carousel horse, dolls’ houses, toy animals, zoos, farms and circuses,

trains, soldiers, optical toys, marionettes, soft toys, games and much,

much more.

In addition, the museum features a time tunnel (with reconstructions

of a school room, street scene, fancy dress party and nursery from the days

of our grandparents) an activity area, and video presentations. The museum

opened in 1955 was the first museum in the world to specialize in the

history of childhood. It also helps to find out how children have been

brought up, dressed and educated in decades gone by.

“The People’s Story” is a museum with a difference. As the name

implies, it uses oral history, reminiscence, and written sources to tell

the story of the lives, work and leisure of te ordinary people of

Edinburgh, from the late 18th century to the present day. The museum is

filled with the sounds, sights and smells of the past – a prison cell, town

crier, reform parade, cooper’s workshop, fishwife, servant at work,

dressmaker, 1940s kitchen, a wash-house, pub and tea-room.

These reconstructions are complimented by displays of photographs,

everyday objects and rare artifacts, such as the museum’s outstanding

collections of trade union banners and friendly society regalia.

6. Where life is one long festival.

Edinburgh may be called the Athens of the North, but from mid-August

to early September that’s probably because it’s hot, noisy and overpriced –

and crawling with foreign students.

Over the next three weeks the population will double as half a

million visitors invade Britain’s most majestic city.

If you are a theatre buff or a comedy fan, Edinburgh at Festival

time[15] will be your idea of heaven. But the city is a centre for culture

all year round.

In the run-up to Christmas there are hundreds of shows, including

Noel Coward’s Relative Values at the King’s Theatre and the Anatomy

Performance Company’s dance theatre at the Traverse. Romeo and Juliet is at

the Traverse, Les Miserables at the Playhouse and The Recruiting Officer at

the Lyceum. And outside Festival time, you’ll find it a lot easier to get

tickets.

As for the visual arts, Edinburgh’s museums more than match any of

the special exhibitions mounted during the Festival.

Most attractive is the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, in a

stately home on the outskirts of the city. Here you can find unbeatable

masterpieces created by Picasso, Matisse and Hockney.

If shopping is more your stile, Jenners[16], on Princes Street, is

Edinburgh’s answer to Harrods. And the Scottish Gallery on George Street is

a happy hunting ground for collectors of fine art. Edinburgh is full of

good hotels but its dramatic sky-line is dominated by two enormous

hostelries at either end of Princes Street. The Caledonian and the Balmoral

(formerly the North British) were built by rival railway companies in the

days when competing steam trains raced from London.

You can also have a look at the Gothic monument to Sir Walter Scott,

which stands in East Princes Street Gardens and was begun in 1840. It is

rather high, and narrow staircase (a total of 287 steps in several stages)

offers spectacular views of the city. Not far from the monument in Princes

Street Gardens one can find the oldest Floral Clock in the world, built in

1903, consisting of about 25,000 flowers and plants.

Like all the best capitals, Edinburgh boasts cosmopolitan influences.

Asian shopkeepers sell Samosas and Scotch (mutton) pies in the same thick

Scots brogue, and the city is littered with Italian restaurants.

The city has three universities: the University of Edinburgh (1583),

Herriot-Watt[17] (established in 1885; received university status in 1966)

and Napier[18] University.

Edinburgh is also an industrial centre. Its industries include

printing, publishing, banking, insurance, chemical manufacture,

electronics, distilling, brewing.

Conclusion.

I.“Scottishness”.

Oh Scotia! My dear, my native soil!

Robert Burns

Scotland is a country of great variety with its own unique character

and strong tradition. Its cities offer a mixture of designer lifestyle and

age old tradition, while the countryside ranges from Britain’s highest

mountains and waterfalls to the most stunning gorges and glens.

Scotland’s national tradition is rather intense and much alive even

now and is rather rare in the modern world. Scotland is part of Britain.

