1 post tagged “scottish games 20080524”

Oldest joke in the world...

Question:  What does a true Scotsman wear under his kilt?

Answer:  On a good night?  Lipstick.

Ach, aye!  We went to the Scottish Games in Costa Mesa, and we had a blast!  Despite the fact it had been cold and rainy for the two days preceding the Games, The Phyllis (or, if you ask Bob and Rich, The Highlander) and I met up with Mike and Nancy and headed out.  It was wet and chilly in the morning, but if we'd actually have been in Scotland the weather would have been much worse, so we muscled up and carried on.

The first person we met was Joe, the Drum Major of the Los Angeles Scots Pipes and Drums.  Looking as if he'd just stepped off a Hiram Walker label, Joe was a sight to behold and a photograph was definitely required.

The pipers were fantastic and the array of tartans was astounding.  Even The Phyllis hadn't seen many of the plaids that were being worn so proudly.

The vendors had everything from shirts to sweeties to (you guessed it) kilts.  I nearly lost my mind when I found someone who was selling Irn Bru.  For those of you who have not had the opportunity to enjoy the fabulosity that is Irn Bru, you've no idea what you're missing.  Whenever I go to Scotland to visit the fam the first stop after touching down at Glasgow Airport is somewhere I can get Irn Bru and prawn crackers.  My cousins think I'm nuts, but they love me, so they indulge me.  Ahhh, prawn crackers and Irn Bru...my mouth is watering!

Right, back to the Games.  The selection of armament was unbelievable; Nancy handles a sword quite proficiently (note to all of you:  don't piss Nancy off).  I think of all the things we saw, the Spotted Dick was the biggest hit.  We knew it was sponge cake with raisins; Mike and Nancy did not.  They nearly fell over when they saw it.  Nancy had to buy some, not to eat, but for the label.

Then we got to watch Bad Haggis perform.  I anticipated a cheesy send up, but they put on a hell of a show.  Who knew Celtic music could be funky?!?!  It was great and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We moved on and watched a few of the actual games.  We watched the shot put and the tossing of the caber.  Huge big men picked up rocks and hurled them great distances; when they finished with that, they picked up great logs of wood and "tossed" them in an attempt to make them go end over end.  One of the lads lost control of the caber and it crashed down on the crowd.  While no one was hurt (thank heavens), who would have thunk that the Games were as dangerous as NASCAR, really???

The end of the day was all about the pipe and drum corps competition.  I had to be there to cheer my new favorite Scot, Joe, on to glory.  They were precise, they looked smart, and they sounded perfect.  I don't know if they won the competition, but they certainly won my heart.

It was a great day and a wonderful time was had by all.  The weather had us psyched out and all of us ended up sunburned, but not even that could take the shine off such a great day.  We've decided to make it an annual event, so considered yourself invited for next year!

With love and heapin' helping of Spotted Dick warmed gently on the hob,

JODI