I Am Woman

I was initially just going to blip the Scottish £10 note that was spat out in my change at the self scan till in Asda this morning. Perhaps a short discourse on why I didn’t have to accept it (only notes issued by the Bank of England are legal tender in England) but also why I was quite happy to do so - there is a general acceptance of Scottish notes near to the border, similar to Euro/£ acceptance in places like Londonderry or Dover. I do know that in some of the more southern counties of England it is not uncommon for shops to refuse Scottish notes as they don’t see them that often. Incidentally, any Scottish (or Northern Irish) notes paid into a bank cannot be given out again and must be separated and sent off for exchange.
But when comparing the Scottish tenner with its English equivalent in my wallet, I noticed that - very fittingly for International Women’s Day - they both featured notable women. Jane Austen on the English note is well known, but I must confess to not knowing much about Mary Somerville, though I had heard the name. A quick Googling revealed that she was a Scottish scientist and mathematician, highly regarded by her peers and whose writings were widely regarded as definitive works well into the twentieth century. Amongst several noticeable places named after her, the most well known would be Somerville College at Oxford university.
Jane Austen’s works may well be popular and widely read, but I suspect that it is Mary Somerville’s work that is actually of more significance in our history. Well done to all those who voted to put her on the RBS £10 note in 2017, beating such (male) luminaries as James Clark Maxwell and Thomas Telford.