Non-motoring > Scotland is Alba	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Tooslow	Replies: 56

Sat 18 Dec 10 14:21   Scotland is Alba - Tooslow

I'm probably a bit slow on the uptake but I've just noticed on the BBC news site that Scotland has "Alba" against it, just as Wales has "Cymru". So Alba is Scottish (Gaelic?) for Scotland? That's a new one on me. Has this been around since time immemorial or is it a bit of new pc? John I'm waiting for the comparison with a cheap record player now! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 14:37   Scotland is Alba - tyro

Yup. Alba is Gaelic for "Scotland". It has been since time immemorial. But now that Gaelic is terminally ill and on its last legs, it has become fashionable to pour millions of pounds of taxpayers' money into it. In the past decade, Gaelic has appeared everywhere. Gaelic signposts, which did exist in parts of the Highlands where Gaelic was still spoken, suddenly appeared about 5 years ago in places where Gaelic had died out about a generation ago. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 14:41   Scotland is Alba - CGNorwich

You need to brush up on your Gaelic www.bbc.co.uk/alba/foghlam/beag_air_bheag/resources/ Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 14:53   Scotland is Alba - Harleyman

Or listen to these..... www.runrig.co.uk/ Saw them at the Fleadh in Finsbury Park, 1993; brilliant band, I can forgive them for singing in a foreign language! ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:18   Scotland is Alba - CGNorwich

Just been perusing the phrasebook and it gives a great insight into Scottish life. From "W" what will you have? where are you from? where are you where is the toilet? where will I sit? whisky will I open the window? will it be Tuesday tomorrow will you have anything to eat? we didn't close the door Priceless! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:27   Scotland is Alba - Manatee

All a bit Ivor Cutler. Are you sure it isn't the lyrics to one of his? Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:38   Scotland is Alba - CGNorwich

The dangers of phrasebooks wn.com/hungarian_dictionary__monty_python's_flying_circus Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 14:54   Scotland is Alba - Manatee

Alba is also Italian for 'dawn'. I used to have correspondence with a firm in a place called Monticello d'Alba, which auto-translate rendered as "little hillock of the dawn" - a phrase not unadjacent to what I call my son when he wakes the house getting up at 5am to go to work. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:02   Scotland is Alba - RattleandSmoke

To me Alba is a name which is stook on cheap electrical goods importanted from god knows where probably Satan. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:25   Scotland is Alba - Zero

Indeed Alba is crap consumer goods that makes Amstrad look like quality merchandise. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:37   Scotland is Alba - Skoda

I have a top tip for Gaelic... If you ever see this on a sign post - Fàilte gu Grianaig TURN AROUND !!! ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 15:41   Scotland is Alba - Tooslow

"Welcome to Greenock". Would you like it gift wrapped? John Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 16:35   Scotland is Alba - Cliff Pope

I thought alba meant white, perhaps a reference to being permanently snow-covered. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 16:47   Scotland is Alba - CGNorwich

Alba does mean white in latin. However don't think there is a link the Gaelic Alba- it seems to be of old Irish derivation. Interestingly the old name for Britain, Albion, does seem to come from the latin for white, possibly a reference to the white cliffs of Dover. Oh dear think I've been watching too much QI! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 16:53   Scotland is Alba - Ian (Cape Town)

I though Gaelic was a term for Irish lesbians, until i discovered Smirnoff Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 16:58   Scotland is Alba - Tooslow

I thought Tagliatelle was a FIAT factory. John Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:01   Scotland is Alba - Robin O'Reliant

I thought Manual Labour played for Real Madrid. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:07   Scotland is Alba - Ian (Cape Town)

>> I thought Manual Labour played for Real Madrid. >> He did indeed, with the famous dutch brothers Hertz and Avis Van Rental Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:13   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

"the famous dutch brothers Hertz and Avis Van Rental " In my youth I remember seeing a photo of an Indy 500 winning car with "Dean Van Lines" logo on it - I thought it was the name of the driver!! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:14   Scotland is Alba - Ian (Cape Town)

>> "the famous dutch brothers Hertz and Avis Van Rental " >> In my youth I remember seeing a photo of an Indy 500 winning car with >> "Dean Van Lines" logo on it - I thought it was the name of the >> driver!! >> All keyboard players are called Roland. And all firemen are called Dennis. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:04   Scotland is Alba - RattleandSmoke

Ins't it wear Lada's are made? Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:05   Scotland is Alba - Tooslow

:-) Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:09   Scotland is Alba - devonite

>>I thought Tagliatelle was a FIAT factory.<< No!! - Taglia`s a Make of Italian Televisions!! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:47   Scotland is Alba - MD

And I thought itchyquim was a Japanese motorbike. Until I discovered Hobgoblin! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:50   Scotland is Alba - Ian (Cape Town)

It was a horse in the 3:30 at Haydock last wednesday. But it was scratched. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:54   Scotland is Alba - Zero

>> And I thought itchyquim was a Japanese motorbike. Until I discovered Hobgoblin! I thought the Japanese bike was the icheefannie. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 17:55   Scotland is Alba - MD

Single cylinder I believe. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 18:11   Scotland is Alba - Zero

Variable displacement. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 18:14   Scotland is Alba - ....

