tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post5967311963552653696..comments2023-08-10T12:55:23.427+01:00Comments on SUBROSA: The Irish Do It Much Bettersubrosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-19773405698903692372012-04-14T02:36:27.842+01:002012-04-14T02:36:27.842+01:00Auch pa_broon, Andy's not dour. He's just ...Auch pa_broon, Andy's not dour. He's just not comfortable in front of the media but he's getting better.<br /><br />He's not a celeb but a tennis player. :)subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-19574470417913639672012-04-14T02:34:26.425+01:002012-04-14T02:34:26.425+01:00That's right pa_broon. VisitScotland want rid ...That's right pa_broon. VisitScotland want rid of the tartan and shortbread image and want us to look 'international'. Then we can think we're in Barcelona or Athens.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-77804400631639105792012-04-13T09:51:37.224+01:002012-04-13T09:51:37.224+01:00Hold on though, are you saying a kilt and white t-...Hold on though, are you saying a kilt and white t-shirt is no longer a la mode in the world of fashion?<br /><br />It explains the funny looks.<br /><br />On Andy Murray, I have a friend who has developed a proper dislike for him and I'm always defending him, you have to admit though, you could place an after-match interview next to the entry for 'dour' in the dictionary and it would explain the word quite well.<br /><br />And thats using an interview where he won.pa_broon74https://www.blogger.com/profile/01915208411019621104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-45016543945236480612012-04-13T02:41:21.184+01:002012-04-13T02:41:21.184+01:00Woodsy and Pa_broon, I can remember, many years ag...Woodsy and Pa_broon, I can remember, many years ago now, explaining to a German friend what the word dour meant.<br /><br />He said "no wonder your people are dour. They run around in the cold in just a short-sleeved top and a kilt'.<br /><br />His image of a Scotsman came from the front of a Scots Porage Oats packet.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-35605476949255672472012-04-13T02:37:34.132+01:002012-04-13T02:37:34.132+01:00That's very true Crinkly and prices are on a p...That's very true Crinkly and prices are on a par too. I trust you're referring to this business of paying upon arrival instead of departure. I find that slightly insulting.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-64535298073191816552012-04-13T02:26:41.046+01:002012-04-13T02:26:41.046+01:00The roads in the south are a bit risky RM, althoug...The roads in the south are a bit risky RM, although I'm told the main road to Dublin is now completed (courtesy of EU cash as you say).<br /><br />Like everything VisitScotland does the latest video is average and yes, I suspect it cost a lot. Their marketing projects always do.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-42036491317830204862012-04-13T02:23:53.579+01:002012-04-13T02:23:53.579+01:00Maybe it doesn't encourage you to take to the ...Maybe it doesn't encourage you to take to the seas JRB, but at least you know of the event. Here in Scotland so much goes on and it's seldom publicised, yet each of us pays for the marketing.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-77226862943677398442012-04-13T02:22:26.149+01:002012-04-13T02:22:26.149+01:00Pa_broon, I was on your side until you mentioned o...Pa_broon, I was on your side until you mentioned our tennis ace. Poor man, he gets pilloried every time.<br /><br />I remember some years ago having to contact VisitScotland and I mentioned to someone how surprised I was to hear a pleasant woman with a strong Australian accent answering. Of course to some that wasn't PC, but truth be told, what other country has a foreigner answer their public information line?subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-82985009854300606982012-04-12T23:43:52.139+01:002012-04-12T23:43:52.139+01:00Apologies. It seems in a fit of irony I was being ...Apologies. It seems in a fit of irony I was being a dour Scotsman.<br /><br />I'm never bothered by the way Scot's are portrayed on TV etc, I think it happens to all the component countries of UK at some point.<br /><br />Sometimes we're a wee bit over sensitive to it too (as evidenced by my virtual jumping to conclusions.)pa_broon74https://www.blogger.com/profile/01915208411019621104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-4097430932827338742012-04-12T22:39:52.700+01:002012-04-12T22:39:52.700+01:00"they don't like the British Establishmen..."they don't like the British Establishment"<br />Nor do I pa_broon74, If I had your chance at independence from it I would grab it with both hands. Remember that in the past the English elite treated the English peasantry no better than they treated yours.<br />I hope you realise from my previous reply that I am not supporting the stereotypes I mentioned, nor justifying them. Simply reporting my suspicions that they exist in people's minds and influence tourism.Woodsy42https://www.blogger.com/profile/12355671210161625647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-70638519909076199712012-04-12T22:31:57.456+01:002012-04-12T22:31:57.456+01:00I had hoped that by admitting to "my gross an...I had hoped that by admitting to "my gross and unfair generalisations" you might realise that I was being tongue in cheek! I don't subscribe to that view, having met both wonderful and objectional people in most places I have visited - people are just people everywhere - and you find all sorts.