Up-Helly-Aa jollies
Posted: Sunday, 03 February 2008 |
A fine and fiery time was had in Lerwick for Up-Helly-Aa! It was my first time, so I spent the morning walking about the town. The build up was fantastic, hunnerds of folk walking about, brilliant shop window displays, kids everywhere in Viking hats. I got a text message from the man at the Fort reporting ‘pipes and cheering in middle distance’, so down I went and there was the beautiful boat, the Jarl Squad and the Kirkwall City Pipe Band!
The band was much in evidence throughout the event – turned out that the Guizer Jarl’s daughter was in the band and the top man had invited the pipers to come and play. They’d all grown beards (maybe no’ the lassies) for the occasion – a most impressive array of facial hair.
So. There’s this Jarl Squad, and the leader is the Guizer Jarl. Apparently to be a member of the squad is a great honour, often runs in families, and you prepare for years to be in it. The costumes cost thousands of pounds and they are very impressive. A friend told me that they don’t just wear them the one night, they have duties and visits and cultural events for the whole year, so they get to parade about in their chain-mail with their weapons and shields quite a bit. During the day they were in town, marching, singing, dancing about and being photographed with small children!
The Guizer Jarl (Roy Leask this year) has to take on the character of a Viking from history, and this year he chose to be Kol Kalison. If you’ve ever been to St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney, you’ll maybe have heard of him. He was married to Magnus’s sister, and his son was Kali Kolson, also known as Rognvald. Rognvald was responsible for the building of the cathedral, and his father was very involved in the construction of the building. In St Rognvald’s chapel at the back of the cathedral there are three superb wooden carvings – the one on the left holding the plumb line – that’s Kol. The Orkney connection was well noted. On The Proclamation, a muckle big notice that goes up in the town on the morning of Up-Helly-Aa, it is warned that ‘Defacers of our bill will have their bags squeezed and their pipes blawn by a big hairy Orcadian!’.
The Proclamation was full of in-jokes and digs at the council, and various people, and most of it went over my head, but it was still funny. There were dozens of folk reading it and taking photos, and it was printed in the programme.
The programme is only issued on the morning of the event. It’s all secret until the day! More of this later…………..
For many months, various craftsmen have been working in secrecy on the galley, the wooden Viking ship that is to be burned at the climax of the evening’s events. I went down and had a good look, took lots of pics, and was very chuffed to find that the gunwales were decorated with this little beauty – the Maeshowe Dragon, a creature very close to my heart, as Ruthodanort and Muness Views will know!
I also spotted this wee scone with her little knitted Viking.
There is also a Junior Squad with their own galley, and they too marched through the town, led by the Pipe band. They wore fantastic boots (‘furry boots ye fae?’ etc) and I ran behind then as they went.
There was a lot of cheering – ‘Cheers for the Pipe band! Hooray! (They don’t actually say hooray – it’s more of a Rrrraaa! sort of noise) Cheers for Fort Charlotte! Hooray! Cheers for Robert’s Mum! Hooray! Hooray for the chippy! Hooray!’ They were marching quite fast and my wee leggies couldn’t quite get to the front enough to take a decent photo, but they were very exuberant and obviously having a magic time.
I was on a mission to find a pair of shoes, but I got seriously waylaid by the knitting shops! My eyes were just about popping out of my head. I bought a row counter for myself and my friend who was looking after the cats whilst we were away – last of the big spenders, me. I couldn’t believe the number of folk about – the Tourist office were doing walks and talks throughout the day on the history of Up-Helly-Aa, and I spotted a Shetland guide that we’d met a couple of years ago on my first trip. We had a chat and off I went into the streets again. The Jarl Squad were down at the museum later, and after the man had finished work we went down to see them. The new museum is superb, I thought. Owes a lot to the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, but none the worse for that in my opinion.
I spent far too long gazing at the spinning/dyeing/knitwear section than is healthy. We were most chuffed to find a Jarl Squad member sitting down for a cup of tea.
During my wanders I saw several Orkney folk, including one old chap who had held a lifelong ambition to see Up-Helly-Aa. According to his daughter he had been to Shetland once before, but it was in a U-boat.
