At the new house the acoustics are amazing (something to do with it being empty and as yet uncluttered) and I found myself belting out 'My love is like a red, red rose' and 'Auld Lang Syne' and other songs and doing half-baked recitations of poems.
After waiting a long time for The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns to come in stock at Amazon (and giving up), I found the book I had been longing for during a grocery shop at Lidl and on sale for £2.99. Shopping at Lidl often throws up little surprises but this was totally unexpected. Anyway, the book came in to its own today as I recited Address to a Haggis on placing a haggis, 'Great Chieftain o' the pudding-race!', on the dinner table.
'And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin', rich!'
My husband listened politely, my son tucked in and my daughter hadn't even arrived at the table yet as she "hates" haggis.
Then after dinner we sang and recited 'Such a parcel of rogues in a nation' amongst others. England didn't take Scotland by force and make us join them in the Act of Union. No, Scotland was given away by a few Lowland Scots concerned with gaining access to the Commonwealth. The people of Scotland didn't get a choice in the matter.
'We're bought and sold for English gold -
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!'
The older I get the more I appreciate Burns' work. His language, his ability to get to the heart of the matter, his choice of subjects such as a mouse, a louse and the Holy Willies of the world. I'm off now to make a cup of tea in time to watch a TV programme of Burns poetry and song.
I've decided to celebrate Burns night every year with a haggis, music, song and recitations. My challenge for next year will be to be able to recite some Burns without reading from my book!
2 comments:
Good on you for celebrating Burns night in your own way. I agree I appreciate his work so much more now that I am older. BBCI has a series of Burns programmes on file that are well worth watching if you get the time. Great post.
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