> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nigel Gatherer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: 19 October 2001 09:36
> To: Scots-L Posting
> Subject: [scots-l] A Tale of Two Cities
>
>
> Scotland has two wonderful cities 44 miles apart: the east coast
> capital Edinburgh, the west coast metropolis Glasgow. I don't know of
> any other country which has its two largest cities in such close
> proximity. I was born in Edinburgh, but lived in Glasgow till I was
> thirteen when I returned to Edinburgh to spend the rest of my teenage
> years (then I ventured to Dundee, but that's a whole nother story). I
> have always loved both cities, celebrating their unique attributes and
> their differences.
>
> There is a rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Half the time it's
> good-natured banter; it's traditional for folk in the West to have a
> dig at the expense of Edinonians and, to a lesser extent, the other
> other way around. It's good old Scottish "flyting". There is, however,
> all too often a seriousness in the rivalry which disturbs me. There is
> a jealousy in it, and it's possible that the tongue-in-cheek abuse
> reinforces a bigotry which exists at a deeper level.
>
> The cliches are too easy: Glasgow has fur-coat-and-hat snobs who could
> rival any Morningside caricature, Edinburgh has areas of deprivation to
> make your eyes open wide. Edinburgh contains some of the most warm,
> friendly, honest people you could meet, Glasgow houses some
> hypocritical aloof bastards. But this is not a competition. Cities
> contain spectra of human life, and to try to generalise a
> characteristic and apply it wholesale to such large urban settlements
> is to deny that individuals make up society.
>
> (What the hell am I doing? Obviously a slow day at my desk! Apologies
> to anyone who, unlikely as it may seem, has read this far. Keep the
> jibes coming, Ted - I can take it. Although I have to remind you that
> my big brother is bigger than your big brother.)
>
He would have to be, I don't have a big brother.
I think it's worth mentioning that the difference probably originates from
the fact that Glasgow was an industrial city, while Edinburgh was a
commercial centre, and the inhabitance of the two cities (if they ever met
at all) as very different types of people.
William McIlvanney once described the journey between Glasgow and Edinburgh
as "a short distance, but a long way".
I find it quite surprising that there's never beeen any great footbal
rivalry between the two cities, each preferring to stick to its own
internecine strife.
Regards,
Ted
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