A story in the Scottish Daily Mail today proclaimed Scottish men to be the manliest in the world. It was one of those strange survey stories which us reporters love to spice up a dullish page, but that we also know doesn't mean much.
The surveyors, paid by a shaving company, didn't ask on what basis people decided which men were most manly, and so the paper had gone to some commentator for an explanation. He listed Scottish poets, Scottish actors and the chef Gordon Ramsay as examples of Scottish manliness and then pointed to the Scottish landscape as further proof.
Now I guess I don't really think of acting, cooking and writing poetry as the first signs that a bloke is especially manly. The landscape example is baffling to me. Does it drive men to go hiking - which in any event women seem to enjoy just as much?
New Zealand rated sixth after Australia, England, Finland and Russia, by the way.
One of my favourite books is A Man's Country by Jock Phillips, a study of New Zealand men. He had chapters devoted to rugby and drinking and misogynistic attitudes to women. I rather wish he would update the book - it must be at least 20 years old.
I can't claim great expertise on the subject of Scottish manliness but I have been interested that after almost two weeks of taking taxis around London and Edinburgh I have yet to see a woman taxi driver. Now mucking about with cars does seem a bit blokey but there's no reason why a woman couldn't drive at breakneck speed while telling you how London's been overrun by foreigners.
Back in London, at a different hotel, this time in Kensington. Looking forward to a good wander round the nearby parks. And some sun - currently it's raining.
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