Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

Saturday dawned sunny and actually fairly warm (if you were in the sun or out of the slight breeze) and so we got Kris to drop us off at Victoria Park for our small adventure.

Greeted at the gate by people checking the list to mark off our names and then moving past the only two clan tents that were set up. Pretty sure their are more than Buchanan's and MacDonald's clans in the province. That was a bit disappointing as I was hoping for a MacDougall tent. 

Greeted near the War Memorial 

By the piper practicing, we got there about the time that they were all being tested one at a time. The sound of bagpipes was all over the place. 

We decided to watch some of the Heavy Athletics at first, made our way to that area of the grounds.

We watched the Scots Hammer Throw, which is different from what we see during the Olympics. In this case it is a heavy metal ball attached to a chain. I would say this could be slightly more dangerous as the chain does not seem to be anchored to the ball very well. We were told that here in Canada most of the equipment is handmade.

It was very interesting to watch the different competitors and their unique way of tossing. Each one was slightly different, but the grunts as they let go were all pretty much the same.

We then went to the Pile of Bones Brewery tent to watch the Highland dancers. 

Here they are standing waiting to perform. I believe that there was at least 7 different dances performed by various members of the group. 

I took mostly videos of the dancing so I hope the one I posted here works. Mostly I was interested in the Highland Fling and the Sword Dance as those are the ones taught to me by my mother. Lord help me there is no way I could perform them now. 

We walked around and listened to some of the Pipe and Drum bands practicing next. My goodness they were from all over the province and one group was from Manitoba.

Then it was back to the Pile of Bones tent to listen to some of the fiddlers.

We went back to watch the athletics after a bit of a lunch, which left a great deal to be desired. I think we should have had the poutine, as no one seemed to be eating the hamburgers. Many seemed to be enjoying the poutine though.

In this event the competitors had to throw a heavy weight over the bar, standing backwards. They each got three chances. As the height was raised two feet after each round the number of men competing got lower and lower. 

And no hard hats or steel toed boots were worn. 

Harvey and I finally found a bench to sit on and while we could see the events the pictures are a bit hard to make out. 

This event saw the competitors using a pitchfork to throw a bag of straw over their shoulder. Once again the bar would be raised after each round. The competitor from Saskatoon won this event. 

Lastly came the caber toss....

I am only going to show one picture and I do wish this gentleman would have been running towards us instead of away.

This competitor was 65 years old and trying to qualify for the Worlds in the U.S. which would be taking place later this year. Gary didn't even start to take part in these events until he was 55. He was amazing, keeping up with the younger fellows and even being only the second person to toss the caber properly. I really hope that he makes it to the Masters at the Worlds.

We then watched a few of the pipe and drum bands as we slowly walked to the place where Kris would pick us up. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.