I love being Scottish … it suits me just fine.
There is, however, one thing I would like to change about our national psyche.
It’s the bit where from the end of May through to the start of September we moan about having rotten summers and how it would be great to live somewhere warm and sunny.
We wax lyrical about how we live in the best country in the world, with all that outstanding scenery and beautiful coastlines … if only we had decent weather.
There are all the jokes about spotting the tourists from sunnier climes in June, because they’re the ones in hats and gloves while we are in shorts and T-shirts, all the while being envious that when our visitors get home it will be all endless days of sunshine while we are left to bemoan the dreichness of our existence.
Yet at the first sign of sun and temperatures creeping into the 20 degree plus mark we all slump in a sweaty heap and whinge about it being too hot – as many folk did at the weekend.
We can’t go anywhere or do anything because it’s like being in a sauna.
And clearly the heat goes to our heads – especially on the dress sense front.
Can I just point out that “taps aff” weather is a jokey term.
It is not a licence to discard clothing and display to the world pallid, flabby flesh that for the rest of the year we keep, sensibly, under wraps for the sake of good manners and public decency.
Seriously, chaps, beer bellies over shorts is just not a good look.
Mind you, give it a couple of days and the sea of marble white flesh, like Brie on legs, takes on a different hue … usually vivid red.
It’s worth remembering that sunscreen is not for exclusive use on beaches overseas. It works here, too. I speak as a man with a bright pink scalp.
So, can we as a nation agree to stop moaning about the weather and just enjoy whatever Mother Nature throws at us?
Light after tragedy as ordinary people offer support
The horror of the Grenfell Tower blaze is not easing with the passage of time. Every day the death toll rises, a fresh reminder of the scale of the tragedy as recriminations and accusations grow about how this could have happened.
There is one comfort to be drawn, though. Ordinary people have rushed to help the victims and their families. There has been an outpouring of support, not just sympathetic words but on the ground, tangible help.
It is good to know that when things are at their darkest, the human instinct is to bring light and hope.
Don’t underestimate importance of music
It’s great to see the Big Noise project hitting all the right notes in Torry.
It’s no surprise to me that getting kids involved in music and the arts will have a positive impact on their lives.
There’s more to this than nice tunes. It’s about the discipline of learning a skill, of working as a team, of coming together to create something wonderful.
It saddens me that arts and music are considered “aye … if we can” subjects in our schools and not seen as they deserve to be – every bit as important as the three Rs.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.