蘇格蘭風景秀麗，海岸迷人，一年一度的蘇格蘭除夕聚會和各種節日也是熱鬧非凡。蘇格蘭不僅是高地拋桿賽和蘇格蘭羊雜碎布丁的故鄉，而且還孕育了主演《星球大戰》的伊萬?麥格雷戈和獲格萊美最佳搖滾組合獎的弗蘭茲?費德南得樂隊。蘇格蘭的首都愛丁堡還被聯合國教科文組織評選為文學之都。不過這一切對于那些居住在蘇格蘭的人們意味著什么呢？

Scotland – land of stunning landscapes and beaches, Highland Games, haggis, Hogmanay and festivals. But also land of star of Star Wars, Ewan McGregor, award winning band Franz Ferdinand, and the UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh.

But what does all this mean to the people who live there? We asked a few former and current Glaswegians some questions about their native land to see how they fell about life in the UK’s most northern country.

If you’re asked about the culture of Scotland what kinds of things do you say?

Joanna, 25, from Glasgow and now living in Manchester, England:

It seems 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...

Charlotte, 25, from Glasgow and now living in Nottingham, England:

I think Scotland is a leader in areas such as art and design… We are great sports fans, especially rugby! I think big companies that used to only locate in London and the South are also realising that Scotland is on a par with such areas now.

Claire, 36, brought up in Glasgow, Edinburgh and overseas and now lives in Edinburgh:

Trying hard to appear international and outward looking, but attitudes are still very parochial. Job market is stale and extremely hard to break into… few creative opportunities outside financial services and IT.

Jill, 26, from Glasgow:

The shopping in Glasgow is excellent. Edinburgh … has loads going on with music, film, literature, especially when the festival is on… However, I do think a lot of Scots are very narrow minded and are very much ‘home birds’…One the whole, Scots are very friendly and generous people – it is a myth that we are scroungers.

If you had to choose one thing to represent Scotland what would it be?

Jill: 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.

Claire: Don’t think one thing or person could accurately represent the whole nation. But if pushed, fish suppers.

Joanna: The Firth of Clyde, where the lowland and the highlands meet and the ships that shaped the industrial city of Glasgow came to and fro.

Charlotte: The scenery and the Lochs represent the natural beauty of Scotland.

Is Scotland multicultural?

Jill: It is now but has only been a multicultural country for the last decade or so. We definitely have a mix of different cultures which I think is a great thing to make people more open minded.

Claire: Yes, because we have many settled Pakistani and Chinese communities and with each generation they are becoming [more] integrated. We have more problems with our own brand of sectarianism (Catholics/Protestants).

Joanna: Yes, in the cities there are various strong and distinct Asian and Jewish communities and Italian immigrants, not so in the highlands and islands. The [stereotype about] extreme anti-English feeling is not true and most people are pleased (sometimes surprised) that people want to visit Scotland.

If you would like to find out more about the other countries in the UK take a look at the current issue of UKinfocus which is on the theme of Living in the UK.