Burns Supper 2010 - 23-02-2010
Having heard so much about this famous annual Burns Supper, it was with great excitement, extremely high expectations and contrastingly flat shoes that I attended my first on Saturday 23rd January. Donning my purposefully acquired Irish Tartan skirt, a wee bit too short for such a chilly night, I was lucky enough not to drive but be driven to Offendorf. I am thrilled to report my expectations were exceeded. Entering the impressively transformed room was like stepping out of Alsace and into Scotland (I can but imagine!), it is hard to make such a large room atmospheric and comfortable but Alisdair and the ESC preparation team pulled it off brilliantly. Tartan sashes, Scottish flags and Robert Burns silhouettes set the mood and the strong smell of whisky and the two very unfrench looking French bagpipe players ensured the fully Scottish perception. We were invited to take our seats and the haggis was ceremoniously piped in, Alasdair delivered a dramatic, professional and dare I say a little scary address to the Haggis and toast to the immortal memory of Robert Burns, Richard charmed the ladies and made us all giggle with the ‘address to the lassies’ to which Janet Drummond retorted both beautifully and wittily. After a veritable feast of haggis, tatties and mashed neeps with an optional whisky sauce (Alisadair went from table to table drenching the haggis with a generous dram of uisge beatha “the water of life”), up went the kilts (I mean from the table and not literally thankfully) and dancing shoes (hence the flatties) and we danced everything from the Gay Gordons to the The Dashing White Sergeant. The evening then doubled as a mighty aerobic workout… I hate to admit it but I could hardly walk the next day for the aches and pains. I am not going to go into who Robert Burns was. I am not going to tell you why over 200 years since his death Burns Suppers are organised all over the world to his ‘immortal memory’ around his birth date 25th January. Or how he came to depart this world aged 39 leaving his undiscovered artistic legacy, much heartache and 14 children (5 out of wedlock) fatherless (intrigued?), so for those of you that were not there this year, don’t forget to book early for 2011 and come and find out for yourselves… you will not be disappointed but don’t forget your sensible shoes! And just to whet your appetite for next year, I will let Mr Burns himself have the last word... “Freedom and Whisky gang thegither!” Robert Burns, 1786 in The Author’s Earnest Cry and Prayer. Helen Eck
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