Flowers and Curtains....

One shouldn’t judge. Correct.
So how come when I hear stories about guys who go to Ikea twice a week, make flower arrangements and sew curtains and enjoy it, I'm I simply old fashioned in believing....well, you know. And before we label , no the person in question doesn't “bat for the other side”.

So, is it the new generation.Well not really, these guys are in their mid thirties.

I feel my upbringing was very Scottish conservative which would actually explain rather a lot, it has taken 20 years for me to become less chauvinist and I’m fairly sure I didn’t know the word “humanist” all those years ago and of course a feminist to me was an ugly bird with a shaved head, dock martins who basically couldn’t get laid so she burnt her bra (despite not having anything to hang in it..) and claimed injustice on the world.
I realise it is strange to grasp the different cultures and their upbringing.It is hard to understand when your stuck in the middle which is why I don't get the metrasexuals, the flower arrangements and the home economics for men that enjoying baking bread and sewing curtains..

Having being expelled from Public school I ended up in the Musselburgh Grammar, the most disliked school by the teachers federation along the east coast.Ironically,
Musselburgh has a sign on the way in that states “Welcome to Musselburgh, the Honest Toon”. Yeah right, as honest as the “The Port of Tortuga” and the only home economics we were involved in was metal shop and woodwork. You can imagine. Coincidence that the teachers name was a Mr Shank. Respect or face the belt.

The grammars top bully, a Mr Rae was growing a beard at 12 and by the age of 15 had murdered a girl as she was going to beat up his then girlfriend. So dinner money bullying wasn’t really the norm.The accidental murder caused the largest civil family street war Mussi had ever witnessed and you were best to be aware of who was in the Kindergarden pubs when you had your pint.

Not sure but guys were guys , and fighting was honourable and an accepted part of growing up. Not sure if that’s just a Scottish (british ) culture but as soon as it was backs to the wall you knew what you had to do.

With age and reflection of course you see things in a different light, but at the same time it isn't easy to wipe out the stuff that was made backbone prio.Plumber mates found it amusing to pick up crap on the street and throw it around as they were "used to it.." was an interesting concept. Even to this day most of the builders in Scotland walk around in jeans and a t-shirt and the difference over here is amazing, I'll never forget being kitted out when I started working as a builder in Uppsala. very Professional.Maybe things have changed in the 20 years I’ve been gone..although I’m fairly sure the scots don’t carry black bags around in their pockets to pick up the dog crap so maybe the plumbers still throw it at each other…

My trade was self taught mc mechanic at the age of 16/17. I opened my own shop and at the same time started building my own projects. When it came to priorities it was making sure we had the bikes ready and tuned for either the coast road run between Mussi and North Berwick or better still a whole day of insanity on the A7 between Edinburgh and Galashiels. We lost a few mates down the years but they we’re separate incidents and never when we were out with 8 – 12 bikes on a full speed cannonball run.
If you had a sofa, table and tv at home you had enough, even curtains were a luxury and the kitchens were workshops were the only utensil or eqiupment used was the kettle to boil the instant coffee and of course a large T pot. To this day you'll find it the same and I'll never forget taking an ex. of mine over to see a friend who works as a wrench on racing cars. It was difficult to get her to walk into the house and for her to see a car engine in front of the tv on a stand in front of the tv and a block on the sofa was a lasting memory.Also the fact that he had no carpets left and mentioned he'd had a "bird" over the night before..

So, as I started saying flower arranging and sewing curtains just wasn't our way. This doesn't make it wrong but sometimes I do feel that people have a misunderstanding as to how we perceive things and it’s not just some macho rubbish. It’s backbone fiber
And to be honest, I don’t really resent the Scottish way.