On this episode of Scran I took the long trek north to experience a bucket-list event, Shetland's Up Helly Aa which takes place in Lerwick at the end of January each year.
I 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.
I 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.
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00:00 [Music]
00:15 Hello and welcome to Scran. I'm Roslyn Derskin and you're listening to this year's Yarrow Squad at Shetland's main Up Helly Aa festival,
00:22 singing the Up Helly Aa song at the Market Cross in Lerwick on the morning of the big event.
00:27 Producer Kelly and I went to the island to hear about its exciting food history and future,
00:32 when this bucket list event was taking place at the end of January.
00:36 Thanks for joining us on another culinary adventure in Scotland.
00:40 [Music]
00:49 So we're in the galley shed with Ryan Leith who is the galley foreman,
00:53 and we're going to find out a little bit about what's about to take place tomorrow.
00:56 So Ryan, could you just tell us for anyone that doesn't know what your role is in Up Helly Aa?
01:01 Yeah, I'm the galley foreman, so my job is to organise the workers that build the galley each year.
01:06 So we start in October and it takes about four months to build the galley.
01:10 The boys have just finished it this morning.
01:12 The galley is a replica longship. The lines were drawn in 1949 by a local boat builder,
01:19 and we've kept the design the same since then.
01:21 It's got shields on it, and oars, and a mast, and a hide in the tail, so it looks like a dragon.
01:27 That's the idea.
01:29 Yeah, so it's a sort of ombre, really nice blue this year.
01:33 So how do you decide the colours and what is the significance of the colour?
01:37 Yeah, the colours is decided by the yarrel.
01:39 So we built the ship to the same design, and then the painters take over after New Year,
01:44 and it's up to the guys at the yarrel to decide what colour scheme he's going to go for on the galley,
01:49 and it usually matches his own suit or the suit of his squad.
01:53 So again, for anyone that doesn't know, could you just explain the squads and how that happens?
01:57 Yeah, the squads, there's a maximum of 47 squads. I think there's 46 this year.
02:02 So the yarrel squad is the main squad. That's the ones that dress up as Vikings.
02:05 There's probably 50 or 60 people in the yarrel squad, so that's the main thing you'll see.
02:10 And then there's the other 45 squads this year are made up of guys that are following a different theme.
02:17 So they might be on a theme of a film that's been out recently or some music or something like that.
02:22 So the other 45 squads are not dressed up as Vikings.
02:25 They have various different costumes that you'll see tomorrow night.
02:29 And what is your role within tomorrow? Are you part of a squad? Are you going to be in amongst it all?
02:34 Yeah, I'm in charge of the galley during the day.
02:36 So we leave the shed in the morning with a galley following the yarrel squad,
02:41 and then the galley goes to the pier, and at night I'll be involved with lighting the torches.
02:46 I'm one of the marshals in the procession, so I'll be lighting the torches with a flare during the procession.
02:52 And I'll be following the galley until it's burnt, and then after that, my official duty's finished,
02:57 and then I join my own squad and visit all the halls.
03:01 And what does that entail? Obviously you're visiting lots of different halls,
03:05 but is it different things happening in different halls? What's it all about?
03:09 Yeah, each squad has an act. They come in and do an act.
03:12 So if you go to a hall, it starts at 9 o'clock at night, lasts till 8 o'clock in the morning.
03:17 So it's a whole night, and the 46 squads come through each hall and do an act based on the theme of their suit,
03:23 and then they dance, and each hall lays on supper and food, and there might be the occasional drink on the go as well.
03:30 And what kind of food and drink would it be?
03:33 Well, it's just the local hosts and hostesses make the food. It's usually sandwiches and fancies and cakes and things,
03:40 and then there's always soup. So the guys, if it's a bad night and you've been travelling around, you might have gotten a bit wet,
03:45 so you go in and get warmed up and have some soup, and maybe the guests take their own drinks with them.
03:51 So it sounds like a mix of Halloween guys in and also New Year.
03:56 Yeah, it's similar to that. It's on an epic scale.
04:00 There's guys in tradition here at New Year as well, but because of what Pelly has at the end of January,
04:06 New Year is not such a big thing here as it is maybe on the mainland, because everybody's getting geared up for Opeliah.
04:12 That's the main event of the winter. So Christmas and New Year is not so important, and it's Opeliah everybody concentrates on.
04:18 What's the brief history of it? So it's supposed to be like a Viking ship, right?
04:22 Yeah, the Viking theme started way back in the late 1800s.
04:26 They burnt tar barrels to start with, and it became a bit riotous, and the locals decided to make it more organised.
04:33 So they had a torchlit procession instead of rolling the tar barrels, and then from then they adopted a Viking theme to reflect the history of the islands.
04:41 And from then on, that's where the guys of the Jarl and the Jarl Squad started.
04:45 So it's been going like that for over 100 years.
04:48 As of last year, women were allowed to join, women and girls, and there'll be girls in the Jarl Squad this year.
04:54 How have people taken to that? Is it quite exciting?
04:57 Yeah, it was a big debate for a while, but we as a committee decided to change the rules just to go with the times.
05:03 And I think it's been a great development for the festival, far more positive.
05:07 And last year, as you say, it was the first year that there was women in the squads.
05:11 This year is the first time that there'll be women in the Jarl Squad.
05:14 So it's great to see good development, I would say.
05:17 Most people were quite supportive of our decision to change the rules.
05:22 And at some point we might see a female Jarl Geyser.
05:25 Yeah, that's possible. It's a long time, as I said before, I joined the committee in 2009, and I'll only be the Guys of the Jarl in 2027.