After a swift dash back to the batcave for a snack, we parked up in central Lerwick and walked to find a good spot for the parade. Our pitch was great – a stone wall and a handy street sign to hang on to! Fantastic view up and down the street and good height for seeing the galley. There were so many people, loads of kids on shoulders, everybody really excited, and the raven banner flying overhead. One lady told me that it is flown from the town hall at Up-Helly-Aa, but it is also flown, at half mast, if any of the previous Guizer Jarls die.
There was a strange and ominous red glare emerging from behind the buildings as the torches were lit. Gradually, bit by bit, all the street lights were put out and I was just shaking with excitement. Then the procession started, as all the different squads emerged with their burning brands and marched through the streets. You see, there was not just one squad….no. There were 47 in total! Each squad varies in number but is usually between 15-30 men, and they were all carrying blazing torches. In total there were 941 guizers, of which 875 were carrying torches (info from the programme, fact fans)! It looked like the streets of Lerwick were a river of fire.
They marched up and down, doubling up, back-tracking, all beautifully organised and choreographed, with a great deal of obvious pride in the occasion. We had fun spotting all the squads – I think I had imagined that they would all be dressed as Vikings, but not so. This is all a big secret too, they dress up in all sorts of costumes, and I couldn’t believe my eyes to see Whirling Dervishes, Top Cat and his Gang, some Pythonesque Knights and several large chickens. All carry burning torches, of course.
They were all singing too, the Up-Helly-Aa song, music provided by an excellent brass band. Here’s the chorus, to stir the blood…..!
Grand old Vikings ruled upon the ocean vast,
Their brave battle-songs still thunder on the blast;
Their wild war-cry comes a-ringing from the past;
We answer it "A-oi"!
Roll their glory down the ages,
Sons of warriors and sages,
When the fight for Freedom rages,
Be bold and strong as they!
As they march, a team of strong young lads pull the galley ship through the streets, with the Guizer Jarl atop, shaking his axe and rousing his men on to glory! At one point the galley was stopped right in front of us, and the little boy next to us on his granddad’s shoulders was just about exploding with delight. As far as the eyes could see, up and down the street, was this great stream of fire and chanting men – I really had no idea of the scale of this event!
Eventually, every man made his way into the park where the galley was to be burnt. The ship was dragged in and the squads circled it, singing the Galley song. After a thousand guizers had made it through the gates, we could see the guizer Jarl still standing proud on his ship, in the middle of a sea of fire.
By this time I was getting quite choked up at the whole thing, and then they sang a very melancholy and proud song called The Norseman’s 91Èȱ¬ – no-one knows where the words come from, and the tune is a traditional Norwegian melody. I was very emotional when the Jarl stepped down from the galley and the torches started to fly in! The flames were all blurry for some reason – just as well I wasn’t taking the photos at that point.
It took just a few minutes for over 800 torches to fly through the air and starting burning the galley. A barrage of fireworks went off overhead, and the spectacle had reached its climax. The ship caught fast, the flag started to singe, and the mast toppled, but it took longer for the prow to catch alight. We left it blazing and headed for the TA hall.
There were 12 halls, all over the town, all hosting parties (strictly ticketed, wristbands and everything!). Each squad (all 46, plus the Jarl Squad) had to visit every hall during the course of the night and perform some sort of song, dance or skit – again this is all top secret stuff and they don’t tell anyone beforehand what they are doing. We arrived at our hall and had no sooner sat down that two fine figures hove into view, demanding to know if I was wearing a dragon brooch! We were swept up into the metaphorical bosom of Ruthodanort and Muness Views, and taken to join the Unst crew, who made us feel very welcome. It was most helpful having R and MV there to explain hall etiquette, and I can assure you they were very well behaved! At about 9.30pm the first squad arrived, did their piece, then the band struck up and we got a dance. The Boston Two-step featured strongly for the rest of the night. We saw about 23 squads in total before we bailed out, and I would not do them full justice by trying to describe the acts! A lot of them seemed to feature men dressed up as women – not unlike our own dear Shopping Week here in Stromness. ‘Oh yes,’ commented a certain blogger. ‘It’s not called Transvestite Tuesday for nothing.’ Hopefully these photos will give you some idea.
