ROYAL BRAEMAR

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 80, 5 April 1938, Page 19

ROYAL BRAEMAR

SPORTS IN SCOTLAND

GREAT FEATS OF STRENGTH

THE KING A VISITOR

• For '.364 days -in: the year, the little Scottish '■ village \ Vof : Braemar:: :dozes peacefully : among- Jhe ..fir-clad Aberdeensh'ire hills;that cradle it, writes R. M. Stead in the" "Christian; Science Monitor." '.But on the 365th—which this year falls on September 9—it wakens abruptly, teems . with automobiles and people, aIZ-on their way to the Princess Royal Park, a natural ampitheatre set like an emerald ami^ the purple heather of the hills.

There, hard by the spot where the brawling Clunie froths its waters into the Dee, take place each autumn the Royal Braemar Games, chief of those historic Highland gatherings-which provide social-cum-sporting. pageants. without counterpart anyjvhere. ■•.. : • Prom Scenes like thege' old Scotia's . .'■'' ■, grandeur, springs,. ■■/',.- ---.'..That^makesjhefeloyed>at■■ home, re'yered';abroad. ' . ■ ■ •'

7 Those:are'the;.words of ■ the; Scottish poet, BurhS.J: And as applied to Braemar' they cqnjure'.up', a, sight to\stir the pulse of even: the-least responsive' Sa^:senach. ■;:. ,/-'; .. ''..:■■'■.■.■ ■' ■. ■ ■■-' .' ;

-Th.c .only, time I want to - be- other than an Englishmanf-'Cfoij-just1 an hour or. so; let it -be patriotically added) is when the clansmen'.imarch in at-Br'ae-mar—gay tartan :kilts aswing : above their brawny,' brown,1 bare knees, sunlight ''glinting pn their ;r claymores, pikes and L'ochaber; axes,:. and,, the -skirl of bagpipes. echoing . througtt.,the hills. ■

HOYAL RESIDENTS

The emotional power of Scotland's, romantic clanUraditiPns seems to reverse the normal processes of time, so that the ring of prosaic motor vehicles round the arena becomes just a ridiculous anachronism as the stalwart Highlanders—greybeards and striplings, striding along together, in firm ranks^march past the Royal Pavilion, a bower adorned with mountain heather, studded brightly with the red berries of the mountain ash. From the flagposts flutter the Royal Standard and the Union Jack.

In this Coronation year, with a Scottish Queen on Britain's Throne, the Highlands pulsate with a more personal, zealous loyalty than usual. A tumult of welcome awaits their Majesties' first appearance at Braemgr in the Royal carriage drawn by four fine.greys, . The King and Queen are not just Royal visitors. They are lpcal residents, Hying for a space in, the Scottish home of Britain's Kings, Balmoral Castle.'

- See, the clansmen, are tramping by. They gathered in the courtyard of the Invercauld Arm's in" the village and they have marched to. the arena, headed by the pipes. Three fine pompanies there are—the King's Balmoral High•Jandbrs, from the Royal estate, bearing the Stuart tartan and in their bonnets <he floral emblem of a Scottish thistle bloom and spray of oak leave?; the Fyfe Highlanders, each with the distinctive red 'Mac Duff. tartan and a sprig of holly, in his bonnet; and the Farquharson Highlanders, wearing their vivid green and in their bonnets a sprig of pine,

EARL OF MARK'S MOVE. The Balmoral Highlanders """bear battleaxes, the Fyfe men long, slender pikes, the Farquhursons broad claymores. And these glittering weapons serve to remind us that almost within ■ a stone's throw of this very spot the Earl of Marr raised his standard in ihe cause of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" ope stormy September day nigh upon two centuries ago and gathered about him an army of doughty Highland warriors, fpranill-fatedatteip.pt^ppiiithe.thrope of England,; ;-1'"; ,V.;V: : ": ; ■~■:■ -^ ' , /■■Today the clansmen whoassemble at Braemar kftpw-na greater;disappointment pn the great day than/the absence of.the-Kirig. .'Seldom,indeed, has the monarch missed "the meeting, since Queen Victoria first bestowed her patronage on it some eighty years ago. Hence the term "Royal" for this par^ ticular one of the Highland gatherings held in.late summer all over the parts of Scotland- and* as .well, in places that'have little/real claim :at all tp the-vtitfe of "Highlands." -The, Braemar Games werernpt.helg.1 in 1936, pwing to"'i;he "passing.';of .King Georgfe V in the' Januar- of,that year. Try as you like, it would be hard indeed to pick upon a setting more fitted by Nature to a festival of Gaeldom than the village of Braemar, where Robert Louis Stevenson resided at the time when he wrote his first great work, "Treasure Island." The swelling hills far and nearBen Avon, Mori-one : Craig, Coyrianh, and the regt-^pontrasfc peacefully with tirKgay splash1 of tartans in the green arena and their haunting echoes give weird effect, to the, vibrant.,music of the pipes. '