05:34 So it's a long commitment. So if any girls fancy it, then they're more than welcome.
05:39 It's a lot of work, time and effort, and money, being honest.
05:42 So you've been involved with this for most of your life. So could you tell us a bit about that?
05:46 Yeah, my great-father was the Guys of the Jarl in 1978, so I was out with him when I was five years old.
05:52 And so I've been involved with Opelia all my life, literally.
05:55 And I joined my own squad in 1985 as a fiddlebox carrier, when I was 12.
06:01 And I've been out every year since then, including when I was at university, I used to come home from Opelia.
06:07 So I've never missed a year since 1985. I've been with the same squad the whole time.
06:12 There's all the social events going on during the year with your squad, so it's a great thing to be involved with.
06:17 Obviously, it's a big part of your life. How important, culturally, is it for people in Shetland?
06:22 I would say it's the biggest festival in Shetland, north of here. It's the highlight of the year for anybody who's involved with the festival.
06:28 Not everybody's involved, but certainly for those that are involved, it's definitely the biggest event of the year.
06:33 And it's great because it's in the middle of winter and it attracts a lot of tourism.
06:37 When there would be none, I mean, we've got a lot of tourists here in the summer when the weather's nice,
06:41 but January, the weather can be a bit windy and rainy sometimes.
06:44 So it's great for the local businesses as well. Visitors come in and eat in the restaurants and the pub and everything else.
06:51 All the guest houses and hotels are full. So it's really good in that respect.
06:55 And culturally, for the locals, it's something everybody looks forward to during the dark winter months.
07:00 Sounds like a really nice community thing as well.
07:02 Like, if you've been part of your own squad for so long and you're friends,
07:05 you'll be excited to be the main attraction at some point.
07:08 But yeah, you've got people that you've known forever.
07:12 Yeah, that's the same. A lot of my squad is the same as it was when I joined.
07:16 You know, the older guys eventually retire and the younger guys have been fiddlebox carriers.
07:21 You know, they take over the places in the squad.
07:23 So it's a lot of family ties and friends in the same squad. It's great.
07:28 What's a fiddlebox carrier?
07:30 Yeah, a fiddlebox carrier. When you first join the squad at age 12, then you're what's called a fiddlebox carrier.
07:36 Back in the day, a lot of squads had live music.
07:39 So the fiddler and the accordionist would hand their instruments to the young boys to look after until they went to the next hall.
07:46 So that's where the term fiddlebox carrier comes from.
07:49 Now it's more, you have to carry props.
07:52 If there's props in the act that you use, or a lot of squads have stereos nowadays,
07:58 so the fiddlebox carriers are in charge of looking after all the props and the music
08:03 so that the guys in the squad could just enjoy their time in the hall and not have to run back and forth to the bus.
08:08 So it's basically like an apprenticeship for three or four years before you become a full squad member.
08:14 So can you tell us a bit about what your theme might be tomorrow night?
08:17 My squad tomorrow night is based on the new song that the Beatles recently released.
08:22 So we're doing that and we're doing a medley of Beatles songs.
08:25 So we're all dressed up in Beatles costumes and I'm the captain of the yellow submarine.
08:29 So my props weigh a ton. I've got this submarine to carry around all night.
08:34 It'll be a lot of fun.
08:36 So looking forward to seeing you and singing some Beatles songs tomorrow night.
08:39 Everybody's welcome to join in. It's a well-known song so it should be good.
08:43 Thank you very much.
08:44 Thanks very much.
08:45 Back to food and drink, I headed along to Muriel, which was hosting a food fair,
08:50 to meet up with some island producers and businesses to see what was happening on the island.
08:55 First up, I spoke to Martin Watt, the managing director of Lerwick Distillery,
08:59 the island's first, set to open this summer.
09:02 After, you'll hear me chat to Mary Andreas, the finance officer for Shetland Food & Drink.
09:07 She tells me about traditional island fare like bannocks and dried fish.
09:11 Plus, she tells me how Shetland Food & Drink supports local businesses.
09:15 Hi Martin, how are you?
09:19 I'm very well, thank you.
09:20 So could you tell us a bit about the distillery?
09:23 Okay, so plans for a whisky distillery in Shetland are not new.
09:26 They've probably been bubbling along for about 20 years.
09:30 We took it forward about six years ago and got nowhere with it.
09:34 And we picked it up again just over two years ago.
09:37 And we are now in a position where we are expecting to open this summer.
09:43 So when you say took it forward and didn't get anywhere with it,
09:45 was it planning permission or funding or how was it working?
09:49 We actually couldn't find any suitable land within Lerwick
09:53 because we felt it was quite important to have it situated within the main town in Shetland.
09:59 And that's primarily because we need to have a good passing trade
10:03 from the cruise ships etc that come into the town.
10:06 And what's your background? Have you worked in distilling for a long time or is this a sort of new thing?
10:11 I'm a chartered accountant.
10:13 So I've set up and run and sold a number of businesses in the past.
10:18 This one's slightly different because I have a genuine interest in whisky.
10:23 I like drinking it.
10:24 The idea is to just set something up that hopefully Shetland can be proud of
10:28 and we can create a number of high quality jobs
10:31 and hopefully put Shetland on the map for other reasons.
10:34 In terms of your whisky, do you know what kind of character it has?
10:37 Have you got to that point yet?
10:39 A lot of start-up distilleries probably have a lot of trial and error when they open.
