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are highly patriotic and nationalist, but without the arrogance which can so often go hand in hand with nationalism. We are by our very nature proud of who we are and where we come from, but entirely willing to share what we have with others. Many backpackers who are friends of mine had travelled across Europe spending little more than a month in most other countries, but when they landed on Scotland they found it too hard to leave and are still here years later. For those living here, there is one major sporting pastime - Football. Scotland has the oldest football association in the world, and despite being pretty low in the world rankings, it is still our number one sport. That said, we also invented golf and do pretty well in snooker, cycling and curling. There are also a large amount of outdoors sporting activities to be found here, mostly concentrated in the highlands region of the country.

Despite all our sporting endevours, many people in Scotland are still pretty unhealthy. Poverty affects one in four children in the country and this has been shown to lead to problems such as asthma, heart-disease, malnutrition and liver failure. Added to this, Scottish people have a tendancy towards alcoolism - something which is perhaps more of a cultural problem due to the weekend drinking habits of youth leading to problems later on. And although we have a nationalised healthcare system with generally free treatment for everyone, this does not stop the wide-ranging health issues which afect many people in the country. In an attempt to eliminate some of these, smoking in public places has been banned. There are also numerous campaigns to get people to eat more healthily and take more excercise, but for many of the poorer people of the country these are not viable options. Many people now, thanks to recent reforms of the benefits systems, now find it hard to claim the benefits which they once received without any fuss or means testing.

All in all, Scotland is a great place to live. You are never short of inspiration from either the cultural aspects of the society of from the breathtaking beauty of the landscape. And while we may have problems, I feel confident that we can rebuild our welfare system to ensure that nobody is left behind in the future.

Learn more about this author, Angus Macdonald.
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