Up Helly Aa - an unparalleled experience

02/09/24 • 47 min

On this episode of Scran Rosalind takes the long trek north to experience a singular event, Shetland's Up Helly Aa which takes place in Lerwick at the end of January each year.

Rosalind spent two days on the island learning about the festival and its long tradition as well as exploring Shetland's world of food and drink, both past and present. You'll hear an array of voices, music and sounds on today's podcast.

First up Rosalind meets Ryan Leith of the Up Helly Aa Committee to learn more about the festival and the lengthy planning process it takes to run the event each year.

Rosalind went along to Lerwick's modern performing arts venue Mareel where a food and drink fair was taking place. There she met with island producers and businesses to find out more about the island's food and drink heritage and what is happening in this vibrant, progressive community.

She speaks to Martin Watt of Lerwick Distillery, Mary Andreas of Shetland Food and Drink, Nicola Johnston of Island Larder, Mark Turnbull of Shetland Reel Distillery, Johnny Sanderson of Lerwick Brewery and David Parham of the Hand Made Fish Co.

You'll also hear Rosalind chat to Kerry Redfern, a hostess at Sound Primary School which was preparing for hosting guests and the squads of guizers after the burning of the galley at Up Helly Aa.

Finally, you'll hear from the Guizer Jarl himself Richard Moar as well as some very important quizers this year - the first females ever to take part as part of the main Jarl squad, Sana and Zara.

Thanks to Adam Civico, Robert Geddes, Promote Shetland and all our contributors on the podcast. Thanks too to Jasmine Hendricks who you'll hear singing along beautifully to the Up Helly Aa song at the end of the podcast.

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On this episode of Scran Rosalind takes the long trek north to experience a singular event, Shetland's Up Helly Aa which takes place in Lerwick at the end of January each year.

First up Rosalind meets Ryan Leith of the Up Helly Aa Committee to learn more about the festival and the lengthy planning process it takes to run the event each year.

You'll also hear Rosalind chat to Kerry Redfern, a hostess at Sound Primary School which was preparing for hosting guests and the squads of guizers after the burning of the galley at Up Helly Aa.

Finally, you'll hear from the Guizer Jarl himself Richard Moar as well as some very important quizers this year - the first females ever to take part as part of the main Jarl squad, Sana and Zara.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

The changing face of the dairy industry

On today's episode we are looking at the changing face of the dairy industry. With a rich heritage of dairy farming and production in Scotland, challenges over the last 20 years have meant that dairies have had to diversify or die. Today we talk to three such businesses whose roots in traditional farming are still informing their work today.

First up Rosalind chats to Bryce Cunningham of Mossgiel farm. Having experienced a number of devastating blows the business was forced to go back to basics and from there they have grown into a sustainable, modern operation.

Rosalind also speaks to David and Wilma Finlay of The Ethical Dairy who may be known more widely for their ice-cream business Cream O'Galloway, which they have just sold. As you'll hear, a change of hearts and minds was needed to embrace a new way of working but when they did, a whole world has opened up and one which seems to be reaping rewards for them.

Finally, Rosalind talks to Robert Graham of Graham's Dairy - one of the best known dairy brands in Scotland and beyond. Grahams have found great recent success in their production of dairy-based protein products alongside the traditional milk production they were famous for.

By the end of this podcast we think you'll agree there's lots of innovation going on in the dairy industry in Scotland.

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Next Episode

Bonus Episode - The Scotch Whisky experience and its career-launching history

This is a special partnership episode of Scran with the Scotch Whisky Experience.

Nestled on Castle Hill, within a stones throw of Edinburgh Castle, the Scotch Whisky Experience has been welcoming visitors from all over the world since the late 80s - a time when the world of whisky was very, very different to what it is now.

Rosalind went along to experience this popular tour and speak to some of the people in the know about how it came about, what it has to offer and how it has played a not insignificant role in nurturing much of the talent found in the whisky industry today.

Rosalind chats to Angela Dineen, Operations Director about the history of the experience as well as modern undertakings, including the recent investment of £3.5m into a new tour and how it houses one of the world's largest collections of scotch whisky.

She also speaks to Michelle Pizzi, Site Director of The North British Distillery and Alex Thomson, Visitor Attraction Manager at The Glenturret Distillery who share their memories of their time working at the Scotch Whisky Experience and how it helped shape their future careers in the industry. They offer some great insight into working in this thriving industry and how the Scotch Whisky Experience has played its part in their careers.

If you're interested in opportunities with them, check out their website where you can find more information.

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