At about 1.30am we had to go. It turns out that everyone in Lerwick has the day off, including kids (no school!) except for the poor so-and-sos digging holes in Fort Charlotte.
When the man turned up for work the next day, the party was still going and the last of the squads had just left. I really wish I could had stayed the whole night, but maybe next time!
This seems an awfully long blog, but I wanted to get it all down before the memory started to fade, and give those who have never been a ‘virgin’s-eye’ view of Up-helly-Aa. Anyway, if you have made it to the end – well done! You’re probably as knackered as I was.
The band was much in evidence throughout the event – turned out that the Guizer Jarl’s daughter was in the band and the top man had invited the pipers to come and play. They’d all grown beards (maybe no’ the lassies) for the occasion – a most impressive array of facial hair.
So. There’s this Jarl Squad, and the leader is the Guizer Jarl. Apparently to be a member of the squad is a great honour, often runs in families, and you prepare for years to be in it. The costumes cost thousands of pounds and they are very impressive. A friend told me that they don’t just wear them the one night, they have duties and visits and cultural events for the whole year, so they get to parade about in their chain-mail with their weapons and shields quite a bit. During the day they were in town, marching, singing, dancing about and being photographed with small children!
The Guizer Jarl (Roy Leask this year) has to take on the character of a Viking from history, and this year he chose to be Kol Kalison. If you’ve ever been to St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney, you’ll maybe have heard of him. He was married to Magnus’s sister, and his son was Kali Kolson, also known as Rognvald. Rognvald was responsible for the building of the cathedral, and his father was very involved in the construction of the building. In St Rognvald’s chapel at the back of the cathedral there are three superb wooden carvings – the one on the left holding the plumb line – that’s Kol. The Orkney connection was well noted. On The Proclamation, a muckle big notice that goes up in the town on the morning of Up-Helly-Aa, it is warned that ‘Defacers of our bill will have their bags squeezed and their pipes blawn by a big hairy Orcadian!’.
The Proclamation was full of in-jokes and digs at the council, and various people, and most of it went over my head, but it was still funny. There were dozens of folk reading it and taking photos, and it was printed in the programme.
The programme is only issued on the morning of the event. It’s all secret until the day! More of this later…………..
For many months, various craftsmen have been working in secrecy on the galley, the wooden Viking ship that is to be burned at the climax of the evening’s events. I went down and had a good look, took lots of pics, and was very chuffed to find that the gunwales were decorated with this little beauty – the Maeshowe Dragon, a creature very close to my heart, as Ruthodanort and Muness Views will know!
I also spotted this wee scone with her little knitted Viking.
There is also a Junior Squad with their own galley, and they too marched through the town, led by the Pipe band. They wore fantastic boots (‘furry boots ye fae?’ etc) and I ran behind then as they went.
There was a lot of cheering – ‘Cheers for the Pipe band! Hooray! (They don’t actually say hooray – it’s more of a Rrrraaa! sort of noise) Cheers for Fort Charlotte! Hooray! Cheers for Robert’s Mum! Hooray! Hooray for the chippy! Hooray!’ They were marching quite fast and my wee leggies couldn’t quite get to the front enough to take a decent photo, but they were very exuberant and obviously having a magic time.
I was on a mission to find a pair of shoes, but I got seriously waylaid by the knitting shops! My eyes were just about popping out of my head. I bought a row counter for myself and my friend who was looking after the cats whilst we were away – last of the big spenders, me. I couldn’t believe the number of folk about – the Tourist office were doing walks and talks throughout the day on the history of Up-Helly-Aa, and I spotted a Shetland guide that we’d met a couple of years ago on my first trip. We had a chat and off I went into the streets again. The Jarl Squad were down at the museum later, and after the man had finished work we went down to see them. The new museum is superb, I thought. Owes a lot to the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, but none the worse for that in my opinion.
