THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606140271
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Random Rambles
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: 76 lines
``Land of my high endeavors, land of the shining river,
Land of my heart forever, Scotland the brave!''
Play that song, ``Scotland the Brave,'' and any true Highland guy will get so charged up that he will toss a telephone pole just for fun. I get charged up myself when I hear it, even though I haven't got enough Scottish blood to transfuse a tick.
What I have got is word that the Tidewater Scottish Festival will bring you the Hampton Roads Highland Games next Saturday at Chesapeake City Park. They run from 9 to 5 and the tab is $8 for adults or $5 if you're 7 to 17. If you're 6 and under, you qualify as a wee bairn. No charge.
What happens, I asked Eleanor Unger, if it rains? She's the nice lady and graceful Highland dancer who's president of the festival. ``It rains a lot in Scotland,'' she said, ``so if it rains, we'll just be really Scottish.''
I kid you not about Scots tossing telephone poles. Or something very like a telephone pole. It's called a caber, and it's 16 feet long. The idea is to see how far and how straight you can flip it. Think about the muscles it takes to do this before you tease any contestant about his kilts.
They will, in fact, be flexing muscles all over the place at the games. Like a hammer toss with one that weighs 22 pounds. I have tossed many a hammer when it whacked my thumb instead of a nail, but never one that hefty. And they will throw a 56-pound weight and a 16-pound sheaf of hay.
This is all traditional stuff, not just idle feats of strength. The Highlanders were rugged dudes who worked hard and fought hard. The events in the games are translations of skills that Highlanders needed on their farms and in their battles.
Speaking of battles, I also talked to Katherine Rickett. Work days, she's health sciences librarian at Chesapeake General Hospital. Come Saturday, she'll serve with the Appin Regiment. That's a group of re-enactors who bring to life the turbulent period of 1745-1746. The background is convoluted Scottish history, but, basically, the Scots warred in vain against the British crown.
Three other re-enactment groups also will do their historical thing at the festival. There will be the army of Robert the Bruce from 1314; MacLean's Company from 1644 to 1645; and the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada from the period 1939 to 1955.
Incidentally, be careful about stomping spiders around the camp of Robert the Bruce's army. According to legend, Robert is the guy who got inspired by watching a spider work to spin a web until it finally succeeded. The spider you stomp may be a re-enactor.
Just kidding, history fans. For historical truth, you can indeed look to the re-enactors. They will be wearing clothes and carrying weapons authentic to the period they represent. For instance, Katherine Rickett told me that the Appin Regiment men would tote an ax with a six-foot handle, a sword and maybe a musket. They protected themselves with a shield made of wood and covered with leather. The ax was called a Lochaber and the shield was a targe.
There were metal studs on the shield. That way, you could hear where your opponent's sword point was hitting. Sort of primitive radar for the ear bones.
Rickett has demonstrated the weapons at other games, but she says women did not normally charge into battle. However, she mentioned an exception. A woman named Colonel Anne led an army after her rascally husband switched allegiance and fought for the British.
As for authentic clothing, Rickett will be wearing an arisaid. That's a wool tartan about three to five yards long worn over the dress. The men will have the traditional kilts. They're more than clothing, though. Six feet of pleated wool, they double as a blanket at night. Tents are for Redcoats and other sissies.
But how I got this far into a story about Scots without making a bagpipe joke, I will never know. I used to think they sounded like a closetful of squalling cats. Then I started really listening. Hey, guess what. There was a tune underneath the non-stop groan. A lilting tune or an exciting one.
Or even a hackle-raiser like ``Scotland the Brave.'' Part of the opening ceremony of the games, set for 10 a.m. next Saturday, will be a massing of pipes to play ``Scotland the Brave.''
If my knees didn't knock like a door-to-door salesman, I'd go and wear a kilt. by CNB