10:44 We've got a huge advantage over a lot of other start-up distilleries
10:48 in that our master distiller, who's a chap called Ian Miller,
10:51 he's got 50 years experience in whisky and has been the master distiller
10:55 in a number of high profile distilleries such as Palveni and Glenfiddich.
11:00 So we're by no means beginners because we've got him on board with us.
11:05 He's actually designed our distillery and he's taken on board the character
11:10 that we want to achieve in terms of the taste of our whisky.
11:14 So everything is designed around producing a premium quality whisky
11:19 that will be very palatable.
11:21 I can't really say what it'll be like because whisky's never been made on Shetland before
11:26 and therefore I can't tell you what we don't know.
11:29 All we've done is line our ducks up so that we know that we've got the best possible chance
11:34 of creating what we want to create in terms of the palate.
11:37 A lot of it comes down to the wood and the maturation.
11:39 And are you peated, non-peated, going to do a bit of both?
11:42 Everybody associates peat with Shetland because Shetland is pretty much covered in peat.
11:47 I can tell you though that probably none of our whisky will be peated.
11:52 We do, however, intend to use what's called a chocolate malt.
11:57 There isn't any chocolate anywhere near it, it's just barley that's been malted a little bit longer
12:01 so that it caramelises and it'll give it a slightly different taste profile
12:06 to just normal malted barley.
12:08 And when I say we'll use chocolate malt, it'll just be a very small proportion
12:13 of the malt mix that we use going forward.
12:15 The other reason for not using peat is because it's not environmentally friendly.
12:21 Yeah, that's a whole other discussion, but yeah, I know what you mean.
12:25 You want to open the distillery in the summer for visitors,
12:28 so what is the timeline for opening and also for getting your whisky out there?
12:32 Our equipment will start arriving in Shetland over the next two or three weeks
12:37 with our fermenters, our mash tun, our condensers all arriving on the first shipment.
12:43 And then about four weeks after that, our stills will arrive in Shetland
12:47 and it'll take us maybe five, six weeks to commission the place,
12:51 so it'll be a very rapid transformation.
12:54 We hope to have the shop open April/May and then with the distillery producing June/July.
13:00 So it's three years and one day before you can call it a whisky,
13:04 but the intention is that we will be selling new make spirit from day one.
13:09 It's going to be called 'had still', so 'had still' is a Shetland phrase
13:14 that basically holds on until we've got whisky.
13:18 The only way to get our new make spirit will be either by joining one of our bottle club memberships
13:24 or actually visiting the distillery physically.
13:28 We're here for Up Helly Aa and could you tell me a bit about your involvement in it over the years
13:33 and also how important it's going to be for your business?
13:37 We've actually been involved in Up Helly Aa for 40 years now.
13:41 I've missed it once because I was ill and I was lucky enough to be in the Arles squad last year for the first time.
13:48 So I'm back out again with my normal squad and a few guys have come up to visit.
13:52 You've probably seen that it's quite crazy around the town
13:55 and I've seen a massive change over the last few years with the number of visitors coming in
14:00 and I think that's just going to increase as time goes on, more and more people become aware of it.
14:06 That underpins what our business plan is for the distillery.
14:09 We've obviously got an influx of visitors at this time of year
14:12 and therefore we expect to have a significant number of visitors over Up Helly Aa time.
14:17 During the summer months, Lerwick also gets visited by about 150 cruise ships every year
14:23 with about 150,000 passengers I would estimate coming into the island.
14:28 So again, we're geared towards doing tours and tastings
14:32 and having visitors come into the distillery via that route as well.
14:36 Well it sounds really interesting, so thank you very much, we need to come back.
14:39 You're welcome, any time. Come for a dram!
14:42 My name is Mary Andreas, I'm the Finance Officer for Shetland Food & Drink.
14:53 So could you just tell us a little bit about Shetland Food & Drink?
14:57 Primarily we're a membership organisation
15:00 so we have approximately 100 members
15:03 and the people range from large companies down to very small companies
15:08 and we've tried to base our membership so that it can cater for all the different aspects.
15:14 So you can be a multi-million pound fishing industry or else you could be a small person.
15:21 We've got something that we call a micro-membership,
15:23 trying to encourage small groups to get underway
15:27 and have access to our website and all the kind of experiences that we can help small businesses thrive.
15:34 So we try and encompass it across all the different elements of food and drink in Shetland.
15:40 And we're here now at the Uphelia food market,
15:42 so how important is that to the food and drink businesses in Shetland?
15:47 We try and put food markets on at various times through the year.
15:51 There's usually a large one in October,
15:53 but for a number of years we've been running this market for Uphelia
15:57 and trying to get as many of our members to come and show their wares.
16:01 It's an ideal opportunity for people coming into Shetland
16:05 to see a little bit about the food and the heritage while they're here on holiday for Uphelia.
16:11 We love to show off all the things that we have to offer
16:14 and today we've got a number of stalls, we've got people demonstrating various things.
16:19 I was making bannocks earlier on, they're very traditional Shetland
16:22 and there's somebody in there now making fish dishes.
16:25 We had somebody actually take scallops out of their shell and cooking them earlier on.
16:29 Lots of music too, so we can demonstrate Shetland music as well.
16:33 So you mentioned the weather there is a bit of a challenge.
16:35 What are the other kind of challenges that your members might experience being part of an island community?
16:40 We live in a remote place.
16:42 I think one of the biggest challenges of getting anything on and off the island is transportation.
16:48 In many ways it's the same with any island community in Scotland.
16:51 We are at the mercy of the shipping available to us
16:55 and if the weather is bad the ferries can't operate.
16:59 So we need to be more self-sufficient in many ways.
