Jedburgh

RETURN TO THE GOOD SOUP GUIDE
A - Z

Jedburgh is quite near England. It sits in an area of the Scottish Borders that has witnessed much upheaval in the past. At one time the Scots and the English were constantly knocking lumps out of each other. Sometimes, when the English either weren't up for a scrap or were otherwise engaged, the Scots would happily knock lumps out of themselves, just to pass the time, I expect. Jedburgh is in fact so close to the Scotland-England border that it was occupied by the English in 1547. Then, in 1548, the French had a bash and took over the town. When you combine all of this with the close proximity of the Romans many centuries before, then deep down the people of Jedburgh must harbour an inherent insecurity, perhaps even a slight concern at their own ethnicity and the true source of their collective DNA. The arrival of strangers in their midst must put the poor dears somewhat on edge, forever fearful of yet another invading occupation.
And that, I reckon, is why the bus service in Jedburgh is so dire. They've deliberately made it hard for outsiders to get to and from their hilly little place so as to reduce the chance of further takeovers. For example, the last bus out of Jedburgh bound for Edinburgh on a Saturday used to be at 20.05, then in 2010 they changed it to 17.15. Quite unbelievable.
Which is why the next time I visit Jedburgh I'm going by horse. Just me and ten thousand others. 'ALBA GU BRATH!'