MORE RESOURCES FOR BURN'S NIGHT

A Grace Before Dinner, Extempore       1791

O thou who kindly dost provide
For every creature's want!
We bless Thee, God of Nature wide,
For all Thy goodness lent:
And if it please Thee, Heavenly Guide,
May never worse be sent;
But, whether granted, or denied,
Lord, bless us with content. Amen! 

  Selkirk Grace (1)

Some hae meat and canna eat,
   And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
   Sae let the Lord be thankit.
The last line is often varied to read-
And sae the Lord be thankit

                                                  Selkirk Grace (2)

                                        Some have meat and cannot eat,
       Some cannot eat that want it;
       But we have meat and we can eat,
        So let the Lord be thankit.

                          A Grace After Dinner, Extempore  1791

                             O thou, in whom we live and move-
                             Who made the sea and shore;
                              Thy goodness constantly we prove,
                               And grateful would adore;
                                                           And, if it please Thee, Power above!
                                                             Still grant us, with such store,
                                                              The friend we trust, the fair we love-
                                                                And we desire no more. Amen! 

To a Haggis   (in English)

(Haggis is a wholesome savoury pudding, a mixture of mutton and offal. It is boiled and presented at table in a sheep's stomach) 

All hail your honest rounded face,
Great chieftain of the pudding race;
Above them all you take your place,
Beef, tripe, or lamb:
You're worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your sides are like a distant hill
Your pin would help to mend a mill,
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distil,
Like amber bead.

His knife the rustic goodman wipes,
To cut you through with all his might,
Revealing your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, what a glorious sight,
Warm, welcome, rich.

Then plate for plate they stretch and strive,
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all the bloated stomachs by and by,
Are tight as drums.
The rustic goodman with a sigh,
His thanks he hums.

Let them that o'er his French ragout,
Or hotchpotch fit only for a sow,
Or fricassee that'll make you spew,
And with no wonder;
Look down with sneering scornful view,
On such a dinner.

Poor devil, see him eat his trash,
As feckless as a withered rush,
His spindly legs and good whip-lash,
His little feet
Through floods or over fields to dash,
O how unfit.

But, mark the rustic, haggis-fed;
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Grasp in his ample hands a flail
He'll make it whistle,
Stout legs and arms that never fail,
Proud as the thistle.

You powers that make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare.
Old Scotland wants no stinking ware,
That slops in dishes;
But if you grant her grateful prayer,
Give her a haggis.

Address To A Haggis 
 

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:                                            
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;                                                           
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

 
The Translation
 
Fair is your honest happy face
Great chieftain of the pudding race
Above them all you take your place
Stomach, tripe or guts
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm

The groaning platter there you fill
Your buttocks like a distant hill
Your skewer would help to repair a mill
In time of need
While through your pores the juices emerge
Like amber beads

His knife having seen hard labour wipes
And cuts you up with great skill
Digging into your gushing insides bright
Like any ditch
And then oh what a glorious sight                                                      
Warm steaming, rich

Then spoon for spoon
They stretch and strive
Devil take the last man, on they drive
Until all their well swollen bellies
Are bent like drums
Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp)
Be thanked, mumbles

Is there that over his French Ragout
Or olio that would sicken a pig
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust
Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion
On such a dinner

Poor devil, see him over his trash
As week as a withered rush (reed)
His spindle-shank a good whiplash
His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit

But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot
The trembling earth resounds his tread
Clasped in his large fist a blade
He'll make it whistle
And legs and arms and heads he will cut off                   
Like the tops of thistles

You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis! 

websites:

http://www.worldburnsclub.com/begin/address_to_a_haggis.htm/
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/address_to_a_haggis
http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/haggis.html

TIPS FOR ORGANISING A BURN'S NIGHT DINNER

If you have a well-heeled clientele, a large room and caterers then you don't need this post.

This is for those who want to organise a rattling good night out as well as raising funds for their Church or society.

THE VENUE

Look carefully at the room you are going to use.  You need to seat everyone (the supper is a proper sit-down meal and everyone needs a chair, including helpers and children so don't forget to count them).  Then you need space for dancing.  

We have a very small, multi-purpose Church building so we have to clear away the tables and chairs to make room for the dancing, without which Burn's Night would not be complete.

