Happy Hogmanay!

Pete and Candi are here at the moment visiting from Canada, so on New Years Eve we braved the weather and made our way through the fog to Stonehaven for the hogmanay fireball ceremony. Every year at midnight there's a procession of people swinging enormous wire cages filled with burning rags through the streets down to the harbour where they get chucked into the sea. It's a tradition that has quite ancient roots, and has been revived in recent years. There are a number of theories about the origins but the general idea is to ward off evil spirits and that kind of thing. The spectacle was a little short-lived, with not much sign of the build up timetabled in the programme, but it was very exciting when a line of people eventually formed down the middle of the road with each one pulling a huge ball of fire behind them. You could really feel the heat from them, and they looked very heavy to swing around.

After the procession we walked down to the harbour and had a glass of champagne on the sand whilst watching the fireworks. I didn't get many good pics but here are a couple especially for Dan who nearly came with us, and also check out Jane's blog, I think she'll be posting some of her pics there soon. HAPPY NEW YEAR!