A HIGHLAND FLING 

IN ONTARIO
 

After the transatlantic flight from Scotland I found it a bit daunting driving out of Toronto Airport. The rush and bustle of Highway 401 was sudden and stressful. As soon as I could,  I found quieter roads and said hello to Canada.  

The green rolling fields and farms with Dutch barns  were welcoming.  As a Scot I found myself smiling as we glided  past familiar names like 'Kelso' and 'Speyside.'
 Feeling more comfortable by the minute  I glanced at roadside mail boxes carrying surnames like MacMillan and McKinlay.

 You may think that the mythical village of Brig O’Doon emerges every 300 years from the Highland mist in Scotland . Not so. 
Believe me,  it is alive and well and living in Ontario.   
When I arrived in the little town of Fergus tartan banners hung from the post office, shops, bridges and lamp posts. 

The town has just celebrated its 56^th Annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games. 

Fergus was founded 150 years ago on the banks of The Grand River by a 
Scot from Perthshire 
called Adam Fergusson.  

It is a friendly place with some historic wooden houses, each with a nameplate telling you about their first occupant. 

It’s as Scots as porridge. One of the first things they did was to build a mill to grind the oats. Directly opposite in St Andrews Street, the Scots flag flies outside the ‘4-11 Guest House’ where I sat on the veranda after being shown to a cosy room. 

Later I followed a  crowd carrying deck chairs down to the park. On the way we passed small groups of pipers and drummers practicing on the lawns of the neighbouring houses. While, just inside the park ladies in white dresses with tartan sashes walked through their dance steps as they waited to strut their stuff in earnest.

 Dusk fell and the sound of pipes and drums filled the air. Stirred by the familiar tunes the crowds roared their approval, while well over a hundred dancers awaited their entrance.

In a corner of the field a giant of a man held storytelling sessions and set out menacing weapons and in an accent that you could cut with a claymore he demonstrated their use, proclaiming 

“Heilanders hae nae use for English Knights, but their horses make good eating.”

 The next day the sun beamed down on the Games. Pipers blew for the gold medal and big fellas contested the tug of war. Hammers were thrown, cabers were tossed and athletes ran like the wind.

The enthusiastic audience, ranged from a tartan clad baby sporting a red Glengarry, to a majestic highlander with hairy knees and a feather in his hat - 
(pity about the horn rimmed glasses )

Scots souvenirs abounded, but I resisted the 
deck chair made from the St Andrews Flag and the t-shirts declaring “Pipers do it with Amazing Grace”. 

It was a colourful and entertaining weekend with good music and fine dancing.

If you plan to visit Ontario next August, a trip to Fergus would be well worth including in your Canadian Caper.  For information about next years 'Fergus Scottish Festival  and Highland Games' log on to  www.fergusscottishfestival.com