Greetings all Thom(p)sons!
The morning dawned cloudy and cold the day of the Hendersonville Highland Games. Drat! I put on my wool pants and turtle neck sweater and a vest; boots and a long coat. Then immediately took the vest and coat for the ride to Hendersonville. An hour later there we were at the games. The sun was shining and a light breeze…. it looked lovely……then I got out of the car. Frrrrickin’ COLD!
I put on all the stuff I brought plus gloves.
My dear husband was dressed like we were still in Michigan……..I didn’t blame him. So, off we went to find the Clan tent. Robert had not been to the games before and I quickly lost him to sight seeing. I found the tent, Tom and Fred. The crowd was thin; no doubt the weather had something to do with it. We three stood around chatting each other up as well as those souls who did brave the cold. Then the line up started for the parade of tartans. We waited patiently for the announcer to give the last call for line up ……..well Tom and Fred waited patiently, I on the other hand was ready to go. Tom told me, “… just wait we’ve time yet.” ACK! I felt like a 6 year old on Christmas morning. LET’S GO NOW!
Anyway, Fred and I grabbed the flags and trotted off to get in line. Did I say it was COLD?!?
Now I see why getting in line was last minute. Out of the shelter of the tent, well …it was cold. Soon the line started moving and we all went ‘round as they called each Clan’s name. Couldn’t help but feel proud when they called out Clan Thompson!
The pipers were grrreat! Sooo good looking in their kilts and such
and the playing………I love bagpipes. There were all manner of tents with a little bit of everything for sale. There were sheep, ducks and goats and dogs to herd them. The caber toss, the wool bag toss and on and on. The women’s games were hilarious! Alex Beaton was wonderful he sang all day til closing. The food was pretty darn good, though I could have used a cuppa hot tea rather than iced. Fred’s Babs came by dressed in her finery, and Fred was dressed to the nines as well. Robert and I bought a big bag of baked goods from House of Douglas. Yummm, nothing like simple carbohydrates.
I snagged a silver Celtic knot ring for a good price. Alas, the day never did warm up and around 3:30 we got word the closing ceremony would be at 4:00. So we helped take down the tent and cart all the stuff back to Fred and Tom’s cars.
Plans were made to meet for supper at Hannah Flannigan’s in downtown Hendersonville. Robert and I got there early and saved a table, good thing too the place filled up fast. As a bonus, the pipe band from the games had the back room reserved so we got an encore performance. (Did I say I love bagpipes?
) First they played right outside the pub for 10 or 15 minutes. Once inside they would walk through the whole place playing. The “stage” was right next to our table and they would play two or three more songs. AND they did this three or four times throughout the evening. We ate good food, drank good beer, had good conversation and got to know each other a little better. It was grand!
I’m going back next year.
Sláinte!
Sherry
