Highland Festival

On Saturday Peter told me about the Harpenden Highland Gathering which was going on today.  I needed to do laundry but before I did I caught the train to Harpenden and walked over to Rothamsten Park for the fun.

I just missed the entry of the massed bands and opening ceremony which included the pipe corp.  I tracked down Peter and the girls at the main stage.  Maria and Anna's dance studio were putting on a performance of Wizard of Oz.  They looked so cute in their costumes.  Maria was a faerie and Anna was a flying monkey. 


While the dance performance was going on, The Black Watch with their traditional uniforms and black powder muskets marched into one of the arena's and put on a show of marching and firing their muskets.

The other arena had all the traditional Highland games including Putting the Stone, Weight Over the Bar, Weight for Distance, Tossing the Sheaf, The Caber, and Hammer Throwing.  The Caber is the most recognized of the Scottish games which is tossing a large log.  I always thought it was tossed for distance, but it is actually a precision throw which is judge by where the log lands in relation to the thrower.


Before Peter left he introduced me to the "99".  It was quite good, the UK whipped ice cream is more like a thicker whipped cream then US soft serve ice cream.

They had a solo pipe competition going on during the festival and I was able to catch a few of those in the afternoon.  I love the sound of bagpipes.  Bagpipes make such a unique sound that I have always found it gets my blood pumping.  Images of the highlanders charging into battle with the pipes blowing are always conjured up whenever I hear them.