<br />However, there was a real point to my comments as I actually do think there remains a very real general public perception of such national stereotypes.<br />Whether it's down to the mood of the publicity, historical fiction personalisations, TV depictions, the more austere Highland countryside or what I simply don't pretend to know, but many sources play to just such a stereotypical characterisation.<br />Just pointing it out as something to consider.Woodsy42https://www.blogger.com/profile/12355671210161625647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-67281015636121691342012-04-12T17:54:00.699+01:002012-04-12T17:54:00.699+01:00Scotland's small hotels and B&Bs are no be...Scotland's small hotels and B&Bs are no better nor worse than their contemporaries in Ireland.<br /><br />The generality of the worst are those where their paying guest are regarded as guilty until such time as they leave and are proved innocent.Crinkly & Ragged Arsed Philosophershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08902364411241935656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-77849430851569117372012-04-12T17:47:23.607+01:002012-04-12T17:47:23.607+01:00There's been a Scottish tourism advert on tell...There's been a Scottish tourism advert on telly for the past month or so which must have cost a lot. It had great scenery and locations but was a bit vague and the location names were too small to read so some potential tourists probably didn't know what country was being advertised.<br />I thought the roads in Ireland were ok. I travelled from Belfast , south to Dublin, across to Galway then back across following the border to Belfast. It was mostly modern 3 lane roads which were built with EU funding.RMcGeddonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01665173796157838927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-75910048559556993082012-04-12T13:58:20.484+01:002012-04-12T13:58:20.484+01:00All things ‘Titanic’ are rapidly rivalling the ‘Ol...All things ‘Titanic’ are rapidly rivalling the ‘Olympics’ in mind numbing sensory overload.<br /><br />What befell the Titanic and those on board was a tragedy. So let us pause and with some humility remember that event for what it was.<br /><br />But the on-going ‘media fest’ borders on the nauseating.<br />I for one have had ‘enough’ - and it certainly does not encourage me to visit Belfast.JRBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01864418763227369458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-49240836363226432752012-04-12T11:38:01.601+01:002012-04-12T11:38:01.601+01:00With respect, I think thats rubbish. To say that S...With respect, I think thats rubbish. To say that Scots are a dour bunch because they hate the English is not correct, on that specific point, if we are dour its because Westminster & England by extension has benefited from the systematic asset stripping of Scotland for centuries. As a Scotsman I would never generalise the English people in such an off-hand manner.<br /><br />Your view is just out of date, Scottish people don't hate the English, they don't like the British Establishment; they are not the same thing.<br /><br />The reason Scotland doesn't do as well is because our national (if I can deploy that oft derided idea) is diluted by that of 'Britain'. The same thing happens to England although I think there is more conflation between things that are English (the country side, traditional music etc) and things that are British (the monarchy, Pomp & circumstance etc.) Look at the current 'stay in Britain for your holidays' ad campaign, Scotland is hardly represented at all.<br /><br />I think many of the English people who retire to Scotland, not just for a holiday mind, would also disagree about the Scots being unfriendly and dour.<br /><br />As an example, we could for example look to football and its fanbase.<br /><br />(I'm ignoring our current tennis ace, he is a bit dour.)<br /><br />In terms of selling the country on its people, I think that's a tough one these days given the majority of the people working in our tourist industry are Polish. Not sure how that would work out. Although I should say, I don't actually mind.pa_broon74https://www.blogger.com/profile/01915208411019621104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-87555716204889798502012-04-12T10:57:57.147+01:002012-04-12T10:57:57.147+01:00Pleased to hear I'm exempt Woodsy or I'd h...Pleased to hear I'm exempt Woodsy or I'd hit you with my Dulux loaded paintbrush. (A shower would get it all off as it's waterbased)!<br /><br />You're right though. The Irish people are always at the front of their marketing campaigns.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116690042850060767.post-71711293866863891332012-04-12T10:42:24.015+01:002012-04-12T10:42:24.015+01:00Dare I say it but the Irish, political troubles no...Dare I say it but the Irish, political troubles notwithstanding, have built a reputation for being friendly, welcoming and fun company - you might not want them next door living in a caravan but for a holiday different rules apply.<br />Scots have a reputation for being dour, taciturn and hating the English. The English go for the scenery not the people or music/night life.<br />Present company, and especially fun loving blonde bloggers, are excepted from my gross and unfair generalisations of course!Woodsy42https://www.blogger.com/profile/12355671210161625647noreply@blogger.com