A man has been covered in 13,000 sticky plant heads to parade through town in a 900-year-old tradtion to ward off evil spirits.
Council worker Andrew Taylor, 37, has played the role of the "Burryman" for the last 13 years in South Queensferry's annual parade - meant to ward off evil spirits.
Andrew has been covered from head to toe in "burrs" - the sticky flowerheads of burdock plants in a nearly hour-long process to prepare for the parade.
"It takes about 45 to 50 minutes to get ready," said Andrew.
"There's around 13,000 to 14,000 burrs, give or take, but I haven't counted them individually."
Traditionally, the Burryman will collect his burrs himself, before attaching them to panels and wrapping them around his body - wearing several thick layers of clothing and balaclavas to protect himself from their hooks.
Only men born in South Queensferry in Scotland can take on the role of the Burryman - with one Burryman taking on the role for 25 years in a row.
The parade will see Andrew march seven miles through South Queensferry stopping off at each pub on the route - with each pub traditionally providing the Burryman with a free drink of whisky and a straw to drink through.
Andrew said: "I really love the tradition.
"It’s a tradition from Queensferry, which means a lot to me and I really enjoy doing it.
"I'll definitely be having a few whiskies today - I don't know how many though!"
Council worker Andrew Taylor, 37, has played the role of the "Burryman" for the last 13 years in South Queensferry's annual parade - meant to ward off evil spirits.
Andrew has been covered from head to toe in "burrs" - the sticky flowerheads of burdock plants in a nearly hour-long process to prepare for the parade.
"It takes about 45 to 50 minutes to get ready," said Andrew.
"There's around 13,000 to 14,000 burrs, give or take, but I haven't counted them individually."
Traditionally, the Burryman will collect his burrs himself, before attaching them to panels and wrapping them around his body - wearing several thick layers of clothing and balaclavas to protect himself from their hooks.
Only men born in South Queensferry in Scotland can take on the role of the Burryman - with one Burryman taking on the role for 25 years in a row.
The parade will see Andrew march seven miles through South Queensferry stopping off at each pub on the route - with each pub traditionally providing the Burryman with a free drink of whisky and a straw to drink through.
Andrew said: "I really love the tradition.
"It’s a tradition from Queensferry, which means a lot to me and I really enjoy doing it.
"I'll definitely be having a few whiskies today - I don't know how many though!"
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FunTranscript
00:00Hey! Hey! Hey! It's the boy of the day!
00:11Cool. So, how are you feeling?
00:13Yeah, I'm okay, yeah. I'm alright, yeah.
00:15And how many years have you been doing this now?
00:17It's been my 13th year.
00:19And why?
00:21I just really love the tradition. Born and bred Queensferry, so it means a lot to me and I still really enjoy doing it.
00:30And how long does it take to get ready?
00:32About 45-50 minutes.
00:37Any idea how many beers?
00:39Oh, how many beers? I would say about 13-14,000 maybe. Give or take. Having trouble with each single one.
00:48And any ideas how many whiskies you'll be having?
00:52A couple. A few, anyway. Yeah, I don't know. I can't put a number on it.
01:00Perfect. Good luck.
01:01Thank you very much.
01:03Sorry to be a pain in the bum, but I'm going to have a quick photo with some whisky.
01:08What whisky do you want?
01:10One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 40, 41, 42, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 60, 61, 62, 63, 62, 63, 62, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63, 63,
01:4063, 62, 62, 62, 62, 62, 62, 62,
02:10Oh, thank you.
02:12Here's your water, Mr. Fisher.
02:16We'll get a bar of it in here.
02:18Oh, I have everything.
02:20I'll have a pint of your whisky.
02:22I'll have a pina colada.
02:24I'm going to spit it out.
02:26Pina coladas on the menu for next year?
02:28I'll have a pina colada, just a wee bit.
02:30Just a wee bit.
02:32Just a wee bit.
02:34Just a wee bit, yeah.
02:36It's in the cupboard, right?
02:38Go at it.
02:40Hurry up.
02:46Here you go.
02:48I'm sorry.
02:54How you doing?
02:56We are going to come over to you.
02:58That's alright.
03:00No, don't worry.
03:02I'm ready.
03:04Here we go.
03:06Let's go.
03:08Let's go.
03:20Do you want your picture taken?
03:22Are you sure?
03:24No, it's a puppet.
03:26I did kind of like it.
03:28Hello.
03:30I saw you using cordless drums last night.
03:32People are asking me if you're that set in the play.
03:34No, I'm not.
03:36I've got my own rhythm.
03:38I'm sure you know what you're doing.
03:40Come back up again.
03:42I'll squeeze past you, Pat.
03:44There you go.
03:46Hi.
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