungs a break – but most of Scotland isn’t urban, and that means we breathe clean air.
http://i.imgur.com/IOp2e4E.jpg
11. We’re Celts
Just like the Irish and the Welsh, we’re from a long line of hard-partying maniacs.
12. We’re bullsh*tters
From the Loch Ness Monster to tall tales of hunting wild haggis, we can’t resist telling tall tales.
13. We’re really, really funny
From Billy Connolly to Kevin Bridges and Frankie Boyle, some of the world’s finest comedians come from Scotland – and with superb venues such as The Stand and annual comedy festivals in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the ones that don’t come from here come to here.
http://i.imgur.com/zZ8g027.jpg
14. We invented everything
And we won’t miss an opportunity to tell you about it. The iPad? Reggae? Disco? Somewhere, there’s a Scottish connection to all of them.
15. The weather’s crap and we’re all going to die
It rains a lot, we have some of the lowest life expectancies in western Europe and most of our traditional industries are long gone. No wonder we’re so keen on having a laugh and making new pals.
http://i.imgur.com/UC2jwA0.jpg