But it is not England. The Scottishness is a real thing, not an imaginary

feeling, kind of picturesque survival of the past. It is based on Scot’s

law which is different from the English. Scotland has its own national

heroes fought in endless battles against the English ( William Wallace, Sir

John the Grahame , Robert Bruce and others).

1.'A wee dram'

Scots have their own national drink, and you need only ask for

Scotch, and that’s quite enough, you get what you wanted. More than half of

Scotland's malt whisky distilleries are in the Grampian Highlands, and thus

a third of the world's malt whisky is distilled here. A combination of

fertile agricultural land, a sheltered, wet climate and the unpolluted

waters of the River Spey and its tributaries, combined with the obvious

enthusiasm of the locals for the work (and the product!) mean it is an

ideal place to produce malt whisky. Many distilleries are open to visitors,

and often offer samples!

The Scots are fond of the following joke about scotch:

A young man arrives in a small village situated near Loch Ness. There he

meets an old man and asks him:

- When does the Loch Ness Monster usually appear?

- Usually it appears after the third glass of Scotch, - answered the

man.

2.Scottish national dress.

There is also a distinctive national dress, the kilt. Strictly

speaking it should be warn only by men; it is made of wool and looks like a

pleated skirt. The kilt is a relic of the time when the clan system existed

in the Highlands. But its origin is very ancient. The Celtic tribes who

fought Ceasar wore kilts. When the Celts moved north up through Cornwall,

and Wales, and Ireland, and eventually to Scotland, they brought the kilt

with them. A thousand years ago, there was nothing specially Scottish about

it. Now it has become the Highland’s national dress and is worn in many

parts of Scotland. It is probably the best walking-dress yet invented by

man: there is up to 5 metres of material in it; it is thickly pleated st

the back and sides; it is warm, it is airly, leaves the legs free for

climbing; it stands the rain for hours before it gets wet through; it hangs

well above the mud and the wet grass; briefly it is warm for a cold day,

and cool for a warm one. And, what is more, if a Highlander is caught in

the mountains by the night, he has but to unfasten his kilt and wrap it

around him – 5 metres of warm wool – he’ll sleep comfortably enough the

night through.

3.A few words about tartan.

Every Scottish clan had its own tartan.[19] People in Highlands were

very good weavers. They died their wool before weaving it; the dyes were

made from various roots and plants which grew in this or that bit of land.

Therefore one clan dyed its wool in reddish colours, another in green, and

so on. And they decorated them differently so as to distinguish the

clansmen in battle (especially between neighboring clans which happened

rather often).

On the subject of shopping for tartan, the choice is wide. Some

designs are associated with particular clans and retailers will be happy to

help you find “your” own pattern. By no means all tartans belong to

specific clans – several are “district” tartans, representing particular

areas. The fascinating story of the tartan itself is told at the Museum of

Scottish Tartans.

The museum possesses lots of rare exhibits. One of them is the

remarkable woman’s Plaid or Arisaid, the oldest dated in the world: 1726.

The Arisaid, worn only by women, reached from head to heels, belted at the

waist and pinned at the breast.

The oldest piece of Tartan found in Scotland dates back from about 325

AD. The cloth was found in a pot near Falkirk[20], a simple check in two

shades of brown, a long way from the checked and coloured tartans that came

to be worn in the Highlands of Scotland in the 1550s. There are now over

2,500 tartan designs, many of them are no more than 20 years old.

4.The national musical instrument of the Scots.

Scotland has its own typical musical instrument, the pipes (sometimes

called the bagpipes). The bagpipe was known to the ancient civilizations of

the Near East. It was probably introduced into Britain by the Romans.

Carvings of bagpipe players on churches and a few words about them in the

works of Chaucer and other writers show that it was popular all over the

country in the Middle Ages.

In Scotland the bagpipe was first recorded in the 16th century during

the reign of James I, who was a very good player, and probably did much to

make it popular. For long it has been considered a national Scottish

instrument. Even now it is still associated with Scotland.

