Highland Spirit

As Glasgow prepares to host the next edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2014,their participating contingent of delegates ensured that they had a home away from home while in India. The delegates had set up a Scotland House at the Le Meridien hotel,where the team was put up,to entertain their athletes during the duration of the Games in Delhi.

Nearly 300 Scottish athletes,their families and support staff spent their evenings here during the Games. “It was a great meeting point for those who could not get together with their family members inside the Games Village. Here they would spend hours unwinding with traditional music and food,” says Paul Bush,director of the Scotland House,who was instrumental in organising the set-up at the hotel’s banquet hall. Different sized posters formed the backdrop along the walls.

A host of cultural performances took place in the evenings. It included an opera by school children,based on Scottish poet Robert Burns’ poetry,and musical performances by Scottish-Indian band India Alba and bagpipe performances by two members of the Scottish Army. To complement the mood,staple Scottish fare,including Haggis,their national dish,a variety of Scottish cheese and Neeps and Baked potatoes were also on offer.