Quote Originally Posted by tripleblessed View Post
Jock, absolutely no taking to task. . There are obviously many well funded, well meaning, uninformed US folk who get
excited or even maudlin in the face of things they haven't previously bothered to examine, but many here hold more
information and longer perspectives. Some of us have extensive information going back more than 500 years. Some, not so much. This is why many on this forum speak of Scottish and Irish antecedents. In our families, they are still respected and still influence how things are done. Twice that long ago our Norman lines were not yet in Scotland. They are not all known by name to all of us, but some are to some of us. I know I know at least some, and would hazard a guess you do as well. Known or unknown, the system and changes they brought to Scotland affect all Scots every day, whether they are historically informed or not. That system resulted in the migration of many to these shores, so it affects all here everyday. Many faded into the mists of time, mostly unimportant, some widely known. All part of the mix. Proud natural American, not a Scot, but definitely "Scot-ish".
No "task" taken.

I will try to avoid the "Scottish" ancestry slant that you talk about other than to say that is not the direction that I was coming from in my post here. I had thought that I had made that clear and I am sorry if I did not do so.

It was the physical aspects that I had in mind such as "artifacts", buildings, and everyday items that we are surrounded with and take little notice of because we are so familiar with them. I give you examples, Stonehenge is a world renowned ancient monument and there are several other henges dotted about the UK so the residents are not unused to things of several thousand years of age. Iron age forts are not unusual, Cathedrals at around a 1000 years old are common, Scotland has, I think over 3000 castles, most go back more than several centuries. Some of our tartan and tweed that we here enthuse about here is made on looms that are over 100 years old, I eat my meals with cutlery that was made just after Napoleon was defeated, and all this is not just a UK thing. So "OLD" to the "old world" is just not the issue that the "new world" make of it.