Highland Journey - Highland Fling (no I didn't get lucky!)

Having dropped ‘Nessi’ back to her owners we headed back north to Brechin for a few days at Gordon and Irene’s caravan. Fortunately for us, the Lonach Highland Games was on and a trip to Scotland would not be complete without a bit of caber tossing. Nowhere else is it possible for a bloke to wear a dress and long socks in public and not get laughed at. And the kilt is not complete without a Sporran (Gaelic for nut pouch). I reccon most Scotsmen keep money in their sporran because if robbed at least they enjoy the experience.

And then there is the appealing (or is it appalling) sounds of the bagpipe. It's often said that bagpipes are the missing link between music and noise. You either like them or you don't, there's no in-between.

Q. How can you tell if a bagpipe is out of tune?
A. Someone is blowing into it.

The history of pipes is steeped in mystery and legend which roughly translated means you can make it up as you go along. Alfred Hitchcock once said “I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made object never equalled the purity of sound achieved by the pig”.

The games themselves were a mix of highland flinging, Clansmen marching, ball throwing and the Gille Calum. Now I really feel we have been to Scotland. Well almost, as we did not get a chance to eat some haggis. They say it’s difficult to tell whether you should kick it or eat it. After you've eaten it, you wish you'd kicked it.

But our three weeks were coming to an end so it was time to pack the bag pipe in the boot at head to the Lakes District for our last stop before heading home.