Brigadoonery

[Catriona]

Just to prove that there are people of Scottish descent who concur with my views of Brigadoonery, here's a Canadian site that is very funny.

Enjoy!

http://www.durham.net/~neilmac/

[Cabbagehome]

Well you can't go by the Cannooks, they're English after all.  Are they not?  

[Catriona]

But...... I am sure that I read that the photographs are of Americans  

And no - Canadians or Canucks are NOT English. And just what do you personally have against the English?

I have never felt like that against anyone - live and let live says I.

[free2Bme]

What about the Nova Scotians - they are Scot descent, are they not? BTW, I love the Bugs Bunny reference on the website - my fav Scotsman!

I don't have anything against the English, as long as they dont try to retake the colonies again! Shall we all go to Boston for a spot of tea?  

[Catriona]

Yes, Janet, they are of Scots descent.....  and there are more people of Scots descent in Canada than anywhere else, I was told...

It still doesn't make them SCOTS, though  

Glad to hear you have nothing against the English. And, I don't think they will be trying to conquer the USA any time soon      I find it a little uncomfortable that people are allowed to English-bash.....  if they were talking about hispanics or blacks, for instance, they would be labelled racist......  It just makes me uncomfortable  

We native celtic nationals can take the mickey out of the English......   but a lot of it is very tongue in cheek.  That is not to say that we do not feel the English held the whip hand in our affairs for hundreds of years - but the type of rabid anti-English posts I see are mostly written on sites visited by Scots-Americans/Canadians......

[free2Bme]

I beg to differ Catroina - a Scot can be Scottish by being born in Scotland, or by having parents/aunts/uncles/ancestors who were born there. When Scots immigrated to the hills of Kentucky for example (or the shores of Florida) they brought their food, their language, their customs, and their culture with them. They stuck together in groups linked by blood and marriages, just like a Scottish clan would have done. Their mannerisms, and their temperment can all be traced back to their Scottish ancestry. I never once understood my family until I began to trace our ancestry, and learned more about the people of the Scottish Highlands. The more I learn about them, the more I have come to understand why my family do things the way that they do.

To say a Scottish-American is not Scottish is like telling an Italian-American that they aren't really Italian. Yes, we are all Americans, born here in America, but we *identify* who we are with where our family came from.

[Catriona]

Are both your parents Scots, or your grandparents?  If not then you are of Scottish ancestry - you are not a Scot.... sorry, but that's the rules as defined by the Home Office!

I don't dispute that you have some scots ancestry (I do not mean you personally, I mean all Scottish-Americans) but often it is one Scot up to 8 generations ago....  How Scots does that make anyone?

My family have no other bloodlines (well, not since records began, anyway     ).

I have explained here before that I find it amazing that often the only bloodline honoured is the Scottish one - what about the Lithuanian, the German, the Polish, the Italian?!

PS my name is Catriona..... not Catroina...   it is pronounced Ka tree uh na (with the emphasis is on the 'tree'

[free2Bme]

My family is Scottish on both sides - My father's family are Stewarts, and my mother's family are Taylor and Ross and Scott. I have been able to trace our roots back as far as my grandfather's grandfather, who most likely came across the Atlantic as part of the infamous "highland clearances."

I am inclined to think we may actually be *picts* - I have heard they were a very short race of people...I am 5 ft. 3 in. tall and am considered tall by my family's standards. My grandfather stood 4 ft. 11 inches, and my grandmother was even shorter!

I meant no harm by jumping into this discussion. As I have learned from my own experiences, I feel most at home when surrounded by other people of Scottish descent. We play the Kevin Bacon game by seeing how our family's may be related to one another and before the night is over I feel as if I have added the entire room full of people to my ever extending family.  

Please excuse my typos - I tend to mispell words, and names are the most difficult for me. Many pardons!

[Catriona]

I'm an Appin Stewart.  

I wasn't sure whether or not you had misread my name.  I haven't had to go far to find my family - most of them are  in the local graveyards where my family still live!

[free2Bme]

I don't know "which" Stewart I am - I like to tease and pretend to be a Royal Stewart - but then again they weren't very successful as Royalty goes.

I suppose I should look about Scotland when I get there and just look for a tribe of very short Stewarts eh?  

I will claim you as a cousin if you would like to do likewise? I have cousins by the thousands!

[Catriona]

Well, I don't think we can be related - my dad was 6'4 and an officer in a Highland Regiment - my brother was 6 ft 5 and my sister is 5'11.....  our Stewarts verge on the giant size of the scale  

[free2Bme]

I suppose only a DNA test would be able to tell for sure, right? It would freak me out if you and I actually are related!!!
Still, there isnt anything that says I cant "adopt" you, now is there?

BTW, did you see the BBC program about cave men? They did a DNA test from the skeleton of an actual Cave Man discovered by scientists and then sampled the DNA of all the people who lived near the archelogical site and determined who the cave man's direct relatives were? It was awesome!

[CelticRadio]

Yes that is amazing! Of course, we are all related. I saw a very interesting program about the make-up of all humans. We are practically all cousins if you look at DNA - very little difference between all of us.

[Cabbagehome]

Quote (Catriona @ Nov. 18 2002,11:22)

I'm an Appin Stewart.   I wasn't sure whether or not you had misread my name.  I haven't had to go far to find my family - most of them are  in the local graveyards where my family still live!

Wow that must be so cool! Just go down the street to do grave stone rubbings up your forefathers. You have no concept of how envious of you we are. You need not be a history buff, it is a part of your every day life.
Thanks for giving us the right pronoucation of your name.

[Cabbagehome]

Quote (Catriona @ Nov. 17 2002,10:56)

But...... I am sure that I read that the photographs are of Americans   And no - Canadians or Canucks are NOT English. And just what do you personally have against the English? I have never felt like that against anyone - live and let live says I.

Well personlly, I have nothing against the English, after the war of 1812.  Most people in the states feel kindly to England. We love British anything.
Nothing againt the Canadians, seeing as how I married one (well not totally) His grandmother was Canadian, grandfather was from PA. He was raised in Canada, till he was 14. At 16 he had to choose his citizenship.