As a tribute to our son-in-law, who takes his Scottish heritage very seriously,
we have put together a page for Robert Burns who wrote the famous "Address
to the Haggis". We had an hilarious Burns' supper when we piped
in the haggis (tinned) that James had brought us back from Scotland, with the strains of the bagpipes playing in the background. |
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||
Sequence of Events The proceedings for the night may be formal or informal. Chairman's speech to welcome company, normally a few short sentences. All the guests are seated, Chairman rises and invites company to rise to welcome haggis being piped in. A piper enters the room, followed by the cook or chef carrying the chieftain haggis - from 5-10kg (10-20lbs) - on a large ashet. Behind him comes the waiter with a bottle of whiskey (apple juice for the wee ones). The procession then walks sunwise round the company, ending up at the chairman of the club, who takes the whiskey from the waiter and pours out two glasses. The piper stops playing, the haggis is placed on the table and the piper and the chef are given whiskies. The company stands. A Guest then recites "The Address" plunging a dirk into it and cutting a St Andrews Cross on the top, turning back the flaps and inserting the serving spoon. Before the meal begins someone will recite the |
||||||||||
 |
Burns'
Selkirk Grace: Some
hae meat and canna eat, |
|||||||||
Company sit and meal continues. Immortal Memory is spoken by the speaker. "Robert Burns was born the son of a poor farmer in Alloway, south-west Scotland, on 25th. January 1759. Despite the extreme poverty of his family, Burns' father ensured that Robert had a good education in his early years. For most
of his life, Burns had to work hard on the farm, undernourished and out
in all weathers. The result of this was that he died in poverty at the
tragically young age of 37. Over 10,000 people attended his funeral in
Dumfries in 1796. Who then,
was this man who made such an impression on so many people then and now?
It is almost impossible to answer this - he was a very complex man, blessed
with creative genius from a young age. Glasgow's Mitchell Library has
a collection of over 9000 books relating to Burns - perhaps some of the
answers to the question are to be found here. Robert Burns
was many things during his short life: Farmer, Linen Weaver, Customs Officer,
Freemason, Poet, Socialist, Patriot, Founder Member of the Tarbolton Bachelors'
Club, Associate of High Society in Edinburgh, Drinking Crony with his
common friends - the list goes on. But the important thing about Robert
Burns was that although feted by the cream of Scottish Society, he never
lost sight of his roots. During his
lifetime, Burns wrote many hundreds of poems and songs, many of which
reflected his great humanity, and his empathy with the common man. He
was not a sentimentalist, and he was always aware of the meanness, the
cruelties and follies of mankind; traits he disdainfully ridiculed in
his poetry. His works have been translated into over 84 different languages,
and lines from some of his poems are still to this day in common use in
the English language. Perhaps
his best-known work, "Auld Lang Syne," is known and sung throughout
the world. I ask you all...Scot or not....from Ayrshire or not ....to
charge your glasses and be upstanding to drink a toast to the Immortal
Memory of Robert Burns." Toast
to the Lassies. Now entertainment
begins (songs and poems etc), after which the Chairman calls on company
to sing "Auld Lang Syne". |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
 |
 © |
|---|