I have felt like a Celt ever since I can remember. My feelings were compounded by the way people treated me when I moved over to England as a child. I felt very Irish, and paid the price for that in the playground. Ireland is still my first country; I believe you are what you feel in your heart.

Me in Ireland behind the plough, with my Grandfather's help, as my Grandmother looks on.

As a young adult, if England played Scotland at football, I would support Scotland without question. On joining the Army, I liked the Scots lads far better than the English, which must have confused them, because I sure as hell sounded English! However, when I moved to live and run a pub in Scotland, that changed almost overnight. It didn't help that I had an English accent, but you'll only know what I mean if you have lived up there. I have always said that you need to experience depression before you can talk about it with any conviction; well the same can be said for racism.But, to quote a wee bit of the Scottish National Anthem, 'those days are past now, and in the past, they must remain'. Oh why don't I treat you to the whole thing......

O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

The Hills are bare now,
And Autumn leaves
lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

Those days are past now,
And in the past
they must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

0 Flower of Scotland,
When will we see
your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

From the many international rugby matches I have been to, I know that anthem off by heart, and it can be very rousing when sung by 50,000 Scots in full kilt. Sorry England, but you need a new National Anthem, God Save the Queen has to rate amongst the worlds worst, don't you think?

Three of my daughters were brought up in Glasgow, and when I looked out of the window this morning, I thought to myself, 'What a Dreich day'. I say Dreich, because no other word in English could describe the scene outside with such accuracy. My interpretation of this is, miserable, damp, slightly misty and a bit cold. The point being, I was thinking Scottish! I sent Sasha a text, knowing she would be sat on the bus to Angel, on her way to work and asked if she could add to my list. She came up with 10 words to every one of mine, the texts just kept pouring through. You also have to remember that some words are used all over Scotland, but others are just typical to their area. In no certain order, here's a few we came up with, and I bet Chantal and Lucienne could add to this.......

Awa n bile yer heid - Go and be sick

Boak - Vomit

Braw - Brilliant

Gadgie - Chav

Gallus - Daring

Glaikit - Stupid (it's a special kind of stupid!)

Peely Wally - Pale

Rammy - Fight

Scunner - Nuisance

Wean - Child

Wheest - Quiet

Coupen - Face

Pure Reekin - Very smelly

Crabbit - Bad Tempered

Ken what am sayin? - Do you know what I mean?

Lang may yer lum leek - May you live long and keep well

Pack the heid in - Stop before you get in trouble

Dinnae teach yer granny tae suck eggs - don't try and teach someone, something they already know

Yer married tae the moon - You're mad

Yer bums oot the windae - You're talking rubbish

Am pur done in - I'm tired

Ma heids mince - I'm confused

Hell slap it intae ye - It's your own fault

Willnae - Will not

Scunner - Irritating person

Wee hen - Little girl

Blootered - Drunk

Ah dinnae ken whit yer sayin - I don't understand you

Gies a swatch - Let me see

It's a braw bricht moonlit nicht the nicht - It's a good bright moonlit night tonight

Now you can just go up to Scotland and everyone will understand you, but be warned, most people you speak to will be Polish, so get a wee bit of that in yer Craic! When England play any other team, the Scottish will support that other side. I would go as far as to say that if both teams were playing on different TV channels, they would rather watch an English defeat than a Scottish win. But being a Celt, I can sort of understand that, and if you look at this list of battles between the two countries, I guess most neutrals would probably come down on the side of the Scottish. http://www.rampantscotland.com/features/battles.htm

All credit to Beverley, she phoned the Consultants secretary in Newcastle at 8.30 this morning, explaining that we were both getting more than a bit worried at the delay. The secretary, Susan, said that she couldn't locate my file just now but that she would ring straight back. An hour and a half has past and nothing yet, I guess it must be a big filing cabinet.

Ah ha! 3 hours later and Susan has just phoned me. She has spoken to Mr Paez, who has said that he has written to my GP and also referred me back to the Carlisle Royal Infirmary, to a Mr Umez Eronini, who is a consultant there. (I panicked! "Back to Carlisle?") But she said that Mr Paez had looked at all my notes and scans, and decided that I was in relatively little immediate danger. He had said that there was no point in me traveling all the way to Newcastle, just so that he could refer me to Addenbrookes, when I could travel 20 miles and be referred from Carlisle. I might not even have to go to Carlise, she informed me. (So why was I referred to Newcastle?) I continue to trust a system that communicates very little, in the hope that this is how things are meant to be, knowing that there is little I can do but wait.