Sunday, September 21, 2008

He "Kilt" the audience....

Of course there was a McDonald's presence at the 37th annual Scottish Games & Highland Gathering at Boone Hall.

There was the sponsorship booth with the double arches but also the tale sung by internationally famed Scottish folk singer Alex Beaton about the Massacre of the McDonald Clan by the Campbell's at Glencoe.

My blog often involves local music so his rich baritone voice and guitar work needed to be noted.

Tossing of the Caber was another event that drew lots of interest.

And well it should.

The Caber looks like a 16' telephone pole - it takes 4 people to bring it to the thrower - and weighs between 80 and 130 pounds.

These burly fellows hefted it by the "small" end, got it balanced and then ran forward.

The "toss" was to make it bounce on the heavy end and then fall after flipping so the small end faced away from them. Yikes.

My cousin is part of the Ross Clan and comes down from Camden. She invited me to join her in their tent for the gathering.

I declined again to have some Haggis, which I tried in Scotland many years ago, but missed an opportunity to try a deep-fried Scottish Egg.

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posted by chucker @ 11:12 AM 2 Comments

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Winning Horses were 6-6-6 ......


The 76th running of The Carolina Cup was held in Camden this weekend and it feels good to pick a winner!

Even better when you pick 3 out of 4!

But then, someone mentioned how odd it was that the first three races were won by the number 6 horse. Hmmm. And I had drawn that number twice. Another hmmmm.666.

My horse in the 4th race was number 4 and he won, breaking that string of sixes but apparently, the damage had been done.

The 5th, 6th and 7th races were run in a heavy downpour. The heavens opened. So to speak.

One couple decided to it was time to dance with joy. So, they did.

Usually about 70,000 people attend the Spring event and, this year, the Bridge Run is set for the following Saturday, so there may have been even more soggy celebrants.

Seems like there were 70,000 cars in line ahead of us trying to exit on the single road leading from the mushy infield.

Make way for a winner.

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posted by chucker @ 10:16 PM 0 Comments

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Skipping the 30th Bridge Run

Life is all about decisions.

There are 13 colorful runners numbers hanging on my wall. I have done the Cooper River Bridge Run (actually the Walk) once over the old 2-lane Grace bridge and many times over the 3-lane Perlman.

I have my badge from the walk over the LAST time on the old one and the FIRST walk on the new Ravenel. So now, it's time to do something else on that day.

And that of course means thoroughbred horse racing in Camden, SC for the 75th Carolina Cup.

There was a day in 2004 when the two events did NOT happen on the same weekend so I accepted an invitation from my cousin to drive to her city for the excitement of pounding hooves....flat racing AND steeplechase.

The "races" have quite a history and are filled with tradition. A silly comment I heard often was "I was there all day and never saw a horse." Those young drinkers missed a fun part of the day.

If you are extremely fortunate, you meet for ham biscuits and Bloody Marys then caravan to the family parking spot in the infield.

These are highly coveted prize locations and are handed down from generation to generation and appear as items of contention in nasty divorces.



You park, erect a tent and tables and open up a huge fancy meal, served on the good china and silver with bouquets of flowers for the centerpiece. Ah, The Sport of Kings!

It seems a shame that the Bridge Run and the "Cup" usually happen at the same time.

A coordinated date could mean an additional 50,000 to 70,000 people at each event.

That's a lot of shrimp.

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posted by chucker @ 11:41 AM 1 Comments