James Holloway talk on Burns’ Portraits

Fabulous evening at the Scottish Arts Club in the company of some great pals, to hear a most enlightening talk from the director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, James Holloway, on the subject of the portraits of Burns within the collection. Dr Holloway has a tremendous enthusiasm for the collection and I had a […]

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Dripping on

On the 19th March, the Robert Burns World Federation held their executive meeting in the parish halls beside the new Robert Burns Birthplace museum in Alloway. A great opportunity for me finally to manage to pop my head round the door ad see what had been achieved. In the evening, David Purdie gave a talk […]

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Surely that’s about it?

February 25th: a date which means, well, next to nothing to Burnsians. A celebration of the Bard’s one month festival? I suppose it was Bonnie Jean’s birthday. Och, well. Who needs an excuse for another Burns Supper? The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland decided to go well out of season and secured a […]

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Will the Haggis never end?

February appears to be the new January. I have a total of seven Burns engagements over the course of the month and just a few of those left to fulfil. It’s been a long time since I last attended a Black Watch Burns Supper and I’d forgotten all the wee nuances that make them unique. […]

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Suppers, Suppers, Suppers

My feet have scarcely touched the ground since I returned to Blighty. On Wednesday, for the second year running, I had the tremendous pleasure to join with the staff and residents at The Elms, a residential care facility in the hands of the Church of Scotland, with special attention given to sufferers of Alzheimer’s, for […]

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Calgary Completed

Gerry and I fly home today :o( We have had the most amazing time and have been looked after so well by all of our awesome new friends. It was really wonderful to see Brian Lunan’s smiling face waiting for us at the airport and to meet his lovely wife Lynn. He also had the […]

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The Bard’s Oration

My top mate, Bill Hill, is the Bard for Balerno Burns Club, home of the ‘Let it Blaw’ Burns Supper. So far, I haven’t been able to attend the supper as it falls, unsurprisingly, on a Saturday close to Burns Night: a date on which I tend to be a little busy ;o) I really […]

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Calgary continued

Well I wasn’t disappointed! What a tremendous supper. I can’t say I’ve ever addressed a larger crowd at a supper – not properly anyway. I once Addressed the Haggis – at Alexandra Palace, I think it was – before an immense crowd. And then of course there was the Tattoo, performing excerpts from Tam before […]

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Calgary

During the 2009 Edinburgh Military Tattoo I had the great good fortune to make the acquaintance of many members of the Calgary Burns Club, who by sheer force of the tremendous will to be found amongst the frontier-spirited, have crafted themselves into arguably the foremost Burns Club in Canada. Their website places their origins no […]

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Broughton House

The National Trust has a number of properties of immense interest to the avid Burnsian. Obviously the new flagship property at Alloway, incorporating Burns’ birthplace and the National Monument, as well as the new study centre. Also close by there is the Tarbolton Bachelors’ Club and Souter Johnnie’s Cottage at Kirkoswald. Perhaps less obviously, you […]

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