View Full Version : Wick Vs Thurso
OK I'm an incomer, most of you know that. I don't live in Wick or Thurso so I count myself neutral.
Recent visits to Wick and Thurso revealed Wick: Scruffy, run down, loads of empty shops and buildings, hardly anybody on the streets.
Thurso by contrast clean, busy, nice shops very few empty, a lash lounge (whatever that is?) nice hotels and bars and restaurants lots to do.
So, why the difference? Is it Wick has a bigger Tesco and an (sort of) out of town retail park? Or is it Thurso proximity to Scrabster and Dounreay?
Whatever it is that Thurso has or hasn't got, Wick needs it.
Any suggestions?
Invisible
02-Jul-10, 18:35
Thurso folk saved so much money drink tea in bowls but Wickers used cups. :-)
Nah I really dont have a sensible response
BertoBear
02-Jul-10, 18:52
Ducati
I am a Wicker and very proud of it! If you spent some quality time in Wick instead of a flying visit you would see what makes Wick more superior over Thurso. Why don't you come down for Gala night on the 25th of July then go to the Thurso one in August and then express your views!
annthracks
02-Jul-10, 18:58
Thurso folk saved so much money drink tea in bowls but Wickers used cups. :-)
Nah I really dont have a sensible response
Used cups but dinnae wash, hence the term dirty weeker? ;-)
I don't have a sensible response either...
annthracks
02-Jul-10, 19:04
Ducati
Why don't you come down for Gala night on the 25th of July then go to the Thurso one in August and then express your views!
A lot of people and floats from Thurso, Castletown and Halkirk go through and support the Wick gala, but that is not reciprocated by Wick (I have been informed)
Hi Ducati!
I'm not a "Wicker" either but I can very much appreciate what this town means to so many people.
This town was once one of the more renowned places for herring fishing in it's "hey-day"! It has since left a long legacy and history of such; proud people, proud families and a very proud structure in the harbour....
I must admit that I don't know my history of said town, but Wick has a long and stoic background that would defeat many smaller "coastal places" over the years and so, they are, rightly proud of such a heritage !
I, for one, think that "Thurso" became what it is nowadays, a town built on the "back" of Dounreay/Rolls Royce/Vulcan.
Wick, never needed that "technology" to make it what it is.......
A Town with History, People and Heritage to be Proud Of.....
Yoou have got it right Cherokee
caithness-chicky
02-Jul-10, 19:47
maybe the re-routing of the A9 has something to do with it?
This is a point I have been pondering myself. I am a wicker and would not live in thurso, but I do agree that in recent years the town centre of Wick had become a disgrace whereas the centre of Thurso is much more inviting. I don't think you can blame Tescos or the new shops as thurso people often come down to shop, so why has it not affected the little shops in thurso?
Again many wickers work in doureay and have their own harbour including marina - so can we blame that? could they have better councilors?
Interesting responses. Great to hear from PROUD Wickers. Don't get me wrong I'm not a Wick knocker. Is there a lot of rivalry between the two towns? This could be harnessed to fuel Wicks comeback. :lol:
A lot of people and floats from Thurso, Castletown and Halkirk go through and support the Wick gala, but that is not reciprocated by Wick (I have been informed)
The Float from Castletown comes through to Wick and goes round all the Galas. I don't know of any floats from Halkirk or Thurso coming through to Wick. Many years ago the Dounreay Police and Apprentices used to do floats, they used to come through to Wick
but that has not happened in years.
Ducati
I am a Wicker and very proud of it! If you spent some quality time in Wick instead of a flying visit you would see what makes Wick more superior over Thurso. Why don't you come down for Gala night on the 25th of July then go to the Thurso one in August and then express your views!
Well I did work in a shop in Wick for about 6 months so I have some experience :D
Tubthumper
02-Jul-10, 20:55
Wick, never needed that "technology" to make it what it is.......
A Town with History, People and Heritage to be Proud Of.....
You can't feed the bairns on heritage. A museum is a fine thing, providing people come to see it. And proud people who fight off change end up with nothing much to be proud of.
But the Football team are doing brilliant, there is Kongsberg Simrad operating at the frontiers of technology. The marina is great.
Wick is better, no, Thurso is better, no, Wick is better, no, Thurso is better, ad naseum! give us a break and anyway I think Dunbeath is beautiful
I like Thurso,I like Wick. But which is best? Theres only one way to find out............................FIGHT!!!!!!!!
Only Joking for those with no sense of humour. Mik.
