We head down to see the light up .
On the evening of Up Helly Aa , over 800 heavily-disguised men (no women, thank you, we're vikings!) form ranks in the darkened streets. They shoulder stout fencing posts, topped with paraffin-soaked sacking.
On the stroke of 7.30pm, a rocket bursts over the Town Hall. The torches are lit, the band strikes up and the amazing, blazing procession begins, snaking half a mile astern of the Guizer Jarl, standing proudly at the helm of his doomed replica longship, or 'galley'. The Jarl is the leader of the procession .
Being the Jarl is a great honour and the proudist moment of a Shetlanders life.
It takes half an hour for the Jarl's squad of burly Vikings to drag the galley to the burning site, through a crowd of four or five thousand spectators.
Above you see some of the squads making their way through Lerwick.
The squads dress up in all kinds of fancydress and must do a sketch at the halls later. The Jarl squad are dressed as Vikings.
Bruce now directs us to a prime position to see the Galley`s final moments.
After a short time more then 900 guizers arrive at King george V park.
Then everyone sings the Norsemans home and the Galley is set alight.
It's a superb spectacle, a celebration of Shetland history, and a triumphant demonstration of the islanders' skills and spirit. This event lasts just one day (and night). But it takes several thousand people 364 days to organise.
We then head to the British Legion to enjoy such a special evening.
We were fortunate that Bruce got us tickets for this event.
As the night rolls on and more than 40 squads of guizers visit the hall.
At every hall each squad performs its 'act', perhaps a skit on local events, a dance display in spectacular costume, or a topical send-up of a popular TV show or pop group.
Every guizer has a duty (as the 'Up Helly Aa Song' says) to dance with at least one of the ladies in the hall, before taking yet another dram, soaked up with vast quantities of mutton soup and bannocks