… or the time I thought it would be amusing to visit Aberdeen, Washington. The Scottish Aberdeen has merely two tame nicknames: The Granite City and the Silver City. Its progeny Aberdeen, Washington, is way ahead. For a town of only 16,000, it has a bristle of aliases. There’s The Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula, […]
Tag Archives | scottish ambassador
The American Way
I’m back in Portland after my first Highland Games and on the phone to my mum. I tell her about the knight with the chain mail and the visor and she guffaws. I tell her that the only recognizable bits of our Scotland were a few chocolate bars, the fish and chips, and the pricey […]
All fun and Games
Portland Highland Games – my first ever Highland Games, is not actually in Portland. It’s in Gresham, Oregon, a good 45 minutes’ drive from the city – a small distance in North American terms, almost the entire width of the country at some points in Scottish terms. Erin, Michelle and I make our way to the […]
Tiger tales
Seated in the front row of the 13,000-seat Memorial Coliseum for Portland’s Rose Parade, Dan and I consult the programme. It promises all sorts of shenanigans from the parade’s 5000 participants. I’m most looking forward to the Oregon Association of Mounted Posses, which is due to trot out “more than 75 horses and riders representing […]
The Ambassador
The severe-sounding Portland Oregon Visitor Authority, in the form of the enthusiastic Vero, is taking two other writers, Andrew from New Mexico and Dan from New York, and I to see the city’s big event, the Rose Festival parade. Born out of the world’s fair that celebrated the centennial of the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark […]
Portland, Oregon, and Sloe Gin Fizz
“Well Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz, if that ain’t love then tell me what is. Well I lost my heart it didn’t take no time, but that ain’t all. I lost my mind in Oregon.” So warble Loretta Lynn and Jack White on the track, “Portland, Oregon.” It seems that Loretta and Jack are […]
Crosschecking: Vancouver to Portland
I stand in line for U.S. immigration at Vancouver airport, beside a sign warning that maple syrup is among prohibited items in hand baggage, and entertain myself with syrupy sweet plans to wreak havoc and destruction on an unsuspecting world. I smirk at my sticky schemes and an elegant East European woman moves away from […]
Honolulu chippie
As close as I could get to Scottish cuisine in Waikiki. It wasn’t quite up to the fried delicacies from the local back home, The Chip Chik Inn, but close. I think the addition of the lavender mojito helped. The Chip Chik Inn’s drinks menu only goes as far as Irn Bru.
Me – and marmots – on CBC
A few people have asked me about the marmot theme park I mention in the CBC interview. La Montagne aux Marmottes! A whole park devoted to the furry wee beasties!
Tartanry
Is Scotland the only country that does not force its Catholic schoolgirls to don tartan? We got to wear bouffant light blue taffeta frocks and straw hats at my elementary/primary school, though, so we didn’t get off… Scot-free. In high school/secondary we wore a yawn of grey items, stripy green and yellow ties and green […]