I've always thought Ducati was a troll..... :lol:
aburns2409
02-Jul-10, 21:36
Ducati - have you any idea what a can of worms you have just opened - :-) good luck xxx
In my opinion which means very little as i belong to Castletown i feel both Towns have there own unique niceness - In general i feel Caithness folk no matter which side they come from are mostly all very welcoming and friendly .... xx
I think Thurso is a much nicer town to look at and walk around. But I am from Thurso.
Something I envy is that Wick certainly has more of a community spirit about it, hence why the Gala is so much better.
Wick is better, no, Thurso is better, no, Wick is better, no, Thurso is better, ad naseum! give us a break and anyway I think Dunbeath is beautiful
You are right Mosser. Dunbeath is indeed beautiful. There are many beautiful places in Caithness. My favourites are Berriedale and Dunnet Beach. It's magical when you view it driving towards Castletown from the Castle of Mey, any day.
It as been mentioned before, yes Thurso as a nicer town centre, but I find the people from Wick more down to earth.
If you look at the older buildings in Wick then I would say that Wick in it's hey day must have been a prosperous place, some of the Victorian and Edwardian houses built in Wick are superb and there are plenty of them, wonder if anyone as got any old pics of the gents who owned these houses.Their wealth I guess would of come from the herring trade. Without a doubt Thurso was made prosperous by Dounreay and I often wonder what the landscape would be like without all the "Atomic" houses?
OK I'm an incomer
So, why the difference?
Any suggestions?
Ducati! :roll: This is the equivalent of - light the blue touch paper and retire!
Used cups but dinnae wash, hence the term dirty weeker? ;-)
Is this the equivalent of fur coat and no knickers? :lol:
For the record I was born in Thurso but I love Caithness! :D
Wick has the better tourist attractions:-
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i237/scorrie57/hippy-wick-label.gif
Top that Thurso!! ;)
Metalattakk
03-Jul-10, 02:40
I was born in Thurso, brought up in Thurso, lived all my life in Thurso. But most of my folks are Wickers.
I've watched the transformation of Wick, and Thurso, over the years.
Thurso has turned out to be little more than a holding pen for incomers. All the character and verve and vibe has slowly ebbed away, trickling into the typically uncaring Caithness gutter. Sure, Thurso has a busy compact shopping area, but the rest of the town, the estates, hardly have even a pub to share between them. Communities are dying.
Wickers, I have found, are wary, protective of their own, yet happy to open up to those who raise themselves up to be equals. OK, Wick's main shopping area is disjointed to say the least, but so what? Wick will survive, as will its people and more importantly, its spirit.
And another thing:
If I was ever in a spot of bother and needed someone at my back, I wouldn't be hoping for a Thursa chiel to be there for me. I'd take a Wicker any day.
In summary:
Wick = Community.
Thurso = Cosmopolitan.
I'm a Wicker, can't really say i'm a 'Proud' Wicker though. There are a lot of good people, and if you know the right people, it's damn good craic at times. But the town itself is a run down dump of a place. Like quite a few of its residents, hid needs a bloody good wash :p
Sara Jevo
03-Jul-10, 06:11
Do you have any thoughts about the people?
Your view seems to be based on the built environment, and I wouldn't disagree with it.
But do you find differences between the people who live in each town?
It's people who make a community, not the buildings they use.
Tubthumper
03-Jul-10, 09:09
It's people who make a community, not the buildings they use.
I think the people can in some ways be shaped by the environment they exist in.
Metalatakk summarises it nicely: Wick = community, Thurso = cosmopolitan. But Wick's community is being seriously tested as the old guard die off and the new guard comprises more incomers and people with little regard for society or tradition. And Thurso is at risk of serious self-destruction as the tipping point of sub-1000 Dounreay employment (full-time core & contractor) approaches, with little apparently planned to replace it.
Being resistant to change makes us vulnerable when change is needed to survive. But conversely, a readiness to change too quickly risks losing what makes us a community in the first place.
Maybe we should concentrate on looking at ourselves as a complete vibrant but vulnerable community of 30 000 (smaller than most towns down south) and lose the Wick/Thurso thing, pull together to survive.
But that would mean change...
Lmao! Which 1 is better?go to inverness that's better :)
I am going on a stag today, starting in Thurso then coming back to Wick.
I shall be sampling beer in both towns.
Who has the best beer, Wick or Thurso?
I'll let you know tomorrow!:)
I think the people can in some ways be shaped by the environment they exist in.
Metalatakk summarises it nicely: Wick = community, Thurso = cosmopolitan. But Wick's community is being seriously tested as the old guard die off and the new guard comprises more incomers and people with little regard for society or tradition. And Thurso is at risk of serious self-destruction as the tipping point of sub-1000 Dounreay employment (full-time core & contractor) approaches, with little apparently planned to replace it.
