Great Wonders

Alleged "Kilt shortage" among Scottish army units

There are no problems whatsoever with Army kilts in Scotland. We have plenty of kilts for ceremonial duties, and the Scottish battalions are happy with the situation. At the request of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the kilts are being trialled to ensure soldiers get the most comfortable material for a variety of weather, with the best clarity of colour and pattern. Nor is there any delay to the buying of kilts. As a Government department we must adhere to international procurement law, to ensure there is open and fair competition for all businesses that want to bid for the contract. This process does not happen overnight, and it is important that we get the right quality product at the right price.

UK Ministry of Defence; December 18, 2006

I suppose not many people read or care about defence-related news, except for Alpha, but the above press statement by the UK Ministry of Defence is really funny. It was released in response to press reports that a shortage of kilts was forcing five thousand troops of the Royal Regiment of Scotland to share one pleated skirt between fifteen men. There are two things here that we can learn: First, the British care about equipping their troops well, even ceremonial skirts. Secondly, the UK Ministry of Defence has a strong enough sense of maintaining a good public image to response to the news reports directly and quickly. In fact, I think that the UK Ministry of Defence maintains among the most people-friendly website compared to those of other countries.

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I was waiting for the elevator at a local mall during the weekend to go four floors up when I was joined by three teenagers. For a building with only six levels, including a basement level, the elevators were painfully slow. One of the teens pressed the button to go down. We were at the ground floor and they had to take the elevator to go one floor down to the basement level! The elevator shafts are just next to a stairwell, and there are two escalators serving the floors.

An elevator opened, going down, and they went in. One of them even managed to get herself colliding with the door on the way in.

Then, a woman joined me. The same elevator returned, opened its doors, and we stepped in. I pressed for the fourth floor, and she pressed for the first floor.

I really had to laugh.

It reminded me about people who would rather drive around looking and waiting for an empty parking space, even parking illegally, so that they can walk no further than five meters from the car to the door, when there plenty of empty spaces elsewhere.

Then, when I got to the fourth floor parking area, I saw a man squeezing to park his car, yes, illegally, right in front of the elevator when there were thirty to forty empty spaces everywhere.

I couldn't make myself laugh at this one.