UP HELLY Aa 2010
Lerwick Shetlands’ Annual Fire Festival

U p Helly Aa, the Shetland annual Viking fire festival was on Tuesday 26th January. Lerwick is jammed solid with visitors at this time, people come from all corners of the globe, many of whom will have booked their tickets nearly a year ago. I have booked a ticket for one of the halls; it will be a very long night. The festival itself starts in the morning when the ‘Jarl’ squad collect the Galley they have been building all year, from the Galley shed, and march through the town behind a pipe band and take it onto the pier, it has already attracted a very large crowd by now as it made its way from the North end of town. Lerwick trebles in numbers at this time and every accommodation place is taken and extra flights to and fro from the mainland are organised. The Jarl squad, the senior squad each year and consists of about 90 strong pose for photographs in all their Viking finery, this squad apart from a few helpers from the previous years Jarl Squad, will be the only squad dressed as Vikings, this is part of the tradition.

After the photos, they parade up to Fort Charlotte; the old fort, overlooks the harbour with its array of 18 pounders guarding the harbour entrance. The squad go onto a civic reception at the town hall, the ‘Guizer Jarl’, the chief Viking, (there can be no greater honour for a locally born lad/man than to reach this pinnacle as the ‘Jarl’) for the year and holds an important role locally throughout the year and has many civic engagements to boost tourism. The squad have all been growing their hair and beards so that they will not only dress as Vikings, but look very realistic and menacing with their shields and axes.

Throughout the afternoon, they visit schools and old people’s homes, the local hospital and many other place to meet older Shetlanders who remember the days when they were squad members. This event goes back many years and the old boys will have many fond memories. It is a bit like Eton, you have to be a born Shetlander and you need to get yourself into a squad early. An acquaintance of mine has been on the list for many years, he will be Guizer Jarl in 2014, it’s akin to being Worshipful Master in Lodge!!

The evening however, is the main event, the Jarl Squad and the boat are joined at Hillhead Road by the Town Hall, by all the other squads which make up to around 1000 marchers, the galley having been towed up earlier, each squad has their own theme, not Viking of course until they reach the dizzy heights of being senior squad. There seems to be an awful lot of cross dressing with some squads; weird and wonderful creations are the order of the day.

At 7.30pm a maroon is fired and this signals the light up, each marcher has a torch, a six foot piece of 4X4 with a special burning head made to an age old recipe and which, when lit will burn for around an hour. When all the torches are lit, and this is a magnificent sight in the night sky and for the past 3 years at least we have been blessed with dry cold clear nights, this year however was a wee bit damp, no bother. The Guizer stands proudly in the stern of his galley and the procession sets off, the boat is towed by the by squad members and the Jarl Squad march alongside, their robes flowing and the fire light glinting off their axes, it is a stirring sight. In front is the Lerwick Brass band, playing stirring Shetland pieces, they make a fine band.

The other squads fall in behind as the procession descends down Hillhead and around the streets and onto King Harald Street, the procession is so long that the front is almost on Harald street before the tail end starts and you have this long trail of torches lighting up the streets as they pass, in looks amazing in the dark night. As is normal practice all the street lights are turned off and houses on the road have their facing rooms in darkness so all one sees is the torches and the flickering light which shows the galley and marchers well. The parade turns back on its self on King Harald Street as the galley stops before proceeding around the burning site to enter in the middle. (The burning site is actually a children’s play area and has a convenient wall all around the perimeter, it is a large site and is lower than the road all around, great for viewing. It will be cleaned by 11 am the following day).

The Galley enters the arena, towed by the Jarl Squad and is brought to the centre and in a practised manoeuvre, is quickly transferred from the towing trolley onto a prepared frame set high so all can see. The Guizer Jarl now climbs back in as the other squads march into the field and build up in circular ranks around the galley. The Guizer Jarl exhorts them and the traditional Up Hellya songs are sung, the Jarl (All the marchers are called Guizers, but there is only one Jarl) descends from the boat and at a signal from a bugler the ranks step forward in turn and 1000 still burning torches are thrown into the galley amid cheers and shouts from the squads. The burning galley is a sight to be seen and there are several thousand people around the park watching and taking photographs.

It takes some time for the galley to burn down accompanied by cheers as first the mast falls and then the prow and stern collapse into the flames and the wishes are carried aloft on the wind.

The squads then march away, but this is a long way from the end of the evening; around Lerwick are some 12 halls at which to get a ticket you have to book early, Each squad will have been practicing a sketch of some description and they are expected to visit each hall and perform their sketch. There will be a band playing traditional music and much traditional dancing is done, ’Gay Gordon's’ ’Boston two Step’, ’Eight some Reels’ and many more, if a squad member asks a lass to dance, tradition says that they cannot refuse, and in the past this was a way by which young fisher lads and crofters could be introduced to single women. This is a well co-ordinated affair and most squads have their own coach transport and sober driver and several helpers. At the halls there is plenty of drink, Restit Mutton soup and bannocks, traditional Shetland fayre and very nice, it helps soak up the drink!! This IS an all night affair, the last squads not getting to some halls until 8 am, and still the dancing goes on. All the family are there from youngsters of 11 up to grandparents in their 90’s, no trouble, no fights and not a policeman to be seen or needed,

Yes the halls are open all night; it can take that long or more to get around. The squads will get back to their respective Squad halls around 8am ish and one designated member sets them up with a full English breakfast, the surprising thing being that most of them survive.

Yes, Up Hellya is a fine tradition and one has to honour such traditions, long may it continue.

There are also some websites with more information and pictures. There had been excellent webcam coverage of the evening procession and many ex Shetlanders from around the Globe were known to cry into their whisky as they watched it all unfold on their screens.
http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2010/January/news/Festival%20webcam%20fired%20up%20the%20globe.htm

http://www.uphellyaa.org/about-up-helly-aa/galley

Trevor