Original Email No.5 - Scotland

Hello again, mis amigos Americanos!
I bet you didn't expect another one of these so soon! Just kidding.
Don't worry, I swear I'll keep it short. If you haven't noticed, I've been using these emails as a kind of day-journal for my own memory, being as I'm terrible at actually writing all of this down for myself, so I just give myself the excuse of writing it down for other people- though I'm sure some of you would prefer if I just wrote it down for myself! Hehe! Still, I don't think we'll have interent in either Ireland or the Cotswolds, so this may be my last one for a couple of weeks.

Today was a Ketchup day for us. Not only did we sleep in a little bit (hence, Catching Up) but it was also one of those slow running days where you just can't seem to get moving out of the bottle? Hence: Ketchup. So, today was a Ketchup day.

We started off with a delicious breakfast of scrabled eggs, buttered toast, black pudding and haggis. Like I said... De-licious. For anyone not yet aware of what the words "Black pudding and haggis" entail, I'll try capture the ambrosia in a few words.

Black Pudding= Blood from a cow's neck mixed with oats until pastie and cooked until black.
Haggis= Sheep's stumach stuffed with the entrails, vegetables (Traditionally turnips and potatoes, or "Neeps and Tatties"), seasoning, and boiled.

Each of these is a traditional scottish dish dating back into the days of the old highland clans. Black Pudding was contrived to provide protein for the clansmen in the winter months, when the cows still needed to be kept alive or sold for the maitnence of their farms. Blood was drawn from the thick, wooly necks of the highland cows to be mixed with the Scots' only other source of food: oats. This caused no harm to the cattle and provided protein to the highlanders, keeping both of them alive through the harsh winter months. Neat, eh?

Haggis is a traditional Christmas meal for many Scots, even to this day. It was invented centuries ago by the Servants of large families, who were given the leftovers of the sheep which were roasted for Christmas meals. There was no easy way to cook up all of these bits and pieces of the sheep, so at last, haggis was invented.

Both of these were actually quite tasty, and I swear I'm not saying that for Bravado. Haggis tasted something like ground beef and onions and the black pudding was all but flavorless. Really, each of them is very much like our own Lutefisk (raw fish soaked in Lye? Come now) and Head Cheese (you'll have to look that one up yourself). If any of you ever get the chance to try these, I encourage it, if anything, just so you can say you did! My whole family gave it a try- Mom and Nick, too, and usually my dad and I are the ones to go out on dietary limbs. No pun intended.

The rest of the day we kind of tinkered around shops- I got a few CD's... Snow Patrol and Stereolab. Nick and Dad did, too. Nick found some obscure band called "We are Scientists" and Dad ended up with Beth Orton. All Solid UK bands... accept for Stereolab, who has French ties. We also toured Edinburgh Castle, which was a primary Jackobite Stronghold, and also the Birthplace of James VI of Scotland by Mary, Queen of Scots. Both are interesting Characters, but I still must say my heart belongs to the Original Braveheart- Sir Robert de Brus. And, yes, that is right- it was Robert, not Wallace, who was the true Braveheart. Holywood confused it. Unless anyone is terribly interested in another gory tale of Scots bravery in battle, I won't go into detail as to why he was REALLY called Braveheart, but if you're interested, it has to do with ordering to his heart to be carried into battle even after his death. Hence: Braveheart. I'll let you figure out how they managed THAT one. Hint: Think Snow White.

Tomorrow we're off to Dublin- Yay! I should have brought a copy of my old "Top 100 Reasons to Move to Ireland" with, but the name Ireland alone will just have to be reason enough for now!

Alright, I promised I'd keep this one short, so I'll end here with my usual chorus of "I love you!'s" and "Take care!'s". Happy summers to everyone, be safe and have fun! I'll type again when I get the chance! Love you, miss you, take care!

-Sara