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For those who are not aware, this is the day (or night) that we celebrate the birthday of the "Bard of Scotland".
Robert Burns. A poet and a lover. And yes, I did have haggis for my dinner tonight!!

Address To A Haggis 1786

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' yet 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 was 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 like 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 make her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckles as wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
His nieve a nit;
Thro' blody 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' hands will sned,
Like taps o' trissle.

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!

Kattywampus69 8 Jan 25
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6 comments

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0

You should cross post in the all things Scottish group

@Kattywampus69 I don't know how either! LOL! So glad you started that group. My sister lives in Scotland and I love all things Scottish. I should post a video of my nephew reciting Burns for a school show. Good stuff!

@Kattywampus69 it is so wonderful to hear him do it. Not that I understood it all. He has a lovely accent and Burns is a bit hard to understand!

1

Oh my, the dreaded Haggis.

@Kattywampus69 I have only read about it and that is how it was referred too.

@Kattywampus69 it is made with liver & other offal,and tastes AWFUL!

@Kattywampus69 I totally love chicken livers, and occassionally have pork liver with onions, but the haggis I had tasted like LIVER, with an oatmeal texture. You can have all of mine......

0

I raised a wee dram to Robbie this evening,,,

blzjz Level 7 Jan 25, 2019
0

Oh wad the gift the giftie gie is
When we see ourselves as others see us.

0

OMG, I had haggis once, at a Scottish festival........I guess the tip-off should have been the 5-gallon pump bottle of BBQ sauce on the condiment station.........

Import into the USA was banned for years . Not sure if that is still the case.

@Moravian I think this guy made it with a family recipe...everything at this festival had to be "authentic"....tasted like boiled liver, only with a nasty texture. And I am an adventurous and not-picky eater!

@AnneWimsey Must have been a dud recipe. Traditional haggis is just minced sheep offal with oatmeal, onions and seasoning. Very tasty. there is also a vegetarian version.

@Moravian yup, "sheep offal"...liver, gizzards, heart, etc. Does Not taste like chicken!

0

I attended this show last night. Brilliant and totally different from the usual Burns supper.

[evensi.uk]

@Kattywampus69 It was a great evening.A traditional Burns supper meal in the midst of a murder mystery play and we had to work out who the murderer was with a prize for the table that was successful. the Showboaters , the local Am Dram group who presented it are very good. A few weeks ago they put on a production of "The Steamie" which you may have heard of.

Not much skiing here yet. We have had virtually no snow yet this winter ( bloody climate change 🙂)

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