Work out the maximum number you can seat comfortably, bearing in mind you need access to the kitchen and you need to be able to serve hot food safely.  Stick to that number.

THE PEOPLE

How much can your people afford to pay?  We charged £10 this year and included a glass of wine.  Next year we won't include the wine.  People bring it anyway as well as the whiskey.  And some will prefer beer, which they will bring.  Don't try and cater for all alcohol preferences... you will go mad.  Unless you have a license you cannot sell alcohol.  We do put water on the tables.

 

THE MENU

People want a good dinner so this year we served:

hearty vegetable soup + bread roll

Haggis, neeps and tatties

a good casserole                                      chilli bean pot for the Vegans

trifle                                                         fresh fruit salad  

cheese and oat cakes                               humus instead of cheese    

coffee

THE COOKING

We have a minute church kitchen, small even by terraced house standards, with a 4 burner electric cooker and a tiny single sink and drainer.  We do have plenty of crockery, cutlery and glasses, though if numbers are big then we need to borrow from the Vicarage or use plastic plates and bowls.

I make the soup in my enormous soup pot and a vegetarian one in a smaller pot.

Two of the ladies from church do the haggis course.  They use the kitchen. They put the haggis in the oven and the mashed potatoes and swede in serving dishes in the heated hostess trolley, which was given to church for just such occasions.

A friend and I make all the casseroles using every slow cooker we can borrow.  We cook a day or 2 before the supper. We plug them in at about 3.30pm on the Friday so they are nice and hot by 8pm.

We get volunteers to make the trifles. They arrive during the Friday afternoon.

We borrow cafetieres for the coffee and use the hot water boiler which is plumbed into the mains water.

SETTING UP

The day before the supper I organise a few strong volunteers to bring the table downstairs from the storage cupboard and set them up, with chairs.  Since groups want to sit together there is sometimes a bit of fiddling about to get the room balanced.  

Then we lay the cloths and set the tables.  I make a note of any extra plates etc I need to acquire.  During the dinner people keep their forks for the 2 main  courses and their knife right through the meal (for cheese).  We have 2 spoons each.

We also set a wine glass and a tumbler for each person.

We have groups who want to sit together...........eg the charity shop volunteers use it as a night out......... so I use place names.  You organise however you want to.

THE CLEARING UP

No-one washes up after the meal.  It's impractical with our facilities and if we are catering for 60 that's a lot of pots. People have come for a night out not a night at the kitchen sink. So we scrape off the bits and load plates, bowls and glasses into big bags, take them to the Vicarage and we run the dishwasher all the next day till we're done. If we need to use any plastic plates etc they go straight into the bin.  The cutlery is soaked in washing up bowls and also goes through the dishwasher.  Easy peasy.

We stack the tables after the meal but they get stored away the next day.  Otherwise no-one has time to dance.

THE MUSIC

You need music, playing as a background during the meal, as accompaniment to songs, community singsong, and for the dancing.  You are unlikely to be able to afford a piper to pipe in the haggis so you need pipe music as well.

DECORATIONS

How you decorate will be decided by your budget and the room.  Since ours is actually a small Georgian church we hang flags from the balcony, put out every candlestick the church possesses (they look really festive when lit and add to the ambiance).  Then  we have tartan paper napkins or napkins with Robert Burns pictures/information on them.  There are lots available.  And we print a souvenir programme with the menu, the grace, who's doing the speeches and the words for any songs we are all going to sing (if any).

useful websites:

http://www.proudlyscottish.com/acatalog/

www.happythought.co.uk/ebook/how-to-throw-a-simple-burns-night-supper

 THE PROGRAMME

There are no hard and fats rules about what you must do but some items are always included. I have underlined the essentials.  Nor does your evening have to follow this pattern.  This was 2011.  In 2012 we didn't interrupt the meal after the haggis.  We put everything else at coffee time.  It's up to you.