Being resistant to change makes us vulnerable when change is needed to survive. But conversely, a readiness to change too quickly risks losing what makes us a community in the first place.
Maybe we should concentrate on looking at ourselves as a complete vibrant but vulnerable community of 30 000 (smaller than most towns down south) and lose the Wick/Thurso thing, pull together to survive.
But that would mean change...
Yes, we need to be Caithnessians, lose the tags: incomer, Wick or Thurso. Or Watten or Lybster or Halkirk or................
Population is nearer 20,000, almost too small for a future.......
We need to pull together as a community for the good of all. Promote our skills, culture, ideas, and sticktoitivness.
Tubthumper
03-Jul-10, 11:17
I am going on a stag today, starting in Thurso then coming back to Wick.
I shall be sampling beer in both towns.
Who has the best beer, Wick or Thurso?
I'll let you know tomorrow!:)
Maybe leave it till Monday?:lol:
Tubthumper
03-Jul-10, 11:28
Wick has the better tourist attractions:-
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i237/scorrie57/hippy-wick-label.gif
Top that Thurso!! ;)
What's that about Scorrie? It looks great and I want to go there!
Sara Jevo
03-Jul-10, 12:30
Here's an interesting obsveration of life in Wick, written the actress and columnist Lesley Hart, and published in today's Press and Journal:
Your Just Have to See for Yourself (http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1809786)
SO MY first impression of Wick as a ghost town proved false – a red herring. For the remainder of my all too brief stay, the people and places I encountered revealed a shimmering world of life, hospitality and wonderful, wonderful stories. In this, they captured the essence of Neil M. Gunn’s great novel, The Silver Darlings, and of the landscape and people that inspired it.
annthracks
03-Jul-10, 13:47
i like thurso,i like wick. But which is best? Theres only one way to find out............................fight!!!!!!!!
only joking for those with no sense of humour. Mik.
lmao !!!!!!!!!
macbreeza
03-Jul-10, 14:15
[quote=annthracks;730826]Used cups but dinnae wash, hence the term dirty weeker? ;-)
I think you will find the term started out as Durdy meaning hardworking
I am a Weeker and moved away for 5 years, returned recently and I work in Thurso.....Thurso is better for a night out but I wouldn't live there as I love the crack of Wick people and I love a walk around the town, the harbour, the old buildings, the riverside, the gala.
All places have good and bad points......if Wick was the place we all want it to be I couldn't live here.......I wouldn't be able to afford it.
I pick Wick over anywhere else I have lived because it's where I am from and where i grew up. I thought this thread was a bit silly if I am honest it's like asking who are the best men or women???! Everyone knows what Wick could improve on and what Thurso could learn from Wick.
Oh and on the gala i without a doubt think its the best in Wick due to there being a traditional element, the herring queen........Thurso just got on the back of that, same as the street party at new year :D
Tubthumper
03-Jul-10, 15:09
...I love the crack of Wick people and I love a walk around the town, the harbour, the old buildings, the riverside, the gala. All places have good and bad points......if Wick was the place we all want it to be I couldn't live here.......I wouldn't be able to afford it.
Sums it up perfect!
Wick's a far bonnier town than Thurso! Coming down the Cliff onto Bridge Street, looking over the river, is a lovely sight.
Shame we've no shops left. MacDonald's shut, corner newsagents shutting, Woolies already shut. Also hear the Backer is no more.
I wish someone had the answer :~( It would be great to see Wick fighting back, instead of shutting down.
annthracks
03-Jul-10, 17:39
Used cups but dinnae wash, hence the term dirty weeker? ;-)
I think you will find the term started out as Durdy meaning hardworking
You think I'll find where please?
Some of what I found on searching for the names of the two "tribes" was
Tea'n'a'bowlie (http://www.facebook.com/tbowley1) and Dirty Wicker (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=93976767293&v=info&ref=search)
but nothing on the origins.
Many thanks.
The Pepsi Challenge
03-Jul-10, 22:11
Both towns are dying a slow, painful death. The Thurso and Wick I grew up is sadly no more, and more's the pity. These days, it'd be better to focus on the plus points both have to offer, but, as I say, these days the negatives seem to far outweigh the positives.
These days, it'd be better to focus on the plus points both have to offer
:lol: after you Pepsi! ;)
Metalattakk
03-Jul-10, 23:03
:lol: after you Pepsi! ;)
LOL! Dinna had yer breath!
LOL! Dinna had yer breath!
