How To Celebrate Burns Night

Fans of Robbie Burns, Scotland's foremost poet, often love to host love Burns Night suppers! Do you celebrate Burns Night? Are you looking for some nice Burns Night invitations or a Selkirk Grace plate? Robbie Burns is a Scottish icon! Although born in England I am proud of my Scottish ancestry and as a poet of sorts, I admire his poems and songs too.

Image of Robbie Burns is in the Public Domain and used under free licence from wikimedia

I adore Scotland, particularly the Highlands where I lived in the early 1980s. Scots both expat and resident honour Robert Burns each year in January with Burns Supper celebrations at which traditional food is eaten, poetry is sung and recited and of course the poet Robert Burns is toasted with whisky.

Robert Burns himself was a great character, an exciseman and a farmer and he was a prolific dialect poet. This makes his poetry all the more special to Scotland. I feel a special resonance with Robert Burns, not least because I too have to work for my living and cannot be a full time Bard!

This year, as in previous years, Tadpole has been asked to "dirk the haggis". As master of ceremonies he will recite the Address to a Haggis as it is piped into the room. Sadly the pipes will be on CD, but the dirk will not. He has been practising reciting the poem in dialect for many weeks and will do so by heart!

Ironically, Tadpole is a strict vegetarian, so although he will recite the Ode and "Dirk the Haggis" (plunge a sharp knife into the haggis so it spills out!) he will be eating vegetarian haggis only.

Haggis, both traditional and vegetarian, will be served with champit tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (mashed carrot, turnip and swede) and accompanied by a glass of uisge-beatha - the water of life - whisky!

We will recite more of Burns' poems and I shall sing a couple of his songs.

Traditional Melody - Low Down in the Broom

Here is the free sheet music (melody and guitar TAB) for My Love is Like A Red Red Rose. All you have to do is click on the guitar. You can play this melody on any instrument.

To listen to an MP3 of my arrangement for Flute and classical guitar or purchase sheet music for it you need to click on the link below.

To A Mouse Rabbie Burns Poem Card

This design incorporates the full Robert Burns poem, To A Mouse as well as another of Tadpole's cute cartoons!

Here you can enjoy these wonderful and timeless poems and songs on video and have your own virtual Burns Night!

Some random facts to start you off. Robbie Burns was an extremely prolific poet and songwriter. He liked life, he loved women and he enjoyed his whisky too! A farmer, he augmented his living with a 40 per annum salary as an exciseman, chasing smugglers and collecting duties! Gives a whole new meaning to The De'ils Awa' Wi' the Exciseman, doesn't it? He died tragically young as a result of rheumatic fever. Next to Shakespeare Robert Burns is probably the most loved, respected and quoted british poet!

The myth of the haggis is that it is a flightless bird living in the Highlands of Scotland. It scratches a living all around the blooming heather but is easily outwitted and caught. It has one leg longer than the other in order to run more quickly around the mountain, but if frightened by beaters it will change direction and lose its balance thus tumbling down the hill into the arms of waiting Haggis Hunters....

The truth is more prosaic....

On turning her up in her Nest with the Plough, November, 1785

One of Robert Burns' most delightful poems is To A Mouse. It shows great thought and insight and the imagery he conjures is lovely!.

Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim'rous beastie,

O, what panic's in thy breastie!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

Wi' bickering brattle!

I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,

Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry Man's dominion

Has broken Nature's social union,

An' justifies that ill opinion,

Which makes thee startle,

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,

An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;

What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!

A daimen-icker in a thrave

'S a sma' request:

I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,

An' never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!

It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!

An' naething, now, to big a new ane,

O' foggage green!

An' bleak December's winds ensuin,

Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,

An' weary Winter comin fast,

An' cozie here, beneath the blast,

Thou thought to dwell,

Till crash! the cruel coulter past

Out thro' thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,

Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!

Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,

But house or hald.

To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,

An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But Och! I backward cast my e'e,

On prospects drear!

An' forward, tho' I canna see,

I guess an' fear!

I look forward to the celebration and have found that Sainsbury's and Waitrose both do excellent vegetarian Haggis as well as the more traditional variety. I shall enjoy mashing the neaps with butter and salt and fresh ground pepper. Food intolerance means I have to forgo the champit tatties, but I shall certainly enjoy my wee dram in honour of Robert Burns!

I hope you will too!