17:04 We've got a dairy, we've got fish, we've got meat, but it's bringing in all the vegetables.
17:10 We have a small growing season in Shetland
17:12 so an awful lot of our slightly unusual vegetables all have to come in by sea
17:17 and that probably is one of the basic things.
17:21 Every year all the costs of transport goes up
17:25 and that all puts challenges to any company trying to export out of the island.
17:30 You mentioned earlier, you did a demonstration of a heritage dish.
17:34 What would people associate with Shetland from the past?
17:38 You've got Aberdeens, you've got butteries.
17:40 Do you have a version of traditional Shetland food?
17:44 The thing that always springs to mind is in years gone by
17:48 if you were trying to store fish or meat over winter you would have to salt it.
17:54 So there's something that we call 'reasted mutton'
17:57 which is a very traditional thing where the meat from the sheep is put into a brine
18:03 and then it's dried off.
18:05 Not quite so much these days but it used to be hung over a peat fire
18:10 so you'd get the smoke from the peat and that would dry it out
18:13 so it becomes really hard and you can store that for long enough
18:17 outside any fridge or freezer.
18:20 And then when you come to use it you regenerate it, you soak it in water
18:25 and then that's used for boiling up a soup or something with potatoes and carrots
18:30 and swede, a bit of cabbage.
18:32 That's all traditional things that are easily available in Shetland
18:36 so that's very traditional.
18:37 Salt fish the same way.
18:39 I can remember my parents salting it in a barrel.
18:42 It would be dried off on a clothesline.
18:44 You'd go along and you'd see all this fish hanging on a clothesline
18:47 which almost amuses people.
18:49 But again they would become very hard and then you were able to store that
18:52 for lengthy periods of time.
18:54 So there and then bannocks, we had flour.
18:57 Most countries have something, unleavened bread, that kind of tradition,
19:01 naan bread or whatever.
19:03 We would make bannocks using self-raising flour, buttermilk
19:08 which was obviously in big supply
19:10 and you'd soak that over a brandy or a hot plate
19:13 and now people put them in ovens and whatever.
19:16 But the bannock, you'll find at large gatherings then soup and bannocks
19:21 is a very easy way of feeding a lot of people
19:24 so we make a lot of them.
19:26 Are we likely to see them at the Uphilliaire?
19:28 I would think so because there'll be a running supper at the halls
19:32 that are open after the procession all through the night
19:35 till 8.30 in the morning.
19:37 I would imagine there'll be plenty of bannocks on show there
19:40 so they should have a running supper.
19:42 You can just go and any time during the evening you can go and have a drink
19:45 and go and top up on something to eat just to keep people going.
19:48 It's great.
19:49 Looking forward to it.
19:50 So what are you most excited about in the Shetland food and drink scene just now?
19:54 Things have certainly been difficult following both Brexit and then Covid
19:59 and it's just taken a little while for people to get out and about a little bit more.
20:05 I think on the food and drink scene I've been involved for the last few years
20:08 with Shetland food and drink and what I find the most changing
20:13 is the fact that now you can go into most of the local shops
20:18 and you're able to buy Shetland goods and that to me is a huge thing
20:23 because before you would come to a food market and you'd think
20:26 oh gosh I've never seen that before but now it's so much more open to everybody
20:31 and transportation, I live in a place called Bigden in the south of Shetland
20:36 and we get bread once a week from the bakery up in Yell for instance
20:41 so we're able to move around the island that bit more
20:44 and find ways of getting goods from one place to another.
20:48 We have a local bus service and sometimes the bus will drop off a box of maybe meat
20:53 from a butcher or something like that.
20:55 So I think it's just trying to be more wise about how you can transport things
20:59 and making sure that all the lovely things that we have available
21:02 can be shared throughout the island.
21:05 And can you tell us where people who are not on the island
21:07 can find out more about Shetland food and drink?
21:09 Well we have a website, a great website, it's www.tastetofshetland.com
21:15 so please go on there, have a look, it gives all the websites,
21:19 all the information about all our membership.
21:21 We do have an online shop, the website also has a lot of information,
21:25 it's got some recipes, it's got some films that we've taken over the years,
21:30 heritage films too, so trying to make sure that all the old traditions are kept
21:38 and catalogued somewhere that people can watch them from anywhere.
21:43 We've got some of the food festival footage on there,
21:46 so yes, anybody interested please go to the website and email us
21:50 if there's anything that you'd like to know that you can't find.
21:53 Well thank you very much.
21:55 Thank you, nice to meet you.
21:56 You too.
21:57 Ok, so in here we've got a room full of volunteers,
22:08 some are hostesses, most of them are hostesses and most of them are family members,
22:13 some people that have been involved in Opelia in the past,
22:17 that just love to come for the atmosphere and come to be part of the help.
22:21 That's Kerry Redfern, a hostess at Sound Primary School,
22:28 which was preparing for hosting their guests and the squads of geysers.
22:31 I was intrigued to learn more about the feasting element of the event,
22:34 so went along to see how preparations were going.
22:37 I'm Kerry Redfern, I'm a hostess here at the Sound School.
22:43 The Sound School's been a hall since 1978, the year I was born,
22:47 and I've been a hostess for 19 years this year.
22:50 I'm part of a committee if you like, a group of hosts and hostesses.
22:55 We have 16 of us in total that volunteer with time to come and host at this hall for a big party
23:05 to support Opelia and its festival.
23:08 The Sound School is one of 11 halls in Lerwick that we invite our squads
23:14 and the Geyser Jarl Squad to visit and tour around.
23:17 They will do an act each, it tends to be something on a local topic,
23:22 or it might just be a dance routine.