'At wis sarcasm Metalman! :cool:
I was always Thurso, but since moving to Watten I now gravitate to Wick for food shopping and clothes, but Thurso has more to offer in the town centre for a nosy round the shops etc...
Metalattakk
03-Jul-10, 23:12
'At wis sarcasm Metalman! :cool:
Am I not allowed to concur? ;)
I was born in Thurso, brought up in Thurso, lived all my life in Thurso. But most of my folks are Wickers.
I've watched the transformation of Wick, and Thurso, over the years.
Thurso has turned out to be little more than a holding pen for incomers. All the character and verve and vibe has slowly ebbed away, trickling into the typically uncaring Caithness gutter. Sure, Thurso has a busy compact shopping area, but the rest of the town, the estates, hardly have even a pub to share between them. Communities are dying.
Wickers, I have found, are wary, protective of their own, yet happy to open up to those who raise themselves up to be equals. OK, Wick's main shopping area is disjointed to say the least, but so what? Wick will survive, as will its people and more importantly, its spirit.
And another thing:
If I was ever in a spot of bother and needed someone at my back, I wouldn't be hoping for a Thursa chiel to be there for me. I'd take a Wicker any day.
In summary:
Wick = Community.
Thurso = Cosmopolitan.
I don't always agree with you Metal but this was very well summed up. Can I just add that Thurso has had the benefit of Dounreay salaries pumping into the local economy for many years when Wick has always been the poor relation in that respect. However, the Weekers have the capacity to look on the bright side, make the best of every situation and won't ever let it get them down. That is the secret of their good nature;)
Am I not allowed to concur? ;)
Heck aye! More the merrier on the sarcasm train as far as I am concerned!
Heck aye! More the merrier on the sarcasm train as far as I am concerned!
Ah yeah...cos' we ALL love sarcasm...dont we?...pfft [smirk]
Metalattakk
04-Jul-10, 02:04
Ah yeah...cos' we ALL love sarcasm...dont we?...pfft [smirk]
Aye. They say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
What they don't say is that it's also one of the funniest.
Ah yeah...cos' we ALL love sarcasm...dont we?...pfft [smirk]
Giz where's 'at weeker sense o' humour you displayed in post 24? ;)
Metalattakk
04-Jul-10, 03:44
I don't always agree with you Metal but this was very well summed up.
Da' get me wrong, I'm a Thirsa boyagie, no doubt. I wis born here, an' I'll hopefully die here. The day after tomorrow widna be bad. ;)
It just seems to me that, in a way, the town of Thurso has become cosmopolitan against its will. Thurso didn't ask for all these sooth-moother incomers, it didn't ask for the US base influx, it didn't even ask for UKAEA to come in and transform the town into what it is today.
And now Dounreay is loused and the Yanks have left, all we're left with is coastline communities dominated by people from o'er 'e Ord who have no affinity with true Caithness, no real understanding of the county they live in.
Whether we like it or not, Wick has a far stronger link to 'old' Caithness and its traditions than Thurso can ever hope to have, thanks to Thurso's proximity to Dounreay and Forss and the associated flood of settlers.
Sara Jevo
04-Jul-10, 06:33
Da' get me wrong, I'm a Thirsa boyagie, no doubt. I wis born here, an' I'll hopefully die here. The day after tomorrow widna be bad.
It just seems to me that, in a way, the town of Thurso has become cosmopolitan against its will. Thurso didn't ask for all these sooth-moother incomers, it didn't ask for the US base influx, it didn't even ask for UKAEA to come in and transform the town into what it is today.
And now Dounreay is loused and the Yanks have left, all we're left with is coastline communities dominated by people from o'er 'e Ord who have no affinity with true Caithness, no real understanding of the county they live in.
Whether we like it or not, Wick has a far stronger link to 'old' Caithness and its traditions than Thurso can ever hope to have, thanks to Thurso's proximity to Dounreay and Forss and the associated flood of settlers.
.
Let me go check which century this is . . .
Phew, it's still the 21st century.
This must been some random post that floated in from the 19th century.
I was here before the Atomicers and the yanks. We all had our gang. We were the Gleebers and ChoJo was our leader. There was also the Shore streeters, and the Springparkers, and the Durness streeters who were a peace loving mob, who only got angry when we went out on a mission to steal their Guy fawkes material from the bomb shelter on the beach and transfer it to the bomb shelter in Gillock park for our own bonfire.
It was normal in the mid 50s through to the late 50s for more than a few new kids to join school every week as their parents took up their position at Dounreay. Thurso grew up around us locals and for a while I think we did harbour thoughts that we were being taken over. They were childish thoughts though, but I am aware of similar thoughts amongst locals in both Wick and Thurso towards incomers even to this day.
Dont take it personally though. Its a human trait. If they wernt backstabbing the incomers you can be sure they would be backstabbing the Shorestreeters or the Gleebers or their next door neighbours or their grannies.
This stuff is universal amongst human beings.
Both Thurso and Wick are hometowns to thousands of us. I wouldnt like to stay anywhere else other than Thurso but that doesnt mean there's anything wrong with wick. We have the very same type of person in Thurso as you have in Wick.
Now, isnt that a novel idea? :eek:
Duncansby
04-Jul-10, 10:17
Whether we like it or not, Wick has a far stronger link to 'old' Caithness and its traditions than Thurso can ever hope to have, thanks to Thurso's proximity to Dounreay and Forss and the associated flood of settlers.
Metal has a point, whether folk like it or not, you just have to look at how different the county show is depending upon which toon it's in. Yes the site is more central in Wick but I think people on that side of the county generally have more of a connection to and interest in the countryside. Of course gala is another example but I wont go on about that.
Getting new blood into a community is important and helps to create vibrant communities but perhaps the speed and extent at which it happened in Thurso ended up erroding the 'Caithnessness' of Thurso.
the site is more central in Wick but I think people on that side of the county generally have more of a connection to and interest in the countryside
Do they not go to the county show when it is held on the other side of the county? If they have more of a connection to the countryside I would have thought they would be more inclined to make the effort.
Duncansby
04-Jul-10, 11:00
Do they not go to the county show when it is held on the other side of the county? If they have more of a connection to the countryside I would have thought they would be more inclined to make the effort.
That's my point. The show is busy when it is in Wick as Wickers are more likely to go a look. Whereas Thurso people may be less interested and inclinded to go a look when it's on their doorstep.
I was here before the Atomicers and the yanks. We all had our gang. We were the Gleebers and ChoJo was our leader. There was also the Shore streeters, and the Springparkers, and the Durness streeters who were a peace loving mob, who only got angry when we went out on a mission to steal their Guy fawkes material from the bomb shelter on the beach and transfer it to the bomb shelter in Gillock park for our own bonfire.
It was normal in the mid 50s through to the late 50s for more than a few new kids to join school every week as their parents took up their position at Dounreay. Thurso grew up around us locals and for a while I think we did harbour thoughts that we were being taken over. They were childish thoughts though, but I am aware of similar thoughts amongst locals in both Wick and Thurso towards incomers even to this day.
Dont take it personally though. Its a human trait. If they wernt backstabbing the incomers you can be sure they would be backstabbing the Shorestreeters or the Gleebers or their next door neighbours or their grannies.
This stuff is universal amongst human beings.
Both Thurso and Wick are hometowns to thousands of us. I wouldnt like to stay anywhere else other than Thurso but that doesnt mean there's anything wrong with wick. We have the very same type of person in Thurso as you have in Wick.
Now, isnt that a novel idea? :eek:
Common sense Post of the Week award.
annthracks
04-Jul-10, 16:57
Let me go check which century this is . . .
Phew, it's still the 21st century.
This must been some random post that floated in from the 19th century.
Nah, it's still the 16th century, no answer to my question yet, so it appears that it's word of mouth still. No references or provenance as to the nicknames.
http://forum.caithness.org/showpost.php?p=346258&postcount=39
My father was from Louisburgh in Week and my mother from the Coogate, Thurso but I chose to live half way between the two.
Nuff sed!
Duncansby
04-Jul-10, 19:58
Nah, it's still the 16th century, no answer to my question yet, so it appears that it's word of mouth still. No references or provenance as to the nicknames.
http://forum.caithness.org/showpost.php?p=346258&postcount=39
I'd always understood that the term dirdie weeker appeared during the height of the herring industry. Dirdie being the Caithness word for busy and it later becoming corrupted to dirty.
Let me go check which century this is . . .
Phew, it's still the 21st century.
This must been some random post that floated in from the 19th century.
Whether you meant it or not you have proved Metal's point admirably!
Sara Jevo
04-Jul-10, 22:06
Whether you meant it or not you have proved Metal's point admirably!
I must be blonde - you'll need to explain that one to me lol.
I must be blonde - you'll need to explain that one to me lol.
Well I believe yer an incomer (I hesitate to use that word cos descriptive and true as it is it is often taken as derogatory!) and you just inferred that Metal's post could have been made in the 19th century. Fact is that many people, myself included, can and often do speak like that but we have tempered our dialect so that the atomicers and yanks (sorry if anyone is offended but that is what they were called, rightly or wrongly, when they arrived) could understand us. I just reckoned that yer comment proved the point he made.
