Burns Night

I thought I should mark today, which is an important date in the Scottish Calendar. On or about 25 January Scots get together to celebrate the birth of the great Ayrshire poet Robert Burns. Traditionally haggis, neeps and tatties are eaten and the haggis may be piped (bagpipes) into the room. Burns wrote a poem "Ode tae the Haggis" to celebrate this humble food which had developed out of necessity to provide something sustaining where people had very little. Neeps refers to turnips which I think are traditionally mashed and tatties are potatoes. Despite my Scottish roots I have never tasted haggis. I am partial to the other tradition which accompanies haggis, a wee dram! The only trouble is, my preferred wee dram is of Irish origin! (Irish Whiskey, Tullamore Dew).

I See Her in the Dewy Flowers

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I see her in the dewy flowers,

I see her sweet and fair;

I hear her in the tunefu' birds, I hear her charm the air:

There's not the bonnie flower that springs

By fountain, shaw, or green,

There's not a bonnie bird that sings,

But minds me o' my Jean

Robert Burns

You've seen this painting before but I hate posts without a pic and this is the only Scottish image I've got on the computer!