Written by: Liza Paul & Bahia Watson
Published: Sunday 17th August 2014

August in Edinburgh - the home of cobblestone and rain - can leave a person longing for sunnier pastures. Maybe it's this summertime longing, maybe it's the whirlwind of the Fringe, who knows, but - either way - is it just us, or are there strange similarities between Scotland and the West Indies? True, comparing Scotland to the Caribbean might seem like a stretch - but it's a stretch we're willing to make.

Let's start with the simple facts: the UK is an island and the West Indies are composed of many islands. That's an easy one. But check out the Scottish flag! The remarkable similarity to the Jamaican flag cannot be denied. See? We're onto something. Now, let's get deeper...

Did you know that it's common practice for West Indians to add an "h" sound to the beginning of words that start with vowels, so extra becomes hextra, etc...? This is crucial information, because the Caribbean often boasts of a h'island vibe. Highland vibe, you say? Ahh. Yet another link. As you can now see, a curious pattern is emerging.

On our first night here in Edinburgh, we strolled the streets in search of sights and spirits and ended up at a wee bar on Cowgate, where, upon ordering, we were shocked to spot behind the bar a bottle of J.Wray & Nephew white rum. Overproof white rum. Now, this is not a rum for the faint of heart. Whites (as it's commonly known) is a staple of the Jamaican rum bar. A favourite drink of yardies (Jamaicans) playing dominoes at said establishments, overproof white rum is 63% alcohol and is often mixed with water to ease its fiery passage down one's throat - a proper island rum. It is found nearly exclusively at bars owned and or frequented by West Indians. Our surprise at finding it perched innocuously atop a shelf at this Edinburgh club was immediate and delightful. Suddenly, Scotland started to feel warmly familiar.

As we continued our exploration, we happened upon Jamaica Street - a lucky find! We spied palm tree wallpaper at restaurants and lounges around town. We found a bar, Pilgrim's, featuring 'curry and Red Stripe' specials (for those who don't know, Red Stripe is a classic Caribbean beer). In fact, they offer curry on chips everywhere here! Curries are a staple in the West Indies, and here it is, popping up on chips. In the context of our discoveries, this was an unlikely but strangely fitting development.

But let's go back. Yard, or yaaard, is a patois word for Jamaica, and one we use liberally to mean the entire collection of islands in the Caribbean. We've dubbed this place our Scotland yaaard, which likely sounds like much more fun to our ears than it does to locals. And yes, we are aware of the tendency of the brain to seek patterns in random data. The brain does this to make itself a little more comfortable amidst the chaos. And, if you don't mind, these two Caribbeans-by-way-of-Canada have done just so. And those rare moments when the sun is shining and the clouds have parted, we play some rootsy reggae on our likkle stereo and... the tropics seem not so far away.

'pomme is french for apple', a charming two-woman show, is at Underbelly (Cowgate) at 3:20pm until 24th August. Listing