Braemar Highland Gathering

Our pipe band escort into the stadium

They all wear special tug-of-war shoes that they must go get at the tug-of-war supply shop.

This is the announcer who walks around commenting on all the events.  I'm pretty sure he knows all contestants in all the events by name.

A successful attempt at the weight over the bar.  The weight was 42lbs for the junior class.  This guy came in second at 16 feet, 6 inches.

The pipes of the Atholl Highlanders, the last private army in Europe.

The man in the hat is Lukas Wenta.  He's usually here with his brother Sebastian, but was on his own this year.  He was quite good at all the heavy events.

Another of the heavy events - the hammer throw.  This guy, Scott Ryder, was a monster.

The start of the hill run.  Look at the enthusiasm in their eyes!

You can follow the contestants, barely, as they run up the hill.

Not everyone can pull off a yellow tartan.

Her Majesty the Queen, with Philip on the left.

Now that we're all caught up on news from the Canadian trip, time to get back into boring, everyday Scottish life.  We did the usual post-vacation things - catching up on laundry, watering some deprived plants and tending to our garden.  The garden was a mixed bag this year.  We got a really good crop of parsnips - turned into a delicious curry-apple-parsnip soup by Fiona - and we managed to get a few cucumbers from a pot in the greenhouse, but the carrots were another abject failure and the beans, though tall and lush, were also a disappointment.

You could have expected we would carry the recuperation phase on into the first weekend back, but early Saturday morning we got dressed in our finest and headed out to Braemar to attend the Royal Highland Gathering.

The weather was once again quite good.  We had a little bit rain here and there, but that seemed to just make it a little more authentic.  By the end of the day, we had had enough sun to give me a decent sunburn.

The trip out to Braemar was quick and easy.  We hadn't been out that way in quite some time, so there was a lot of rubber-necking as the scenery whizzed past.  We parked again in the large, thistle-laden field and walked in through town to the fairgrounds.  A few hundred metres away from the entrance we ended up behind a pipe and drum band, who were in full swing and marching towards the entrance.  As we approached the gates a lot of the people behind us had to peel away to get tickets, and for a moment it seemed as if we got our own pipe and drum entrance.

We met our friends Erin and Holly in the grandstands and after moving around to try and get some decent pcitures of the tug-of-war, we settled down into our seats to watch the myriad of different events all going on at once.

I love the Braemar Gathering for this almost amateur type atmosphere - there are so many things going on at once that it seems like they are only one minor miscalculation away from a major catastrophe - like an intersection of the caber toss and 100m dash.  But it all works out and you're left with a homey feel that allows you to connect with some of the athletes.

We followed the tug-of-war as best we could.  It's always amusing to see the coaches of the individual military units that compete "encouraging" or "coaching" their charges.  When they come back for the finals, they're all in full dress uniform, screaming tactics.  And if you say, how the heck can a tug-of-war be tactical, well I can guarantee you that we saw an excellent use of tug-of-war tactics in some of the matches.  I think we even saw the equivalent of the rope-a-dope strategy Ali used to beat Foreman.

We also had the heavy events right in front of us.  They are always fun to watch.  It started with the junior class, which is contestants under 25.  They were impressive and we even got to see some records - including an unofficial record in a new event we invented, how deep can you make the weight in the weight-over-the-bar event sink into the soft, wet ground.  Later in the day the big boys took over.  Sorry, Mom, Sebastien Wenta wasn't there this year, although his brother Lukas did quite well, running neck and neck with a Briton and a guy from California.  There were more record performances, but when it comes to picking up 50 pound weights and flinging them for height or distance, I'm easily impressed.

There were a multitude of other events going on as well - Highland dancing, 100 & 200 yard sprints, relay races, triple jump, high jump and a competition between drum majors.  In between the pipe and drum bands would march out onto the field and play, adding to the atmosphere.

The Hill Run was also done.  It's always fun to see the enthusiasm with which people do the first lap in the stadium and compare it to the bone-weary exhaustion you see when they eventually make it back.  It is neat to be able to track the progess of tiny little dots as the crawl up the mountain path behind the stadium.

Twice during the day you get treated to a massed pipe and drum performance.  All the bands group together and do a lap of the stadium, playing their hearts out.  I'm a huge fan of bagpipes, I always imagine what that sound did to enemy soldiers behind the next hill or in the next trench.  It's quite intimidating.  Especially when you combine it with the big booms of the bass drums and the rattle of the snare drums.  We've taken some video.  Once i get it all edited down, we'll post that as well.

For some people, the highlight of the day is the arrival of the Queen and her party.  This year she was wearing a cyan ensemble and had brought with her the Duke of Edinburgh and our Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his wife Samantha.  Close attention is usually paid to Sam Cam's attire, so I think a few people were disappointed with a brown suit.

We left at about 4pm, feeling the effects of too much sun and a full day on a hard wooden bench.  Once again, we loved the Braemar experience and would recommend it to anyone at least once in their life.  Put on your kilt and your home-made cable knit sweater, wrap up some bacon rolls for lunch and go immerse yourself in a full day of Scottish pride in their culture in an atmosphere where every good effort is applauded.