1 Selkirk Grace

2 after soup                   Procession of the haggis and  Address to the Haggis

3 after haggis                 Ye Banks and Braes

4 after casserole            Flow Gently Sweet Afton

5 after trifle                   My Love is Like a Red Red Rose

6 end of meal song       Star of Rabbie Burns

7 Immortal Memory (of R Burns)

8 Toast to the lassies

9 Response from the ladies

10 The town we live in

Dancing

Auld Lang Syne 

useful websites:

http://www.rabbie-burns.com/

http://digital.nls.uk/burns/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/

THE HELPERS

Essential     the MC.  this person must know what they are doing because they announce speakers, songs, etc

                 the cooks

                 the muscle to set up and shift tables and chairs

        

                someone to operate the music system or play live music if you can afford it

               the caller for the dancing.............. most people did not learn basic dances at school so they will need to be demonstrated and organised

THE DANCES

Usually included.................Gay Gordons

                                          the Dashing White Sergeant

                                          St Bernard's waltz

                                          Strip the Willow

                                          Cumberland 8's (though I think the Scots give it a different name)  etc etc

For further information on dances look on youtube.

BURN'S NIGHT

BURN'S NIGHT SUPPER

27.20.2012

Burn's Night! We set up and laid the tables yesterday and all the cooking is done so all we have to do today is collect the bread and plug in the slow cookers. J and B are cooking the haggis, neeps and tatties and that will go into the hostess trolley so no-one should be in the kitchen at all after about 6pm.

5pm Our friends have not arrived yet. I hope they left enough time for the journey as they are bringing the vegan haggis for the non meat eaters.

6pm U arrives, rather late.. ….hold up on the motorway. He's our MC and a genuine Scot.  He changes hastily into his kilt etc and we then discover we need a lead to connect the laptop to the church music system. Completely forgotten about the vagaries of our system.  Desperate phone call and one arrives.

Still no sign of our friends. We finish setting up. I fit in 2 extra places, 1 I'd forgotten about and 1 for a favour to a friend. The trifles have arrived safely, including an enormous one which will feed at least 20.  The cheese and oat cakes are ready so all we need are the people.

7.15pm folk are beginning to arrive, some in highland garb and most clutching bottles of wine and whisky. Looks like it will be a good night.

7.30pm We should be starting but as the chap doing one of the speeches is not here yet we'll have to wait a bit. Our friends have arrived and so their haggis goes into the microwave. What did we do before microwaves?

At last everyone, bar 2, is here so we start. Introductions for those who have never experienced a Burn's Night Supper  followed by good homemade soup. The missing 2 arrive and tuck in. There's a quiz for folk to do as the evening goes on, prize a bottle of whisky and people are getting going on that. U asks if we have organised the haggis procession and of course we've forgotten so friend and son are hastily instructed and 4 bottles of whisky borrowed. One has been opened so let's hope it doesn't leak.

The address to the haggis leaves many bemused (most of us are not Scots) but we laugh as the friend, son and U knock back their whisky in one (son was not expecting that!) and we all join in with more moderate sips. The meal continues, haggis course followed by beef / chicken casserole, then trifle, cheese, biscuits and coffee.

So then to the speeches. The address to the lassies is a lovely tribute to we ladies. My reply is a bit more barbed, filled out with jokes sent via the internet, but it seems to be received OK. Then we have a couple of songs and U does his tribute to Rabbie Burns. The quiz is sorted and the prizes awarded. The dirty plates etc are piled into bags ready to go to the vicarage dishwasher and the dancing commences with a Gay Gordon's.

As the evening and drinking continue the dancing becomes increasingly hilarious and folk who didn't think they could dance or would want to dance discover that actually they can and so they do.  Eventually we realisse we will have to finish to allow folk to get home so Auld Lang Syne it is.

11.30pm Time to stagger home and load the dishwasher. Everyone seems to have had an excellent time so we book U for the last Friday in January 2013 and put out the empties.

As we leave my friend S, who did a lot of the cooking, suggests a barn dance. What a good idea. We'll have to look into it.

useful links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burnshttp
www.robertburns.org/works/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns

FAVOURITE ROBERT BURNS POEMS

A Red Red Rose 

1794

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,                      
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

   

The Lass o' Ballochmyle

The Bonnie Lass o' Ballochmyle was Wilhelmina Alexander (1753-1843) who was a sister of the laird of Ballochmyle, on the banks of the River Ayr. Burns saw her on the banks of the river and sent the song to her. Wilhelmina did not reply but in her old age (still a spinster) the song was said to be one of her most treasured possessions. The "chorus" was not part of the original poem and has been added as part of the poem's conversion to a beautiful song, sung to a tune "Ettrick Banks." 

