Let me be your guide to the North Berwick International Highland Games. One of the younger games on the Scottish calendar, this is the only the fourteenth annual meeting of an event which has quickly established itself as an international gathering, due to being held just twenty miles along the coast from Edinburgh during Edinburgh Festival season and being a warm up competition for overseas bands one week before the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow. The games attracts bands from Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and crowds of 15,000.

Hammer throwing

Hammer throwing

Highland Dancing, intermediates

Portrait of a Dancer

Cromag stall

Kilberry bagpipes

As I was wearing my RAF tartan I just had to visit the Air Cadets stand. I wore my RAF tartan today to honour one of our Project Propeller veterans, Harry Dobinson, who flew a full tour of thirty missions as rear gunner on a Lancaster bomber and who today celebrated his 89th birthday, though as it turned out I did not get to see Harry today.

These juniors from Wallacestone and District Pipe band stand out in the crowd with the striped socks over their hose.
More to follow shortly.