The Mirrie Dancers

You remember when we were at that New Year’s Party at the beginning of the year and we were discussing the things we would put on our bucket lists? Well, the following morning and after I’d sobered up, I decided to actually write down all the things I want to do before I die. I took a large sheet of paper and started adding headings: “Things I can achieve,” “Things that might be possible” and “I probably don’t have a snowball in hell’s chance.”

Over the next few days, I added items as I thought of them and shifted some from one column to another. Do a tandem skydive went from can to possible and then to the snowball category when I took into account my fear of heights. It might move back if I can overcome my acrophobia, but for now I will leave it where it is. Maybe you’d like to do it with me. I’d probably feel more comfortable throwing myself out of a plane if I did it with a friend.

Anyway, one of the things I wrote under “Things that might be possible” was see the Northern Lights. As you know, I’ve never been bothered by cold weather and the idea of going on holiday in the winter doesn’t faze me, so I started looking at holiday brochures and websites. The majority were offering trips to Lapland, which combined a visit to Father Christmas with a dog sleighing trip and a night in a forest cabin, where you might see the lights. I dismissed that choice immediately. There was no way I wanted to spend my holiday with hordes of children and people pretending to be elves! Iceland was another option, but far too expensive. I’ve been there before, during the summer and experienced the eye watering prices. I know they have to import virtually everything, but I just can’t afford it.

Then I suddenly remembered the aurora is visible in Northern Scotland, which is far more accessible for me, living as I do in the South of England. Shetland seemed the obvious solution, because it’s as far north as you can travel in the UK. It involves a long journey, but that’s ok. Best of all, the dates when the lights appear coincide with Up Helly Aa, another item on my bucket list.

I haven’t mentioned that one to you before, but I find the idea of a fire festival celebrating the end of Yule quite appealing, especially as the locals set light to a replica of a Viking boat. The most famous one takes place in Lerwick, the main town in the Shetlands and it’s held on the last Tuesday in January.

Logistically the easiest way would be to travel to Gatwick, my local airport, then fly to Aberdeen, then transfer to a smaller place for the last leg to Sumburgh and then a taxi or bus to Lerwick. Finding a hotel room might prove a problem at that time of year, as so many visitors are attracted to Up Helly Aa.

Then by a stroke of luck, I spotted a holiday advertised in the local paper. It was unbelievable. Exactly the holiday I was planning, with the added bonus that a taxi to Gatwick was included in the price. OK it was a bit more than I wanted to pay originally, but it included everything I wanted and if anything went wrong, someone else would have to sort it out.

I rang the number of the holiday company and booked a place. I suppose I should have asked if you wanted to come too, but I remembered that you prefer sun and sea holidays. The Shetlands have the sea, but I didn’t think you would want to swim in the North Atlantic in January!

Now, a year later, I’ve just arrived at the hotel in Lerwick. I left home in the dark and night had fallen long before we set foot in Shetland. The hours of daylight are so short at this time of the year that I wonder if we’ll have much opportunity of actually seeing anything of the islands. Never mind. The main thing is that we’re here. I haven’t really had a chance of talking to my fellow travellers, but the courier wants us to meet in the bar after dinner so she can tell us more about the holiday.

Before I left home, I checked on the internet for any predictions about solar flare activity and found that there was a high chance of the lights appearing. Fingers crossed that the weather will be clear – the national weather forecast said it would be, but you never know. I’ll just check the local news on the television to see what they say.

Not what I wanted to hear – cloud, heavy rain and wintry showers for the next five days. That takes us to the day we leave Shetland and I’m sure it will turn fine then.

I probably won’t have time to let you know exactly how the holiday goes until I see you again, so I’ll just jot down a few notes from now on.

Sunday

Our first full day of the holiday and a guided tour of Lerwick in the morning, then the Shetland Museum in the afternoon. As predicted, it rained all day and I’m only just starting to dry out. I stuck my head out of the hotel door when we’d finished dinner, but the rain had turned to sleet.

Monday

Visits to the Viking sites of Jarlshof and Old Scatness today, accompanied by a re-enactor. The weather had improved today, as it stayed dried. The gale force winds blew the clouds rapidly across the sky, but they seemed never-ending. Still no chance of seeing the Northern Lights. I had a chat with the barman after dinner, who told me how beautiful they are. In Scotland they are called the Mirrie Dancers and are said to represent battles between sky warriors or fallen angels. When I asked if he thought they would be visible this week, he just shrugged his shoulders.

Tuesday

What I hadn’t realised is that Up Helly Aa is a 24-hour event. Visitors come from all over the islands, the mainland and Europe. Nearly a thousand men dress as Vikings and patrol the town in bands during the day, before assembling for the procession in the evening. I thought it would be cold, standing on the pavement watching them going past, but I had forgotten they carry lighted torches. It was actually quite hot and I wished I hadn’t worn my thermal underwear!

We followed the procession as they dragged the boat along the road to its final resting place.  The Vikings then circled the ship, before a rocket was set off. Then they threw all the torches onto the boat and watched as the flames consumed it.

They had obviously spent ages building it and it seemed such a shame to destroy it, but I suppose it’s the main attraction of the event and it was definitely spectacular.  

I kept looking at the sky during the evening, hoping that the weather forecast would be wrong and that the lights would appear. That would have been the icing on the cake – Up Helly Aa and the Northern Lights on the same night!

It didn’t happen though.

We left the site of the fire and then wandered round the streets, joining in the impromptu parties. Well, we did until about two o’clock in the morning. We were all shattered by then and eager to get back to our beds. I must also add that some of us weren’t particularly sober by then. Beer and whisky make quite a heady mixture!

I must have fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, even though the partying carried on outside. Someone must have let more fireworks off about 3.30 am though, as I woke up with a start. I glanced over to the window, expecting to see the sparkling lights of a rocket, but I was in for a surprise. A strange greenish light was creeping around the edges of the curtain and it was flickering slowly.

I got up and wandered over to the window, pulling one corner of the curtain back. I forgot to mention that my room was on the third floor, so I could look down onto the street and the straggle of revellers who were slowly making them way home or maybe going to another party. They didn’t catch my attention though.

When I looked up and over the next building, I could see lights dancing across the sky. They alternated between yellow, then a pale green and then a vivid emerald green. I was watching the Mirrie Dancers, even though the forecast had been torrential rain overnight. So much for trusting the meteorologists.

I stood at the window transfixed for an hour or so, until the lights slowly faded and sky turned black again. I went back to bed and slept soundly until the alarm went off, ready for breakfast.

No-one else in our group had seen the Northern Lights. They all said they were so tired when they came back to the hotel that they had simply turned in for the night.

I suppose I was just lucky. Well, lucky and prepared. I’d kept my camera next to the bed, just in case, so now I have some stills and a few snatches of video as reminders.

That means I have ticked one item on my bucket list and I can start planning on achieving the next.