Evening

Tried to phone you tonight, Kelly. Returning the call from you that I missed yesterday but you are out. Read my email.

What Scottish tradition springs to mind when you are asked for one?

This is the question Cade would like an answer to.

He has a talk to do at school on his family heritage and since his is so diverse, he has opted to focus on the Scottish side. So?

I have already mentioned Christmas dinner and kilts.
I took the liberty of using your good self as a model for the kilt, Craig. And very handsome you look too!! :)

I thought of Guy Fawkes Night, but Ian said that is a British Tradition, not a Scottish one...although the king at the time was only King James I of Britain (I think he invented the name Great Britain!?). He was the VI of Scotland.

Anyway, Ian said guising ... how do you spell this word? Is it from the root word disguise? I don't know!

But kids here don't go out guising anymore ... do they? What do they do? Have we not copied Trick or Treat?
You said they go out begging in Cornwall, Kelly, didn't you but here...I don't really know for sure!

Nobody has been around our street since you all grew up until this year, when Ian, much to his embarrassment, shut the door on somebody! He thinks!

On Halloween, the doorbell rang and Ian and I looked at one another.
"You left the lights on, didn't you." I said.
Ian knew that he had.
"Well you can answer the door," I finished.
With an anxious look, Ian searched his pockets for change and disappeared down the stairs.
He appeared back a couple of minutes later saying that there was no-one there.

After settling back down to watch TV for a couple of minutes he said, "I think I might have closed the door on somebody - I think someone said, 'Boo' just as the door closed!"
Oh dear!

After Ross gave up going out, we had no kids in the street for a few years so I stopped organising for Halloween and after a while, I just opted out - I put the lights out at the front of the house - I am so ashamed!!




We had Christmas pudding for dessert tonight! It was Sommerfield and it was very good!
Why did we have it?
Ian asked that same question.
Well, the shops are filling up with Christmas goodies now and I had noticed the puddings - all wrapped in golden paper and looking very festive on a shelf at the supermarket and I thought, "We never really do justice to Christmas pudding on the day because we are so full. So why not enjoy it just now!" So we did!

You know, in Storie Street (where I was brought up), we ate clootie dumpling and not Christmas pudding because, I guess our taste leant more towards the sweet rather than the bitter, but I must admit, I began to quite enjoy Christmas pudding when I got to about fifty. I guess it's an acquired taste.

We used to eat dumpling on birthdays and I followed my mum's tradition and put buttons and money in the mixture. My mother used to put silver threepenny bits in it but they didn't exist when you were all small so I put in 5p pieces wrapped in greaseproof paper.

The tradition was a bit diluted by the time it got to me because I remember vaguely there being more than buttons and pennies being in the dumpling and the trinkets you found when you ate the dumpling had some significance.

I wonder if I could find out on the internet?