Fiddlebox Carriers by Lauren Sweeney
This article will be about Fiddle Box Carriers and how important they are. Up Helly Aa is a big part of Shetland culture, it’s always on the last Tuesday of January. Fiddle Box Carriers are in charge of looking after the busses, getting people on the busses, and props for the squads. I have personally interviewed some Fiddle Box Carriers such as Stuart Nicolson, Ethan Lomax, Hayden Fenwick, Thomas Leask, Jacob Jamison, Harold Bray, and Lewis Farquhar.
I first asked them how they became a Fiddlebox Carrier (FBC). Stuart said he became a FBC in 2008 when his dad asked him to join. He was the only FBC for that squad. This is similar for everyone, Harold’s dad was in the squad, and Hayden and Lewis had family in their squad too. Jacob did it for the banter, and Thomas wanted to get involved with the squads.
The most challenging part for Thomas and Stuart is making sure that squad members don’t get lost. Harold, Hayden, Jacob, and Ethan all said that the hardest part is getting everyone on the bus. Lewis said the hardest part was staying up all night.
Fiddlebox Carriers work very hard all year round to help their squad. Thanks to all the FBC who agreed to let me interview them
