What's new on Burns Night? I went to one last weekend and another this weekend. I thought, surely once you've done one, the next will be the same again?
Answer
Not so. I learned so much more. I had checked up on Burn's birthplace, which is on the West coast of Scotland.
Burns Night. Half of us found tartans. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Tartan Clothes
First, this time I was prepared with a tartan shirt. We had two lady's tartan shirts and two men's tartan shirts (from Marks & Spencer) without having to buy any more.
Scottish Food
Secondly, the Scottish food, although it included haggis as the main course, was different. This time the haggis came from Waitrose. It was excellent. Somebody provided the potatoes and neeps (parsnips).
Scottish Fruit
For pudding we had a cold Scottish dessert of raspberries mixed with cream, plus toasted oats with a little added sugar to give bite. (Recipes vary.) We had ours accompanied by home-made Scottish shortbread biscuits.
Wikipedia says:
Cranachan (Scottish Gaelic: Crannachan pronounced [ˈkʰɾan̪ˠəxan]) is a traditional Scottish dessert. In modern times it is usually made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey and fresh raspberries, with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight in a little bit of whisky.
Surprisingly, as far north as Aberdeen, Scotland has strawberries in summer. One of the diners asked: "What's the best way to make a tasty strawberry ice cream?"
Our host answered, "With raspberries."
On the West coast the gulf stream provides warmth and you can visit Inverewe garden with palm trees and tropical plants.
To start the evening, not Scottish, not whisky, but not Champagne either. Cremant. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Scottish Drink
To accompany the food we started with a sparkling wine (cremant which is Champagne style sparkling white wine but cannot use the name Champagne which is a place name and protected.
Scottish Whisky
During the meal we tried Scottish whiskies. Some of them are more expensive and sold in Waitrose only around the time of Burns night. Several were from the Isle of Islay, which one of the guests said is off the west coast, near the home of Burns. the peat gives the whisky added flavour.
One lady felt quite ill after tasting several whiskies. I only sniffed them.
If you want a non-alcoholic Scottish drink, there's non-alcoholic Ginger Wine. If you can't buy it, you can make your own. See the instructions on YouTube from a fellow with a Scottish accent.
Music
We had two CDs of Scottish music. The music player in the adjoining room was not loud enough to be heard when we were all talking. However, one or two people played Sottish music on their handphones around the dinner table and that was easier to hear.
My favourite song was the jolly tune of Scotland the Brave. I didn't know that was it's name but it's instantly recognizable. Apparently that used to be the national anthem. However, now Flowers of Scotland is played at sports events such as football matches, a more mournful tune.
Through the evening we talked about places we had lived in and visited in Scotland and plans to rturn for the Edinburgh festival and research for a group trip (by one local london group of the Inter Varsity Club, possibly joining with others).
1 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh
Scotland
Scotland's top event is the Edinburgh Festival. Many people go every year and book their accommodation for the following year.
Intervarsity clubs book student accommodation. Members include postgraduates - some of whom are retirement age, and some aren't university students and never were, as membership years ago was for students and postgraduates and later their spouses and to anybody who wanted to join.
2 Inverwewe Gardens
Scotland
3 Burns House,
Ayr
Ayrshire
Scotland
4 Isle of Islay
Our club member tried to organise a trip but found the accommodation on the island was over £100 and beyond the budget of many members. We were discussing alternatives, was that £100+ per person or per bedroom, in which case how many members could we cram into a room? How many places, such as alternative islands or mainland, offered accommodation nearby? How about camping, caravans on ferries, and, with the help of the whisky, various other suggestions, increasingly far-fetched and humorous, boats with drones for photography, rollerskates, Segway and hang-gliding.
Useful Websites
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/robert-burns-house-p250471
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/inverewe-garden-and-estate-p255481
http://visitscotland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverewe_Garden
http://www.insiders-scotland-guide.com/ScotlandInverewegarden
http://www.islayales.co.uk
Scotland the brave with views of Scottish scenery and lyrics as subtitles on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycy0KZMlV6c
Non-alcoholic tradtional Scottish ginger 'wine'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymkmk2Xa0c8
Author
Angela Lasnbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Burns Night and Scotland. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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