260th party for Robert Burns

Bobby Burns parties have been celebrated on January 25 since 1801, the 5th anniversary of his death.  So with the rest of the world last night we celebrated with Dave and Donna who have such a party each year.  With many others (I think we were a total of 17) we sat around their table and enjoyed a lovely dinner, telling stories, reading poetry and singing.  I got to wear my “new” kilt.

Another thrift shop find

I love "thrifting." This is one of my better finds. We're invited to a Robert Burns (Scottish poet) supper Jan. 25, and although I wasn't looking for a kilt, I found one in the women's section of Volunteers of America store on Henderson Rd. It's probably for a man or boy (rather skinny), and I'm hoping after resetting the buttons several inches, it will fit me. It isn't a Bruce tartan, but close--has some blue. But the price was right: 100% wool, made in Canada, $3.00.  New, these can cost upwards to $1,000 if you have one made to order.

Happy birthday Robert Burns

We’re going to a Bobby Burns dinner party tonight (his birthday was January 25).  Not sure we will have haggis, neeps and tatties, but our hostess is quite well known for her skills in the kitchen.  The guests are supposed to read, recite or sing something Scottish, so I may read the Bruce tartan story from this book.

The Bruces originated in France and after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 ended up with a lot of land. Sir Robert de Brus, a Norman knight came to England with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy.  The Duke a distant cousin of the English king  had claimed the English throne when the King had died. After the conquest, the Norman French eventually took over the Anglo-Saxon culture, land and language.

The son of Robert the Brus, Robert went to Scotland and was made Lord of Annandale by David I, whose great-granddaughter Isabella married Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale.  Through this marriage their son Robert, 6th Lord of Annandale, Regent of Scotland, inherited a right to the Crown to which he was nominated by Alexander III.  Robert, 7th Lord, married the Celtic Countess of Carrick and their son became that Earl of Carrick who was to wear the Scottish Crown, complete the liberation of Scotland, and be familiarly known as Robert the Bruce (1272-1329). 

               

Robert Burns party

Tonight we're attending a Robert Burns party. The hosts were ill last week when his birthday was, so it was moved to February 3. Robert Burns was Scotland's greatest poet, and every year all over the globe Burns Societies celebrate his birthday, read his verses, sing his songs, and sometimes eat authentic food. . . porridge . . . or something gray made with oats.

O wert thou in the cauld blast

Tonight we're going to a Robert Burns dinner, and the hosts provide the food and the guests the entertainment. I will be reading this poem/song. He wrote it during his final illness for Jessy Lewars who helped the Burns family during his illness and his wife's confinement. The melody most commonly used for this song is by Mendelssohn, but I won't sing it, for which everyone will be grateful. I used to be a soprano. Now I have 4 notes--but they aren't all in a row.

O wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee;
Or did Misfortune's bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
Thy bield should be my bosom,
To share it a', to share it a'.

Or were I in the wildest waste,
Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,
The desert were a Paradise,
If thou wert there, if thou wert there;
Or were I Monarch o' the globe,
Wi' thee to reign, wi' thee to reign,
The brightest jewel in my Crown
Wad be my Queen, wad be my Queen.

cauld = cold
lea = grassland
plaide = length of tartan cloth
airt = direction
aroond = around
blaw = blow
bield = shelter

In writing about Bobby Burns, Elbert Hubbard says (1916), "Poetry and love-making should be carried on with caution: they form a terrific tax on life's forces. Most poets die young, not because the gods especially love them, but because life is a bank-account, and to wipe out your balance is to have your checks protested. The excesses of youth are drafts payable at maturity. Chatterton dead at eighteen, Keats at twenty-six, Shelley at thirty-three, Byron at thirty-six, Poe at forty, and Burns at thirty-seven, are the rule. When drafts made by the men mentioned became due, there was no balance to their credit and Charon beckoned. Most life-insurance companies now ask the applicant this question, "Do you write poetry to excess?" " Link.

