25 Carnethies set off from KB, most in very festive attire, with Elf costumes proving to be the order of the day. The weather had turned a tad cooler although the wind at least kept the rain away. Being a newbie to this hallowed event I was unsure of the format but soon found there wasn’t much to it apart from run a bit, have a drink, repeat! And make sure the person at the front knows where we are heading next! Our first stop was the rugby club (Liberton?) where we received a warm welcome and instantly increased their profits by 100% as we were the only clientele. This phenomenon would be repeated more than once. The first highlight of the evening was gate crashing the wake in The Waverley where one of the guests made a beeline for Richard (the only one unlucky enough to be driving) and soon had him out on the dance floor. Others joined in – you were scared not to! Highlight number 2 had to be the still warm mince pies and mulled wine (thank you Willie!) by the site of a pub which was formerly on the pub run but no longer exists! Nigel Shekelton’s hallway stood in admirably for the second missing pub (the bottle of Old Pulteney appeared to evaporate) while Stewart Whitlie’s garage was a very welcome stop with the amiable host serving yet more whisky, beer and even homemade tablet. As someone said “keep running fast Stewart” to win more whisky for next year! The Stable Bar would be our second last stop. They even laid on some festive beers – Rocking Rudolph or a very smooth Orcadian Clootie Dumpling. Sadly there was only time to sample one if we were to make it to the Northfield for 11am and our late supper. The soup and sandwiches were worth it though and proved to be the icing on the cake of a very enjoyable evening. Thank you to Nick, Willie and anyone else who was involved in the organising! I’ll be back next year. Merry Christmas everyone!
Dorothy Elliott
Alan Hogg’s photos here