Bride of Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival, July 2000
Return the Third, EsquireI wasn't sure I was going to be able to attend, due to some health issues involving the potential discomfort of sitting in a car for a couple of hours to drive up to the Festival. And then, predicted weather made the whole enterprise sound "iffy", despite the rain-or-shine promo.
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Well, I went anyway. The weather people had promised intermittant rain, maybe heavy at times; I decided "intermittant" was promise enough, and I halted somewhere after Hartford to walk around in an abandoned Park and Ride in the drizzle for a bit.The weather was fine by the time Westfield was reached. Judging by the parking lot, a lot of people were in attendance. Certainly, not as many as the previous year, but quite a sizeable number, weather considering. At least this year wasn't one of those "shake 'n' bake, sizzle 'n' fry" times.
 I managed a bridie for lunch; very enjoyable. Their famous Scottish shortbread (the cinnamon and the plain were the highlights) came later. |
The souvenir program is quite an informative document -- styles of Highland dances are defined, as are the typical types of traditional Highland games (they left out golf, but that seems to be more modern...), the parts of Highland dress (the kilt is but the skirt), and info about types of dogs and livestolk which hail from Scotland. I also discovered from it that I'd missed the "Bonnie Knees Contest" -- which decides which man (presumably kilted) has the finest knees. Now, that woulda been interesting!
There was, as usual, a wide range of dogs and sheep present. At least the weather wouldn't be uncomfortable to these fur-clad critters. Until this year, I'd not been aware of the golden retriever's Scottish ancestry. A golden retriever club put on a show with competitions. The dogs were all glossy and well-brushed -- definitely golden.
There were at least three varieties of sheep, including one horned model (not pictured). The ones on the right are black-faced sheep.
To go along with the sheep, and tucked safely under a roof, were wool and spinning demonstrations. There was an area where children and others could try their hand at playing with a small loom.
Out of the blue, as I was walking about, a man convinced (probably with little difficulty) a crew of bagpipers to serenade his prospective fiancée as he formally got on bended knee to propose to her. Afterwards, she hugged him, stunned. I got a photo of this (the aftermath); if you are either party, contact me and I will get you a copy of the photo somehow.
There was also a booth devoted to the Laird of MacRogue, and his clan -- they do have an interesting website if you click on the link. A great place to visit for those with an intact sense of humor or two.
A promising crop of Scottish Clan Information Booths