Haggis, neeps and tatties

Today is Robert Burns birthday (b. Jan 25, 1759) the traditional time for Burns Suppers in Scotland and serving haggis, neeps and tatties. We're going to a Burns dinner this week-end and it's traditional for the guests to perform and the hosts to serve the food. Not sure what they'll serve or we'll do. But we missed several Christmas and New Year's events due to my husband's cold, so we're a bit starved for some good food and conversation. Yup. This is how old people party.

Here's a note from last year's blog about this event. "My husband and I both have surnames that travelled with invaders to Britain during the Norman invasion in 1066, which means our origins were French, then again into Scotland, but with so much mixing and matching over the centuries, especially in the British Isles, who knows really? We are both 8th or 9th generation Americans, with families that originally settled in Pennsylvania after getting off the boat before the Revolution, then traveling further west and south in the next generations and intermarrying with boatloads of Germans, some of whom kept their language for almost 100 years. Lots of Presbyterians in our family trees. . . his more recently than mine."

What is haggis? "Haggis is a meat dish which is made by stuffing a sheep or cow stomach with offal, oatmeal, and an assortment of spices, and then boiling the dish until it is thoroughly cooked."

What is neeps? Peeled and chopped turnips. I actually like this dish and used to serve it to the family on mystery vegetable night. Lots of Scots descendants in Appalachia and grandpa loved his turnips.

What is tatties? Mashed potatoes.

Happy Birthday Robert Burns

We're going to a Robert Burns birthday party tonight. He was born on January 25, 1759 and after his death on July 21, 1796, Burns admirers have been celebrating each year at or around his birth date with "Burns Suppers". We're fortunate in that one of Columbus' finest host and hostess have invited us to enjoy a Burns Supper at their home.

My husband and I both have surnames that travelled with invaders to Britain during the Norman invasion in 1066, which means our origins were French, then into Scotland, but with so much mixing and matching over the centuries, especially in the British Isles, who knows really? We are both 8th or 9th generation Americans, with families that originally settled in Pennsylvania after getting off the boat before the Revolution, then traveling further west and south in the next generations and intermarrying with boatloads of Germans, some of whom kept their language for almost 100 years. Lots of Presbyterians in our family trees. . . his more recently than mine.

Churches in Scotland are celebrating according to Christianity today.

Churches join Burns celebrations by Anne Thomas Posted: Sunday, January 25, 2009 Around 10,000 people are expected to gather in the Scottish town of Dumfries on Sunday to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of national bard Robert Burns. According to Scotland on Sunday, the crowds will be carrying several thousand handmade lanterns through the town, past Burns’ house and the place of his burial at St Michael's Churchyard, before gathering at the River Nith to see the torching of a 15m wooden model of Tam O’Shanter atop his horse. Church groups, Scouts, Brownies, Boys Brigades, Guides and other community groups have been running lantern workshops over the last few months for members of the public to come and make their own lanterns for the procession, reports Scotland on Sunday. Two specially commissioned stained glass windows, one of Burns and the other of his wife Jean Armour, will be unveiled at St Michael’s Church earlier in the day. The occasion will also see the unveiling of a life-sized bust of Burns, gifted to the church by the World Burns Federation. Although Burns was born in a small stone cottage in Alloway, he spent much of his life in Dumfries and died there in 1796 at the age of 38. His most famous works include Tam O’Shanter, Auld Lang Syne, and My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose. Burns Suppers, held each year on or around the bard’s birthday, are taking place around the world this weekend to commemorate the bard’s life and works, continuing on a tradition of more than 200 years. A special evening service will be held in his honour in Westminster Abbey in London, where a white marble bust of Burns is positioned on the wall of Poets’ Corner. The service, held in association with the Burns Club of London, will be led by the Rev Graeme Napier and include recitations of Burns’ verse as well as solo performances from the canon of his songs.

Update on menu: