Apologies for not starting earlier; but here I am.
First I feel obligated to explain the name. Haberdashery because that was the first thing I noticed (outside of copious nationalism) once we landed in London - every male who was dressed up was dressed very well, with obvious great pains taken to ensure that their suits fit well. Holyrood because that's the Anglicization of the Scottish "haly ruid," or holy cross, which is how they refer to the Scottish National Parliament.
By way of an introduction and my thoughts from the first day...I noticed immediately that American exceptionalism is likely something we inherited from the British. The nationalistic hubris we are famous for also underlies almost everything about this country, from their disbelief that anyone would want to secede from the UK to their distaste for using the euro as their currency. That said, everyone I encountered yesterday was very friendly and helpful. The Scots of this region, although we technically aren't in Scotland yet, are characterized by a deep sense of respect for the long history of bloodshed in the area. Although they didn't use these exact words, they would say that they are the true Scots because of the extreme levels of violence that have occurred between nearly every group to inhabit the region. I'm really looking forward to getting further north and observing how this is conceived by people from the highlands.
