Originally posted by yolland
Do you like deep-fried Mars bars?
Never tried it, never wanted to. I try to avoid junk or fast foods as much as possible. The chippies (chip shops) tried deep-fried easter eggs i believe. yuk.
What are the 3 best places in Scotland to hike?
There's the famous "West Highland Way" - it's a 95 mile walk from Milngavie (outside Glasgow), along the shore of Loch Lomond (Scotland's largest loch/lake) and along Ranoch Moor to the foot of Ben Nevis (the UK's largest mountain).
Scotland has little Mosquitos called Midgies - although they don't spread disease, they bite and are therefore extremely annoying. Best times to avoid the Midgies is April to June.
a good site for hiking/walking is
http://www.maketracks.net/
What do you think about efforts to preserve the Scottish language? Worthy cause, or lost cause?
Not sure if you mean 'Scots' or 'Gaelic' - Scotland had two languages other than English. I'm assuming you mean Gaelic though.
a little history:
The Hanovarians took over the monarchy of Scotland and England from the Stewarts in the 18th century. The Stewarts were descendants of James 6th of Scotland / James 1st of England (the first King to rule both countries). Well, there were a few uprisings from Jacobites (followers of James / the Stewarts) who believed that a Stewart monarch should rule. Anyway, as a result of the failed uprisings the government attacked all aspects of Highland culture including Gaelic. The Highland clearances destroyed many Gaelic-speaking communities.
In mid 1970s, there began a renaissance to create new generations of Scottish Gaelic speakers. Personally, I started to learn Gaelic at school, when I was about nine or ten, and even sang it solo and in choirs at competitions. However, my High School unfortunately didn't give lessons and so, due to that and my non-gaelic-speaking family, I never continued.
Gaelic is gradually being reincorporated into public life for the time in two centuries. The naming of official bodies in gaelic was virtually unknon whereas now there are hundreds, including banks and other businesses who have adopted a Gaelic name.
I am all for the efforts to 'preserve' the language, it's definately not a lost cause - there are families, communities that speak Gaelic as their first language. The 2001 census of Scotland recorded that there were nearly 60,000 Gaelic speakers in the country, mostly living in the Western Isles, Central belt and northern Highlands. It will never take over English as the main language of the country. It's as likely as Spanish becoming the main language of the USA.
I assume Edinburgh isn't anywhere near as multicultural as London--is that correct? Is the prospect of further change in that direction (in Edinburgh or elsewhere) cause for concern among those who want to preserve a distinct Scottish identity? (Or perhaps Scottish identity is simply not a big political issue...?) [/B]
That's a big question that dissertations have been written on and would require a thread all on its own. That is a huge subject.
I think Edinburgh is definately multicultural but as multicultural as London? I don't know, probably not. Is becoming more multicultural a concern to people here? No, I don't think so.
The Declaration of Arbroath suggests a multicultural basis for Scots identity. It adapts Galatians 3:28 in the Bible by asserting that in the "community of the realm": "There is neither weighting nor distinction of Jew and Greek*, Scotsman or Englishman."
* Biblical reference to 'Greeks' is generally understood to imply people of other faiths ('gentiles').
It's a real difficult question for me to answer - I need to know what you personally mean by multicultural and why you would suggest that Edinburgh may not be.
four seasons?
Pax
Found you! Don't worry though as i absolutely adore fish&chips!!!! Yummy! 
