2017 Pleasanton Highland Games

**Panache** · 5th September 17, 07:06 PM

The lovely Flame-Haired Celtic Amazon Goddess (F-H.C.A.G.) and I attended both days of the 2017 Pleasant Highland Games

First off the weather report: IT WAS BRUTAL! (triple digits both days)

My lovely Star and I spent Saturday Scottish Country Dancing

Star danced with an Adjudication team made from the San Jose and Mountain View Classes Saturday morning they danced at 10:00 AM (when the heat was in the mere 90's)

The team did great!

More to come!

**Panache** · 5th September 17, 07:12 PM

At 11:45 I danced with the Red Thistle Dancers in their show that combined both Highland and Country Dancing

The temperature had entered triple digits and it was a bit of a challenge dancing Scottish in the heat!

Here is a very short video of the very first part of the first medley we danced taken by my friend Jonathan. A delightful dance entitled "Catch the Wind"

https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.lovell.12

More to come

**Panache** · 5th September 17, 07:21 PM

I spearheaded the Red Thistle Dancer Adjudication Team

We were assigned a time to dance before the judges at 2:00

The temperature was...

We had practiced, we were ready, we stepped onto the stage and tried to ignore the heat

we were pretty proud of how well we did

Here's a short video of the Adjudication Performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR36kb8pP8g

A little more to come

**Panache** · 5th September 17, 07:32 PM

A couple more photos

Star and I after her Adjudication Team performance

Ice cream was a little slice of Heaven after the Red Thistle Dancer's show

Alan H flipping the caber! (He won second place in the 60+ division)

Tired X Markers at the end of Saturday

Star went home and I stayed the night because I wanted to go to a Social Scottish Country Dance that evening (because I'm stupid)

Sunday wasn't quite as hot and Star and I had a mellow day visiting , watching things, and drinking beer

In spite of the heat, it was a very good Highland Games!

Cheers

Jamie

**Richrail** · 5th September 17, 08:24 PM

Great to see both of you.

**Blupiper** · 5th September 17, 08:25 PM

Great photos and well done to you on surviving the blast furnace. This seems to have been the summer of hot Games here on the West Coast. On a side note, is there a secret to posting pictures? If so, please share. Thanks again for the small taste of Pleasanton.

JMB

**Jack Daw** · 6th September 17, 07:59 AM

I competed as a solo piper one year at the PHG and it was in the triple digits that weekend. I was there a few days early to visit my niece and practiced on the grounds of the games around 2 pm, and said to myself, it will be a nice experience if I can survive it. Thankfully, all my competitions were in the morning shade, so I lived to tell the tale.

**OC Richard** · 14th September 17, 05:00 AM

Well you guys fought the good fight against the heat! Looks like you put on a good show.

Also struggling in the heat were the pipers. The pipes are temperamental beasts in the best of times. In the heat you're putting ice cubes in the bag (no kidding) in a struggle to keep the things moist. (That's assuming it was a dry heat.) I've competed at Pleasanton in plus-100 temps a few times, it's brutal on the pipes.

Too bad, too, because this year had an exceptionally strong pipe band presence. We had seven Grade 2 pipe bands. (Many years there's none, or only one, with nobody to compete against.)

There were a total of 33 bands, quite impressive in these times when all the talk in pipe band circles is about Games diminishing. A couple bands made the trip from Canada (I wish we could have given them better weather).

Here's The Pasadena Scots, who dealt with the heat by dumping the usual long sleeve shirts, neckties, and black wool waistcoats and going with golf shirts.

I was very sorry to miss the Games this year. I've only missed them a couple times since I started attending them (then in Santa Rosa) in the 1970s. (I spent the weekend in Long Beach, where it was only in the 80s.)