James Leask is new man on Lerwick Up-Helly-A’ committee

The first mass meeting of guizers for the 2018 Lerwick Up-Helly-A’ took place last night and saw shipping agent and dance band leader James Leask join the committee.

Although the meeting at the Garrison Theatre was well attended there were fewer guizers than last year as only one committee candidate was forthcoming, removing the need to gather votes.

This year’s jarl Lyall Gair opened the proceedings with a tribute to the 1989 jarl Willie Black who sadly died earler this year.

The usual formalities followed with minutes of the previous meeting and a financial report which included a statement that the savings account had accrued £4.31 interest during the year. The cost of using Mareel as a substitute for the Lerwick Town Hall this year was also beneficial to the account which was in excess of £10,000.

Lyall then handed over the chairman’s seat to 2018 jarl Stewart Jamieson after mentioning Stewart’s infectious smile and relaxed demeanour in all things Up-Helly-A’.

After thanking Lyall, Stewart asked the committee candidate James Leask to introduce himself to the assembled guizers. This he did admirably with similarly positive speeches from his proposer and seconder after which he was officially “on da committee”, following in the footsteps of his father Peter who was Guizer Jarl in 1995.

The meeting drew to a close after Stewart thanked the now ex-jarl Mark Evans for his time served on the committee and as jarl in 2016. He informed those present that he and his squad were very much looking forward to Tuesday 30th January 2018 – when the weather would be perfect!

The final agenda item was to inform those present that the final mass meeting in January 2018 would not be held at the now closed Anderson High School, but at Mareel.