Men in Skirts

I visited the Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival today. The weather was fab- a gusty breeze, bright sunshine, deep blue sky with a dotting of little cute clouds. Admission was not as free as the below mentioned Folk Festival, but it was too nice a day to sit in when there was Irish music to be heard.

This will be a picture heavy editorial, as pictures can only describe the scene well enough-- by the way, some of them do NOT wear anything beneath the kilt. I know this because of the wind, and try as I might I never captured a perfect kilt-in-the-wind shot. You'll have to take my word for it.



There were, of course, some colorful characters (other than the crazy girl trying to get a picture of wind-blown kilts):







I was vastly amused by this piper with his super authentic traditional Scottish water bottle holder. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the guys on Braveheart wearing one of these. (It doesn't take much to amuse me, really....)



And there were parades, of course....





And the main event, strong Scottish and Irish blooded lads throwing ridiculously heavy objects through the air. I really got into the "Weight Over Bar" competition (actual name of event-- describes EXACTLY what they were trying to do) and cheered loudly for the gargantuam "Big Country"-- a hairy fellow who heaved the 28 Ib weight over a bar 13 feet high. He tried to do 14 feet, but it just kept hitting the bar. The other one I watched was "Scottish Hammer Throwing"- the winner threw the 22 Ib weight 121 feet.





And yes, there was some good music to boot. And good kettle corn, but I didn't get a picture of myself pigging out on Kettle corn--you're out of luck on that one! There was a group from Scotland by the name of "Albannach"-- a pipe and drum band that broke a whole lot of stereotypes. They looked more like a heavy metal band when they took the stage, and the drum beat they sent through the crowd could be felt in the vibrations of the mud beneath your feet. They rocked. I own their CD now.



I'm gonna go listen to my CD now, and annoy the neighbors with crazy drum and piper tunes. I could love a man in a skirt, really, especially if he played a drum....