Sunday, January 31, 2010

"Oh, that God the gift would give us To see ourselves as others see us" Robert Burns poem


When my friend Jackie called to ask if we would like to join their table for a Black Tie event, I said "Yes!" before I even knew what she was inviting us to. I was just happy to be invited out- with people! More than getting dressed up and going out, the thought of being invited to an event with opportunities to meet other people made me feel like we are getting more connected to people here. And that felt great.

The event was actually a "Burns Supper Ceilidh", which was organized by a few Scottish expats here, many who have children at the school where the boys will go next year. I had never heard of this before (or even Robert Burns). The dinner was held at the Dun Laoghaire Yacht Club, and it was nice to see that as well. Those of you who know might have guessed that I did not try the Haggis. There were toasts and speeches and the Scots were in kilts. We had a great time.

Wikipedia describes it:

A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of man Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, sometimes also known as Robert Burns Day or Burns Night (Burns Nicht), although they may in principle be held at any time of the year.

Burns suppers are most common in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but occur wherever there are Burns Clubs, Scottish Societies, expatriate Scots, or lovers of Burns' poetry.


and also defines the Ceilidh as:

A céilidh (Irish pronunciation: [ˈceːlʲiː], Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈcʰeːli], English pronunciation: /ˈkeɪli/) (in modern usage) is a traditional Gaelic social dance event originating in Ireland andScotland, but now common throughout the Celtic diaspora.



“The national dish of Scotland is something called haggis, the specific ingredients of which I won't go into other than to say that if you can visualize boiled, inside-out road kill, you're pretty close.”

David Grimes quotes (American composer b.1948)


Of Course there were bagpipes


The atmosphere

Ready to go!




Our friends: Jackie & Ian







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