Funny how you get from Scotland to the best engine in the world. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 18:14   Scotland is Alba - MD

Apparently there were both 2 and 4 stroke examples. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 18:28   Scotland is Alba - Dog

>>Apparently there were both 2 and 4 stroke examples. << I prefer the ones that are only just run in :} Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 18:48   Scotland is Alba - MD

I believe that there is a school of thought that says that if the running in process is too gentle then the machine will never achieve it's full potential in it's lifetime. Something about things not being bedded in at the correct temperature. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 18:55   Scotland is Alba - Robin O'Reliant

And one should of course ensure to take the necessary precautions against leakage of dangerous fluids to avoid future expense. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:07   Scotland is Alba - MD

I fear that when one is heading flat out up the home straight then minor leakage is the last thing on one's mind. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:09   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

I had the impression that these did not respond well to starting from cold and needed a fair bit of warming up before reaching full performance. A friend told me that an injection of alcohol prior to starting improved response. Also very noisy at high revs? Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:16   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

Friend also said it would last much longer if you used medium revs - thrashing it meant it didn't last very long. Is this true? Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:31   Scotland is Alba - MD

A few Johnny come lately's arriving I see. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:35   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

Don't know what you mean Martin. I've been contributing for donkey's years. It's just that I don't do it as often as I used to. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:47   Scotland is Alba - MD

WHAT? Riding a Japanese Motorcycle! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:10   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

"WHAT? Riding a Japanese Motorcycle" Oh sorry, thought you were talking about a well run-in British single cylinder. Takes a bit to get going but boy does she go! Never had a Japanese model - maybe a bit too old to try one now. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:18   Scotland is Alba - MD

>>Never had a Japanese model - maybe a bit too old to try one now. >> I would have thought that an old British Classic, sporting all the tackle, would make reasonable inroads to a decent part exchange for a younger foreign, relatively untested model. I am also led to believe that servicing costs will favourable as they tend to change their own oil once a month anyway. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 19:56   Scotland is Alba - Dog

Too many owners is a no no for me. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:18   Scotland is Alba - paulb

Quite so. Overuse can lead to excessive play in the bore, which could cause piston slap and in extreme cases, loss of compression. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:25   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

Interesting point paul, never had that problem but, as an aside , is it caused by excessive wear of the cylinder or of the piston? Is it cheaper to reline the cylinder or get a larger piston? Oddly enough my friend's wife asked me that question recently - she's having problems with hers. I said I didn't know the answer and she should try elsewhere. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:30   Scotland is Alba - paulb

I gather that cylinder wear tends to be the more common issue here - certainly never encountered piston failure myself although there are plenty of documented cases. Trouble with enlargement of the piston is that it is virtually impossible to achieve permanent results there, although snake-oil salesmen on the Internet who will tell you otherwise are ten a penny. Relining the cylinder, or in extreme cases swapping out the entire block, seem to be the only guaranteed remedies. Last edited by: paulb on Sat 18 Dec 10 at 20:31 Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:33   Scotland is Alba - Stuartli

Anyone who's a Scottish football fan might like to know that BBC Alba shows a major Saturday match in full that teatime. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:50   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

" swapping out the entire block" Can be very expensive though and you have to go through the whole process of finding a new one and running it in - and it may not be any better than the old one. You could get shafted by someone pretending that some old banger is a new one! Think I'll stick with the old one - she's very reliable on the whole. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:52   Scotland is Alba - paulb

>> " swapping out the entire block" >> Can be very expensive though Horribly so. Stories abound of people having to sell their houses to fund this sort of thing. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 21:03   Scotland is Alba - MD

>>Oddly enough my friend's wife asked me that question recently - she's having problems with >> hers. I said I didn't know the answer and she should try elsewhere. >> I guess she'll be on HJ then. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:38   Scotland is Alba - Dog

>>Overuse can lead to excessive play in the bore, which could cause piston slap and in extreme cases, loss of compression<< Ah! - blow-by ... That's where the Wankel comes in useful. Reply to this message | Report message       2

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:51   Scotland is Alba - Robin O'Reliant

The older British models tend to vibrate a lot when you thrash them hard, something a true enthusiast appreciates. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 20:54   Scotland is Alba - PhilW

And of course they are so much simpler than the newer models - I'm so familiar with mine I'm sure I could service her in the dark! Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 21:05   Scotland is Alba - MD

Advance then retard? Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 21:14   Scotland is Alba - Robin O'Reliant

We never had this filth in The Other Place. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 21:20   Scotland is Alba - MD

Redex bore cleaner. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 21:23   Scotland is Alba - paulb

>> We never had this filth in The Other Place. >> The moderation there was so stringent that we were unable to discuss the nuts and bolts like this, though. I think this place is all the better for allowing it. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 18 Dec 10 21:34   Scotland is Alba - MD

Nothing in this thread 'worse' than the Frankie Howard sense of humour. Makes a change really and I don't think I swore once! I had a similar discussion with some friends this afternoon on a subject I am sure I have covered here before. 30 years ago with the likes of Alf Garnett played by Warren Mitchell, brilliantly written by Johnny Speight, Love thy Neighbour etc. they all took the **** (my stars not Mod's) out of the black folk. The black folk loved it, at least the one's I knew did and there were no complaints from them. If one looks closely it was intelligent humour and us white honky's always came off worse wearing the egg on our chops. Now sadly one can obtain all manner of carp and filth on the 'net' with little user input. Sad really. Best reg's.........M Reply to this message | Report message