Fellow Wine Lovers,
Three weeks ago we were dancing around the living room belting out
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to min’? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o’ auld lang syne?
…or in fact we were trying to sing this, but in fact were shouting unintelligible faux-Scottish words which only became clear for the chorus bits before disappearing back to mumbled gobbledygook.
Then Jools’ Hootenanny was put on and more fake Scottish accents were adopted for all The Proclaimers oeuvre – is it significant that we know more of the words to Letter From America than Auld Lang Syne? – then suddenly it was 3am, it was January 2014, and I felt like I had walked 500 miles (could I walk 500 more? Maybe)
Anyway, this is all a longwinded way of showing that January belongs to Rabbie Burns, the man voted Greatest Ever Scot in 2009. So we start the month with Auld Lang Syne, we then have a few quiet weeks respite before the big day, January 25th, Burns Night. Scots and non-Scots alike, all around the world will be tucking into haggis, neeps and tatties tomorrow evening. Bagpipes will be squawked, sporrans will be worn; cheeky girls will ask if it’s true what a Scotsman keeps under his kilt; cock-a-leekie, whisky and smoked salmon will be in abundance and then the Haggis will arrive and some poor soul will struggle to their feet and try to recite the following:
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the puddin’-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak yer place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
Address to a Haggis – a Robert Burns masterpiece and totally appropriate on what would have been his 255th birthday.
As you can tell I have indulged in a fair bit of internet research about the great man and have come up with a short checklist of key Burns facts, should the dinner conversation dry up:
- · Burns more public statues around the world than any other writer. Only Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus have more statues (not including religious figures)
- · Auld Lang Syne is one of the three most popular songs in the English language – Happy Birthday and For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow being the other two
- · He was a philanderer. In fact he probably designed the blueprint – take a look:
1785 Father for the first time, to Elizabeth, born to maidservant Elizabeth Paton
1786 Enters into ‘a form of wedlock’ with Jean Armour
1786 Father to twins Robert and Jean Burns, born to Jean Armour
1787 Father to a child, born to Edinburgh servant girl May Cameron
1788 Father to twin daughters, born to Jean
1788 Father to Robert, born to Edinburgh serving maid Jenny Clow
1789 Father to Francis Wallace Burns, born to Jean
1791 Father to Elizabeth (‘Betty’), born to barmaid Anna Park
1791 Father to William Nicol Burns, born to Jean
1792 Father to Elizabeth Riddell Burns, born to Jean
1794 Father to James Glencairn Burns, born to Jean
1796 Father to Maxwell Burns, born to Jean on the day of the poet’s funeral
- · He was bound to win Greatest Ever Scot since most of the voters were related to him… ok, I made this up but it might seem plausible after the third dram…
So there you go, a potted guide to Mr Burns – hopefully more diverting than discussion of Justin Bieber’s drink-driving antics, Man United’s scrappy defeat to Sunderland or the Dutch research that claims central heating makes you fat.
Haggis Wine
There’s a plethora of choices out there to match the beast. MacSweens recommend a lighter Italian red but I think this year I’m going to opt for Doural Tinto 2011 – £9.99 from the Douro in Portugal, purely because I think the rustic ripe fruit character will be a fantastic foil for the light spice of the meat – if you want to try it for yourself I’m going to have it open for tasting this weekend alongside a bottle of white, yet to be selected.
A few years ago I had a go at making haggis myself – it was very tasty but it made the kitchen smell offal!!
I’m here all week…
Alex & Wayne