Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games

[cessna152towser]

Glasgow Scotland's big games are of course the World Pipe Band Championships in August, where the heavy athletics and highland dancing play second fiddle to over a hundred pipe bands. However there are several smaller games around the suburbs of Glasgow during the season. Here at the north-western edge of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, the Bearsden and Milngavie Games today celebrated their fortieth anniversary.

Entry to the games is free and the programme costs only £1 donation to charity.
With over a dozen pipe bands and some well known competitors in the heavies it is an excellent free show, presumably funded by sponsors and by the funfair and almost a hundred stalls selling a wide variety of goods. While games in rural Scotland struggle to survive, the large population of the Glasgow area who want somewhere to go for a day out ensure the continuing viability of games such as this.

Neil Elliot easily clears the bar, but then the weight hit the bar on the way down.

Kinetikat watches the throwers.

then she gets her turn to throw...

...and easily clears the bar.
Below are some more shots of Kinetikat in action.



More to follow shortly

[cessna152towser]

North Lanarkshire Schools Pipe Band and Kintyre Schools Pipe Band

Kintyre Schools Pipe Band

Spot the xmarks lady - Kinetikat

My turn to have the camera trained on me.

Heavies


Highland Dancers

See You Jimmy!


I am not so keen on this new trend of some pipe bands not wearing kilts. Here is the Mid Argyll Pipe Band. Everybody to their own tastes however.
More to follow shortly.

[cessna152towser]

Some pipe bands

Judging the Drum Majors Competition and looking suitably stern.

Judging the Pipe Band Competition



More to follow shortly

[Jack Daw]

I like the hose the Kintyre band are wearing. Nice pics.

[cessna152towser]

More pipe bands

Neil Elliot clears the bar

The bar brought down and spiked into the mud.

Kyle Randalls

Sebastian Wenta

Some of the heavies contestants with referee Alan Pettigrew

Gabrielle and the Carousel
One final instalment to come - don't miss seeing the Olympic Torch arrive and the Caber get broken!!

[cessna152towser]

The Olympic Torch Relay had passed close to the games ground earlier in the morning and the games organisers had invited one of the athletes to attend the games with his torch after he had completed his section of the relay.

Sebastian Wenta tosses the Caber......

.....and throws an almost perfect twelve o'clock - except the Caber split neatly in half as it landed. I have never seen that happen before!


Heavies looking rather nonplussed after the big caber broke.


Back for a final look at the bands - Dumbarton & District Pipe Band

The End.

[MacSpadger]

Thanks for sharing these pics. I was in Milngavie all week but had to leave before the games, so this helps make up for it.

[David Thorpe]

Thank you for taking us along!

[Deil the Yin]

Fwa! Just somethin' bout a girl that looks like she can whoop me in any feat of athletic prowess... makes me wanna Meee-YOW! :-P You GO Girl! Lookin' Bad ***!

Great piccies (as usual), Alex! Ta for that.

Aye,
Wesley

Spot the xmarks lady - Kinetikat

My turn to have the camera trained on me.

[McClef]

Thanks for sharing the day with us Alex