Rabbie Burns Night 2010

Yes... I know, and all you Scotophiles out there will be quick to point out that Rabbie Burns 251st birthday is not until January 25th 2010, but we like to celebrate early.
Saturday night saw the 16th Annual Rabbie Burns Night organised by St James Presbyterian Church, and it was every bit as good as the previous 15. Better in fact!
To start the procedings, the piper led the procession around the room to the strains of "Scotland the Brave".....

.... closely followed by the haggis bearer. It's a very serious business, haggis bearing.

The haggis was ceremonially sliced open as the piper recited Burns' poem "Ode to a Haggis", and we raised our glasses to toast the haggis and the Scottish Bard (apple juice.... none of the hard stuff, this is a church event!).
Then, before the dinner, The Selkirk Grace:

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.

Dinner was the traditional feast of roast beef, mashed tatties, peas, champit neeps, coleslaw, haggis, horseradish sauce and gravy... followed by assorted pies and Scottish shortbread.... all local produce prepared by the church ladies. Scrumptious!
And after the dishes are cleared away, it's time for the entertainment. A children's choir, Highland dancers, readings of Burns' poetry, a singalong of Scottish songs, and a wonderful soprano soloist.
And, of course, Scottish Country Dancers. We danced a strathspey, "The Rakes of Glasgow"......

..... and then a costume change for a reel, "Corn Rigs".

And we'll be doing it all again this time next year when we celebrate Rabbie's 252nd birthday! Wouldn't you like to join us? We'll save you a seat.

Scotland the Brave

We started rehearsals in the spring.
It's been a little chaotic at times, but all those rehearsals were worth it. We had so much fun.
On Sunday our Scottish Country Dance group participated in "Memories of Scotland", a fundraiser for the Richmond Hill Centennial Pipe Band.

In addition to the pipes and drums, there were Highland Dancers, singers and of course, the best part of the show, the Scottish Country Dancers!

I don't have any pictures of our actual dancing.... maybe on a later post... but the whole group performed four dances on the stage (The Piper and the Penguin, Bratach Bana, The Minister on the Loch, and The Reel of the Royal Scots) and the men performed The Reel of the 51st Division. This dance has a fascinating history.

At the beginning of World War II, the 51st (Highland) Division formed part of the British Expeditionary Force's GHQ reserve.
In 1940, the 51st Division was helping the French Army slow the German's advance on Paris. When the situation became hopeless, the 51st decided to fight their way back to the coast, but were unable to cross the channel, and about 10,000 men and officers surrendered to the German army.
Some officers of the original 51st (Highland) Division ended up in a POW camp near Salzburg. Since dancing was always a big part of Scottish military life, the POWs started a dance class to pass the time. At first the dancers were reduced to hand clapping and counts for music, but later on managed to obtain musical instruments such as practice chanters and even an accordion through the Red Cross.
The dance called The Reel of the 51st Division was invented during the winter of 1940 by three officers. One of the officers tried to send a description of the dance to his wife in Scotland, but the German censors suspected that the dance notation was a secret code and spent a lot of time trying to decode it, until the men demonstrated the dance to them.

Since then, The Reel of the 51st Division has been traditionally a men's dance.

Here's the dance notation:

1-8	1C set, cast off two places (2C up) and lead up to 1cnrs
9-16	1C set to 1cnr, turn 1cnr RH, join LH in the middle to BiL, turn 1¼ LH to 2cnrs
17-24	Repeat with 2cnrs, cross to 2pl own side
25-32	2C+1C+3C circle6 and back.

No wonder the Germans were confused!

(btw, I'm in the middle, top left photo.)

Rabbie Burns Night 2009

Welcome to the 15th Annual Rabbie Burns Night Dinner hosted by the local Presbyterian Church, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's favourite poet!

We spent a whole day giggling laughing gossiping working hard in the church kitchen, peeling, cooking and preparing 70lbs of potatoes and about 25 large turnips. This makes mashed tatties and champit neeps. With the addition of coleslaw, green peas, roast beef with horseradish, haggis and gravy, this is enough to feed 160 hungry Scotophiles. Here are some of the hardworking kitchen help.... don't ask about the fingers....

.... and this is the resulting dinner. All this and entertainment too for only CDN$16?? What a bargain. Don't you wish you had bought a ticket?

Our expert gravy maestro makes two, yes TWO, kinds of gravy, one with onions (my favourite) and one without.
What's a roast beef dinner without gravy???

Besides, many people claim that it drowns enhances the taste of the haggis!

Everyone stands in respect for Rabbie Burns as the haggis is ceremonially piped in by the piper.
Strains of Scotland the Brave assail our ears.

The haggis is carried behind the piper on a silver tray, and traditionally follwed by glasses of Scotch for drinking the health of Rabbie Burns, even though Rabbie's been dead since 1796.
In this case, the Scotch is replaced by apple juice.... this is a church function. Don't tell Rabbie.
At this point in the procedings, it's time for the traditional "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' thissle.

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!

It's all Greek to you? Desperate for a translation and/or explanation?

Click here.

After the dinner plates are cleared.... it's time for dessert. Help yourself to a piece of pie.... your choice.

The evening's entertainment includes music, poetry, song and dance, all with a decidedly Scottish flavour. Our Scottish Country Dance group demonstrated "Wisp of Thistle" a strathspey, and a reel, "Reel of the 51st Division".

The table centres depicted Scottish Dancing around the world......

... created by four ladies sitting round a kitchen table one winter afternoon not long ago, armed with paper and scissors and glue and tartan ribbon.... fuelled by homemade shortbread and cups of tea!

On 25th January, don't forget to wish everyone a Happy Rabbie Burns Day!

Earth Hour

By now, everyone's heard of Earth Hour, when tens hundreds of thousands of people around the world turned their lights off between 8pm and 9pm on Saturday evening, in an attempt to raise awareness of the world's dwindling energy resources, and the necessity to use energy wisely.

Toronto was one of the particpating cities. Click here to see a special Toronto Star report on the festivities.

More than 10,000 people listened to Nelly Furtado sing her heart out in the semi-darkness at a free outdoor concert in Nathan Phillips Square.

Me? I had been to a Scottish Country Dance workshop all day, dancing from 9am till 4:30pm. My feet were hurting. I didn't want to go anywhere.

I lit the candles and turned the lights out at 8pm. Outside, the houses across the road were dark. The Space Cadet claimed the sofa, and I settled into a comfy chair to enjoy the candlelight and the quiet.
I woke up at midnight.
Earth Hour was history..... and I slept right through it!