Scottish weather at this year’s B.C. Highland Games
STEVIE WILD helped Tricia Barker, vice-president of the United Scottish Cultural Society, set-up the haggis hunt for the kids.
ANDREW LEE of the SFU Pipe Band and Angus MacKenzie of the Angus Mackenzie Highland Dance Studio at the Tartantown concession in the marketplace.
HIGHLAND DANCERS warming up prior to competition at the B.C. Highland Games.
ROBERT GOODRICK of Goodricks Meat Products and Andy Bradshaw of Sherlock’s Café and British Store at the Sherlock’s booth in the marketplace at the B.C. Highland Games.
ROB MATHESON, piper with SFU Pipe Band; former Pipe Major with Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band, Scotland; Alastair Lee, piper SFU Pipe Band; and Terry Lee Pipe Major of the world famous SFU Pipe Band who is also general manager at Tartantown Scottish shop in Coquitlam.
JACK LEE is Pipe Sergeant with the award-winning SFU Pipe Band.
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By CATHOLINE BUTLER
COQUITLAM – There was piping and Highland dancing in the early morning rain on June 25 at the B.C. Highland games at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam.
But the Celts are a hardy lot and a little rain wasn’t going to spoil their day, as everyone went about working their stations.
Tricia Barker, vice president of the United Scottish Cultural Society was rushing off to set up the haggis hunt for the kids when I arrived.
Although attendance was down slightly due to the weather, all was not lost as the skies cleared later in the day and fans and supporters came out in droves to the grounds to enjoy the Games and Scottish festival.
I stopped by the cultural booths as they were opening up and headed straight to Sherlock’s Café and soccer paraphernalia tent to get warmed up with a coffee. I enjoyed one of Robert Goodrick’s delicious bacon butties on a bun made with gammon cold smoked bacon. Boy, was it good!
You can savour a taste of Goodricks bacon butties any time at Sherlock’s Café in New Westminster. Goodrick told me that bacon butties on a bun and Lorne sausages on a bun were flying out of Sherlock’s booth all day at the Games.
Least bothered by the rain seemed to be the pipers, all wearing their stylish Inverness Capes. When the clouds parted and the misty fog on the mountains started to lift at the stadium, it made a glorious scene with the pipers warming up and getting ready for the competition. It looked like a postcard out of the Highlands of Scotland.
The stage for the Highland dance competitions was under a canopy so dancers were protected from the drizzle as they practised in anticipation of taking their turn in front of the judges.
There are months of planning and preparation in advance of these events and all the volunteers at the B.C. Highland Games are to be commended for their hard work and energy.
They put so much into ensuring the success of the Games and this is important work as they are helping to preserve and showcase the best of Scottish culture for everyone’s enjoyment both today and for future generations. For more information about the Games, visit their website at: www.bchighlandgames.com.
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