The sound of the bagpipes is very stirring. The old Highland clans and

later the Highland regiments used to go into battle to the sound of the

bagpipes.

The bagpipe consists of a reed pipe, the “chanter”, and a wind bag

which provides a regular supply of air to the pipe. The wind pipe is filled

either from the mouth or by a bellows which the player works with his arm.

The chanter has a number of holes or keys by means of which the tune is

played.

5.Highland’s dances and games.

You can also find in Scotland its own national dances, Highland dances

and Scottish country dances; its own songs (some of which are very popular

all aver Britain), its poetry (some of which is famous throughout the

English-speaking world), traditions, food and sports, even education, and

manners.

Speaking about sports I can’t but mention Highland Gatherings or Games

held in Braemar. They have been held there since 1832, and since Queen

Victoria visited them in 1848 the games have enjoyed royal patronage. The

Games consist of piping competitions, tugs-of-war (a test of strength in

which two teams pull against other on a rope, each trying to pull the other

over the winning line), highland wrestling and dancing, and tossing the

caber.[21]

6.The famous Loch Ness.

Fact or fiction, the Loch Ness monster is part of Loch Ness’s

magnetic appeal to visitors. But there is much more to do and see around

the shores of this famous waterway than just monster-spotting, and a

pleasant day, or even longer, can be spent exploring the many activities.

24 miles long, a mile wide and up to 700 feet deep Loch Ness is a land-

locked fresh water lake lying at the eastern end of the Great Glen[22], a

natural geological fault which stretches across the width of Scotland. The

loch forms part of the Caledonian Canal completed by the celebrated civil

engineer Thomas Telford (1757 – 1841), in 1822. Telford took 19 years to

build the canal, which spared coastal shipping and fishing vessels a voyage

through the waters of the Pentland Firth[23].

The story of Nessiterras Rhombopteryx or Nessie for short in Loch

Ness has persistent down the centuries. The monster was first mentioned in

AD 565 when St Columba allegedly persuaded it not to eat someone. Since

records began, in 1933, more than 3000 people have claimed to have seen it,

but others are skeptical. They point out that no good photographs exist of

the monster, that there have been no eggs found, no dead monsters (can it

really be 2563 years old?) nor any other compelling evidence. Believers

think the monster is a plesiosaur, an otherwise extinct sea-dwelling

reptile. Anyone who did prove conclusively the monster's existence would be

hailed as a pioneer, so it is no surprise to learn that monster-spotting is

a popular pastime!

The Official Loch Ness Monster Centre is opened all year round

and has exhibits showing geology, prehistory and history of Scotland, along

with SONAR records and underwater photography relating to the monster.

The Original Visitor Centre offers a half hour video of the monster

detailing the research that has taken place, along with a video about

Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The loch has been surveyed for decades, by the RAF[24], eminent

scientists, cranks, crackpots, mini-submarines and millions of pounds worth

of high technology, including NASA[25] computers. And still there is no

proof…

7. Saint Andrew’s cross.

The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian[26] denomination, is the

official state church. The Roman Catholic church is second in importance.

Other leading denominations are the Episcopal Church in Scotland,

Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, and Unitarian. Jews are a small

minority.

St. Andrew’s cross is the national flag of Scotland. It consists of

two diagonal white stripes crossing on a blue background. The flag forms

part of the British national flag (Union Jack).

The flag of Presbyterian Church differs a little bit from that of

Scotland. It is also St. Andrew’s cross but with a little addition: it has

a burning bush centered, which signifies presbyterianism.

The symbol comes from the motto of the Presbyterian Church, nec tamen

consumebatur (neither was it consumed) referring the bush that burnt, but

was not consumed, so will be the church that will last for ever.

St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. He was a New Testament

apostle who was martyred on an X-shaped cross. He was said to have given

the Pictish army a vision of this cross at the battle of Athenstoneford

between King Angus of the Picts and King Authelstan of the Angles. St.

