When I was looking for a picture of Manet's "dejeuner sur l'herbe" to add pearls to for my mosquito post, I discovered that the model, Victorine Meurent, was the same one in loads of Manet's pictures. I've always liked Manet, but I'd never noticed that it was the same woman all over the place. I suppose I wouldn't make much of an art critic.At the weekend I went round a museum here and saw two of Manet's pastels for real. One of them was "The Beer Drinkers".
Abroad
I'm writing this from Scotland, which isn't actually a different Nation (I'm typing this quietly so that they don't hear me), but they do speak differently. They say things like "Och, yool nae be wahn'ing tae gae oot in thus weather." Luckily, I spent some of my childhood here - I even used to talk like that - so I don't need an interpreter.
The great thing about Scotland is that this is where they make whisky, so it's impossible to find a bar without a selection of malts. The bad thing is that the weather's not so good. As I type this it's rather wet and miserable. Which I suppose is why they like their whisky so much.
Another thing I'm not keen on is the bagpipes, which someone had wailing in the shopping centre. I'm sure that when the natives were all guerilla warriors fighting the English, they had to improvise with things like musical instruments, but there's not really any excuse in this day and age...
Brewed From Girders
Scotland is the home of "Irn Bru", in the same way that America is the home of "Coca Cola". You won't find much Irn Bru in the US, since it's banned. Apparently one of the ingredients causes cancer in Americans.
It says on the bottles "Bru'd in Scotland to a secret recipe for over 100 years". Which is true, since it first came out in 1901. They used to claim that it was "Bru'd from Girders" - I'm not sure if that's true, since I've just drunk loads of the stuff but haven't suddenly become superhero strong. Oh well...
![[License]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Liam_Crouse_playing_at_Sunset.JPG){kind=link}
![[License]](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Irn_Bru_Cans.jpg){kind=link}
13 comments:
Brian, I understood EVERYTHING you said in Scotish!
Hey, is that where scotch comes from? I don't know much about booze.
(somewhere, my party crew is peeing their pants laughing)
Hey, can you ask them if they really go commando under those skirts er um KILTS?
Bee:
There's a reason why they call it Scotch. It can't come from anywhere else and be called that.
I believe that they really do, but I'm not about to ask - I don't want to miss my flight home because I'm in hospital. Ye ken?
not another alcohol with rules like champagne.
That picture looks like me and Bee in our previous life when we were sisters. I'm the pretty one
Jean Knee:
You are talking about the beer drinking picture and not the naked picnic, I presume???
Were there Wordless Wednesdays 130 years ago?
FREEDOM !!!!!
All I could think about when reading this post was William Wallace, boy you Brits were a real pain back in the day.
oh yeah, what's a girder?
Dan:
Don't believe everything the Hollywood version of history tells you...
Jean Knee:
An Iron (Steel?) Girder - the things they use to make skyscrapers (as well as Irn Bru).
okay, I thought it was some weird British thing.
almost everything causes cancer in the U.S. for awhile anyway, then they recant it and the same thing is now healthy.
I agree with Jean Knee. It may cause us cancer now but in a few years they'll be telling us to drink atleast two a day to keep the cancer away.
I've always wanted to go to Scotland. Even though the weather is bad, is it atleast pretty there?
BRIAAAAAAN!!! BRIIIIIIAAANNN!!!
Tracy:
It is, and the people are generally cheerful and good natured.
Bee:
I'm now back, and can start catching up on all the posts I've missed...
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