General Chat

Hiyah Fly

So what are you going to do Barb

Being Burns Night I thought I would educate those who are not familiar with one of Scotlands favourite creatures

The Scottish haggis (Haggis Scoticus vulgaris ) is a shy creature that is not commonly sighted in the wild. It has adapted uniquely to the inhospitable terrain in which it lives, in that its left ipsilateral pair of legs (membra thoracici et pelvine sinistra) are considerably longer than its right ipsi- lateral pair (membra thoracici et pelvine dextra), allowing it to graze along the steep mountain slopes towards the rising sun and move through the heather.

The wild haggis is a seasonal breeder with a gestation period of 56 days. Mating takes place on November 30, when libido increases as a result of the few wee drams partaken at St Andrew’s night parties up in the glens. As a result of these indiscretions, most hagglets are born on January 25.

It is also on this date that the annual cull of mature hag-gii takes place. With the stappit (pregnant haggs) safely in their burrows, the entire village helps to drive the rest of the haggis scuddle towards the end of the glen where, forced to turn abruptly in a confined space, they are incapacitated by their uneven leg length and lose their footing to tumble down into strategically placed nets. The size of the mesh is carefully regulated to ensure that only mature animals are ensnared.

The writings of Rabbie Burns greatly increased the popularity of the haggis as a culinary delicacy (Burns 1786), and the day of the annual cull is now celebrated by Burns’ suppers.

However, because the harsh climate limits wild haggis fank (litter) size to only two or three hagglet, and most of the haggii for production in Scotland are now farmed to cope with demand, while preserving wild stocks.

Hya Fly, Emma, Footie, Mersey ............ everybody

Daughter and Granddaughter called in after lunch, it was lovely to see them

Hiya again GiN Just got a little job to do outside BRB

Is my avatar Scoticus Vulgaris still a hagglet . Or am I on the menu tonight

Fly I am gonna do an hour..... later

Hya Barb - missed you out on the list


My 11 year old Granddaughter is now taller than me

Though I am a bit vertically challenged

Barbs Scoticus Vulgaris or still a hagglet erm the jury is still out

One Foot, I don't know what I am on about either, so that makes two of us ROFL

hi GinN no you're just petite

My son called in again this morning too. Funny but he and OH got so much closer while I was away. Probably cuz I wasn't there to do all the chatting

You are such a chatterbox, Barb

Nice that they did a bit of male bonding

Right I'm back

Hiya GiN

Hya Emma - how are you today

I'm well thanks how are you

Fine, Emma -just having a nice lazy Sunday - now that the family have departed

It's great to have a lazy day

Good telly tonight - Midwife and Last Tango, also Mr Selfridge, so I'll be watching that on +1

Yes great for a change

All the programmes are coming back with
quite a few new ones that also look good

Best time of year for telly I always think It all goes downhill come summer