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The Johnsmas Foy

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Midsummer is a very special time at Shetland’s northern latitude.  The days are longer here than anywhere else in the British Isles, indeed there is no proper darkness.  It’s a time of great activity; people catch up on all the necessary tasks around the house, garden and croft.  They get involved, too, in pursuits such as sailing, angling, walking, golf or football.  In the natural world, flowers and plants have burst into colourful life and Shetland’s huge seabird colonies are at their most animated. 

Centuries ago, midsummer – specifically Johnsmas, 24 June – was the time when the Dutch herring fleet arrived.  Today, yacht races to Shetland from Norway and elsewhere take place at this time. 

With all that in mind, midsummer feels like a time to celebrate all that’s best about Shetland and it’s with that aim that the old festival of the Johnsmas Foy has recently been revived.  Each year, the festival sets out to explore a different aspect of Shetland’s heritage.  In recent years, the themes have included fishing heritage, Shetland’s connections with the Hanseatic League and the place of the islands in the Viking world.  Each of these themes presents opportunities not only to explore the past but also to release all kinds of present-day creativity.  

Fishing Heritage

Fishing has always been central to Shetland’s economy and culture and that aspect of the islands’ heritage was chosen for the 2007 Johnsmas Foy.  Tangible links with the past came in the shape of two historic fishing vessels that tied up in Lerwick Harbour.  The Togo, a former side-winder, is now converted for cruising and the Lotos is a former Dutch herring lugger that used to visit Shetland almost 100 years ago.  Meanwhile, in the north mainland, boats were dragged across the narrow isthmus of Mavis Grind, a short-cut between Sullom Voe and St Magnus Bay, in a re-enactment of an old fishermen’s practice.

In similar vein, presentations in Lerwick and Unst explored the fishing link between Shetland and the village of Mollosund located within the province of Bohuslän on the south west coast of Sweden. Ann-Sofie Bernhardsson from Mollosund described, in an illustrated talk that was by turns moving and amusing, the trade based on the catching and drying of ling from around Shetland and Rockall.  She explained that the trade had ceased only after 1980 and that ling was still an essential part of Christmas and New Year celebrations in Sweden. She presented gifts to both the museums concerned, including a sample of dried ling, and emphasised the value of maintaining these memories and links in the future.

Theatre goers were also able to enjoy a play “It wis hard wark but...” at the Garrison Theatre, which focused on the stories of three women who worked at the herring during the season of 1938. The production was devised by Shetland Youth Theatre and directed by Jacqueline Clark.
The musical highlight of the 2007 Foy was unquestionably the visit to Shetland by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.  They performed in three concerts, one by the full orchestra and two by smaller sections.  In the first of them, the Orchestra’s leader, Christopher George, directed the SCO Strings in Grieg's Holberg suite, Mozart divertimenti and works by Britten and Sibelius.  On the Saturday evening, Garry Walker conducted in performances of Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture, Beethoven's first symphony and Sally Beamish's The Day Dawn, based on an old Shetland fiddle tune.  Tenor Joshua Ellicott joined the orchestra to perform Benjamin Britten's ‘Folk Songs of the British Isles’.  The final concert saw the SCO Winds entertain their audience with Rossini's overture from The Barber of Seville and music by Stravinsky, Hummel and Raff.   During the SCO’s visit, they also worked with local players in a series of workshops and visited six primary schools .

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Shetland and the Hanseatic League

Trading links were at the centre of the 2008 Foy, which celebrated Shetland’s historic connection with the Hanseatic ports.  The Hansa (which means ‘association’) was a partnership that dominated trade in the islands for more than 300 years.  Musicians and poets from the Bremen area were among those heading towards the isles for the Foy and guest speakers explained the history of the links with Germany and Norway.
The musical programme ranged through traditional and contemporary fiddle, adventurous jazz and sublime classical.  

Chris Stout has become one of Shetland’s best-known musical ambassadors and on his ‘Run North’ with some well-known musical friends, he featured in three concerts during the Foy, two of which also included players from the local communities of Fair Isle and Yell.  Jazz enthusiasts had a special treat in store. Both the Bremen-based Ed Kröger Quintet and Shetland Youth Jazz made appearances. Ed Kröger’s band is a truly international one, drawing its distinguished members from Bremen, Berlin, Paris and Detroit; their performances in Lerwick were their only UK appearance. As well as playing in public, they led a workshop for local jazz musicians. There was also some beautiful German traditional music too, from Wolfgang Rieck. From Norway, there was a male voice choir complete with accordionist, Shantykoret Cape Horn.  Classical concerts included performances given in Lerwick and Fair Isle by the Chroma Ensemble; they played Stravinsky and Prokofiev.  London-based Shetland pianist Neil Georgeson played a remarkable recital, featuring innovative contemporary work alongside Bach and Chopin, on the closing night of the Foy.

There was lots to engage lovers of the spoken word, including appearances and workshops by poet Sujata Bhatt, one of the judges for the 2008 T S Eliot Prize, and her husband, German writer Michael Augustin. Talks about the Hanseatic trade, in both its German and Norwegian guises, were given by two leading experts, Dr Mark Gardiner and Dr Knut Helle.

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Shetland in the Viking World

2009’s theme was a Viking one, marking the 600 years or so during which Shetland was a vital base in an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle.  The most dramatic component of the Foy was probably the Viking re-enactments performed by the Walhalla Vikings, from Poland, who thrilled their audiences with displays of fighting and fire-eating.  Another highlight was the ‘Sails in St Magnus’ exhibition, which is normally based in Orkney. Fourteen sails carry images inspired by poems written by the Orcadian poet, George Mackay Brown.  The poems take inspiration from the Orkneyinga Saga’s account of a journey, in 1151, from Orkney to Jerusalem by Earl Rognvald the second of Orkney.

The Norse world was also reflected in some of the music presented in 2009.  There was Viking and medieval music from 'Strengleikr', consisting of Kåre A Lie, Tove G Lie, Maja Marcussen and Idun Sweeny (Maja's nine-year old daughter), who were joined by Finnish musician Marianne Maans.   Ancient instruments were used, including a bowed lyre and a medieval harp and fiddle.  Elsewhere in the programme, Neil Georgeson (piano) and David Worswick (violin) offered an evening that ranged from Bach through Brahms and Beethoven to Arvo Pärt.
Some events form part of every Johnsmas Foy.  For the four days during which Lerwick hosts visiting international yacht races,  Victoria Pier in Lerwick is the setting for Flavour of Shetland, an open-air event with crafts, music and food. Shetland Flag Day, which falls on the longest day, 21 June, is celebrated each year and the Lerwick Summer Carnival, a charity procession with dozens of decorated floats, is also an established part of the programme.  Out of doors, there are always several sporting events, usually including football, rugby sevens and a half marathon.  Guided walks through some of Shetland’s outstanding natural history are also offered during the Foy.

In 2010, Shetland celebrates its Hamefarin’ (Homecoming).  Every 25 years, those who have Shetland connections are welcomed back from New Zealand, Australia, North America and indeed every other part of the world in which Shetlanders have put down roots.  The Johnsmas Foy will reflect that theme; more information is available on the Johnsmas Foy website. 

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