Anyone who sang "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve sang the words of Robert Burns. Suppers celebrating the Scottish poet have been a global tradition since his death in 1796, and the Western Kentucky Highland Society continues the tradition in Murray on January 23. On Sounds Good, Tracy Ross speaks with proud Scotsman Robert Valentine about Burns, 'neeps and tatties' and a poem about haggis.
January 25th is Robert Burns' birthday and hundreds of suppers will be held around the world celebrating the poet. Valentine says the Scots spent centuries under domination of the English government and take this opportunity to celebrate something uniquely Scottish.
Burns was one of the greatest poets in the English language, Valentine says, with oft-quoted lines such as "Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind," "The best laid plans often go astray," "I wish he could see himself as others see him" and "Time and tide will wait for no man."
Haggis is a central part of the supper, beginning with an ode to the traditional Scottish dish, followed by a procession with a whisky bearer and guards. Valentine describes haggis as typically not the the finest cuts of meat finely diced and mixed with oatmeal and spices. It's then put into boiled and scraped sheep stomachs as casing, sewn together, boiled and baked so that the exterior becomes crisp.
The Robert Burns Supper starts at 6 p.m. and following the procession of the haggis will be a toast to the piper, the grace and dinner. You don't have to eat the haggis, he says, but it will be an appetizer. Dinner will be Shepherd's Pie with 'neeps and tatties' (turnips and potatoes), followed by a trifle for dessert. A series of toasts continue with one to Murray, to the ladies, the ladies response and one to the "immortal memory of Robert Burns."
