DavieDites wrote:
On trips to Belfast, I was amused by the transparent panels on banknotes issued by the Northern Bank. I brought a fiver back to show people.

I can guess the reaction I would get if I tried to pass that in Scotland!

In our area (Ayrshire) we get quite a lot of Irish bank notes and everyone is quite happy to accept them but if you're not used to them then they would seem strange. I like them though.

LYDIA REID wrote:
One question, asking why it is that the Scots accept English currency when it is not legal tender and yet businesses in England will not accept Scottish, which is legal tender

Scottish banknotes are not legal tender.

Legal tender is a very specific concept relating to what must be accepted as payment of a debt and is far removed from what is considered to be acceptable currency.

TLJ wrote:
LYDIA REID wrote:
One question, asking why it is that the Scots accept English currency when it is not legal tender and yet businesses in England will not accept Scottish, which is legal tender

Scottish banknotes are not legal tender.

Legal tender is a very specific concept relating to what must be accepted as payment of a debt and is far removed from what is considered to be acceptable currency.

You are right TLJ

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_p...and_Northern_Ireland

I don't know where I read that, I have gone over everything that I read and I think I just picked up the wrong info.

Kendomacaroonbar wrote:
English notes are not legal tender in Scotland but for some bizarre reason coinage is; however back to the thread, do you think the Scottish Government should do something about the lack of acceptance outside Scotland ?

We have had the debate in Westminster

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7203378.stm

Interesting

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7447338.stm

Thanks Lydia, both links agree about the irritation but neither advocates a remedy ?

I was in England quite recently, well actually London, (has anyone noticed that the English news readers refer to "Scotland" like it's a place not a country?) and I had nearly all my cash in Clydesdale Bank notes. One or two people paused for a moment before accepting them, but no probs at all really.
Abroad it's a different matter though. A couple of years ago at Naples airport I found I had no euros left so I changed an RBS £20. The woman behind the screen at the scambio wasn't keen but produced a big book with good quality colour photos of all sorts of banknotes. The RBS one was OK but I got robbed what with a lower exchange rate than BOE notes and a big commission. Don't leave yourself without euros at the airport.

Hello Levenax,
You ask, 'has anyone noticed that the English news readers refer to "Scotland" like it's a place not a country?'

I was brought up on the wrong side of the border, so I know very well that most English people are geographically ignorant of Scotland. Hence it's convenient for them just to say 'Scotland' rather than identify a certain city or town.

Most wouldn't know the difference between Motherwell or Montrose: Kircaldy from Kirkcudbright!

So it's up to each and every one of us to educate them at every opportunity!!

robbiedoo58 wrote:
Hello Levenax,
You ask, 'has anyone noticed that the English news readers refer to "Scotland" like it's a place not a country?'

I was brought up on the wrong side of the border, so I know very well that most English people are geographically ignorant of Scotland. Hence it's convenient for them just to say 'Scotland' rather than identify a certain city or town.

Most wouldn't know the difference between Motherwell or Montrose: Kircaldy from Kirkcudbright!

So it's up to each and every one of us to educate them at every opportunity!!

I think that is a great idea Robbiedoo but I have to say that I am a big stinking hypocrite as I have no idea where many places are in England and I lived there for two and a half years!

We had a very nice woman from Essex who worked in our purchasing department. When she phoned a firm in England she always said something like "Hello I'm phoning from the General Infirmary in Scotland" instead of saying General Infirmary, Auchtermuchtie or whatever.

Levenax wrote:
We had a very nice woman from Essex who worked in our purchasing department. When she phoned a firm in England she always said something like "Hello I'm phoning from the General Infirmary in Scotland" instead of saying General Infirmary, Auchtermuchtie or whatever.

When I worked for the Revenue and dealt with London employers it wasn't unusual, when you'd be chatting to them, for someone to say, "Oh yeah, I gotta mate lives in Scotland, name's Dave, you know 'im?"

Clare wrote:

When I worked for the Revenue and dealt with London employers it wasn't unusual, when you'd be chatting to them, for someone to say, "Oh yeah, I gotta mate lives in Scotland, name's Dave, you know 'im?"
When I lived in England I got that one regularly! Also, on more than one occasion I was asked if we had electricity in Scotland.

Clare wrote:


When I worked for the Revenue and dealt with London employers it wasn't unusual, when you'd be chatting to them, for someone to say, "Oh yeah, I gotta mate lives in Scotland, name's Dave, you know 'im?"

Well, do you ?

Meg wrote:
Also, on more than one occasion I was asked if we had electricity in Scotland.

I got the "are you snowbound for most of the year ?" question.

TLJ wrote:
Meg wrote:
Also, on more than one occasion I was asked if we had electricity in Scotland.

I got the "are you snowbound for most of the year ?" question.

I had an ice-cream vendor asking if we had ice-crean vans up here, but my favourite was withdrawing money on my Bank of Scotland Visa card in Pimlico. Big Visa signs everywhere and when I handed my card over to the teller...yes, you've guessed it...

Sharon, can we take this?

If we every did adopt the EURO would the Scottidh back isses their own notes? The new design of note makes them almost appear like EURO's anyway but would they stil be distinctly Scottish in theme?