Scotland and its History. The Plague

In the early days Edinburgh, well pretty much everywhere wasn’t the most hygienic of places, disease was rife, bad sanitary conditions made it even worse, people used to shout “Gardy Lou” when they were throwing their human waste out of the windows, yes sounds lovely LOL but that was the way they lived.
The words Gardy Lou came from the French meaning Gardez L’eau, which meant “watch out for the water” sounds like you had to watch out for a lot more LOL.

n the early 1700s, a Captain was a bit more graphic in his description, he was given a guide to get to his lodgings, the guide reminded him to “Hud yer Haunde” meaning hold your hand with a sash or something because the opening of a window in the streets meant one thing, yes it was gonna fly LOL, even in his dwelling the Captain had to hold the sheet over his head as the neighbours throwing out their waste would waft everywhere, the smell was unbearable. The captain reported having had a good stay and the company was excellent however he commented on the fact that the living conditions were horrendous, wonder why LOL!!