Bagpipe ban for tat shops

[billsides]

Hey, you don't have to be young and drinking too much, it gets worse as you age. I nearly got in trouble many times before I discovered where some were hidden. In Oz we have little blue signs on lamp posts all over the place pointing to toilets which is vital for visitors. Very few toilets are manned in Oz and we don't have turnstyles requiring up to 50p for a pee either! I got adept at vaulting these turnstyles when I did not have the right money! In my last visit we stood in line for over an hour and right after our evening meal before the long parade up the Royal Mile during The Gathering. No loos were available for the 1000's who marched then the lousy few at the tattoo ground which took 40 minutes for my wife to access! I warned as many as I could of the situation prior. I spotted a portable toilet with door wedged hard against a tree near the start which was obviously not meant to be used, but, with a few others helping, I manhandled it and got it functional which pleased a great many people judging by the long queue which formed! Education on basic tourist needs is badly needed there. I suspect some spend almost as much time looking for toilets in Edinburgh as they do shopping for a kilt!

Bill

[Jock Scot]

Sorry Phil an off topic matter.

Bill, are you heading as far north as Inverness-shire on your travels?

[CMcG]

<snip>Education on basic tourist needs is badly needed there. I suspect some spend almost as much time looking for toilets in Edinburgh as they do shopping for a kilt!

By the sounds of it, tourists probably spend MORE time queuing for the toilet than they do kilt shopping! This could perhaps be another solution for the proliferation of tartan tat shops: provide more public toilets. That way people will be more likely to make it to the back of the store where the good stuff is, or to do a bit of comparison shopping and realize the different levels of quality. Time is of the essence when nature calls

[billsides]

Hi Phil and Jock,
Yes I agree, they have a bad problem maybe turn a tat shop or two into a loo, I am, sure it would meet with tourist favour as would adding some of those little blue signs to posts.
I am going no further north than the Highland Games at Perth this trip, my next trip however will be north including the Shetlands. My mothers parents came from there, my grandfather was an Anderson and a fiddle maker/herring fisherman and always joked that he was a blown away Norwegian. My grandmother was a Sinclair and claimed allegance to Caithness both however were very devout Scots and installed much of their pride in my parents and me. I have toured the highlands twice in style on the Royal Scotsman train and been as far north as Wick on it. They take kilts seriously on it and suggest one be worn to their formal dinners on board. It was a bit bizarre rocketting along at 65 mph in the highlands in a kilt doing the Gay Gordons down the carriage isle. I will be revisiting those areas but by car next time, maybe next year. It is a beautiful part of the world and that train is very special and rightly expensive.

Bill

[Father Bill]

It occurs to me to wonder if a "stamp of approval" for stores which meet certain criteria might help? In fact, these might come from the STA, the Register, and perhaps even the City of Edinburgh itself, or at least the equivalent of an Edinburgh "Chamber of Commerce" or such.

If these became recognized and were stringent, visible, and widely advertised by tourism groups and tourism advertisers, the Tat shops might strive energetically to adjust their wares in order to earn one or more such crests for their front windows lest serious customers go elsewhere.

[Mael Coluim]

As one who wore the kilt on his Scottish holiday in 2009, the experience was such that I am repeating it on my trip there next month. Again, there will be no p@nts in my grip just kilts. I wasn’t pretending to be a Scotsman; just opening my mouth would prove that! As my mother’s uncle said to me many years ago in his incomprehensible Scottish brogue, “boy, speak the King’s English!”

See my post #436 in my thread, 'Kilted fortnight holiday in scotland & france' for my comments are kilted travel.

But there will be Scottish custom I will observe. My Malcolm tank will be reserved for special occasions on the trip (wouldn’t want it to get soiled). My USAK semi-trads, Newsome box pleats, and Burnetts & Struth casuals will be daily wear traveling and sightseeing! And you know that pretty well sums up how they are worn at home!

[artificer]

It occurs to me to wonder if a "stamp of approval" for stores which meet certain criteria might help? In fact, these might come from the STA, the Register, and perhaps even the City of Edinburgh itself, or at least the equivalent of an Edinburgh "Chamber of Commerce" or such.

If these became recognized and were stringent, visible, and widely advertised by tourism groups and tourism advertisers, the Tat shops might strive energetically to adjust their wares in order to earn one or more such crests for their front windows lest serious customers go elsewhere.

The problem with such is the bureaucracy and enforcement needed to make such a stamp actually mean something. Otherwise the tat merchants will simply have the stamp copied and applied to their foreign made goods.

Recent lawsuits have shown that they have no issue with slapping a "Made in Scotland" tag on something produced in China or a "100% wool" tag on something made of ????- And these violate national/UK laws.

ith:

[Mael Coluim]

The actual point I was trying to get across is that Scots, and by this I include all individuals who live and work within the boundaries of the land known as Scotland, in general prefer not to be seen as some sort of anachronistic kilted society, mired in the beliefs and traditions of a bygone age. Here I can only speak as one of these resident Scots and I would not presume to speak for the Scottish diaspora elsewhere in the world.

BOLD added.

Phil are you not a US citizen expatriated to Scotland? I doubt if a native Scot would agree with your definition of who is a Scot. The fours years I lived as a expat in Kuwait never once would I have thought myself a Kuwaiti.

[Father Bill]

The problem with such is the bureaucracy and enforcement needed to make such a stamp actually mean something. Otherwise the tat merchants will simply have the stamp copied and applied to their foreign made goods.

Recent lawsuits have shown that they have no issue with slapping a "Made in Scotland" tag on something produced in China or a "100% wool" tag on something made of ????- And these violate national/UK laws.

ith:

Ah - respectfully, no problem at all! Register the sticker design as a trademark and sue vigorously the first couple of stores who attempt to infringe. The rest will quickly fall in line. If in fact it were issued by the city, cheaters might lose their business license. Quick and easy!

[Phil]

Phil are you not a US citizen expatriated to Scotland?

No, I most certainly am not.

I doubt if a native Scot would agree with your definition of who is a Scot. The fours years I lived as a expat in Kuwait never once would I have thought myself a Kuwaiti.

Perhaps I should have defined it more closely to include naturalised citizens of the UK domiciled in Scotland. But then how finely do we wish to split hairs on the subject?
And then how exactly would you define a "native Scot"? A dictionary might define one as someone born in a place or as a local or indigenous inhabitant which is most definitelywhat I would consider myself to be. In any event you appear to have either misread or have misconstrued my post which you reproduced and which says - "I can only speak as one of these resident Scots". I have no doubt, whatsoever, that you could find another Scot somewhere with a differing opinion.