In Remembrance...

2 photos of my dearly-missed Dad, taken in the early '80's, both connected with Armistice Day parades of the past.

First one was taken in the yard at our old house, before a Remembrance Sunday parade (wasn't taken by me, probably by one of my brothers or sisters)... He looks so proud standing there in his medals:

And then a photo taken at the parade (not sure if this was the same year or not) - This time an official photo, taken by a local photographer, probably for the paper... Dad is second from the right in the front row:

I'm very proud of my Dad's wartime service... He was a dispatch rider with the T.A., and saw active service in the jungles of Burma with the 226 battery of the 101st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery (forgive me if I've not got that exactly right... Dad didn't really talk that much about his time there, and I don't blame him)...

Both his and my uncle's names are listed here, amongst men who served as part of the regiment (with thanks to Orkney Communities Image Library and contributor Peter Burges for use of the link).

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.