Like every year when I can, I headed to Ypres to pay homage to fallen clansmen, together with members of other Scottish clans in Belgium.
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Tag: MacLaren tartan
This weekend was all about the main event of my trip, the Shetland Simmer Dim Hash! A hostel full of hashers running and walking on both Shetland proper and Bressay, and getting a taste of local culture, food, and beer!
After a restful night and a nice breakfast in the Magnus Lounge on the Hrossey, all the hashers gathered in the lobby to debark together. In the arrivals hall we were greeted by some local hashers—although only one of them actually lived on the island—and fiddle music.
There was a coach already waiting to take us to the hostel to quickly drop off our baggage, and then on to the start of trail, a good hour’s drive away.
I’m sure a run around Lerwick would have have been lovely, but the drive was worth it, and Saturday’s trail was just stunning! The weather was surprisingly un-Scottish, since it was incredibly sunny, albeit quite windy, and the bogs invariably soggy…
After trail we had the opportunity to visit the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary, which was hosting a grey seal, and the caretakers passionately told us all about it. Some others were crazy enough to take a dip in the cold sea…
We then had a sandwich lunch and circle at the nearby St Magnus Bay Hotel—also serving local beers—after which the coach took us back to Lerwick, so we could get settled in our rooms. It had been a while since I had shared a room with ten other guys!
By sheer coincidence, just before we were about to leave for dinner, the Lerwick Midsummer Carnival parade passed right by our hostel. As so much on Shetland, it was very Viking themed!
Dinner and the rest of the evening program would take place at the nearby Lerwick Town Hall. The main hall was beautiful, with a wooden vaulted ceiling, and stained glass windows, many of them featuring Norwegian monarchs.
The dinner buffet was excellent—lamb pie made with local lamb—the beer aplenty—cask and keg from the local Lerwick Brewery—and the ceilidh—I even brought my dancing ghillies for it—a lot of fun for everyone!
Since it was overcast and rainy by then—we even had a thunderstorm that night—the ‘dim’ was a bit darker than it usually is… It still was a very short night, though!
Hangover Trail
As is customary at events like this, there was a hangover trail on Sunday morning—even though my hangover was less severe than on Saturday morning… Less customary was the trail length: even longer than the Saturday trail! Since I would need my trail running shoes by Monday evening again, and I prefer them to be dry, I decided to do the walk.
For this trail we actually had to cross the water, as it was on Bressay. Considering the weather—mostly wet and misty—this had been a smart choice to not run today, as they most definitely would have gotten even wetter… As nice as the beach at the ‘swim stop’ looked, I couldn’t be tempted to go in the water! I did get to see a seal in its natural habitat, though!
After trail we had another marvellous lunch: I just couldn’t stay away from the buttered bannock with slices of lamb…And again: Lerwick Brewery beer on cask!
Then we had to run to catch the ferry to Lerwick again. There we had another drink together, before picking up our bags and the ride to the NorthLink ferry terminal.
Once on the Hjaltland, I enjoyed another dinner in the Magnus Lounge, before joining the other hashers in the front bar for the last couple of beers.
Once again, the Scottish clans with members in Belgium, gathered in Ypres to pay homage to their kinsmen fallen in The Great War. This year, there were representatives of the clans Hay, MacLaren, Ramsay, MacKinnon, Lamont, Sutherland, MacLeod, MacMillan, and Scott.
Read here why I am a member of the Clan MacLaren Society
For the clan MacLaren, I was the only one member able to make it to the ceremony this year. I knew this quite a while In advance, so I was able to order a poppy wreath made at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, with the MacLaren clan crest and motto already mounted in it. Apart from the convenience, it is also nice to know that it keeps disabled ex-servicemen and women employed, and that the proceeds help out veterans and their families in Scotland.
So early on Saturday morning, I found myself at the train station in full, traditional Boy Scouts of Belgium uniform—including hat¹ and thumbstick—and my MacLaren kilt, to start my journey to Ypres. Earlier than I would have liked, but due to engineering works on the rail network my trip would include a replacement bus and take much longer than usually… Since it was a matter of of arriving 15 minutes late or 45 minutes early, I at least had some time for coffee and cake at local roastery SloWWings before the ceremony would start.
