Scottish Snow Plows

While our time in Scotland will (hopefully) have nice weather, Scotland also has a snowy season. And, of course they have snow plows to clear up heavy snow. I recently found out that Scotland names their plows, and the names are pretty punny. It’s worth noting that Scottish people call plows “gritters,” which makes some of the names more understandable. Between 2020 and 2021, some of my favorites were: 

• “Sir Salter Scott”
• “Lord Coldemort & You’re a Blizzard Harry”
• “Spready Mercury”
• “Mary, Queen of Salt”
• “Sled Zeppelin”
• “Sweet Child of Brine”
• “Veruca Salt”
• “Buzz Iceclear”
• “Gritney Spears”
• And of course, everyone’s favorite, “Salty”— very original 

If you want to see more of these names and learn why this is a tradition, here is the link to the article: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/scotland-snow-plows-names-titles/ 

Here’s to a great trip, everyone! Looking forward to seeing a (not snowy) Scotland!

Mental Health in Mrs. Dalloway

After Mira’s very informative presentation about Virginia Woolf, a lot of the characters a written by Woolf made more sense. In many ways, Woolf and the materials she printed alongside her husband at their publishing company were progressive. From featuring LGBT voices to showing mental illness without covering it up or merely alluding to it, Hogarth Press was definitely ahead of its time. In Mrs. Dalloway, the same rings true. Most notably is Septimus, who is described as being shell-shocked from serving in WWI. While admittedly using an antiquated term for post-traumatic stress disorder, Woolf’s stream of consciousness writing highlights issues that most people were not and are still not willing to openly address. It is also interesting to see how, like other modernist writers, several characters are representative of Woolf, without actually being Woolf. Virginia Woolf, who likely had bipolar disorder, was subjected to a series of painful traumas as a child and young adult. This most certainly played a role in her mental state. Additionally, her death and proceeding suicide attempts are similar, but not the same, to that of 

[SPOILER ALERT] Septimus’s.  Clarissa Dalloway, in part another reflection of Woolf, hears about the suicide and feels linked to him. She feels empathetic and understands why he made the decision to do so. This part is also written as a thought spiral, perhaps reflecting the author’s own mental state at the time. 

Food-Allergy Safety

     As we get closer and closer to the trip, I get more and more excited about the new things we’ll experience. From museums to monuments to local cultures and food, I can’t wait to embrace it all. However, as was true for my previous travel experiences, I cannot help but worry about my food allergies. Traveling in English speaking countries makes it significantly easier to express my concerns, and EF Tours was incredibly helpful when I told them that I am allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. I will also have allergy medicine and an Auvi-Q with me just in case, so I should be perfectly fine. Even so, I have noticed an uptick of movies and tv shows lately who are making food allergies the punchline of a joke (see  2018’s Peter Rabbit) or who are using trainer EpiPens to administer aide (Disney’s Godmothered). While these

EpiPen with Trainer in Front

cinematic decisions really don’t have anything to do with me, I think they do open up the opportunity to educate people on how to use epipens or similar devices. EpiPens work by injecting epinephrine into the person having a severe allergic reaction (this means there is a needle inside the pen). Epinephrine is basically liquid adrenaline, so even if it stops a reaction, it’s important to go to the hospital after using one and get more advanced help, especially because the reaction can restart after the epipen is used. Furthermore, epipens should only be used in reactions causing or leading to anaphylactic shock. Some symptoms of Anaphylaxis include swelling of the face, tongue, and/or throat, obstruction of airway, difficulty breathing, hives, redness of skin, nausea, coughing, and dizziness. Most times, the person with the allergy is aware that they are having a severe reaction, but in little kids or people who don’t know they have an allergy, phrases like, “my tongue feels funny/itchy/big” or “my throat has something stuck in it” are common (but not definitive) signs of an allergic reaction. 

      In the event that someone can’t administer their EpiPen, it is important that someone else does. There are two main kinds of epinephrine injectors. The first, is EpiPen, which kind of looks like a giant pencil. It will be green for kids and yellow for adults. There is also a grey pen in the box. This is the trainer EpiPen, and it has no needle or medicine in it. It won’t do anything for the person having the reaction. There are instructions on the box, but you want to remove the EpiPen from the plastic case, pull the blue tab at the

Auvi- Q  injector with Trainer

top, and, while holding the pen in a fist, press and hold the orange tip of the EpiPen to the outside of the person’s thigh. It should only go in their thigh, and will require a bit of force. It will go through their clothes, and you should not worry about bruising or hurting them, they need the medicine. You should hear a click when it makes contact with their leg and hold for 10 seconds to make sure the medication is completely administered. These steps are basically the same for the other type of injector, called an Auvi-Q. The Auvi-Q is usually orange, and is square and flat. Just like the EpiPen, Auvi-Q comes with a non-medicated trainer. To use the Auvi-Q, you will pull it out of the case. When you do so, a built in speaker will begin to walk you through the process. You’ll pull the red safety guard, press the black tip to the thigh, and press until you hear a click and hiss noise, holding for 10 seconds. The Auvi-Q will count down from five, but it’s not a bad idea to hold it for five additional seconds to ensure medication has been administered. Regardless of which injector someone uses, it is important to call 911 in the US or 999 in the UK afterwards to make sure they’re ok. 

Hopefully, no one will require the administration of an EpiPen, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Here’s to safe travels!

A Morbid History of Bonnie Prince Charlie

         Waverley introduced us to a wide variety of characters. From the opposition of Flora and Rose, to Fergus, Baron Bradwardine, and Cecelia Stubbs, it is without question that Sir Walter Scott provided his readers with an entertaining bunch. However, I thought one of the most interesting characters was Bonnie Prince Charlie, and thought it was cool to see him fictionalized in the novel. I was also surprised to learn that “the 

Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1785 

young pretender” died in Rome. After doing some more digging, I found that his death was even more involved than I initially thought. The prince had a long history of medical problems, and was so sick he was given the sacraments in 1783, five years before he actually passed away. While he ultimately died of a stroke, Charles Edward Stuart had asthma, high blood pressure, and swollen legs, the last of which required him to be carried to and from his carriage. He also suffered from alcoholism. If it couldn’t get worse for the Prince, or those around him, he only had one child survive infancy, an “illegitimate” daughter he had through an affair, and later, when he married, his marriage ended in separation/divorce

The Prince’s, His Father’s, and His Brother’s Tomb

without any heirs. When Bonnie Prince Charlie did die on January 30th, 1788, his day of death was altered to the 31st because the Cardinals believed it was unlucky for him to have died on the same day as his great-grandfather. Then, he was originally buried at Frascati Cathedral, but was later moved to St.Peter’s Basilica so his remains would be with those of his brother and father. This seems like a nice ending to Bonnie Prince Charlie’s story, and it is, but it also comes with an unexpected twist. Charles’s heart remained at Frascati Cathedral, where it is interred in an urn under a monument. The more you know!