Burn's Night

I apologize for the extreme gap in my writing...for some reason, time seems to go by faster than usual here in Edinburgh. I find myself waking up Monday morning to start the week and I barely blink and it's Friday. I suppose that's indicative of me enjoying myself ;-)

Two major happenings have occurred since my last post: I tried the infamous Scottish national dish, Haggis-and I went to my first real Burn's supper-both experiences which I very much enjoyed.

First, I shall digress a bit on the Haggis. It is certainly not a dish for the squeamish--as it is a dish containing sheep's heart, liver, and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, spices, and salt, traditionally simmered in the sheep's stomach for several hours. It is a description not immediately appealing to one's appetite, but I must say I found the first taste surprisingly flavorful, with a hint of nutty-ness and bite, along with a delightfully oat-y texture. Many of my American friends were not quite as fond of the Haggis--but in its defense (as I do feel oddly obliged to defend the dear Haggis)--in my opinion, it tastes very similar to American-style Thanksgiving stuffing made with sausage! Now mind you, stuffing contains things called giblets, which are essentially the little organs leftover from the Turkey when you buy it--it could be the kidneys, heart, neck, etc. So to me, it is rather odd that an American who eats stuffing on Thanksgiving, cannot stomach Haggis.

My first Burn's supper was experienced at the Dunbar Rotary club on the 1st of Feb. Burn's Night is traditionally held on 25 Jan (Robbie's birthday), but the suppers can generally be held within a week or two of the 25th. The dinner was held at the golf course in Dunbar and most of the Rotarians were in traditional dress (kilts and tartan galore). Everyone looked so Scottish!! The dinner began with David 'piping in the haggis' and Tom (the club president) addressing and stabbing the Haggis. Then my host Rotarian, Thelma, gave the Reply to the Toast to the Lassies--which she creatively re-worked to include aspects of the Dunbar club.

The dinner was a full course of Haggis, neeps (turnips), and tatties (mashed potatoes), followed by a dessert of raspberry cranachan and homeade shortbread cookies from Rona's sweet shoppe. After dinner, several members (including myself!) got up and recited a Burn's poem, in memory of the legendary poet. I read Castle Gordon. Unfortunately, I was not nearly as entertaining as most of the Rotarians who got up, but I was happy to do it and is it bizarre that I find I like reciting poetry??? One of the Rotarians did a rendition of McGonagall's (one of Scotland's notoriously terrible poets) Tay Bridge Disaster, which invoked much laughter from the crowd. It was honestly the best night I have had thus far in the semester.

Sadly, I do not have pictures to document this experience, as naturally, I forgot my camera! ;-( However, I found a nice picture of Haggis online that I shall include for your viewing pleasure.