Hi Folks,

Tomorrow is January 25th, which the more discerning of you will realise means Burns Night.  For the uninitiated, every year on the 25th January, those of the Scottish persuasion celebrate the birthday of the Scottish National Bard, Robbie Burns. This is a big deal and there will be Burns Suppers all around the world.

Wifey and I have attended Burns Suppers in Indonesia, Egypt, Tunisia, Qatar, The UAE and, in my case, the USA, France and Singapore.  Wifeys Parents will be celebrating Burns Night in India this year and I am sure a great time will be had by all.  Ironically, I have never been to a Burns Supper in Scotland. I must fix this one day.

So why is it that this relatively obscure Scottish Poet has become such a world wide phenomena? Beats me, but I am all in favour of it.

Robbie Burns

Robbie Burns, or Rabbie Burns as he is more familiarly known, was born on 25th January 1759 in Alloway,  Ayrshire, Scotland. He died in Dumfries in 1796, only 37 years old.  Whilst he may have enjoyed only a short life, his works live on despite being mostly written in the Scots language.  I’d be surprised if anyone reading this doesn’t know some of Burns works, even if they don’t realise its his.  Did you celebrate New Year with a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne?  Yup? Well, that’s one of his.  In fact only William Shakespeare can boast more paragraphs than Burns in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Not bad for a poor lad from Ayrshire.

The Early Years

Burns was the eldest of seven children born to William Burns, a tenant farmer. So he was not born into great wealth or privilege.  He had very little schooling, his father taught him and his siblings how to read and write, as well as arithmetic, geography and history. He did get some schooling and there he studied grammar,  French and Latin.  Inevitably  he had to leave  school to become a farm labourer.  But, always a voracious reader, he was given access to the great novels of the day and to the works of Shakespear, Milton, Drydon and Pope amongst others. Hence, the groundwork was laid for Burns prodigious talent.

He didn’t stay a farm labourer and eventually gained the position of Exciseman and was an ardent Freemason. Indeed it was the Freemasons that started the annual celebration of Burns after his death.

Burns the Man

So what of the man?  Well he was a bit of a lad. In fact in todays #MeToo world, he would have be right in it.  A womaniser, he fathered at least a dozen children by six women and left the lot of them.  He was none too fond of the church and could be a bit of a snob.

Beloved of the SNP as an icon of all that is Scottish, I’m not sure he would have been that nationalistic. Well, he was an Exciseman, i.e. a tax collector for the Crown.  And he did swear an oath of allegiance to King George 3rd in 1789, penning some very sycophantic verse in praise of the King and of Great Britain.  Whisper it softly, but I suspect he would more likely have been a Scottish Tory. Shock Horror.

He was also a suave man, despite his humble origins and could hold his own in any company. He was a hard worker and managed to do the day job whilst writing and also scouting  the country for Scottish folk songs.  Cynical, sociable and not especially moral, I suspect he might have been a difficult guy to live with, but great fun down the pub.

His Works

A lot of his work is  actually very rude. But a lot of it, despite needing a glossary to help translate, is witty and a wonderful observation of the human condition.

There really is a lot of it.  The Complete Works of Burns runs to over 700 pages. And in small print.  Probably the most popular pieces and some of my favourites include:

Is There for Honest Poverty (AKA A Mans a Man for A’ That)

To A Louse

Scots Wha Hae

Ae Fond Kiss

To A Mouse

Red Red Rose 

And of Course Tam O Shanter.  More of some of these later as we get into the Burns Supper.

The Burns Supper

At its best, a Burns Night Supper is a celebration of the life and times of Rabbie Burns, accompanied by traditional Scottish Fayre and washed down by copious quantities of whisky. There might also be dancing, if you are lucky.  At the more formal events, the dignitaries will be piped into the dining room as a procession.  There will be an opening address by the Host of the supper and before dinner is served, the Selkirk Grace.

 

 

Some hae meat and canna eat,
   And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
   Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Sets the tone nicely, I think.

There will be more speeches, recitals of Burns poetry and an address to the Lassies and a response to the Laddies. Its all very sociable, good fun and an excuse to get a bit squiffy.