 

The Lass o' Ballochmyle

'Twas even: the dewy fields were green,
On every blade the pearls hang,
The zephyr wanton'd round the bean,
And bore its fragrant sweets alang.
In ev'ry glen the mavis sang,
All Nature list'ning seem'd the while,
Except where greenwood echoes rang,
Amang the braes o' Ballochmyle

Chorus
The bonnie lass o' Ballochmyle
The bonnie lass!
The bonnie, bonnie lass!
The bonnie lass o' Ballochmyle.

With careless step I onward stray'd,
My heart rejoic'd in Nature's joy,
When, musing in a lonely glade,
A maiden fair I chanc'd to spy.
Her look was like the morning's eye,
Her air like Nature's vernal smile,
Perfection whisper'd, passing by: -
'Behold the lass o' Ballochmyle!'

Chorus

Fair is the morn in flow'ry May,
And sweet is night in autumn mild,
When roving thro' the garden gay,
Or wand'ring in the lonely wild;
But woman, Nature's darling child -
There all her charms she does compile;
Even there her other works are foil'd
By the bonnie lass 0' Ballochmyle.

Chorus

O, had she been a country maid,
And I the happy country swain,
Tho' shelter'd in the lowest shed
That ever rose on Scotia's plain!
Thro' weary winter's wind and rain,
With joy, with rapture, I would toil;
And nightly to my bosom strain,
The bonnie lass 0' Ballochmyle!

Chorus

Then Pride might climb the slipp'ry steep,
Where fame and honours lofty shine;
And thirst of gold might tempt the deep
Or downward seek the Indian mine!
Give me the cot below the pine,
To tend the flocks or till the soil,
And ev'ry day have joys divine
With the bonnie lass o' Ballochmyle.

Chorus

The Star o' Rabbie Burns

There is a star whose beaming ray
Is shed on ev'ry clime.
It shines by night, it shines by day
And ne'er grows dim wi' time.
It rose upon the banks of Ayr,
It shone on Doon's clear stream -
A hundred years are gane and mair,
Yet brighter grows its beam.

Chorus
Let kings and courtiers rise and fa',
This world has mony turns
But brightly beams aboon them a'
The star o' Rabbie Burns.

Though he was but a ploughman lad
And wore the hodden grey,
Auld Scotland's sweetest bard was bred
Aneath a roof o'strae.
To sweep the strings o'Scotia's lyre,
It needs nae classic lore;
It's mither wit an native fire
That warms the bosom's core.

Chorus

On fame's emblazon'd page enshrin'd
His name is foremost now,
And many a costly wreath's been twin'd
To grace his honest brow.
And Scotland's heart expands wi' joy
Whene'er the day returns
That gave the world its peasant boy
Immortal Rabbie Burns.

Chorus

Meaning of unusual words:
gane=gone
mair=more
fa'=fall
aboon=above
hodden gray=coarse homespun cloth made from a mixture of black and white wool
strae=straw

SWEET AFTON

 1791

Flow gently, sweet Afton! amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

Thou stockdove whose echo resounds thro' the glen,
Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,
Thou green-crested lapwing thy screaming forbear,
I charge you, disturb not my slumbering Fair.

How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,
Far mark'd with the courses of clear, winding rills;
There daily I wander as noon rises high,
My flocks and my Mary's sweet cot in my eye.

How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below,
Where, wild in the woodlands, the primroses blow;
There oft, as mild Ev'ning weeps over the lea,
The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.

Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,
And winds by the cot where my Mary resides;
How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave,
As, gathering sweet flowerets, she stems thy clear wave.

Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream

The Banks O' Doon

1791

Ye banks and braes o' bonie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary fu' o' care!
Thou'll break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro' the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o' departed joys,
Departed never to return.

Aft hae I rov'd by Bonie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine:
And ilka bird sang o' its Luve,
And fondly sae did I o' mine;
Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,
Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree!
And may fause Luver staw my rose,
But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

Useful websites (there are many)

 

http://www.robertburns.org/
http://www.poets.org/rburn/

      http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/burns_robert

If you don't know the tunes for these try listening to Kenneth McKellar.  He recorded many years ago and he had one of the finest tenor voices in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_McKellar_(singer)

      http://www.allcelticmusic.com/artists/Kenneth%20McKellar.html
If you would like backing tracks for songs a very good site is


http://www.pianotracksformusicals.com