Hello North Scotland

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halfabee
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by halfabee »

#Sarongman, thank you for the welcome, I have had such a warm welcome from the skirtcafe denizens that I think I should have registered sooner, but "better late than never". As for the Ross family, I live near to Balnagown Castle which was the Ancestral home of the Ross Clan Chiefs, this is in an area of the highlands of Scotland called Easter-Ross. Anyway, thats enough of the history lesson. (BTW, it is now owned by Al-fayed, father of the ill fated Dodi fayed boyfriend of Princess Diana).
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by Departed Member »

Hi y'all, I'm a kilted/skirted Californian moving to Edinburgh for a year for schooling and I've found this threat beneficial as I will now know a little more what to expect when I walk around the city/school skirted or kilted. Of course, I've been living in uber conservative Utah for the last few years and I haven't had any problems going around skirted/kilted, aside form stares and some giggles, and I've had for the most part only positive comments and some questions, which are easily enough answered. So if I can survive uber-conservative Utah skirted/kilted, I think I'll probably be ok in Edinburgh. It probably helps that I'm a huge 6'6", 250 pound piece of meat; no one wants to mess with a guy that size, skirt or no. And to add to it, I wonder if I might very well be the only skirted/kilted LDS (Mormon) member of the forum, given that the idea of a man wearing skirt, aside from LDS members in Scotland or the Pacific islands is a foreign or misunderstood thing to most Mormons?

Anyhow, for you Scots who've been to Edinburgh kilted/skirted, is there anything I should be aware of in Edinburgh when it comes to kilts/skirts? I've heard its supposed to be very windy.
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skirtingtoday
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Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by skirtingtoday »

Hi Potbelly MacKraken! Welcome to the forum! I have been living in Edinburgh (around 9 miles from the centre but still within the City boundary) for nearly 30 years(originally from Glasgow).

I am sure you will do very well here - certainly there will be quite a few "kilties" though not nearly so many in skirts. When are you due to come to Edinburgh and what are you studying?

As an aside, I have played "Skyrim" on the PS3 and many people think that the landscape and forests bear a strong resemblance to Park City, Utah - what do you think?

Ross
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - Winston Churchill.
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" - Joseph Goebbels
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Sinned
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by Sinned »

Hello there Ptblly McKrckn and welcome to this site,

:welcome:

I think that you will be fine over here - no real trouble reported. As for being the only Mormon - no you're not as I also am a Mormon and go skirted when I can - MOH notwithstanding in her opposition. Some of the Ward members know that I wear a skirt but most don't. MOH keeps daring me to wear a skirt at church but I won't on the basis that we are there to worship and remember our Lord and my skirt wearing would possibly distract from that. If there's ever a stage where every member does know and there will be no distractions then I would consider it. I know that there is another Mormon member of the site but I can't remember his moniker. So you are in a company of 3 that I know of. :)

P.S. I did visit SLC in September 1972 for General Conference and I and my friend arrived kilted and was accepted fine although we only wore the kilt on best occasions and a couple of times for Sacrament Meeting.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by Departed Member »

Skirtingtoday:

Thanks for the welcome! I'm heading over in Sept. Nearly a month away; it's starting to seem all to real. And I'll be finishing my Master's in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). As for Skyrim, I'm not familiar with the game, but if it has hilly/mountainous scenes riddled with pines and aspens then it might very well look like Park City. Park City is beautiful place, landscape-wise, both in the summer and winter. If you haven't been and you plan on being in UT some time, make a stop there. It's the least Utah of the places in Utah. Most of the residents and visitors are from all over the states and the world, so it definitely has a very different feel from the rest of the Utah. Plus, their alpine slides (mini concrete bobsled track going down the mountain) are awesome. In fact, I once saw a bride and groom go down them, the bride in her wedding dress.

Perhaps you can recommend to me some good locations to check out in Edinburgh and good places to eat. I'm LDS though, so no alcohol for me.

Sinned: That's very good to know there are other skirted LDS members on here and in the world. As I discussed in my intro thread in the intro section, I've always wanted to wear a skirt as a young boy, and found it very difficult having to hide this fact growing up in an LDS environment, even in CA; I think the fact that it was pounded in my head by society from the beginning that certain things are for girls and certain things for boys, like skirts for girls and shorts for boys, and that anyone who crosses these laws wanted to be the opposite gender, I was very fearful of what people would think and thought I must have a gender disorder. But I realized later on in life, as I became more logical and more informed on LDS scriptural/revelational doctrine and with the history of men's clothing, that a man wanting to wear a unbifurcated garment did not mean he wanted to be the opposite gender. Indeed, if one looks at all the depictions of Christ and God the Father, the depictions of Old Testament scriptural characters, and Book of Mormon characters, they are all wearing unbifurcated garments, either a robe, which is essentially a dress, or a skirt of some kind. Nary a bifurcated garment is depicted. In addition, Joseph Smith's description of the Angel Moroni describes to a T what he was wearing; and he was wearing an unbifurcated robe. And even further, an unbifurcated garment is worn by men in the temple as well at specific times (I'll go no further in description than this, for sacredness's sake.) Given all this, it still boggles my mind that so many LDS members would oppose the wearing of skirts by men. But, as I mentioned elsewhere and as you mentioned, I haven't had any problems, save from family, which I think is typical. I wear a kilt or formal lavalava to work everyday at a certain religious university and everyone is fine with it. I really thought they would say no, but to my surprise they said it was OK. My students love it; it makes for great conversation topics, and in the ESL field, that's a great thing! It's even helped me teach my students how to write argumentative paragraphs/essays. I also wear a kilt or lavalava to church, and there's been no problems with it. The way I figure, I'm not wearing it to cause a distraction or out of spite; I simply wear it for comfort. If it causes a distraction with someone, I see that as their problem and not mine. The spirit can enter through any kind of clothing on any individual, and I sincerely think Christ does not care what we wear to church inasmuch as it is respectful and modest in cover our body for the temple that it is. Doing so has taught me to be less judgmental of others in how they appear at church, and to realize we are all there to worship God and are loved by Him and Christ, no matter how we appear. We are all individuals with different personalities and in different situations. We are taught to judge not unrighteously, so I do just that. I don't know every person at church intimately, no do I want to, so I leave that to the Lord and merely treat every member or even non-member as a fellow brother or sister. I really think its up to the individual to change his judgmentalness and the problem lies with the individual who judges how people appear at church and not with the person wearing something that is not a suit and tie (for the most part; the attitude and intentions of the wearing really does play a role, tho). In addition, President Uchtdorf's Priesthood talk from April 2013 titled "Four Titles" really hit me when he said this:

"But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father. Even identical twins are not identical in their personalities and spiritual identities.

It also contradicts the intent and purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ, which acknowledges and protects the moral agency—with all its far-reaching consequences—of each and every one of God’s children. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are united in our testimony of the restored gospel and our commitment to keep God’s commandments. But we are diverse in our cultural, social, and political preferences.

The Church thrives when we take advantage of this diversity and encourage each other to develop and use our talents to lift and strengthen our fellow disciples."


I've even worn my kilts/lavalavas into the temple as my street clothes and have had nothing by positive comments...a few stares or double takes, but never anything more than that. So, if you wish to go skirted to church, might I recommend a kilt or a formal lavalava/faitaga/sulu. They are "dressy" enough to be considered proper church clothes but provide all the benefits of a skirt.

Anyway, sorry for the length and thanks for the welcome!
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Sinned
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by Sinned »

Yes we all know about the indoctrination that we all get about dress codes as we grow up. Don't get Crl ( crfriend ) and others started on this topic as you will find out if you take the time to read past threads. They have some rather revealing information on it. We all here have learned to overcome the brainwashing, think for ourselves and realise the advantages of the skirt in all its forms. BTW in this site there are certain topics that are discouraged because they ten to inflame opinions and cause arguments - politics, religion, sex and in my case guns ( I tried in one thread to garner some information about the American's love of guns and caused some inflamed entries ). I am encouraged by what you say and I suppose that as long as I am open about it and warn people beforehand then it should be ok. Thanks for your comments and you are preaching to the converted in my case - I suppose it's the next step for me in outing myself as I have worn my skirts out and about several times - it's only opposition from MOH that curtails their presence. You also have to remember that the attendances aren't as large over here. Getting 100 out to Sacrament Meeting can be considered good so don't be expecting a packed chapel. The wearing of the kilt is a sensible suggestion and I know that there is another member of the York Stake that has worn a kilt to Church as he is Scottish.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by Departed Member »

Gotcha; any further discussion of the LDS religion and skirts will be done via PM. Thanks for the tip.
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skirtingtoday
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Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by skirtingtoday »

PBK,
On Skyrim, here is a report and a couple of pics. The first two are Skyrim and the second two are Utah

http://thegirlygeekblog.typepad.com/the ... -utah.html

Here also is a video of the opening sequence to the game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt67W2bVjEE The first 5 mins should be sufficient to show the views. There is then a detailed "what do I look like" section in the middle which takes up some time (bit boring unless you are going to play the game). Note (warning here) there is some in-game violence after that (which I am sure is NOT in Utah) just before the dragon appears (which also would not appear in Utah! :D :lol: )

There are many eating establishments in Edinburgh from many different countries - here is a list of (allegedly) 10 of the best. http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/ ... -edinburgh

Ondine is nothing short of Fabulous - been there a couple of times. It is just off the Royal Mile (road between Edinburgh castle and Holyrood Palace
La Favorita also do takeaways and those too are great but I haven't been to their restaurant yet. Must do it sometime.

For others Howies is always a great choice (there are several in Edinburgh) and give a different slant to Scottish food. Also Cafe Andaluz on George St (centre of Edinburgh) is a wonderful tapas restaurant (price is also reasonable on a Sunday evening with 3 tapas and a desert for £14.95)

I will consider others and post them here or PM you. :D
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - Winston Churchill.
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" - Joseph Goebbels
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Sinned
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Location: York, England

Re: Hello North Scotland

Post by Sinned »

Ptblly, Discussion of skirts and their relevance within a religious context would be allowed I'm sure - it's just that you can imagine that there's a wide spread of religious convictions on the site and if you'll read the rules they pretty much show what's allowed or disallowed. What you put was fine because it showed your skirting within the context of your religion and social circles. I think that people don't like being preached at and the banned topics are there for a reason and to keep what is mostly a good-natured forum displaying humour, intelligence and tolerance. I have upset others and others have upset me and the moderators are there to call time, gently discipline and if necessary lock threads. Personally I have found them tolerant and fair so you should be ok. If I have spoken out of turn I stand reprimanded.

As to Scotland I did my mission in the south - Falkirk, Stirling and Montrose and yes I did find it really cold at times.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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