Kirkwall Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 2008

Viki & I were at this last night and she took a few bits of video.

Except I took the first one, which is Kirkwall City Pipe Band playing on Broad Street prior to everyone going into the Cathedral:

So, after the service in the Cathedral, the local & Norwegian dignatories and school children portraying St Lucy and her attendants head back outside again for the switching on of the lights on the tree that our twin region of Hordaland in Norway donated to Orkney, as they have done for the last 25 years...

And finally, the Hordaland convenor gives the countdown, and the lights are switched on!

The Viking Invasion Of Orkney, 2008 - Part 3

Last lot, I promise!

And now we're down at the Peedie Sea, and the galley is burning:

The Viking Invasion Of Orkney - Part 2(c)

Yep, still the galley burning... hope you're not getting too bored...

But I took lots of photos, and I'm quite proud of how some of them came out, so I'm showing them off!

The Pipe Band passing through the "Vikings":

Isn't he a lovely jolly Viking? I can't imagine him pillaging anybody! (Okay, he's one of the Pipe Band on loan to the Guizers):


And I didn't know Vikings wore such stylish spectacles!

The Viking Invasion Of Orkney 2008 - Part 2(b)

More from the galley burning, just to get these out of the way so I can move on to tonight's bonfire and fireworks display:

Still on Broad Street, and concentrating on the "Vikings" this time:

The Viking Invasion Of Orkney, 2008 - Part 2(a)

Ooops... been neglecting this blog a bit again... I meant to post these ages ago.

More from the Pipe Band / Up Helly Aa replica Viking galley burning last month:

The first appearance of the Guizers... Including the Guizer Jarl (with the winged helmet):

Aargh - lock up your daughters!


Lighting up the torches - you can't see much detail, but I like the dramatic red and black:

The Viking Invasion Of Orkney, 2008 - Part 1

On Saturday night, during a miraculous brief break amid the bad weather, Kirkwall City Pipe Band were joined by the 2008 Lerwick Up Helly Aa squad as a "thank you" for the Pipe Band playing during the Up Helly Aa festivities in Lerwick earlier this year (the connection being that the daughter of the Guiser Jarl for the year is a member of our Pipe Band)...

The Pipe Band and modern-day "Vikings" paraded on Broad Street, the Up Helly Aa squad with flaming torches and a replica Viking galley... before the galley was taken to the Peedie Sea and ceremoniously burnt.

The first installment of photos shows the Pipe Band on Broad Street:




The girl at the left in the front row of this photo is the Guiser Jarl's daughter, I think.


I'll be posting more photos, showing the "Vikings" and the burning of the galley over the next few days... but if you can't wait, you can check out my Flickr photostream here, where all the photos are.

KCPB - Men In Skirts...

Last night I spent 2 and a bit very pleasant hours at "Ivan On The Apron" - an open-air concert with Kirkwall City Pipe Band and special guest, Orkney-born musician, Ivan Drever (former member of Wolfstone).

The "Apron" in question is a paved area with 3 steps around the edge, leading up to the front door of St Magnus Cathedral.

It had been a lovely day yesterday, so I decided I would go along... and it was a fantastic couple of hours! I got quite close to the railings at the side of the steps, but there was no pushing or jostling anyway... Just a couple of hundred people, aged from mere babes in arms up to grannies and granddads in wheelchairs, enjoying the music... some standing, some sitting on the Kirk Green as the sun went down (and the midges eventually buggered off)...

The first photo was taken just after the performance started at 8pm, so it was still reasonably light then:

This was a bit later, and you can see Ivan Drever at the mic, accompanied by one or two of the Pipe Band members:


This was a lot later, nearer 10pm, and it was dark by that time... although that didn't detract from the performance at all:


If you happen to have been there, and have stumbled upon this... Wasn't it a brilliant night?

Men In Skirts!

LOL... on County Show Day here, we were "lucky" enough to come out of my house door just in time to see the Pipe Band go past!

Viki was very excited over the men in skirts... even if they were wearing their wet-weather gear over the tartan!

She took this photo, amongst others:

It was a real struggle to keep her from running away with them!