I've watched the livestream and get the gist now. Dave misunderstood Dave Edes comment as saying Lambholm was in Shetland, when in fact he was saying
Up Helly Aa is in Shetland. That I can forgive, however for Dave to show his lack of Scottish knowledge in suggesting all islands have Viking festivals
. Just wait, he'll be saying we all wear skirts next.
On a serious note Up Helly Aa (held in January) is quite a spectacle. When we went there were in the order of 900 Guizers parading through the streets, all with torches. I concluded the H&S issues are overlooked and considered the less risky option compared to trying to stop it.
It's not just about the procession either. Following that the squads of Guizers go round various venues performing a variety of the weird and wonderful. They drink as they go and as each comes in their performance is more and more influenced by alcohol. The one I recall most was a squad with their chest/stomachs made up like giant faces with various garments of clothing, hats, scarfs etc for added effect. Maybe the alcohol I had consumed influenced how I saw the performance
, nevertheless it was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.
Well worth a visit. Too far to go just for Up Helly Aa, we spent 7-10 days travelling through the islands, there was some interesting weather that year.
Misc.