At the very second 2017 dawns, Stonehaven will be on fire. As midnight chimes, a line of people are due to walk through the town centre and head for the harbour, swinging balls of flame around them in an impressive show of festive firepower. According to official records, the annual Stonehaven Fireballs has taken place on every Hogmanay since 1908: legend suggests that it goes back further into the 19th century. Other than during wartime, the ceremony has yet to be called off.
‘The amazing thing is that despite being on the north-east coast of Scotland, it’s never been cancelled for weather,’ notes Martin Sim, a member of the Stonehaven Fireballs Association committee, who this year celebrates his 40th consecutive year taking part in the procession. ‘In 2012, the high street flooded two weeks beforehand and we realised that had that happened on Hogmanay we wouldn’t have been able to do it. That’s an illustration of how incredibly lucky we’ve been. We’ve occasionally had to light up in strange nooks and crannies due to a howling gale, and we’ve swung our fireballs in horizontal rain and driving sleet. But it just adds to the fun of the night.’
In the months before the event, meticulous preparations take place to make sure it all goes with as few hitches as possible. There’s a limit to the number of people who go through the town with fireballs in hand (50 at the very most), while the numbers of those attending have come down from a previous high of 12,500 to 10,000 (an impressive figure nonetheless, especially given that Stonehaven’s population is just under 12,000). This reduction was agreed after health and safety-related discussions with the council and police.
While there are no set rules about the weight of a person’s fireball (each participant makes their own one), it’s probably wise to listen to the advice of a man with four decades of experience. ‘My one will be around 12 to 14 pounds,’ states Sim. ‘It’s entirely up to the individual, but if it’s too heavy, then you only have yourself to blame.’ In terms of what actually goes into the ball, it’s all natural materials such as wood, paper, cardboard, wool, cotton, old towels and clothes (minus zips and buttons). ‘Natural materials give off a nice colourful, yellow-red flame. We don’t allow any plastic or man-made fibres because they tend to melt and therefore drip which can be dangerous.’
The whole event should be over by 12.30am on New Year’s morning (Sim advises spectators to get there as early as possible to obtain an ideal vantage point) with a fireworks display kicking off as the last fireball meets its watery demise. ‘At the very end, we throw them into the harbour; that’s a great part of it. Everyone who swings a fireball is encouraged to do a bit of practice beforehand because it’s their muscles that will suffer the next day if they don’t. But at the time, the adrenaline rush and the magic of the moment just takes over.’
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Stonehaven Fireballs is a free unticketed event which takes place on Sat 31 Dec at midnight.
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