A Show of Hands

A big day in the local calendar today - the annual Handba' game,  Uppies v Doonies.  

No strips, I guess they just know who is on whose side. Numbers - as many  as turn up, men only.  Play is through the streets of the town and the shops board up their doors and windows. A lot of the 'action' consists of heaps of bodies writhing on the ground. Eventually the ball emerges and then there's a dash for the goal.

Which side you play for depends where in the town you were born, and if you have the misfortune not to have been born here, then which direction you came from when you first arrived here. That makes us Doonies.

The balls are made of leather, stuffed with moss and with a tail of ribbons in scarlet and blue, the town colours. To score, the Doonies have to get the ball over the wall of the Castle at the top of the hill. The Uppies goal is the Skiprunning Burn at the bottom - seems to me an unfair advantage to the Uppies, but what do I know?  

After a score, a new ball is produced, and play continues till they are all gone. It could be dark by then.

We watched for a bit, and I think the Uppies scored a couple of times. We'll have to wait for the report in next week's paper to know the outcome.