23:25 I hear a small rumour that there might be somebody being like Barbie and Ken this year,
23:29 and I have to say I've spotted a few blonde men walking around the town that are not normally blonde.
23:34 Each squad is in every hall for approximately an hour.
23:38 No hall is allowed to be without a squad in it.
23:42 The squads have to stay until the next squad arrives.
23:45 We generally tend to find that there's two, three, sometimes four squads in at one time.
23:49 They come into the hall, they do their act, they have a dance,
23:52 and then they'll go and socialise, maybe have a pitty dram.
23:56 We thought there'd been no scene since last year.
23:59 And then the fiddlebox carriers, who are local young boys, have the thankless task of rounding up all that squad,
24:07 getting all the props organised, onto the bus and ready to go to the next hall.
24:11 So what we do tonight is we try and prepare as much as we can,
24:15 so that when we arrive on Tuesday we're good to go.
24:18 We've got people slicing bannocks, buttering bannocks.
24:21 We've got salt beef, Shetland tradition, that goes in with bannocks, very tasty.
24:25 We've got rolls, we do have a butter shortage, but somebody's gone to get more butter.
24:30 And then we also have soup, vegetable soup, lentil soup and tarty soup.
24:36 There's your salt beef, we'll had a give you a pitty taste of that, you're maybe had a taste of that.
24:39 Sausage rolls get heated up, and then we have some more.
24:43 Shetland delicacy getting chopped up for going in soup for those people that lick it.
24:48 So it really is a squad of folk that's here just because we love a pelly-a.
24:52 We want everybody to have a good night and full bellies, basically.
24:55 I'm going to try some of the salt beef that is going to be available.
24:58 I'm going to assume that it's made similar to the mutton, so it's salted and then hung to dry,
25:05 and then obviously it's been chopped up into little bits in a massive bowl.
25:09 What we do is we put the salt beef chunks into a massive bowl,
25:13 and when we serve the soup at Gies, we're guests the option to take a spoonful of salt beef and mix it into their soup.
25:21 It's kind of an acquired taste, most folk love it, and we did lots of salt beef,
25:24 but obviously for vegetarians among us, they would rather not have it in their soup.
25:28 We do have lamb in the lentil soup, but this is obviously to provide a meat-free option for those that don't like meat.
25:38 But this is kind of a staple, salt beef and soup in bannocks, you can't beat it on a cold night.
25:44 And the bannocks, they look like puffed up potato scones, but you've got them again in big boxes,
25:51 and it's amazing to see because we can't buy that, I couldn't go into a bakery in Glasgow and buy that.
25:56 No, no, they're very unique to Shetland, our local bakeries are very good,
26:00 supporting the local economy as well, we're all helping each other,
26:03 and I think that's really important for this kind of festival, if you like.
26:07 We're all working together and supporting each other, because it's done a lot for Shetland.
26:12 Do you serve anything sweet as well, or is it just savoury?
26:14 Well, you can't have a cup of tea without a fancy, so what we do is hostesses, we're shears,
26:19 we all bake six dozen homebakes, and we take them along on the night, and they get served.
26:24 It's just really what each hostess's talents are, you might have a bar of tiffin,
26:29 you might have a scone, you might have chocolate fudge cake, it's just a real mix of things,
26:34 but that's one thing we do do ourselves, is we do our baking.
26:37 So how many people are you catering for between guests and the Aral Squad?
26:40 I suppose you kind of know a number, because you kind of have to.
26:43 Yeah, so we came, we've got 250 guests that we invite to the hall,
26:48 we know that there's four to six squads, that's including the Aral Squad,
26:53 and we kind of generally know the numbers of geysers,
26:57 and this year there's over 940 geysers, so again, because this hall's been on the go for so long,
27:04 you just kind of can't know what you're catering for.
27:07 It can depend on the weather, how much food you go through and how quickly you go through it.
27:12 Last year was quite a mild year, so we managed to string the soup out till the early hours of the morning,
27:17 whereas the year before was quite a poor night, and the soup ran out really quickly,
27:22 and everybody was wanting warmed up.
27:24 It tends to be that non-locals maybe fade away about two o'clock in the morning,
27:29 and it can, if you're aware of when the Aral Squad are coming,
27:34 sometimes that can be a bit of a key to hold them in the hall for langur, I suppose.
27:39 So how many people are involved in preparing the food for this hall?
27:42 Well, we have what we call eight shares, so a share is made up of a couple,
27:48 and then each share just kind of asks family and friends to come along,
27:52 so effectively we've got 16 people on a committee, I suppose, if you would like.
27:57 And then everybody tries to bring as many hands as they can to help us,
28:01 because we're not only setting up for the food preparation side of things.
28:05 This is obviously a school building, so we need to get our hall prepared for geysers and guests to come,
28:11 but also respect the fact that this is a working building,
28:14 so there'll be 300 pupils here tomorrow going about their normal day.
28:18 So we have to set up in stages.
28:20 We came on Saturday morning to decorate our hall, put up our flags, hang up previous Aral's shields.
28:27 We set up a stage, we get chairs done.
28:30 We need to be mindful that at eight o'clock on Thursday morning this is a school again,
28:35 so we have to leave the building exactly as we found it.
28:38 So we go all through Tuesday night. Most guests will be left by about half eight in the morning.
28:45 We then get off our glad rags, put on our loungewear, and we start to clean.
28:50 Last year most of us got home about 11.30am.
28:53 Sounds like an epic night.
28:55 Yeah, it certainly is that, but it's really special.
