Up Helly Aa

[Red_Hamish]

Hello chaps, well we had a very enjoyable evening last night at Lerwicks' Up Helly Aa. There was a procession through town in the morning, which I missed as I was away finalising my new employment, the Jarl squad took the Guizer Jarls' galley Breckon down to the dockside for  dispaly during the day before the squad participated in its civic duties  The e vening procession with the Jarl squad ant the other  guising squads with flaming torches lit was very impressive. Attached are a few of the galley prior to it being burnt and the sad but exhillerating sight of its demise in a firey glow. When you view at close hand the craftsmanship imbued in the building of the galley it seems a real travesty that such a worthy craft piece is destryoyed annually. The children are to young to enable us to appreciate the night of revellry which continued through to 8 am today and I must admit that I'm thankfull of that.

cheers

Jim

[Eddy Matthews]

I've seen the festival on TV many times Jim, but would love to be there for real one day....

[FWE]

hello Hamish Up Helly Aah finished at 8a.m?   Must be getting quiet in Shetland these days; no stamina! 

[Red_Hamish]

Hello FWE, the assumption that an 8 a.m. finish was achieved is, that is the time the halls where the "  entertainment  " is held, because they close then. I've anecdotal evidence the festivities went on right through to Thursday. Personally not even I could withstand that amount of whisky and beer.

cheers 

Jim

[Roderick Smith]

Melbourne Cup is the race which stops the Australian nation for a few minutes on the afternoon of the first Tuesday in November each year.
Flemington Racecourse is served by train, road (tram, Rolls Royce, stretched limousines, horse-drawn vehicles and other gimmicks), air (helicopter shuttles) and Maribyrnong River.  This is the day when Melbourne's second river comes alive.  Every low-profile charter vessel comes up from the city and from Docklands, with well-dressed racegoers sipping champagne.  Private vessels come from across the bay, and crawl up the river (4 kt or 5 kt limit).  Police set up radar traps to check the speed, and also a booze boat to check that skippers are not over 0.05% blood alcohol.  I took Jessie II to the 2006 cup, but with strong wind and rocky moorings, I continued upriver to picnic in shelter, then return to Williamstown.

Relevant to this thread: here is a Viking boat, sent up ceremonially by a Williamstown yacht or service club.  It isn't rowed, it is lashed alongside the propelling motor yacht.
At the end of the day, the 'vikings' might be as drunk as those on the Shetlands, but the boat will not be burnt, and will appear in another year.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor