Saturday 16th February:
Literally walked up a mountain today - we did get overtaken by pensioners, but I'm still proud. For this week's learning I turned to the nifty 'things we learned this week' feature on Ceefax (ok, BBCi, whatever), which informed me of the following: The UK spends more on cosmetic surgery than France, Germany and Italy put together. The bill runs to £500 million in all, still a long way behind America, who've spent £5.7bn on messing up their faces. All in all, it's a pretty depressing statistic.
Sunday 17th February:
Went on a boat trip across Loch Katrine today; the loch provides all of Glasgow's drinking water, so the boats use biodiesel to keep the boat clean, although I was disappointed to hear our tour guide describe this ethical, eco-friendly compromise as being 'not allowed to use proper fuel'. Anyway, I had an inkling that the lochs supplied drinking water, so I can't really use this. Luckily the crossword book came up trumps again: the word taboo comes from the Polynesian 'tapu' or 'tabu', a word that can mean either sacred or forbidden. It allegedly arrived in the English language thanks to Captain Cook, who sailed to Tonga and offered the natives all manner of food items, only to be repeatedly informed that they were 'tapu', which Cook took to mean culturally forbidden, when it probably just meant bland. Cook then tried to engage the locals in a word play-based board game that he'd brought along, but they weren't having that either.
Monday 18th February:
I learnt today that in the popular song 'you take the high road', the 'low road' actually refers to an imagined road for the dead to return to their place of birth. It was apparently coined during the rebellion of 1745, when one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's soldiers, doomed to execution, is said to have sung it to another. The 'high road' incidentally, is an actual road, so named because there are no low roads anywhere in Scotland - fact.
Tuesday 19th February:
There's a thick fog around the cabin tonight, which got me thinking: what's the difference between mist and fog? I always thought that mist was water vapour and fog was low cloud. I am in fact, both wrong and right - both these beliefs are correct, though I was missing the small yet crucial detail that a cloud is made of water vapour. In fact, the only difference between mist and fog is density. When mist becomes so thick that visibility is less than 1km, it becomes fog. Both are caused by water vapour condensing close to the ground, generally caused by the cooling of the ground beneath it... OK, I can't get my head round that. Let's just say... it's magic.
Wednesday 20th February:
I learnt early this morning (via the gift of WAP) that the expression 'spinning a yarn' comes from naval voyages where sailors would make spun yarn for rope, whilst telling tales to each other. The article I got this from also saw fit to explain the meaning of 'putting the cart before the horse' and 'throwing a spanner in the works', although both phrases seem pretty much self-explanatory. I also learnt today that I have adjusted to the speed of London life: initially, I felt like a lost bumpkin caught in a maelstrom - after experiencing the pedestrian pace of checkout queues in rural Scotland, I actually miss being snippily rushed through my shopping experience.
Thursday 21st February:
The phrase 'the law is an ass' comes from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I didn't know that because I've never read it. I've brought about eight books with me on this holiday and have thus far managed to read three pages of Catch 22. Who needs books when you've got a Wii? We've had it six days and already the long, action-packed days are turning into feral night-long stints of imaginary tennis in the cabin. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Friday 22nd February:
I initially wanted to write about something called Language Processing Disorder, which appears to have something to do with your ability to understand information and instructions. However, after finding that any information about it was entombed in £20 books by dodgy psychologists, I've figured out that it's quite possibly just another thing to make parents feel better about having stupid kids. Instead, I have learnt the following: in Britain, jurors don't have to return to court to witness the sentencing of an individual that they have helped to convict, but can if they so wish. Going home tomorrow. Boo!
Saturday 23rd February:
Back in the big smoke tonight; the fact I learned today actually comes from personal experience, rather than either a pamphlet or Wikipedia, just for a change. Today I learnt that banks are prepared to reimburse you for money that is stolen from your account, and yes, I learnt it the hard way, after finding that £500 has jetted out of our joint account and reappeared at a tropical cashpoint in Casablanca. It happened because someone cloned my card, which I thought only happened in Ocean's Eleven. I'm mainly disappointed because I thought my trick where I put my Oyster card in front of my hand at the cashpoint was watertight. I'm quite impressed that they're prepared to give this money back - I thought that given the choice between them paying or us paying, they'd have gone for the former. Anyway, a magic end to the holiday. Sorry there's no souvenir - I ate it.
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