28:59 It's nice to be a part of it. I'm a Shetlander born and bred.
29:02 What are your hopes for Up Helly I this year?
29:04 I just want everybody to have a good night. It's such good fun.
29:09 You get to meet up with folk that you've not seen since last Up Helly I.
29:13 I just want everybody to be happy and dance the night away.
29:16 Sounds good.
29:17 You're very welcome to join us.
29:19 Thank you very much.
29:20 Oh, you're very welcome. Thank you.
29:22 Kerry was right about non-locals slipping away as the night went on,
29:30 but we managed to keep going until 3am, which I don't think is bad for a beginner.
29:35 Back to the food fair now, and I chatty to Nicola Johnston about her unique confectionary business, Island Larder.
29:42 You can find her on TikTok where she's been making a splash in recent times.
29:46 Check her out there or on other social media if you want to know more.
29:50 Following Nicola you'll hear from Mark Turnbull of Shetland Real Distillery,
29:54 who talks about their gin and its special Up Helly I bottling.
29:58 So, could you tell us a little bit about your business, how it came to be and the type of products that you have?
30:03 Yeah, so I was 14 years old and I worked in the Island Larder,
30:07 which was formerly Kent's Shetland Pitch Company.
30:10 I had my first ever Saturday job there and I fell in love with everything chocolate.
30:15 But more so I loved the visitors that came and got to try a piece of chocolate.
30:21 So, yeah, I'm really proud to be part of that experience.
30:24 And then as time went on and I got more involved in the business,
30:27 I saw the potential for not just the product but the business itself.
30:31 And in 2014, me and my husband bought our Shetland Pitch Company.
30:36 And it wasn't until 2020 when we rebranded to be Island Larder,
30:40 where we still manufacture a bigger range of products.
30:43 Can you tell us about some of the products and are you making them all as well?
30:47 Yeah, so we make everything by hand, so we make the chocolate,
30:51 we make the puff and poo, we make the gourmet marshmallow,
30:54 we make Shetland ice cream, we're the only producers that make
30:57 Shetland ice cream and Shetland milk and cream.
31:00 And then we've got Scottish tablet.
31:02 [Music]
31:07 Could you tell us a little bit about the Shetland Real Gin Company?
31:10 We were formed in 2014.
31:13 We're a small company, we're a small company,
31:16 but we're a small company.
31:18 We were formed in 2014.
31:20 The company has four directors, two couples,
31:23 Debbie and Frank Strang and one man, Stuart Nickerson.
31:26 Stuart is an expert in whisky and that was our aim at the start,
31:30 to produce whisky.
31:32 But we needed like five million pounds and it had to sit about
31:35 and no returns and so gin was just taking off at that time.
31:40 So we decided we'd go down the gin route.
31:43 And the original, that was our first one,
31:46 and then we branched out to the ocean scent, the simmer,
31:48 and now we have nine gins and we produce a Pell├йas gin,
31:52 different limited edition every year and it's usually cask aged.
31:55 It's been 57% Navy strength in the past,
31:59 but going forward from 2019 it's been 40%.
32:02 Zesty essence aged in a port cask.
32:05 So that's this year's one.
32:08 So I'm going to try some while I'm trying it.
32:10 Do you want to tell us a bit about this one
32:12 and where you get your ideas?
32:13 Obviously cask aged, you're going to get cask from somewhere
32:15 and is it a big seller for you?
32:17 We sell out that Pell├йas every year.
32:20 It's a limited edition, once it's done it's done.
32:23 And as I said in the past we've done Navy strength 57%,
32:28 but from 2019 forward it's like 40% now.
32:33 This year's one is our Zesty gin,
32:36 which is a lemon gin aged in a port cask for three months
32:41 and then reduced to 40% and then bottled.
32:44 This is the only one we use wax for the caps.
32:47 The other ones are polyalaminates for the normal gins and things.
32:50 So that's the one here and it's got the Viking in the label
32:53 in the background and it's a nice pink colour,
32:56 that's with the port.
32:58 But they're all different.
32:59 We've done ones with whiskey, sherry, rum.
33:02 So we've done a lot of different ones and ocean scent
33:05 and just a combination.
33:07 Next year will be the 10th year
33:08 and they'll be looking to do something special.
33:10 Next year maybe change the bottle, change the label,
33:12 change the appearance.
33:14 But they'll probably do more bottles next year
33:16 because it's an anniversary or it might go back to the 57%.
33:21 But it's a good sell, they'll always sell out.
33:23 It's really nice.
33:24 You can tell that it's quite fresh and you can tell the lemon through it.
33:28 It'd make a very nice gift.
33:29 Yeah.
33:30 A lot of people buy them and just keep them,
33:33 don't even open them.
33:34 A bit like whiskey.
33:35 Because they've kept them every year.
33:37 And there's probably lots of people who've got nine of these gins sitting unopened
33:42 and they don't want to open one because that's a collection.
33:44 So are you sticking to the gin
33:45 or do you think there will be plans to eventually move into other spirits?
33:49 We've done whiskey before but we haven't made whiskey.
33:52 We've got a blend made for us
33:55 and it was five Speyside malts and one Islay.
33:58 Slightly smoky, slightly peaty
34:00 and in the whiskey bible it was rated like 93 out of 100.
34:04 So really popular but post-Covid the price of the blend went up like three times.
34:09 And it was ┬г36 a bottle.
34:10 You could have charged ┬г100 so we're sort of priced out of it
34:13 but it was popular and it always sold.
34:15 If the price comes down we might go back into it
34:17 but maybe making whiskey ourselves,
34:20 it'd be an awful big outlay for the amount of time you've got to wait to get a return back.
