I have a lovely bloggy friend named Mrs. S, aka Mrs. Successful. She lives in Scotland and we've been fans of each others' blogs for about a year. Mrs. S. has enlightened me on various things Scottish, including gardening in Scottish climes, Robbie Burns' poetry and "oysters" (a hideous looking ice-cream concoction). I've never been to her part of the world, so I get a kick out of reading about her life.
Ironically, I live near a town with a distinctly Scottish flavour to it. Kincardine has not one but two Scottish festivals, a Scottish shop which sells everything from bona-fide haggis to clan-accurate kilts, not to mention the weekly summer Saturday night parade where everyone turns up to march behind the town's kilt-clad bagpipe-playing band.
The first Scottish Festival took place last weekend, and it had everything: highland dance competitions, "heavy" events like caber tosses, beer gardens, authentic Scottish food booths and lots of funky vendors. AND an extra parade! I am a total sucker for parades and fireworks, and there were plenty of both with Canada Day and the festival overlapping.
Jady lady attended her very first pipe-band parade. I used to go to them when I was a kid, so I got kinda sentimental and sniffly when I heard the drone of the bagpipes coming down the street. At first, I worried that the screeching and moaning and the very loud drumming would send Jady into a fit of fear - to my thinking, bagpipes are a bit of an acquired taste - but she was riveted and literally on the edge of her stroller the whole time.
We celebrated her first Scottish parade with her very first ice cream cone, so all in all, it was a memorable, happy evening...even though we don't have a single Scottish gene in our pool, I was glad to be able to share a childhood pleasure with my own bonnie wee bairn. Now, if I can just find a kilt small enough for her next parade...
Cheers to you Mrs. S, and as they say at the Scottish Festival, "We're not away to stay away, we'll always come back and see you!"
3 comments:
Sigh....I love bagpipes.
Thank you for the dedication, Kimber - excellent stuff and it's so nice of you!
Of course you'll know that we also have a town here in Scotland called Kincardine but I'm willing to bet there are more bagpipes in the Canadian Kincardine, than there are in the Scottish one. Us Scots love to keep up traditions when we move abroad - we even bring each other souvenirs from other parts of Scotland when we visit as a wee keepsake!
Did you check the hair on the back of Jade's neck to see if they were standing on end when she heard the bagpipes? Keep up the good work inducting Jade into the Scottish traditions (until she's old enough to make up her own mind). xx
Kimber
I agree with you wholeheartedly - Mrs S is a wonderful friend to have in the blogosphere although I haven't heard from her in a wee while .. I hope she is OK
Regards
TBD
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