Andrew was foisted upon Scotland as its patron when the old Celtic and

Culdee centres were superseded by the new bishopric of St. Andrew’s. His

feast-day is 30 November. On this day some Scotsmen wear a thistle[27] in

the buttonhole.

One of the greatest treasures of Huntly House Museum (Edinburgh) is

the national Covenant, signed by Scotland’s Presbyterian leadership in

1638. Covenanters are 17th-century Scottish Presbyterians who bound

themselves by covenants to maintain Presbyterianism as the sole religion of

Scotland and helped to establish the supremacy of Parliament over the

monarch in Scotland and England. Early covenants supporting Protestantism

were signed in 1557 and in 1581. In 1638 the covenant of 1581 was revived,

and its signatories added a vow to establish Presbyterianism as the state

religion of Scotland.

II.Scotland for every season.

If you hunt for the real Scotland, there will be many times when you

know you have found it: when you hear your first Highland Piper with the

backdrop of Edinburgh Castle; on some late, late evening on a far northern

beach as the sun sets into a midsummer sea; or with your first taste of a

malt whisky, peat-smoked and tangy; or when you sit in a cafй with the real

Scots. By the way, the Scots are very sociable people. They like to spend

their free time together, drinking coffee or scotch and talking. Scottish

people are fond of singing at the national music festivals in chorus, at

the fairs and in the parks. Most of Scotsmen are optimists. They don’t lose

their heart and smile in spite of all difficulties.

The real Scotland is not found in a single moment – nor is it

contained in a single season. Though the moorlands turn purple in summer,

Scotland in spring is famed for its clear light and distant horizons, while

autumn’s colours transform the woodlands… and what could be more

picturesque than snow-capped hills seen from the warmth of your hotel room?

Scenery, history, hospitality, humour, climate, traditions are offered

throughout the year.

Even if you can feel it now you should visit Scotland all the same,

and see and enjoy this magic country with your own eyes!

Appendices

Scotland: its early peoples.

The chronology of the main events in the history of Scotland.

1st century Picts prevented Romans from penetrating far into Scotland.

5th – 6th centuries Christianity was introduced into Scotland from

Ireland.

9th century Kenneth MacAlpin united kingdoms of Scotland.

1263. Haakon, King of Norway, was defeated by Scots at

Battle of Largs.

1292 – 1306 English domination:

in 1292 – 1296 Scotland was ruled by John Baliol;

in 1296 – 1306 Scotland was annexedto England.

1314. Robert Bruce defeated English at Bannockburn.

1328. England recognized Scottish independence.

1603. James VI became James I of England.

1638. Scottish rebellion against England.

1651. Cromwell conquered Scotland.

1689. Jacobites were defeated at Killiecrankie.

1707 Act of Union with England.

1715, 1745 Failed Jacobites risings against Britain.

First Scottish nationalist member of British Parliament was elected

Practical part:

Who in Scotland consider themselves of purer Celtic blood?

When was a new Scottish Parliament elected?

What was the Beaker civilization famous for?

Why was it so difficult to control the Highlands and islands?

To whom does Scotland owe its clan system?

Why did Edward I stole the Stone of Destiny?

What do the words written on Edward’s grave mean?

Can you explain the name of Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh?

What giant thing can Edinburgh Castle boast?

What did the Military Tattoo originally mean?

Who brought St. Giles’ Cathedral into great prominence?

What is the emblem of Scotland? Where can it be seen?

Why are the Royal Museum and the Museum of Scotland worth visiting?

Which museum in Scotland is the “noisiest” in the world? Why?

Why do they call Edinburgh “the Athens of the North”?

What is Edinburgh’s answer to London’s Oxford Street?

Where did the national Scottish dress come from?

Why was it so important to decorate wool differently?

What is the real origin of the bagpipe?