34:24 But that was the original aim right at the start.
34:27 But it was just too much investment was needed.
34:30 So if people want to buy your Uphilly A Gin,
34:32 can they buy it online or do they have to pay?
34:34 Yes, you can buy it online and it will be posted anywhere in the United Kingdom.
34:38 Well thank you very much.
34:39 You're welcome.
34:40 Hi, yes, I'm Johnny Sanderson.
34:45 I am the head brewer at the Lerwick Brewery.
34:47 We've been on the go for about ten years now.
34:51 The brewery itself was initially founded by a trio of brothers.
34:57 The three brothers had inherited a gas supplies company from their father
35:03 a number of years previous to the brewery starting up.
35:05 We're up on a hill and they moved the gas supplies business down the hill to us just next door
35:11 to a nice shiny new building and they basically left behind this sort of
35:16 kind of like an old tin shed basically.
35:19 So rather than let it fall kind of derelict, let it fall apart,
35:23 they thought how could we pump a little bit of new life into it and have a little bit of fun with it.
35:27 And they basically all looked at each other and went, well, we all like beer.
35:30 And they started up the Lerwick Brewery.
35:33 And so obviously you make the beers.
35:35 So could you tell us a bit about the different beers that you do?
35:37 Yeah, sure.
35:38 So the first two beers that were ever created at the Lerwick Brewery were
35:43 the 60 Degrees North and Skipper's Ticket.
35:46 60 Degrees North being sort of German-styled lager, quite malt forward,
35:52 fairly straight to the point and quite accessible.
35:55 And then the Skipper's Ticket there is like an old-fashioned kind of English pale ale.
35:59 60 Degrees North is the first beer we ever made and still to this day remains our most popular.
36:04 Our most recent release is for Apelliard.
36:07 And for this year we have created a very, very straightforward lager.
36:11 So whilst the 60 Degrees North is very kind of hearty, very malty,
36:16 this is quite light, the lightest beer we've ever produced in terms of colour,
36:20 in terms of body and things like that as well.
36:22 It is very, very light, almost no hops in it at all.
36:25 It's very, very easy drinking.
36:26 Sounds good.
36:27 So we're also at the table here.
36:29 We've got some things that I thought were hand warmers.
36:33 I think I've been watching the Traitors for too long.
36:36 Somebody with very thin wrists, yeah.
36:38 So we've got beer cozies here, or stubby holders I think as the Aussies like to call them when they come over.
36:44 And some of them as well, particularly these can holders to go on our cans of the Apelliard lager.
36:49 We've got different Apelliard designs,
36:51 so some with sort of galleys on them, Viking galleys,
36:54 and then also with just Vikings themselves on them.
36:56 These ones here, the bottle covers are all kind of Fair Isle themed,
36:59 and these are all made in Shetland by a local knitwear artist.
37:03 Where can people buy all your produce?
37:06 Our website delivers to most of the UK.
37:10 We're hoping to be in more supermarkets and things over the coming years.
37:14 So your best bet is to buy from our website if you're outside of Shetland.
37:18 It's a little easier to get from local shops and things like that.
37:20 Well thank you very much.
37:21 Nice to speak to you, thank you.
37:23 Cheers.
37:24 Thanks to Johnny Sanderson at Lerwick Brewery for talking to me about his beers.
37:31 My final encounter at the food fair was a very tasty one.
37:34 I met David Parham, owner of the Handmade Fish Co,
37:37 who has been cold smoking Shetland salmon for over 25 years in his own custom-built smokers.
37:43 David uses sawdust from carefully selected oak logs from the north of Scotland to smoke the fish,
37:48 and I can tell you this, he is a details man.
37:51 The salmon was absolutely delicious.
37:54 David is very passionate about his product,
37:56 producing only small quantities with a work ethic akin to that of a high-end Japanese sushi bar.
38:02 I've got a little shed that I've turned into a tasting room,
38:09 and you should come for a tasting and then get the full...
38:13 If you came to the smokehouse and saw my view,
38:17 there's a kind of a Shetland saying that if you're going to build a house in Shetland,
38:22 build it somewhere with a view.
38:24 I'm being very mean.
38:27 No, it's fine.
38:28 But this is the tail cut, so it's very much...
38:33 It's quite salty, it's quite dry because it is such a thin cut,
38:37 and there's not much fat in the tail end either,
38:40 so it's not really the best one to have as a first nibble of your smoked salmon.
38:46 You're better off somewhere around the middle or going towards the head end.
38:51 It tastes really good, though, you say that, but it's lovely.
38:54 It's really gentle kind of wood-fire smoke you can get off it,
38:59 and it's nice and soft, and yeah, I would eat that.
39:05 I think we all have our favourite bit.
39:08 I'll say the most commercial bits would be the middle cuts.
39:12 For me, they're actually not terribly exciting.
39:15 I think that most of the folk that come for the tasting sessions
39:19 actually prefer the head, the tail or the belly.
39:22 The belly's a love-hate because it's really salty, really fatty and really smoky,
39:27 and yeah, as I say, it's so strong that it's a love-hate.
39:32 It's amazing how many different flavours.
39:34 You can get at least four different flavours and textures out of a side of salmon.
39:39 It's never just a side of salmon.
39:42 I know, who knew? That's really interesting.
39:44 If I'm doing scrambled eggs, then what you're eating, the tail cut with scrambled eggs,
39:49 but salmon on the side, never mixed in.
39:52 I like that. Just for a nibble, it probably has to be the bellies.