Choost for 'e record 'at wis a grand post 'ere Metal! :) Must be cos ye were born in Thursa lek masel' - I dinna usually agree wi ye chiel!!! More often than no' we hev a bit o' a fecht!
My father was from Louisburgh in Week and my mother from the Coogate, Thurso but I chose to live half way between the two.
Nuff sed!
You've deserted them both you mean!!![lol]
Where is/was the coogate?
Metalattakk
04-Jul-10, 23:35
Choost for 'e record 'at wis a grand post 'ere Metal! :) Must be cos ye were born in Thursa lek masel' - I dinna usually agree wi ye chiel!!! More often than no' we hev a bit o' a fecht!
Fechtan'? 'At's choost fur gowks and neepdockers, wifie. ;)
I'm going to contradict an earlier post from way back and argue that at the moment Caithness has a lot going for it- 2 hours on a relatively straightforward road from Inverness; an airport with links to the islands and to at least 2 main cities; a hospital on the doorstep which can deal with most situations and air ambulance links for the things they need to refer onwards.
Compare that with Durness; Gairloch; Plockton etc. Lovely scenery- but come January- would you want to live there full time?
Had Dounreay not been in Caithness, we might not have had most of the things mentioned above- it kept the economy bouyant for 50 years. however without something to put in its place- see how long those amenities remain.
yes Thurso has a nicer looking town centre- Wick suffers from some gaping holes in the fabric- often where property has fallen into disrepair. Wouldn't it make sense for there to be a scheme where a place that's empty has to be kept looking decent? We may denigrate the charity shops but they are better than a boarded up shack.
The small businesses work in an idiosyncratic way- they support one wage, but not an entire staff. Take Fairways- when Ernie keeled over, they could only keep going so long. The company that leased it (who do very well in Orkney and Ellon) found they were breaking even - but making no profit at all. But the presence of all those big places in the retail park mean few people are trying to run a small firm (Gail's lovely gift shop is the exception rather than the rule)
As not what Wick can do for its residents- think instead what Wickers can do for their town
You've deserted them both you mean!!![lol]
Where is/was the coogate?
The Cowgate was where the car park for the laudromat at the foot of Grove Lane. Named when the last house at the bottom of Grove Lane was a farm.
Sara Jevo
05-Jul-10, 06:53
Well I believe yer an incomer (I hesitate to use that word cos descriptive and true as it is it is often taken as derogatory!) and you just inferred that Metal's post could have been made in the 19th century. Fact is that many people, myself included, can and often do speak like that but we have tempered our dialect so that the atomicers and yanks (sorry if anyone is offended but that is what they were called, rightly or wrongly, when they arrived) could understand us. I just reckoned that yer comment proved the point he made.
Choost for 'e record 'at wis a grand post 'ere Metal! :) Must be cos ye were born in Thursa lek masel' - I dinna usually agree wi ye chiel!!! More often than no' we hev a bit o' a fecht!
Lol, no I understood the language just fine. It was the insularity I commented on.
We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns.
Lol, no I understood the language just fine. It was the insularity I commented on.
We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns.
Have to agree there Sara, a couple of intimations I'm fae Wick/Thurso an I woudna live in Wick/Thurso!
Good God I've lived in 10 different places! And thats not a lot these days.
I've lived in Scotland (5 different places) for 20 years and Caithness is the first place I've been called, or made to feel like an incomer. :eek:
Part of it's charm I guess :confused
OK - to ducati and SJ - why choose to live in Caithness if it is as you describe? I could be wrong but I get the feeling you find it a negative. I have had the pleasure of living in several parts of Scotland and found them all quite varied. In all these places I have felt like an incomer (I still do in my present location and I have been here 6 years) but that is not because of how I was welcomed but because of how I feel so perhaps it is a Caithness thing.
Sara Jevo
05-Jul-10, 20:40
OK - to ducati and SJ - why choose to live in Caithness if it is as you describe? I could be wrong but I get the feeling you find it a negative. I have had the pleasure of living in several parts of Scotland and found them all quite varied. In all these places I have felt like an incomer (I still do in my present location and I have been here 6 years) but that is not because of how I was welcomed but because of how I feel so perhaps it is a Caithness thing.
I haven't made any description of Caithness. I was commenting on how insular the person was who posted that comment.
