Up Helly Aa…

My big 50^th birthday excursion to the far northern reaches of the British Isles took place in late January.

To start with Sue and I travelled with Deb by plane from Gatwick to Glasgow, where we met Chris and Carole at our hotel, the Holiday Inn Theatreland conveniently located near the bus and train stations. We had a couple of drinks in the bar before venturing our heading towards the Merchant area of town (on the recommendation of the concierge) where we ate at The Corinthian, a rather ornate ballroom of a place.

On the advice of our friendly waiter we took cabs to The Howlin Wolf blues bar which was a crowded place, full of noise and fun. Here Bill and Linda met us after flying up separately. We enjoyed the music of an accomplished duo before turning in for the evening.

Next morning we started out early and went over to the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park. It is a relatively new building built to an old design by the celebrated designer Rennie Mackintosh and it is a fabulous building set in nice grounds surrounded by sculptures.

After this we returned to the city centre and went to the Willow Tea Rooms (another Mackintosh building) for lunch where we meet Jodie and Andy. Our party was starting to swing now with the application of some alcohol and more company.

Some of us ventured of to the Hunterian Art Gallery at the Glasgow University for a spot more culture before meeting up together at Ashton Lane where we had a few more drinks in the Wee Pub at theUbiquitous Chip where Jamie met us.

We then went to eat at The Grosvenor Café next to cinema of the same name. A large exciting place with an interesting vaulted ceiling.

Back at the hotel we had some more drinks and Jamie and I did a Glenfiddich whisky tasting.

The following morning we made plans to move on to the next stage of our tour. Jamie and Deb went with Andy and Jodie in their car while Sue and I went to the Queen St Station to catch a train. Chris and Carole and Bill and Linda returned home.

Those of us that were continuing on met up again in Aberdeen at the Jurys Inn Bar where we also met Paul and Lorraine. Together we took the ferry to Lerwick. We played a few games including Cards Against Humanity for a few hours until we turned in to our boys and girls rooms. Sometime during the night Jodie ‘fell’ off the top bunk (or sleep walked) in the girls cabin and injured herself and Lorraine and Deb in the bunks below. After 14hrs we arrived in the morning at Lerwick.

We were met by our hostess, Shelley, and were taken to our accommodation in West Baila Street. A nice large and well-appointed house up on the hill overlooking the town.

We picked up some supplies and explored the area in smaller groups. Jamie, Paul and I visited the fabulous ancient Clickimin Broch nearby, a mystical and baffling place.

Later on we all went into town and had a drink in the bar at The Lounge bar where we sampled a few of the many local brews.

On Burns Night we had with haggis (including a vegetarian alternative), tatties and neaps and attempted in an embarrassing way to address the haggis by reciting the largely unpronounceable poem.

Andy took Sue, Deb and I out on a field trip to visit Scalloway (castle) and then Meal and Bannamin beaches. On the way we saw some old bothies and plenty of dramatic scenery.

Much of our downtime was spent playing the various games I brought and drinking heartily.

On the morning of Up Helly Aa it was raining heavily and we were concerned about the conditions. But it cleared up as we made our way into town. There we saw the youth squads burning their galley and up on the hill we passed the main galley waiting with some of its entourage for the start of the parade.

In town we found a place for a quick drink before staking our place out along Hillhead where the squads had assembled (some 900 odd folk – some odder than others, dressed in all manner of fancy dress). The main squad matched up in their fabulous handmade armour waving torches to gather around the galley.

At the nominated time a signal flare was launched and the street lights dimmed as the squads lit their torches from burning flares and smoke and cheering filled the air. A brass band struck up and the galley and its attendant squad matched down, the head Geyser at the helm. The other squads fell in behind and they paraded along the streets towards the park. We moved on to try and secure a good vantage point overlooking the park in amongst the crowds of excited onlookers. From Saint Olaf Street we watched the boat as it was surrounded by the many torches as the climax was reached and the burning brands were hurled into the ship to set it alight. The sky had cleared and as the ship crumbled the fireworks started in a spectacular display. Afterwards we found Captain Flints in town and continued the party.

Jamie returned to Aberdeen on the ferry the next evening for his onward journey to London to meet up with friends where he was to be best man at a wedding.

On our last day we walked around Knab Point and saw a double rainbow but we were apprehensive as we had heard there was a storm (Gertrude) coming. At the ferry terminal the staff advised we might have bumpy crossing and they were not wrong, I retired early unwell as did Jodie and I arose early in the morning to find Sue and Debs asleep in the bar where they had been all night. The captain advised we would be late into the harbour due to the weather which did not go down well with Sue. Eventually though he saw and opportunity and docked after we disembarked we gathered our strength in a coffee shop before Jodie and Andy drove for home. We found out that our ship was the last out for a while and the storm did batter the Shetlands quite badly. It was fortunate we did not have the same experience on the way out or Sue would have insisted I buy us flights out.

In the Union Square shopping centre the rest of us went to the cinema to see The Revenant and afterwards we ate at Wagamamas. Had did have a walk about Aberdeen and visited the maritime museum &Provost House and saw a few old buildings.

In the end we took the train to the airport and flew home glad to finally return to the comfort of our own beds.