What does the motto of the Presbyterian Church mean?

Literature

“Discovering Britain” Pavlozky V. M., St Petersburg, 2000.

“Britain in brief” Oshepkova V. V., Shustilova I. I., Moscow, 1997.

“Across England to Scotland” Markova N. N., Moscow, 1971.

“Pages of Britain’s history” Kaufman K. I., Kaufman M. U., Obninsk,

1998.

“An illustrated history of Britain” McDowall D., Edinburgh, 1996.

“Robert Burns country” Swinglehurst E., Edinburgh, 1996.

“English for intermediate level” Part I, Moscow, 1995.

“Welcome to Edinburgh”, guide-book 1998/99.

-----------------------

[1] In Scottish “loch”means “lake”.

[2] Beaker civilization – prehistoric people thought to have been of

Iberian origin, who spread out over Europe from the 3rd millennium BC. They

were skilled in metalworking, and are identified by their use of

distinctive earthenware drinking vessels with various design.

[3] “Highland Line” – the division between highland and lowland

[4] Everybody in the clan had the same family name, like MacDonald or

MacGregor (mac means “son of”). The clan had its own territory and was

ruled by a chieftain.

[5] so they called the Saxons (and still call the English)

[6] Act of Union – 1707 act of Parliament that brought about the union of

England and Scotland

[7] Calton Hill – overlooks Central Edinburgh from the east.

[8] Arthur’s Seat – hill of volcanic origin to the east of the centre of

Edinburgh. It forms the core of Holyrood Park and is a dominant landmark:

Castlehill is the rock of volcanic origin on which Edinburgh Castle is

situated.

[9] Edwin (c585 – 633) – king of Nothumbria from 617. He captured and

fortified Edinburgh, which was named after him.

[10] St. Margaret ( c1045 – 1093 ) – Queen of Scotland. She was canonized

in 1251 in recognition of her benefactions to the church.

[11] Tattoo – the word derives from the Dutch word “tap-toe”, which means

“turn off the taps”.

[12] Knox, John (1513 (1514) – 1572) – Scottish reformer, founder of the

Church of Scotland

[13] The Order of the Thistle – Scotland’s highest order

[14] Declaration of Arbroath – Declaration 26 April 1320 by Scottish nobles

to their loyalty to King Robert I and of Scotland’s identity as a kingdom

independent of England.

[15] Edinburgh Festival has annually been held since 1947. It takes place

from August to September and includes music, drama, opera and art

exhibition.

[16] Jenners – the oldest independent department store in the world.

[17] Heriot, Jeorge (1563 – 1624) – Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist;

Watt, James (1736 – 1819) – Scottish engineer who developed the steam

engine in 1760.

[18] Napier, John (1550 – 1617) – Scottish mathematician who invented

logarithms in 1614.

[19] Tartan – it is traditional Scottish drawing which consists of wide and

narrow cross stripes of different colour and size; the softest wool of

vivid colouring.

[20] Falkirk – unitary authority, Scotland, 37 kilometres west of

Edinburgh.

[21] Tossing the caber – Scottish athletic sport. The caber (a tapered tree

trunk about 6 metres long, weighing about 100 kilograms) is held in the

palms of the cupped hands and rests on the shoulder. The thrower runs

forward and tosses the caber, rotating it through 180 degrees so that it

lands on its opposite end and falls forward. The best competitors toss the

caber about 12 metres.

[22] Great Glen – valley in Scotland following coast-to-coast geological

fault line, which stretches over 100 kilometres south-west from Inverness

on the North Sea to Fort William on the Atlantic coast.

[23] Pentland Firth – channel separated the Orkney Islands from the

northern mainland of Scotland.

[24] RAF – Royal Air Force, the British airforce.

[25] NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a US government

organization that controls space travel and the scientific study of space.

[26] Presbyterianism – a religion close to Protestantism

[27] Thistle is also the emblem of the whole Scotland.

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