OK - to ducati and SJ - why choose to live in Caithness if it is as you describe? I could be wrong but I get the feeling you find it a negative. I have had the pleasure of living in several parts of Scotland and found them all quite varied. In all these places I have felt like an incomer (I still do in my present location and I have been here 6 years) but that is not because of how I was welcomed but because of how I feel so perhaps it is a Caithness thing.
Came to get away from people [para]
Metalattakk
05-Jul-10, 21:34
I haven't made any description of Caithness. I was commenting on how insular the person was who posted that comment.
Thanks for that. Maybe I'll get my English incomer wife to debate with you about my insularity.
:roll:
Sara Jevo
05-Jul-10, 21:46
Thanks for that. Maybe I'll get my English incomer wife to debate with you about my insularity.
:roll:
Sorry about that lol.
If you don't mind me asking, why did you feel it was necessary to add "incomer" after "English"?
Surely the fact she is English tells everyone she isn't from this area originally. Why add "incomer"?
I don't know about others, but the use of the term suggests to me a feeling "I belong here, you don't".
Sara Jevo
05-Jul-10, 21:53
I'm forming a wee bit of an impression here that some people, who'd probably describe themselves as indigenous to the area, get a little defensive about their identity because maybe they feel the area was overwhelmed by the rapidity of the influx associated with Dounreay and the US base?
Metalattakk
05-Jul-10, 22:30
Sorry about that lol.
If you don't mind me asking, why did you feel it was necessary to add "incomer" after "English"?
Simply to demonstrate that as well as being an incomer, she is also English rather than Scottish. Of course, my insularity as you put it surely wouldn't allow such a person to become my wife. :roll:
I don't know about others, but the use of the term suggests to me a feeling "I belong here, you don't".
I cannot help how your mind views things especially things that aren't there.
Duncansby
05-Jul-10, 22:58
I'm forming a wee bit of an impression here that some people, who'd probably describe themselves as indigenous to the area, get a little defensive about their identity because maybe they feel the area was overwhelmed by the rapidity of the influx associated with Dounreay and the US base?
Surely being proud of and defending your cultural identity isn't a bad thing. 'Incomers' can keep rural (especially remote rural) communities vibrant but that shouldn't be at the expense of a local identity.
I can't really call myself indigenous as I do hail from Thurso but I don't live there anymore. I grew up in a community filled with folk who came because of Dounreay and the Naval base so I never knew anything else. I suppose it was cos all I heard was "incomers" that I still say it - I discovered that a lot of things I grew up with I didn't like but funnily that one has stayed with me - even tho in reverse!
Surely being proud of and defending your cultural identity isn't a bad thing. .
No it isnt. But say that about the influx of immigrants to these shores and youre branded a racist.
Sara Jevo
06-Jul-10, 06:45
Simply to demonstrate that as well as being an incomer, she is also English rather than Scottish. Of course, my insularity as you put it surely wouldn't allow such a person to become my wife. :roll:
Lol, I didn't suggest you were xenophobic, only that the way you expressed regret about an influx of people to Caithness and its impact on the area came across as insular.
I did originally post about the obvious differences in how well each town was doing, perhaps financially-sorry it's turned into a bit of a slanging match. But hey, that's 'e org :lol:
Duncansby
06-Jul-10, 08:51
No it isnt. But say that about the influx of immigrants to these shores and youre branded a racist.
I'm not saying that people coming into Caithness is a bad thing, it's not, we need diversity. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't have to appoligise for or lose your cultural identity and traditions as a result. The differences between Wick and Thurso, I'm thinking here of the sense of community that people have mentioned, probably arise from the speed of these changes in the 60s. Come the closure of Dounreay and without a growth in job opportunities, the amount of young folk going south to work will increase. But then that's been going on for generations too - but maybe not to the scale it is these days as people have bigger aspirations.
Ducati asked the original question about differences between Wick and Thurso.
I concur with all the statements saying that Thurso is more cosmopolitan in attitude whereas Wick is more community spirited. I will agree that the source of this and the other main differences is the Dounreay-factor in Thurso. However, I don't think that this is a bad thing as I think Caithness would be a much poorer please (in all respects, not just financial) without Dounreay. The Dounreay-factor has been here for 55 years so no point in rattling on about it.
Further to that statement, I would say that people in Thurso tend to think that they are a cut above your average Wicker. I was shopping in Thurso yesterday and the attitude of the shop assistants was very different to those in Wick. In Wick, the shopkeepers are much more pleasant and welcoming (think Gunn's shoe shop, Sam's, Gail's Gift Box etc.). I was in two Thurso shops yesterday and both sets of shopkeepers and their assistants were arrogant and snotty. I will also add that this is not a one-off, I make this statement everytime I return from Thurso. However, I will state this doesn't apply to all Thurso businesses. I was brought up in Thurso but no longer live there and I have never lived in Wick. Therefore, I believe that I speak from neutral ground.