A DAY OF MUSIC,

That music persists' through almost the whole day of the gathering as competitions are eagerly contested by the. pipers^in . the playing ■; of laments, salutes, pibrochs, marches, strathspeys, and reels.

Piping and dancing are the two most popujar features -of Highland games. It is not only the Scots' lassies who tread a nimble .measure. Big men are light as feathers; on their toes as they twist arid twirl through the intricacies of traditional Scottish dances. A special delight, too, is, the dancing qt of the boys and girls.

Only.-,the true Scot-with the trained ear can i'fully 2 appreciate,; the nuances of bagpipe playing,,and the subtleties of cQrnpetitive:!Jli,ghl3nd::.d3ncing are lost uppn all but the'deeply'initiated. From 10 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, the spectators witness the unfoldment of a varied programme of athletic events. And by athletic events I mean the Scottish interpretation of such-things,.with emphasis laid on mighty feats; of strength by men of the Vs. ■' •■' : ; ■ ;• *■" .■■' •"; ■• .-■ ;■: Outstanding is .■•that quite . extraordinary arid' peculiarly Scottish ■ diversion, tossing the caber (Gaelic for a treetrunk '.and ■■pronounced "kppper"), a feat which demands not only, muscular power but a cunning knack as well. '

You will infer this, I am sure, on learning (if you'do.not know it already) that a caber is nothing more or less than a tapered .trunk of a young fir tree, weighing about 2801b and 16ft in length. The aim :Of the tosser is not to throw the; caber a long dis^ tahce but to pitch, it on to the end ■remate from. his hands (cupped in front of;him),sp that it topples straight .pvgr. '\ . -:■:•' ~ :'■', ■ ■.'..'•■ .

TO TWELVE O'CLOCK.

.The perfect loss. sends the missjle over in a'position which, on a shooting target, is designated by riflemen as 12 o'clock. Obviously, a toss that ■is slightly, deficient/in power allows the caber to fall somewhere between 9 and 12 o'clock or between 12 and 3, while a really poor effort will not topple over at all, but will fall back threateningly towards the tosser. On seeing a caber for the first time, you might be surprised to learn that a man can lift it, let alone toss it. Well, he cannot. Several hands raise it from the ground, for him and ppjse

it upright in his palms. For a space he balances the great bulk,. stepping backward or forward as may be necessary to preserve equilibrium. At last, having got "set," so to Epeak, he allows the top end to tilt slightly forward, in order that he may run a few paces. Then a jump, a mighty heave—and over she goes. Or nor, as the case may be. The other athletic events comprise running, hurdling, high and Jong jumping, obstacle races; wrestling, "putting the stone" (which really is a heavy boulder), and. hurling, the hammer and the: weight..".,.• . .. ■■'~'.■' ; ■ The Braemar Games date track :to 1816, ;;but:legend tells -of- an athletic competition held -in,the locality in the year 1040, which .is' a 'little matter 'of .897! years..'.''-'. /;.. ' :. ■, , -;_■■: The true.: or otherwise, is ■ that ihe.Kiiig Malcolm reigning over Scotland at th¥t'~time"6rtfefea a race-to the summit of. Craig Choinnich, to determine which of his followers were the most suitable to employ as messengers., ' ■ • . ■ , > Strident, voices, may. nowadays boom out through the glen,-carrying thedeh itailS off the gamefcfrom. loud-speakers, by:the.dozen.may snort 'their way to a beauty spot which ihas esceipedl even, the intrusiori.:di the But,,in.the midst of. change, .the romance of Hoyal Braemar remains unchanged!