Burry Man solves the very prickly problem of toilet stops

Published on Saturday 12 August 2006 12:28

IT'S a mystery as old as the ancient tradition itself.

Every year, the Burry Man is plied with whisky as he plods the streets of South Queensferry to help ward off evil spirits.

But all that drinking leads to one big problem - how do you go to the toilet when you are sewn into a suit made from 11,000 spiky seed cases?

Now some of the mystery surrounding the tradition, which is said to be more than 900 years old, can at last be revealed.

Current Burry Man John Nicol, 32, finally dispelled rumours that he relies on a catheter to see him through the 17 to 20 drams.

On the eve of yesterday's event, the Leith man, who was brought up in South Queensferry, revealed the solution was much less sophisticated - a pair of scissors.

The Burry Man walks for 11 hours with arms outstretched visiting pubs and friends in the town on the second Friday of August each year.

A group of helpers stick the burrs - seed cases of the burdock plant - all over him, just leaving small holes for his eyes and at his mouth so he can sip whisky through a straw.

People who meet the Burry Man along the way traditionally offer him a glass of whisky, which is said to bring good luck.

Mr Nicol wears several protective layers of clothes along with a full-face balaclava, over which panels of burrs are stuck.

He said: "Going to the toilet is a bit of a problem. There would be no shame if I needed to wet myself, but I've never done that and would feel uncomfortable with it.

"If I need to go my dad will have a pair of scissors and will cut through. In the past he has cut through my long johns a bit and then patched me up with burrs."

During yesterday's event John Nicol sr, 59, from Sommerville Gardens in South Queensferry, confirmed that he had indeed been called upon to get the scissors out.

He said: "We did cut him out at one point. We cut seven or eight inches and pulled his long johns down and we carried a bag of burrs about with us to stick him back together again. Nobody saw it."

Mr Nicol, who works as a graphic designer for Hibs where his duties include designing posters for the stadium, has been the Burry Man for Ferry Fair for eight years ever since the previous incumbent retired from the role.

"I grew up in Queensferry and I used to work in the Anchor pub where many of the committee used to drink. They wanted somebody suitably sensible and idiotic to take it on - and someone who can take their drink," he said.

The Burry Man said the weather was one of the biggest factors in how the day went, since if it gets too hot the suit becomes particularly uncomfortable. But his father said this year had been one of the easier events because the weather had been almost ideal.

He said: "The weather's been good, not too hot and with a nice breeze. The house is jumping and we have a marquee in the garden. We won't know till the end how many scratches he has."

The facts

The Burry Man has existed in some form or other for the past 900 years.

The character is shrouded in mystery, but has become an annual fixture in the South Queensferry calendar, putting in an appearance on the second Friday of August each year.

The most likely historical explanation for his appearances is that South Queensferry used to have a seasonal herring catch and the Burry Man would travel about the town covered in burrs which would attract all the bad luck, thereby ensuring a good catch.

To prepare for the ritual, the Burry Man dresses in trousers, T-shirt, long johns, long-sleeve vest and a balaclava, before being covered from head to toe with 11,000 of the sticky seed pods from the burdock plant.

He then parades around wearing a banner bearing a lion rampant stitched round his waist and carrying a bunch of flowers, accompanied by two supporters.