As the thread went on, a few people used the opportunity to try and stir up the old chestnut and/or chip on their shoulder about being tagged 'incomers'. To quote from an earlier thread:
Being a 'local' from birth (just incase anyone asks!), I firmly believe that people that move up don't lose the 'incomer' tag through time, only through attitude. When in Rome..........
In the village where I live there is an interesting mix of locals, incomers that blend in and incomers that sit with the aforementioned chip on their shoulder. Think of the melting pot and salad bowl analogy for 1960's race relations in USA. Personally, I don't really care where and when anyone came from anywhere. There were also comments about Caithness being insular - well think about it!!! We are right at the top of the country on a peninsula, the access road is pretty well horrendous by 21st century standards, so what was it like 60/70 or more years ago. We had very little interaction with the rest of the country historically so what on earth do people expect? You can't compare Caithness with a rural county further south - they may have commercial, industrial, educational or social movement of people on a regular basis from all points of the compass.
Metalattakk
06-Jul-10, 11:45
Lol, I didn't suggest you were xenophobic, only that the way you expressed regret about an influx of people to Caithness and its impact on the area came across as insular.
I suggest you stop putting words in my mouth.
I suspect you're seeing the word 'incomer' as a derogatory term, when it's not meant that way.
Typical incomer. :Razz
Duncansby
06-Jul-10, 11:55
I was in two Thurso shops yesterday and both sets of shopkeepers and their assistants were arrogant and snotty.
I've experienced that too (in some shops) - it's like they resent you for having the audacity to want to give them money ;)
Personally, I don't really care where and when anyone came from anywhere.
Too true, after all we are all incomers if you go far enough back.
We had very little interaction with the rest of the country historically so what on earth do people expect? You can't compare Caithness with a rural county further south - they may have commercial, industrial, educational or social movement of people on a regular basis from all points of the compass.
And of course Caithness is also very distinct from the rest of the highlands, geographically and culturally. I suppose if you go back to the height of the herring industry the influx of 'incomers' also had an impact on the toon. Due to the social problems associated with the workers and the subsequent temperance movement which saw Wick becoming a dry toon :eek:
And of course Caithness is also very distinct from the rest of the highlands, geographically and culturally. I suppose if you go back to the height of the herring industry the influx of 'incomers' also had an impact on the toon. Due to the social problems associated with the workers and the subsequent temperance movement which saw Wick becoming a dry toon :eek:
I have harped on about this book before but it really had an effect on me and I have never found anything which described where I come from so beautifully - read "The Silver Darlings" by Neil M Gunn.
LMS has put what I feel well - Caithness is different - never mind the Wick Thurso divide! I do think this was a great thread for ducati to start.
Duncansby
06-Jul-10, 12:12
I have harped on about this book before but it really had an effect on me and I have never found anything which described where I come from so beautifully - read "The Silver Darlings" by Neil M Gunn.
One of my favourite books! Must re-read it again, but it's currently boxed up somewhere and awaiting unpacking. I also loved Highland River.
LMS has put what I feel well - Caithness is different - never mind the Wick Thurso divide! I do think this was a great thread for ducati to start.
I agree! we should celebrate our differences, perhaps if we focus on what makes us unique rather than comparing ourselves to other areas of the highlands and islands we may encourage visitors to the county and give a much needed boast to the tourism industry.
Just out of curiosity, is there a noticeable difference between the Wick and Thurso accents? Im asking because I visited some of my wife's relatives a few years ago who had a farm at Lochquoy near Durran and i didnt have a scooby what they were talking about, could have been Gaelic or Polish as far as i was concerned.
Yes Bazeye! There is a difference but we understand each other! ;)
booze snooze
21-Jul-10, 18:38
I've experienced that too (in some shops) - it's like they resent you for having the audacity to want to give them money ;)
Too true, after all we are all incomers if you go far enough back.
And of course Caithness is also very distinct from the rest of the highlands, geographically and culturally. I suppose if you go back to the height of the herring industry the influx of 'incomers' also had an impact on the toon. Due to the social problems associated with the workers and the subsequent temperance movement which saw Wick becoming a dry toon :eek:
gails gift box is excellent and gail coudnt :lol: be more helpful if she hasnt got what you want she will get it
gails gift box is excellent and gail coudnt :lol: be more helpful if she hasnt got what you want she will get it
Thanks Gail [lol]
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