Living in scotland

Text: About Scotland
Festivals, lochs, shopping and beaches
Living in Scotland
Where it is
Scotland is the UK’s most northern country and has around 790 islands off its
coasts – 130 of which have people living on them. Scotland is well known for its
stunning landscapes, beautiful beaches and lochs, which are fresh water lakes.
There are over 600 square miles of lochs in Scotland includingthe most famous
one, Loch Ness.
It has a population of just over five million people which is about 8.5 per cent of the
whole UK population. Over 2 million of these live in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and
almost half of Scotland's population live in the Central Belt, where both the largest
city (Glasgow) and the capital city (Edinburgh) are located.
Festivals and music
Scotland also hosts one ofthe biggest arts festivals in the world. This is commonly
known as the Edinburgh Festival but is actually made up of a number of different
festivals which happen at different times of the year, though many do take place in
August and September. Many people have heard of the Fringe Festival, but there
are also the International Festival, the Film Festival, the Children’s Festival and theEdinburgh Mela which is an intercultural festival.
Musically it has recently produced bands Travis and Franz Ferdinand and other
famous Scots include Ewan McGregor, Sean Connery and JK Rowling.
Political devolution
In July 1999 the Scottish Parliament was opened, the first for over 300 years as
Scotland had been governed from London. Scottish Parliamentary responsibilities
include health,education and local government.
Stereotypes
Stereotypical images of Scotland often focus on things like tartan, kilts, heather and
haggis as well as the scenery. These are all still a part of the country but
contemporary Scotland is building a name for itself in other areas, such as its
thriving computer games industry.

Text: Scottish national icons
Scotland: National icons
If you had tochoose one thing to represent Scotland what would it be?
-'It would be a white sandy beach on the North West coast of Scotland. I think this
area of Scotland is forgotten about and it’s beautiful.'
-'Don’t think one thing or person could accurately represent the whole nation.
But if pushed, fish suppers.'
-'The Firth of Clyde, where the lowland and the highlands meet and the ships that
shaped theindustrial city of Glasgow came to and fro.'
-'The scenery and the Lochs represent the natural beauty of Scotland.'
Text: The culture of Scotland
If you’re asked about the culture of Scotland what kinds of things do you
say?
Everyone who answered this question seemed enthusiastic about the shopping
opportunities to be had in Scotland two biggest cities - not to mention the social life!
'Itseems to have improved greatly in recent years within Scotland and also how it is
perceived by others. It is very varied with the main cities Glasgow and Edinburgh
becoming more attractive and welcoming with bars, café culture… and club music
scene. On the other hand the highlands and islands have not changed greatly...'
'Scotland is a country which only has two really good cities for goingout in and
shopping in my opinion! - Edinburgh and Glasgow. The shopping in Glasgow is
excellent and there are plenty of pubs and clubs to choose from. Edinburgh is
becoming a better shopping city with the likes of Harvey Nics being added.
Edinburgh has loads going on with music, film and literature, especially when the
festival is on.

What is the name of the architect who designed manyfamous buildings in
Glasgow?
Victor Dubugras

Which are the most important films in the career of Ewan McGregor and Sean Connery?

Ewan McGregor : w.e/ Knockout/ Amelia / Incendiary / El mundo en moto con Ewan McGregor / Solid Geometry / El grans farol / Ojos que te acechan / Vida sin reglas / El beso de la serpiente / Una historia diferente / Rogue Trader / Blue Juice (Una vida sin kiedo)...