With regards to CeilidhDoc's unfortunate experience, St. Andrews is a bit of a special case. It is a small town with a very large student population, to the extent that for 8 or 9 months of the year the whole place just seems like one big university campus. Some of the local resident youth seem to become resentful of this for whatever reason, and 'student bashing' is not unknown, with non-Scots being the preferred (but not exclusive) target. It was a problem when I attended the university from 1988-1992, and I dare say it's still a problem now. There is of course no justification for it, and I struggle to find an explanation for it either as I guess my mind doesn't work the same way as theirs.

As the university and its students bring employment, money, tourism, colour and vibrancy to what would otherwise be a tiny sleepy ex-fishing village, you'd think they'd be welcomed by the local population, as they indeed are by most, it's just a small minority of ignorant thugs that are at the root of the problem.

I can only apologise to CeilidhDoc for his experience, and I'm glad that he otherwise enjoyed his time in the town, as indeed I did. Possibly the best four years of my life.