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Great Balls of Fire: A Year of Scottish Festivals
 
 

Great Balls of Fire: A Year of Scottish Festivals [Kindle Edition]

Gary Sutherland
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Print List Price: £9.99
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Product Description

Review

This is a fun frolic through the strangeness of Scottish traditional festivals. --The Herald

A very funny and surprisingly touching sideways look at modern Scotland and its people. --The Press & Journal

Insightful and humorous. --Evening Times

Product Description

Old habits die hard in Scotland. During the year, communities in every corner of the country get up to all sorts of capers in the name of tradition: you'll find the strangest activities if you search hard enough and discover there's more to Scotland than Burns' Night. This is a custom-made guide to Scotland's annual festivals in all their wonder and eccentricity by a man who decided to spend his year living ceremoniously. From Up-Helly-Aa in Shetland to the Burning of the Clavie in Burghead, from the Stonehaven Fireballs to South Queensferry's Burry Man, "Great Balls of Fire" is a hilarious and insightful journey around the nation that should not be missed.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 562 KB
  • Print Length: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Birlinn (4 Oct 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B006WC6YSC
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #489,783 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Fests 28 July 2012
Format:Paperback
Having grown up with Sea Queens and Mary and her Court I was bored with local festivals, but Gary Sutherland's book has made me appreciate the sheer range of local festivals - some celebrating events from so long ago the source has been quite forgotten - and the enthusiasm and love they inspire. One of the things I like most about this book is that it's not just a straight report of what happens where and when. Sutherland gets behind the scenes but also reflects on the changing meaning of these festivals, not just to the people in the areas around the festival, but to him as a visitor and as someone whose life changes dramatically in the process of visiting them. After all, life, death and renewal are an integral part of what many of these festivals mark and celerate.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Find out about festivals the easy way!! 28 July 2012
Format:Paperback
Gary did it so we don't have to! I was brought up in Hopeman as well and had been to the Clavie many times, yet Gary S still found out things about the ceremony I never knew about. The sections of the Ba in Orkney and Up Hellya in Shetland were particularly informantive and humerous in equal measures. A great read for folk who are curious about the origins of Scottish festivals - I want to see the Burryman myself now!!
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Balls of Fire. 28 July 2012
By John.
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed the book Great Balls of Fire by Gary Sutherland.

I did make a point of going to the Burghead Clavie as after reading the book it gave me an appetite to go and see the festivals around the country as Gary did.

I do not read many books but this was a present which I recieved from close friends one Christmas which I enjoyed reading while chilling out offshore after my shift.

I would recomend this book as it is well worth a read and well worth keeping for future reference as it is a good guide to anyone who would like to visit any of these festivals to sample the atmosphere which can not be experienced by book knowledge but having said that the book gives a good indication of what you will experience when visiting any of the festivals.

John.
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