Like most of these reenactment type things (Civil War reenactors take the cake) I am always amazed by the amount of time and money people pour into them. But I try to look at the bright side and figure, that as human/fellowship gatherings go, it sure beats the hell out of things like wrestling or monster trucks.
Of course, lots and lots of people dressed in their highland finest, each paying minute detail to the clan plaid right down to the clan dagger, sword, shoestrings and clan whatchamacallit. Clan coat-of-arms, t-shirts and penny whistles were for sale everywhere you turned. Lots of attention to things like axe throwing and sword fighting. But let us not forget that these Highlanders being celebrated were pretty much extreme backwoods rednecks who lived in mud huts, constantly fought each other, or anyone else who happened by, ate things like haggis (sheep offal stuffed into sheep intestines), and were such an unruly and generally loutish lot that the Romans, having had enough of them, actually built a wall across the entire island just to keep them in! You people just stay over there, leave us alone and we'll leave you alone. OK? This would later become known as live and let live diplomacy.
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| Bagpipes. Bagpipes everywhere. Whole vending stands devoted to bagpipes. Bagpipe parts and proper attire. Even bagpipe cookies for the kids. Magnificent spectacle indeed but, if you've heard one you've pretty much heard them all. |
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| Did I mention there were bagpipes? |
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| Grunting and throwing things in the air seemed to be a favorite pastime. |
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| Authentic Highland food cart complete with authentic Highland deep fried Mars Bars. WTF? |
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| Border Collie demonstration. I really love these dogs. They are so intelligent and so in to what they are doing. But after watching a while it became apparent that this was a pretty well orchestrated animal act with the sheep playing a key supporting role. It was their job to eat hay and take a drink of water, and then sort of wander off in a group where they would await the collie to come and collect them and "herd" them back to the hay and water. Except for the hay and water station, they never strayed any further from each other than in this photo. Not a whole lot of herding for the dog to do but fun to watch none-the-less. |
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| As always at these affairs, my favorite thing is the music. Here our troubadour plays an authentic Highland banjo. How an instrument of African descent worked its way into the act I'm not quite sure but he was entertaining. |
So thus ends Mr. C's big adventure to the Highland Games. I must say that I was entertained for the hour-and-a-half or so it took me to take in everything and I might do it again some day, so long as old folks get in free.
so...boxers, briefs, or commando?
ReplyDeleteInquiring minds want to know... but not mine!
DeleteWhat, no pictures of the caber toss?
ReplyDeleteIf you enjoyed this, you MUST go to the Greenville Scottish Games in Greenville, SC.
We have sheep dog trials here every year, but I've never been because it isn't free, and I'm not that interested in dogs or sheep :-) There are other things to see, of course, and it wouldn't hurt too much to buy a ticket just for the photo ops.
ReplyDeleteYou singled out some good subjects, Mr. C. I hope you were able to clean out the bagpipe echos with some decent southern music on the way home :-)
Too funny! Good thing I wasn't there...bagpipes make me cry. I would have been a mess. LOL!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Stacey. I have been by your place but don't want to create any kind of Google account in order to leave a comment. Sorry.
DeleteThe right way is always commando and the kilt (en toto) is a rapidly moving single man living quarter for when you happened to want to steal sheep from another clans herd. My grandfather was a Stewart who was politely asked by the magistrate to leave the country of leave Edinburgh for jail (prison actually). Except for a book showing clan tartans he never talked about any of it in a good way. Always said he was an American. All I really know for sure is he was union man in the Chevrolet plants when it was a hard thing. That is a Scotsman. Don't look back and make the best out of what you got to work with today. He was a gentle grandfather but according to my grandmother who outlived him by 38 years...he was a true bad ass with convictions that ran deep. He'd laugh at this display...then show them how to throw an object of weight.
ReplyDeleteMy father was born in Scotland, but as far as I know, he never went to the Highland Games. Too bad. He would have enjoyed them. As a wee lass, my grandfather gave me a pint-sized set of bagpipes, but I never learned how to play them, so the noises I made with them sounded like just that... noise. Sounded like I was torturing someone.
ReplyDeleteI'm with PP. No caber toss? Nothing intimidates an enemy like a big guy flinging a tree at them.
ReplyDeleteOh, they had all of that and more. I figured I was pushing the limit with photos as it were.
DeleteI've always been fascinated by the Scottish Games (I assume they're the same thing as the Highland Games). Ironically, the Scottish Games used to be held at the Sonoma County (CA) fairgrounds, near where I lived. It was the fairgrounds' most heavily attended event every year. At the time I had no idea what the Scottish Games were; it was just an annual nuisance with the worst traffic nightmare imaginable once a year. About ten or fifteen years ago the Scottish Games moved to a larger venue, and sometime after that I learned more about them and decided it would be a fascinating event to go to. I've still never been.
ReplyDeleteCool stuff! I still think Bugs Bunny had it right about bagpipes, in one of his cartoons he thought it was an animal attacking someone.
ReplyDeleteYeah, irate Scots can send me hate mail.
I do like a man with a big caber.
ReplyDeleteI've gone to a couple of these - my mother is a big fan. But I'm not so much on bagpipes.
ReplyDeleteDeep fried Mars Bars?
ReplyDelete