Midsimmer Carnival

This is the Midsimmer Special Month on Zindagi aka Life is Rawmazing! If you have followed my previous post, you would know exactly what I am talking about?! Midsimmer is Shetland’s time of light, time of mid summer when we get almost 19hours of daylight ! It is beautiful beyond words, when you see the sky changing colors of pale. As I said the last time, Midsimmer months in Shetland are the months about Lots!! Music festivals, Wool week, Craft trail, Yacht Races, Regattas, Nature Festival, Geopark week, you name it and we have it here in Shetland! Oh, did I just miss listing the Lerwick Midsimmer Carnival, an event that I thoroughly savored last Saturday with Fish&Chips and a 99!

                            Colorful floats and happy faces-Photo by Carol Aderson

What the hell is a 99?! … was my facial expression when the two 12 year old went – ‘Can we have four 99’s please?’ at the counter! Read further for the 99 story, but getting back to the Carnival just now.

2015 marked the the 9^th year of the MidSimmer Carnival and it is very much a regular annual in Shetland’s busy calendar of summer events The fancy dress parade through the town of Lerwick on to the Victoria Pier with themed floats, bikers and sometimes even Shetland ponies is what you will see in a typical midsummer carnival ! It’s a colorful evening of fun and energetic atmosphere, in aid of the Callum Younger Reach Fund.  

The floating parade passes by you on the streets with a lot of enthusiasm, cheering, fun and in return the you throw money at them and they throw sweeties at you ! Fair deal, isn’t it! This money is used as a part of the fund raising, hence the buckets .

Almost like a scramble on the streets for the kids and the adult kids too ! All the change, copper coins in my household and I am sure many other Shetland families are saved for the MidsimmerCarnival !

Puffin Fudge- Rasining Monies

The Callum Younger Reach Fund helps young folk in Shetland to fulfill their dreams. The fund was set up by Malcolm Younger, who lost his son to an unknown heart condition in April 2005, at the age of just ten. Isn’t this just fabulous? Celebrating the remembrance in such a noble way. I hear, that since the fund was set up more than £50,000 has been given out to various young people and groups throughout Shetland. This is another big reason why the annual Lerwick Midsummer Carnival, has every reason to be well supported by the Shetland community. I was a bit vexed that I didn’t have my camera on me, but my heart was delighted when Carol shared some of these spectacular shots taken and David has even promised me a full capture in video which I will upload soon. In Shetland, every problem is no problem! (In a way, I am now glad I didn’t have my camera as my clicks would not be half as good as these 😉

So what’s a 99? I didn’t have a clue but I did have an icecream, so I didn’t worry too much then !

 

                                                   My Super 99!!

On using my google goggles, I found out later that there were many versions of the how the name 99 was coined?!

Someone said, a shopkeeper in 1922 at 99 Portobello High Street, would break a large ‘Flake” in half and stick it in his ice cream. Cadbury seemed to have taken the idea from his address. While some say that in the 1990s, a Flake was sold for 99 pence, and that’s where the name came from! To some the chocolate flake reminded them of the Alpine Regiment’s hat, with a long dark feather cocked at an angle, the 99 look!

But that’s not the point! The point my 99 was Super! My learning of the day too! Hope you enjoy one, soon!!

Until then, I have some exciting things planned on the weekend.. more MidSimmer adventures lined up for me, which means more to blog, chat and blabber about 🙂 

Happy Midsimmer 🙂 Anu xx