Tag: Scotland

Aye, sound…

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I saw this prompt and had to write something. Mostly, because most of the entries I read, relating to this post, were about music or something of that ilk. I read ‘sound’, and thought of the title above. Where I live, Fife in Scotland, sound is used to mean ‘awesome’ or ‘cool’. I don’t think this slang exclusive to Scotland, as I have heard it ‘down south’, in England.

I work with people from all over Europe, and very frequently, the slang gets very confusing for them. Which I feel bad about, purely because I know that I could never move to another country and speak fluently in another language. Sometimes it is like I can’t even speak English properly, myself, so I don’t know how I’d get on trying to have a working understanding of another language. I remember at school, I took French, and whilst I wasn’t the best, I felt I had a working understanding of the language. I got the chance to go to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and well… I fared as well as I would have, if I hadn’t  studied French at all. It made me realise how fortunate I am, living in a country where English is my main language, but I also realised it made me very lazy. Like, people go abroad, and expect other countries to understand English, when in fact, we should be trying to speak their language.

But the thing is, it isn’t just ‘learning a language’, really. Every region of the world has its own local dialects of their main language, and that dialect may often include slang words. Which takes me back to the start of this… via a very long detour. Slang can be confusing, and here, in the Kingdom of Fife, we have a lot of it. So I thought I would give a few definitions, in case you ever find yourself in Scotland, and get a bit lost in the conversation.

Aye- Yes

Awfy- Awful

Baffies- Slippers

Bawbag- An utter arsehole

Boak (ie- ‘you’re giving the the boak)- Dry heave/ something is disgusting

Braw- Beautiful

Grass- A tell-tale

Dingy- Ignore

Dunderheed- Idiot

Eejit- Idiot

Fitbaw- Football

Feart- Scared

Gammie (ie- ‘I’ve got a gammie leg)- Sore/ lame

Greet- Cry

Hawd- Hold

Howfin’- Smelly

Mawkit/ manky- Dirty

Mince (ie- ‘You’re speaking utter mince’)- Rubbish/ crap

Neebur- Neighbour/ friend

Pished- Drunk

Pure (ie- ‘that’s pure brilliant’)- very/ totally

Scooby- Clue

Scran- Food

Squint- Not Straight

Tube- Idiot

Wean- Child

Wee- Little

Some people hate slang, but I find it great. It adds personality to language, and makes it unique where ever you go. So many areas of the world speak English, but there is slang and local changes where-ever the language is spoken, be it Texas, USA or Manchester, England. There is so much variation, something that is really great. But can also be a pain if trying to speak that language.

via Daily Prompt: Sound

Gone to the picture show

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Today after work, I went to the cinema to see T2: Trainspotting. After a 10 hour shift, I am exhaust, and can fall asleep in front of the tv. Especially in the dark. I stayed awake though. Go me!

T2 is the sequel to 1996’s Trainspotting, a film about heroin addicts in Edinburgh. T2 is about the same group of guys, 20 years later. The film looks back fondly on the last movie, and we see how life has played out for Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie. And, there is a common theme that nobody really moves on that much, despite what we hope for.

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The film is genuinely funny, but is also heartbreaking at times. It is widely known, that although based in Edinburgh, the first movie was most filmed in a Glasgow studio. This is where the larger budget comes into play, so that the film could then be filmed all over Edinburgh. In fact, Edinburgh, the trams, the airport, the castle, and car park (yes, car park), is as important in the film as the main cast.

When a sequel is released, there is always a sense of worry that it will tarnish the legacy of the original. This has definitely not happened in this occasion. In fact, there are a lot of opinions that T2 eclipses the original, much like that other T2 (Terminator 2: Judgement Day– well better than the original). I think felt like the tone was very different in this film, not so much forming around Heroin, but what addiction left behind.

The cinema is expensive these days, £11 a ticket from my local Odeon. So, because of the high cost, you have to make sure that you pick a good movie to see. Personally, i have been waiting for T2 since it was announced Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner and Robert Carlyle were all in. The film is getting released this month worldwide, in fact US release is tomorrow (10th Feb). So if you are pondering a visit to the flicks, T2: Trainspotting should be considered your time.

Challenge: 5 Photos

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Bit bored tonight, so thought I would get a wee bit creative. Well, creative in that I am posting a photo post on a Saturday. Yeah, I’m lazy. So I am going through try and post 5 of my favourite photos from my phone.

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I have so many photos on my phone, I kind of picked more nature and landscape pictures. I love photos, they capture a moment. I think it can be easy to snap away and not look at photos. The days of selecting pictures for a photo album are gone, so no harm in looking back.

Last Night…

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

It’s taken 24 hours to collect my thoughts on what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday? Well, (in case you don’t follow me on social media) I was going to see Good Charlotte for the first time in 5 years, not just that, I got meet and greet. 

Meet and greet is something contentious in the music scene, right  now. Where artists charge an extra fee, so that fans can meet artists without having to wait outside before or after the event. I have always thought it was not a good thing. Having mostly visiting small venues, with no more than 2,000 fans, it has been okay seeing the band outside the venue. I never saw the point. But when bands upsize to bigger venues, meeting them becomes difficult. That is where meet and greets become more popular. 

Last night, All Time Low‘s Back To The Future Hearts Tour came to Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena, and their support was Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte is a band I have been a fan of for 15 years, and who have been a massive impact on me as a person. This is a band, who’s music has helped me through the darkest periods of my life, where I considered giving up completely. 

So if I was going to do Meet and Greet for one band, it was Good Charlotte. Because All Time Low were the main band, their group for the meet and greet was a lot bigger than that for GC. ATL had 56, GC had 5. Yes, 5. We got to meet Good Charlotte and get early access into the venue. Going to the room where we’d meet the band was nerve wrecking. The butterflies were horrendous. But it was great. We had a super casual Q&A session, where it was like the 5 on them at one side of the room, and the 5 of us on the other. I had to pinch myself at one point. Benji Madden then got out his guitar, and we got to pick a song. The one that got the go-ahead was The Motivation Proclamation, my suggestion, as it has always been a favourite song. And they played it acoustically. I believe I did cry at that part. Slightly. And then we got photos. A picture taken by one of the tour managers.

 And another one, a selfie taken by Joel Madden (which would have killed me as a 16 year old).  

 Then there was lots of hugs, more small chat, then it was over. We got a GC bag, shirt and signed poster. It was beyond anything I ever thought it would be. To be able to say thank you, personally, to the band who made me who I am today, was priceless. 

We then got out early access to the venue, and got to the barrier. Funnily enough, I got to the same general area that I would get seeing GC in a smaller venue. Stage left. Between Benji Madden and Paul Thomas. Was so happy.  

    
    
    
 I sang along every word, and the band were as flawless as normal. I have missed them so much.  

The set list was as below: 

The Anthem

The Story of My Old Man

My  Bloody Valentine

Girls & Boys

Riot Girl

Makeshift Love

The River

Dance Floor Anthem 

I Just Wanna Live

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

Because I saw the band I loved, I let the bigger All Time Low fans into the barrier, and I went for a drink. This is the way I have always done concerts, the biggest fans deserve to be at the front. I do like ATL, but I didn’t think it was fair to take up barrier space for bigger fans. It’s gig ettiquite. 

If you have ever considered doing meet and greet, do it. Other’s may speak ill of it, but that’s because they have never done it. I have achieved something I have dreamed of for 15 years, almost half my life. If you work hard, and you really want to you should do it. It really was one of the best experiences of my life,  and it really is a good idea if you are attending a big venue that offers it. Both the Good Charlotte and All Time Low meet and greets were organised by Future Beat, who do a lot of VIP deals for events. If you can, give meet and greets a chance, because it really is an opportunity for people to achieve their dreams.

Picture Time

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

 I have been super lazy over Christmas, as usually I go for a long walk around the local area. This year, I have sat at home, watched too much TV and ate my weight in chocolate. In a bid to try and give myself some energy, I thought I’d go for a walk in Dunfermline, and took some pictures. My legs were tired afterwards, but it was a nice day for a walk, and the Park in town was super busy. I like seeing that other people are out and about too. 

Town Clock, Dunfermline

 

Andrew Carnegie Statue, Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline
   

  

Plaque on Andrew Carnegie Statue
  
 
Wee saying at the playpark in Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline. Much of the playpark was burnt down many years ago, so the words are apt.

 
House of Pittencrieff, Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline

 
Plaque on the House of Pittencrieff
  
 
Dunfermline Abbey, as viewed from Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline

 
Looking at a very full river, that runs through Pittencrieff Park
  
 
The full river again, with a small bandstand overlooking it
 
 
There are a lot of bridges in Pittencrieff Park, as the different footpaths criss-cross one another.

   
 
The map of Pittencrieff Park, so you dont get lost
 

Picture Post.

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I missed yesterday, and feel bad for it. So, to break up the monotony of wordy posts, have some random pictures from my phone. I take a lot of photos, and I like to share. I like the colder part of the year, as everything seems to change. 

   
    
 

Out & About Again (BEDA)

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

Today I was down the the public park in the town I live. Used to love going down their for a picnic when I was a kid. There is some ‘gates’ which looked like old prison cells, or that’s what we believed when at school. 

   

          

It’s great looking around where you live. I love taking a camera with me. It helps me realise that there are some nice things about living where I do.