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

Of course one of the highlights of Burns Night is the piping in of the haggis. Traditional Scottish fayre at a Burns Night Supper would not be complete without Haggis, Neeps and Tatties.  Haggis is an interesting dish. I was wary of it for years, but it kind of grows on you and now I love it.  Best not to delve too deeply into what it contains. Just take it at face value and enjoy the rich spicy flavours. But before you do so, the haggis has to be addressed. This is where the Host recites the Burns poem, “Address to a Haggis”  It might seem a  bit weird reciting poetry too your supper, but again, I recommend you just go with the tradition. If you want to hear the Address to a Haggis, click HERE.

 

Suppers Past

I have been to some stonking Burns Night suppers in the past.  One of my first was in Sfax in Tunisia. I was delighted to be asked to make a contribution to the proceedings by reciting a poem. Sort of.  I am English, hence I struggle with Burns poetry as it is written in Scottish dialect.  So a friend came up with the novel idea of a bit of a double act.  He is a Fifer, so has the right accent. He would read in the original Burns and I would add a slightly tongue in cheek English Translation.   Now this was a risk as being seen to mock Burns could cause serious offence. But we thought we’d give it a go.

To A Louse

Somewhat appropriately the chosen piece was, ‘To a Louse’ or its longer title  ‘To a Louse on Seeing One on a Ladies Bonnet at Church’.  Its a shortish and very ironic piece,  containing  one of Burns most famous lines,

“Oh would some Power the gift to give us

To see ourselves as others see us! “

The Main Event

I read the poem dozens of times, wrote my translation and the pair of us rehearsed until we had the timing down pat. The big night came and eventually, it was our moment. I introduced the poem and explained what was about to happen. We got a few sceptical looks but then Rob, in  very dramatic style,  began reciting in his wonderful Scottish brogue:

“Ha! whaur ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly;
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
Owre gauze and lace;
Tho’, faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.”

He delivered the stanza perfectly, milking it for all it was worth. Then it was my turn to offer my English Translation. In my best BBC Radio 3 Presenters accent, I loudly declared:

“Great Scot What is that, Leaping on that Lady’s Hat!”

Thank Goodness for Glaswegians

Admittedly, the translation was a bit shorter than the Burns offering, but essentially, it means the same thing.  There was a brief moment of silence, which seemed to last an awful long time. This didn’t look good. A few open mouths, a few smiles but no audible reaction until….  A large Glaswegian chap sat next to me who was already rather drunk looked up at me and  announced in a stage whisper the whole dining room heard, “Hey Pal, Pick a Windee, You’re leaving”  This broke the silence and raised guffaws of laughter.

Rob carried on with the next Stanza, I again offered the English translation and our Glaswegian chum, with perfect timing chipped in again with a suitably caustic comment. And so it went on.  We got to the end and got a resounding round of applause which was, I suspect, mainly for Jimmy from Glasgow. Still we got away with it and I bought my new chum a large Dram of his favourite whisky as a thank you.  We were all chums again and I had a renewed respect for Glaswegian comedic timing.

This Year

I missed Burns Night last year, being stuck alone, in a hotel in Dubai whilst on a business trip.   I am going to miss it again this year, being stuck alone in an apartment in Iraq. However, as with last year, I may not be able to celebrate as fully as I would like, but I have a fine 21 yr old Glenfarclas with me. I also have some haggis. So, whilst I may be lacking the good company, I can at least enjoy the fayre and the poetry,  raising a toast to Rabbie Burns and to Scotland the place I call home.

Until next time,

Oidhche Bhlas Burns,  Slange Var

Graham Wannabe 24th Jan 2020

Wifey’s Dad has something of a reputation as a Burns Night speaker and does a very fine rendition of Tam O’ Shanter.  One of Burns finest pieces, it’s a bit of. moral tale with the more moralistic, preaching bits being in English rather than Scots. None the less its a fun if long-winded poem and I offer it to you here in all its glory.

Tam O’Shanter By Robbie Burns