COTLAND
STORY AND PHOTOS DY
NOAH MARTINEAU
This Page: From ramparts such as these.
Medieval defenders would pour boiling
Haggis on their aggressors.
Above: Scotsmen always stay dipped in the
flyest of finery.
Top Right: Colin Kennedy points out how an
able Scotsman Smith grinds a rail.
Right: Overview of the Livingston skatepark.
Initially, I went to Scotland for my cousin's
wedding. It was a week long event, and after-
wards I had planned on travelling around
Britain and Europe for a couple of months.
Unfortunately, a week before leaving the states I
had sprained my ankle. At the time I had no
idea how much that injury would affect my trip
My dad is from Scotland, and my American
mom met him while attending the university in
Edinburgh. Little did they know then that thirty
years later their only son would be hobbling
around the streets of that same city.
During the week of the wedding. I met many
relatives that I hadn't seen since my early
childhood. It was strange and good to meet all
of these people that had just been vague
memories to me until then.
The wedding itself was in traditional Scottish
style, so all the men were asked to wear kilts
which are basically plaid skirts made of wool. I
was pretty uncomfortable, but I got to wear a
real dagger in my sock
At the reception, they had two types of danc-
ing. First was the traditional dancing, which
looked like a lot of fun. Of course, I couldn't
dance and felt stupid just watching everyone.
Later on, after most people including myself
had consumed much drink, they busted out
the disco dj Then I witnessed something very
fanny; drunk men in kilts disco dancing. That
night was a good time, and the next morning f
set out on my bobbling way.
I had decided to visit with my friend Jenny in
London for a while. I hoped to stay off the
ankle for a while so that I could at least walk
around in Europe. After a week in London, I
began to realize that Europe just wasn't possible.
I was already running out of money and my ankle
was hardly getting better. I decided to spend the
rest of my trip in Scotland.
The train ride from London to Edinburgh is
amazing, with miles and miles of livestock, old
architecture and bright yellow fields. The first
stop in Scotland was like a scene from an eerie
movie. It was very quiet, and a woman was
sweetly singing the stops through the PA system.