Each year the Scottish Widows Sons MRA hosts a branding event and invite members of the Widows Sons MBA to join in. This is a special event that is shrouded in mystery for those that have never intended and this post will not break with that tradition. What follows is the diary of the Quarrymen that attended this year.
Dan, Keith and myself (Phil) left my house at 5am on the Friday morning, very tired but excited for the weekend to come. We were all a little less excited about the 500 plus miles we were about to travel. All the way to Scotland.
At least the weather forecast for the coming weekend was good.
The scenery was stunning, especially as we reached the proper north of England and travelled the M6 via the Peak District and the Yorkshire Moors.
Sadly an iPhone does not really capture just how epic the mountains were that were coming up on the Horizon.
As we made short pit stops along the way to stretch our legs and recover the feeling in our spines, we started to meet more Widows Sons that were venturing towards Scotland for the event too.
Sometimes we saw them, other times they came running behind us to catch us before we set off again.
Eventually we finally crossed the border and once again found us in the South of a country. Although we were still heading northward for quite some time.
The sunshine was a far more welcome sight than the rain and sleet that greeted last years attendees.
Eventually arriving at our destination, some way north of Glasgow, Keith and I set up our tents as “decent” spots to set up were limited and, despite there being over 100 people there already, more were on the way.
Sadly for Keith, he could not find a spot with enough distance to protect him from my snoring at night, just a few feet away.
The welcome from our Scottish brothers was amazing and the hospitality they had laid on was fantastic. There was music and food for all those attending. Thankfully lots of loos too, given the numbers that were present.
The weather was not so kind though. temperatures on our first night there got down to -6 so it was a chilly start to the Saturday.
We also got to meet and chat to the man that started it all in Scotland. A great chap and host for the event.
As more people arrived on the Saturday we started to see a lot more familiar faces with neighbouring chapters arriving. One of which was kind enough to provide us with some extra blankets in case the temperatures got low again.
As the main event drew close we were treated to bagpipes and drummers in the main fort area before retiring for our final meal before the branding…..
……the secrets and mysteries of which shall remain that way so others can enjoy the experience for themselves at future events.
With the event over, the three of us posed for some photos and chatted with others about what a fantastic evening it had been.
Shortly there after we headed back to the tents, ready to get some sleep before the long journey home.
Although I might have managed to grab an extra 40 winks or so on the way back.
Needless to say we all enjoyed the trip very much and are looking forward to going back next year to experience it all over again as helpers to the next batch of brandees.