So today was The Ba’ – normally on Christmas Day & New Year’s Day, but not if they fall on a Sunday. I thought that was a tad puritanical and old-fashioned (even pubs in the highlands open on a Sunday now), but then I realised it starts right outside St Magnus Cathedral, so, fair enough.
I got to the front of the Cathedral just before the Boys’ Ba’ was to start. I really couldn’t see anything, and apart from a bit of raised voices at 10:30 (the posted start time), there was no movement from the crowd for a good twenty minutes – I assumed it hadn’t started. But no, it seems the scrum of boys or men can just stay in one place until finally one group or the other breaks away. After another ten minutes of standing about staring at the tops of peoples’ heads, I gave up and a friend and I went for a walk.
Five hours later we headed out to Tesco for some dog food, and I inadvertently saw the end of the Boys’ Ba’ – The Uppies had won (I forget who they are). Then we turned the corner, just in time to see the Mens’ Ba’ end in the harbour – the Doonies won that.
So, I’ve seen a Ba’.