I spent far too long gazing at the spinning/dyeing/knitwear section than is healthy. We were most chuffed to find a Jarl Squad member sitting down for a cup of tea.
During my wanders I saw several Orkney folk, including one old chap who had held a lifelong ambition to see Up-Helly-Aa. According to his daughter he had been to Shetland once before, but it was in a U-boat.
After a swift dash back to the batcave for a snack, we parked up in central Lerwick and walked to find a good spot for the parade. Our pitch was great – a stone wall and a handy street sign to hang on to! Fantastic view up and down the street and good height for seeing the galley. There were so many people, loads of kids on shoulders, everybody really excited, and the raven banner flying overhead. One lady told me that it is flown from the town hall at Up-Helly-Aa, but it is also flown, at half mast, if any of the previous Guizer Jarls die.
There was a strange and ominous red glare emerging from behind the buildings as the torches were lit. Gradually, bit by bit, all the street lights were put out and I was just shaking with excitement. Then the procession started, as all the different squads emerged with their burning brands and marched through the streets. You see, there was not just one squad….no. There were 47 in total! Each squad varies in number but is usually between 15-30 men, and they were all carrying blazing torches. In total there were 941 guizers, of which 875 were carrying torches (info from the programme, fact fans)! It looked like the streets of Lerwick were a river of fire.
They marched up and down, doubling up, back-tracking, all beautifully organised and choreographed, with a great deal of obvious pride in the occasion. We had fun spotting all the squads – I think I had imagined that they would all be dressed as Vikings, but not so. This is all a big secret too, they dress up in all sorts of costumes, and I couldn’t believe my eyes to see Whirling Dervishes, Top Cat and his Gang, some Pythonesque Knights and several large chickens. All carry burning torches, of course.
They were all singing too, the Up-Helly-Aa song, music provided by an excellent brass band. Here’s the chorus, to stir the blood…..!
Grand old Vikings ruled upon the ocean vast,
Their brave battle-songs still thunder on the blast;
Their wild war-cry comes a-ringing from the past;
We answer it "A-oi"!
Roll their glory down the ages,
Sons of warriors and sages,
When the fight for Freedom rages,
Be bold and strong as they!
As they march, a team of strong young lads pull the galley ship through the streets, with the Guizer Jarl atop, shaking his axe and rousing his men on to glory! At one point the galley was stopped right in front of us, and the little boy next to us on his granddad’s shoulders was just about exploding with delight. As far as the eyes could see, up and down the street, was this great stream of fire and chanting men – I really had no idea of the scale of this event!
Eventually, every man made his way into the park where the galley was to be burnt. The ship was dragged in and the squads circled it, singing the Galley song. After a thousand guizers had made it through the gates, we could see the guizer Jarl still standing proud on his ship, in the middle of a sea of fire.
By this time I was getting quite choked up at the whole thing, and then they sang a very melancholy and proud song called The Norseman’s 91Èȱ¬ – no-one knows where the words come from, and the tune is a traditional Norwegian melody. I was very emotional when the Jarl stepped down from the galley and the torches started to fly in! The flames were all blurry for some reason – just as well I wasn’t taking the photos at that point.
It took just a few minutes for over 800 torches to fly through the air and starting burning the galley. A barrage of fireworks went off overhead, and the spectacle had reached its climax. The ship caught fast, the flag started to singe, and the mast toppled, but it took longer for the prow to catch alight. We left it blazing and headed for the TA hall.
There were 12 halls, all over the town, all hosting parties (strictly ticketed, wristbands and everything!). Each squad (all 46, plus the Jarl Squad) had to visit every hall during the course of the night and perform some sort of song, dance or skit – again this is all top secret stuff and they don’t tell anyone beforehand what they are doing. We arrived at our hall and had no sooner sat down that two fine figures hove into view, demanding to know if I was wearing a dragon brooch! We were swept up into the metaphorical bosom of Ruthodanort and Muness Views, and taken to join the Unst crew, who made us feel very welcome. It was most helpful having R and MV there to explain hall etiquette, and I can assure you they were very well behaved! At about 9.30pm the first squad arrived, did their piece, then the band struck up and we got a dance. The Boston Two-step featured strongly for the rest of the night. We saw about 23 squads in total before we bailed out, and I would not do them full justice by trying to describe the acts! A lot of them seemed to feature men dressed up as women – not unlike our own dear Shopping Week here in Stromness. ‘Oh yes,’ commented a certain blogger. ‘It’s not called Transvestite Tuesday for nothing.’ Hopefully these photos will give you some idea.
At about 1.30am we had to go. It turns out that everyone in Lerwick has the day off, including kids (no school!) except for the poor so-and-sos digging holes in Fort Charlotte.
When the man turned up for work the next day, the party was still going and the last of the squads had just left. I really wish I could had stayed the whole night, but maybe next time!
This seems an awfully long blog, but I wanted to get it all down before the memory started to fade, and give those who have never been a ‘virgin’s-eye’ view of Up-helly-Aa. Anyway, if you have made it to the end – well done! You’re probably as knackered as I was.
Comments
And what a brilliant 'virgin's eye view' it is too! The pic of the big orange glow and the toon hall is very atmospheric. I'm sure mjc, Moo and Hyper-Borean will particularly enjoy the monks in trainers, for varying reasons! And the babyviking escorted by his two viking mammies in mufti ...aaaawwww... There are minor disappointments...no photo of TC and his gang...and Ruthodanort and Muness being so awfully well-behaved...maybe the public holiday doesn't extend to Unst?
Flying Cat from an admiring glance
ok. well done SD! my blog of friday has gone missing. (IBHQ???) the photo where you say you have no idea what is going on... the photo of the polis men swatting a bug ... I had this one explained to me... Its about the new and very controversial music venue which has already been named "Mareel". lots of folk are very VERY much in favour of it - it would be a great place to host music, and to record stuff (I'm not sure about the exact details here) but its as usual way WAY over the top as far as design and cost goes. it would also mean that all smaller venues such as pubs, clubs and halls would become redundant. its centralisation of facilities as usual - we complain bitterly if Scotland does it to us, but we do it to ourselves too. ANYWAY there was a councillor - who is nicknamed the Flea - who said a bomb should be put under the plans of the proposed music venue. and so you have the banner saying Mareel, you have a bomb, you have several Fleas, and you have the swat police who are swatting the fleas to get rid of them. All very entertaining!
scallowawife from shetland
Wonderful blog, SD, you made the event come alive. A great explanation for us foreigners! Thank you. (And BTW did you buy any wool?)
Jill from EK
Excellent blog SD, and it was great to have your company that evening.
Ruthodanort from Unst
We're out again to Uyeasound in Unst for their Up Helly Aa this Friday (Feb 8th).
Muness from Fetlar
Whar's me comment Carol? Is it oot rapin and pillagin with the vikings? It's no here anyway.(Yet)
Ruthodanort from Unst
Great blog---thank you so much!!!
Kathy from USA
Thank you Scallowawife! It is now much clearer, especially the bit about the bomb - we could not work out why the flies were throwing bombs around! Muness - have a top time on Friday, one day I would love to attend the more enlightened lassies-allowed Unst event. All the best.
Stromness Dragon from Slightly more in the know
Very nice photos, SD. Looks like wonderful fun. The squads must be a riot by the looks of your photos. And until now I thought all there was to the Up Helly was a score of vikings torching a wreck of a boat, and then getting a few drams ... Great show. Do lots of folks who do not live somewhere on the islands come?
mjc from NM,USA
Reply to Flying Cat (whose intellectual close friends get to call him FC). Alas we only saw the Top Cat Gang in the parade, as we left before they arrived at the hall. I'm sure they performed most eff-ect-ual-ly.
Stromness Dragon from A cartoon garbage can
You can call me FC SD, seeing as how your own intellectual poetic qualifications are so tickety-boo...
Flying Cat from A Wildean Plato
Ferful grand tae see me comment back fae its travels.
Ruthodanort from Unst
Lucky Ruth...where's mine?
Flying Cat from seeking 'em here, seeking 'em there
I had a dance with one of the cats, FC, I had a dance...
scallowawife from purring quietly
Have faith, Ruth., the postman always makes the rounds, and that's why, methinks, the letters/postings get lost. Kidding, Carol from IBHQ. Seriously though, what's the hold up? The spam filter needs declogging? Oh, ooo, for mighty drain-o.
mjc from NM,USA
I think there are two of mine now lost in space, but I'll keep on waitin and hopin and dreamin and...
Flying Cat from I'm a cat and I want my commnents
Alas, the spam filter doesn't quite know where it's at now that February is upon us. Maybe the longer days are sending it into a tizzy I don't know. Rest assured, we're looking into it.
Carol from IBHQ
...and finding things too...WELL DONE!!
Flying Cat from sookin' up tae Carol
Brilliant blog! I too, was up for my first full UHA experience last week (saw the procession whilst up wi work some 10y ago - so it took a while (i.e FAR too long!) to get back to do it "properly"!) Was in the TA hall too, and managed somehow to last the pace until 8:30. I think the whole experience was so surreal I forgot what time/day/planet it was! A thoroughly amazing experience - three cheers for everyone involved!!!! :o)
Sheenz from SneckyBackSooth
Scallowa - I am soooooo jealous! Do you know which one it was? Choo Choo? Benny the Ball? The great TC himself? *swoon*
Stromness Dragon from House of envy
Thanks Sheenz for your comment. Well done for lasting the whole night! You'd have seen the diggers arriving for work the next morning, then.
Stromness Dragon from Back sooth also (Orkney!)
Cheers and aye, SD, I wondered fir a minute or two whether it wis anither squad on the wye in!!! Heeheehee!!!
Sheenz from Still Recovering!
Oh really. Was one of these geezers daring to impersonate ME?? Tcha!
Flying Cat from a little flattery goes a long way
great pics and great blog,thank you
carol from hame at last
Well that is as close as I've been! Thank you for the lovely trip! Would love to see it in person some day. Guess the closest (and not even close) would have been Guy Fawkes!
macq from nmtoo
So. Shetland has Up Helly Aa (several). Lewis has the legendary Fank (and enough gossip to generate a whole year of excitement). Poor old Strommers has Shopping Week. It's hardly the same, is it? Mind you, we do have the folk festival and that has been known to attract some strange characters, hem hem.
Stromness Dragon from thinking hard
Kirkwall has the baa [particularly appropriate next year, which, as Calum. points out, will be that of the Cheviot Ewe]. Gimme Stromness any day, and Lewis/Harris never on Sunday. Oh yes, Kirkwall does have THE tree ...
mjc from NM,USA
Fair dos, mjc. And who could forget our stupendous Red Cross Shop. If you wait long enough everything you ever need in your whole life will come up for sale within its hallowed walls, as FC knows.
Stromness Dragon from nowhere else I'd rather be
Well...almost everything. A photo of two hunky diggers appeared in last week's Shetland Times, but faces were not visible... You don't get hunky diggers in the Red Cross Shop, but Dragons occasionally pop in...on the way to the Lair...
Flying Cat from just wondering
Was the dragon wearing a tarpaulin, FC?! Or is the tarpaulin a Ness fetish, not a Stromness one?
mjc from NM,USA
Tarpaulin? That's my jacket, cheeky so and so. Anyway, it never rains here, so no need.
Stromness dragon from high dudgeon
Honestly, three nice sunny days and we don't need rainwear any more! What a glass-half-full attitude.
Flying Cat from waxin ma jaikit
Waxing the jacket? A Barbour, is it FC? Waxing may keep the morning dew out, but what about the accumulated smell of years? A new product? Wax and deodorizes at the same time?! Everytime I see a Barbour, I reach for the deodorant.
mjc from NM,USA
I have my own built-in deodorant or so it smells to me...heaven scent...
Flying Cat from Ba-ba-ba, Ba-Barbour-Ann
Life in Stromness, writing stuff, staring out of the window, history, growing veg at the allotment.
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