39:57 This size here, like a centimetre square or something like that, we dram.
40:02 It works very well.
40:04 For my smoked salmon, it's not for having with meals and stuff.
40:08 It's just for sitting quietly, really, and just tiny little nibbles
40:13 and then a wee dram and then another bit to eat.
40:16 A perfect serve.
40:18 Thank you.
40:20 You can find out more about David's Salmon at handmadefish.com.
40:30 I thought I would give you a taster of some sounds from the rest of the festival.
40:34 First, you'll hear from the main man himself, the geyser Jarl, Richard Moore,
40:38 who I managed to grab for a very quick word on the big day.
40:42 You'll also hear producer Kelly speaking to some of the women
40:45 who, for the first time this year, are part of the Jarl Squad.
40:48 We hope someday in the not-too-distant future to see a female take up the role of geyser Jarl.
40:59 It's been quite a long day. You've been up really early.
41:02 How is it feeling now that it's five o'clock and it's getting to the point of the big event?
41:06 It doesn't feel like five o'clock, to be honest. It feels a bit lunchtime.
41:10 We've had a busy schedule. There's a lot to visit and places to go.
41:14 But it's just fun, really enjoyable and exciting.
41:19 So many people to see, so excited, and it's a privilege and an honour
41:24 to be leading the event this year.
41:27 How does it feel to have your daughter and nieces along?
41:29 That's obviously the first time.
41:31 It's good. It's a family event.
41:34 We changed the rules and it gave them the choice to participate.
41:38 One of my daughters said yes, another one said no.
41:40 She wanted to participate from the other side.
41:43 It's an opportunity and it's exciting.
41:47 They're both having special days and it's the days that they wanted to participate with.
41:52 So it's good.
41:53 How does it feel to be the guys on your island?
41:55 Because you've known this is coming for a while and now it's actually happening.
41:58 There's a bit that's surreal in that it's actually here.
42:01 But it's a real privilege, to be honest.
42:04 It's an honour. I'm really humbled by the well wishes and the help that we've had.
42:10 It's been good fun. Hard work, but very proud of what the squad has made and delivered.
42:16 Our suit is entirely handmade from raw materials.
42:19 We've purchased very little, just the decoration that's on the shield and some brooches.
42:23 Everything else we've made from scratch.
42:26 Just really quickly, is there a theme and a reason for the theme?
42:29 Because it looks quite sea themed.
42:31 Yes, so from our house we look out onto the sea.
42:34 I quite like the blue colour when the sand and the sea stirs up.
42:38 It's quite a nice and striking colour.
42:41 The design that's on the cloaks, on the shields and the axes
42:46 is a Griffin based design that was created by a local artist, Tirk Robertson.
42:50 We took that and carried that theme throughout the suit.
42:53 Thank you very much.
42:54 What's your name?
42:58 Sana. I'm Richard's niece.
43:01 How has your day been going so far? What is it like to be one of the first women in the Isle squad?
43:06 My day's been going good. It's very exciting to be able to take part of this
43:09 and be one of the first women in the Isle squad.
43:12 You've been preparing for a long time?
43:14 Yes, how many years?
43:16 16 years we've been waiting to get to this point. It's a special day.
43:21 What are you looking forward to about the rest of the day?
43:23 I've been enjoying the processions and I'm just excited for the evening
43:27 when we get to burn the galley and stuff.
43:29 You're a part of the Isle squad as well. What's your name?
43:31 Trevor.
43:32 Trevor, how's your day been going so far?
43:34 It's really good. We're very blessed with the conditions we're getting.
43:38 We're going to cross our fingers at hopes throughout the evening and through the night as well.
43:42 What's your name?
43:44 Zara Crossan.
43:45 What have you been looking forward to about today?
43:47 Seeing my friends today because I've got a lot in the schools in Lerwick so I want to see them.
43:54 What school are you from?
43:55 Tingwall School.
43:56 So you'll see them later on today?
43:58 Yes.
43:59 So you have a long tunic and then a wool cloak in kind of an aqua colour.
44:04 The last I saw a bit more jewellery than the rest.
44:06 They don't have so much leather work in terms of our breastplates that we're carrying today.
44:10 But still a formidable axe and shield.
44:13 Oh yeah, they're definitely equipped.
44:15 I think they look like wonderful warriors. Congratulations, enjoy your day.
44:18 Thank you very much.
44:19 Thanks, you too.
44:20 Well done, guys.
44:21 Thank you.
44:22 That's the sound of the flares going off and torches being lit at the start of the procession
44:34 before the 900+ geysers snake their way around the route to their final destination
44:39 and the burning of the galley.
44:41 So the galley's on fire now, they're still throwing torches on.
44:49 As you can imagine there's 900, there's a lot.
44:51 And you can hear crackling from the flames of the massive fire.
44:56 And the brass band's been playing and they're back playing again.
44:59 It's pretty spectacular.
45:01 I don't think many folk have seen this large vessel be put on fire before.
45:06 [BAND PLAYING]
45:09 Thank you to Aram Sivico, Robert Geddes, Promote Shetland
45:17 and all our contributors on the podcast.
45:19 We finish as we started with the uphill Ia song being sung by the geysers
45:24 around the focal point of the festival, the burning of the galley.
45:27 With local girl Jasmine Hendricks singing along beautifully,
45:31 reminding us what this event is all about, community and camaraderie.
45:35 [BAND PLAYING]
45:39 [SINGING]
45:43 [SINGING]
45:46 [SINGING]
45:49 [SINGING]
45:55 [SINGING]
45:58 [MUSIC]