It was that time of year again, when in the depths of (an unseasonably mild) winter, we remembered the nation’s bard on his birthday. As an Englishman now in my last week before moving south of the Border again, it was a golden opportunity for immersion into the culture and history of my beloved adoptive home.
The night, which friends, partners and I spent at Glasgow’s Oran Mor, did not disappoint. I’ll admit it was not the first time I’ve attended a Burns Night supper: Oxford colleges hold a version of them for the sake of their spattering of Scots, most of whom have never lived in the country but may well own the land. This, though, certainly was the real deal like I’ve never known before.
In true honour of Rabbie, the tradition developed not just to celebrate his life’s work, but also in part with the intent to mock the Kirk, with piping in the haggis and the address both parodies of communion rituals. Discovering this last week only gave me greater appreciation for Scottish wit as the night approached.
I hang my head in shame that the English have no such equivalent traditions to a Burns supper. We have been riding on the coattails of Scottish culture for centuries in a vain attempt to seem more interesting. No wonder the Prime Minister doesn’t want to risk independence.
So in keeping with that oldest of English traditions, I appropriated Scots attire and donned full Highland dress kindly lent by a Herald colleague.
In case it wasn’t clear enough that I’m yet to earn the honorary position of English Scot, my Google search history now includes: “Do you hang a sporran from around your waist or neck?” Before you all fling me back over the Border, fear not, my train departs on Saturday.
The wee dram o’ whisky yet again evoked paint stripper to my untrained palate, but four months in Scotland has at least got the ball rolling on my acquisition of a taste for the nation’s favourite tipple.
The Auditorium through the bell tower of Oran Mor, a converted church, proved the ideal setting for the night’s proceedings. It was right, too, that tribute was made to Alasdair Gray, who painted the rooms.
“Though we don’t have Alasdair anymore, we have this, and we always will,” arms extended upwards. You’ll have to forgive me as I had far too much wine to be sure who was speaking at that point. It’s a miracle I noted down quotes at all.
Iain Robertson was a superb host, but it was the Reply to the Toast to the Lassies which stole the show. Flitting seamlessly between speech and song, it was as hilarious as it was lewd, and certainly not fit for publication in these pages. In other words, justice to the bard.
As we were later told: “He was neither the angel nor the devil, he’s somewhere in the middle – he’s human.”
My friends said my vegan haggis outstripped the standard version, while the mashed potatoes were the best they had ever had. Heady hyperbole borne of the high spirits of the night or the voice of object truth? Perhaps we shall never know.
I may just have to book a trip back up to Scotland next January 25 but in the meantime, praise be that Waitrose stocks vegan haggis year-round – even in the south east of England.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here