After meeting up with the other clansmen and clanswomen and the Grote Markt of Ypres, we marched to the Menin Gate, headed by the Clan Hay Pipe Band. After arrival, we waited for the stroke of twelve and the sound of the bugles playing The Last Post. The ceremony then started with a reading of the fourth stanza of “For the Fallen”, a poem written by Laurence Binyon:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
A representative of each clan than read out five names of their kinsmen fallen in Belgium and France in World War One. As the only Maclaren present, that honour fell to me. After that, each clan then in turn laid down a wreath. Again, for the MacLarens, for the first time, that honour fell to me.
After the ceremony we headed back to the Grote Markt of Ypres, for an aperitif in Clans Pub Les Halles, and a lunch in the In Flanders Field Museum café.
Since I had a long journey back to Brussels ahead of me, I said my goodbyes then and went back to the station, sadly missing out on the afternoon ceremony at the Scottish Memorial in Zonnebeke.
¹ The keen observer will have noticed the dents on my hat are wrong for a BSB hat. This is because I only replaced my old hat eaten away by moths the day before with a hat from the catholic scouts shop, and didn’t have time to reshape it.
Out of Kilter in Glasgow!
For breakfast on the Caledonian Sleeper I had the full Scottish, as usual. I’m happy to report it’s being served on real crockery again! Mere minutes after I finished my tea, my train arrived in Glasgow Central fifteen minutes early.
To change things up a bit and try something new, I booked a room in the Z Hotel Glasgow this time. It was my first port of call after arrival, not to check in—it was still a bit early for that—but to drop off my baggage.
Today I started with coffee quite a bit earlier than yesterday: at 7.45 I was already sipping my first cortado and killing some time at Gordon St Coffee.
Something I simply had to do after seeing and enjoying the show “Inside Central Station”, was a Glasgow Central Station Tour, so I was booked for the one at 10:00. For a moment I thought I had to do the tour without any celebrities present, but eventually Paul Lyons did make a few appearances!
After an early lunch at Riverhill Coffee Bar, I could then already check in at my hotel, giving me some time to recharge before starting a filled afternoon.
Just before my trip, I renewed my membership of the National Trust for Scotland, and the first of their properties I visited this trip, was the Tenement House.
Because I was well ahead on my schedule, I decided to already visit BrewDog Glasgow Kelvingrove, my favourite Scottish BrewDog bar. Then I reverted back to my planning, to have an Indian style fully vegan burger—the Roberto Bhaji-O—and some beers at BrewDog Merchant City.
By then it was time to change into my hash kilt, and head to The Rose Reilly, to hash with Glasgow H3, where I’m still known as Out of Kilter…
Culture, Comrades & a Ceilidh
After a big, hearty breakfast in my hotel—more than pictured—I was ready for a full day in London. I had planned some museums and exhibitions I hadn’t seen yet, and the first one was almost next to the hotel: the London Canal Museum.
The second stop was the library, to see the Treasures of the British Library. Among those treasures were the Magna Carta, and original manuscripts from Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen. Great stuff, for a bibliophile like me!
I then visited to the British Museum for even older versions of the written word, in the exhibition Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt.
After all that sauntering I was well overdue for a coffee, so I went to Monmouth Coffee for my fix. That gave me the energy for one more cultural stop: the Museum of Freemasonry. We have one in Brussels as well, but with London being the birthplace of freemasonry, and quite a bit more traditional, I could not afford to miss this one!
Time for a pie—well, a sausage roll—and a pint—well, halves and thirds—at the Sutton Arms! It looks like a classic pub, but had quite a few modern craft beers on tap! From there I got on the new Elizabeth Line, a train line that had been long in the making, and provides a faster connection with the west of London.
And in the west I finally got to visit The Dodo Micropub, where I also met up with some London friends for a couple of beers. On the way back east I stopped at A Pint of Hops for a couple more… Crowded, standing space only, but nice people, and great beer.
Properly sauced, I was ready for the main event of the evening, a Burns Night Ceilidh, my excuse to walk around in London in a kilt all day… Loads of fun, although a bit more chaotic than other ceilidhs I’ve been to!
Before finally heading back to the hotel, there was one more important stop: BrewDog Camden! After ‘a couple’ of beers with Ryan, I then called it a night…
