Homecoming Scotland - A celebration of Scotland

Sunday was the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's most famous poet, Rabbie Burns. (Think of Auld Lang Syne). 

Each year many of us Scots celebrate Burns Night on his birthday, eating haggis, neeps & tatties, toasting the haggis with some of Burns most famous poems....Ode to a Haggis and Tam O Shanter. Now many a Burns Supper I have held has had an international feel - Italians, French, Slovenians, Spaniards, Germans, Greeks, Russians......and we all have to participate, reciting a stanza or verse of Burns and they all looked to me to tell them what it means and I looked back and just shrugged...

Fair fa' your honest sonsie face,

Great chieftain o the puddin' race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe or thairm:

Weel are you wordy o' a grace

As lang's ma arm

Translation:

Fair is your honest happy face,

Great chieftain of the pudding race!

Above them all you take you place,

Stomach, tripe or guts:

Well are you worthy of a grace

As long as my arm

My celebrations this weekend took the form of attending my friend's children's Highland Dancing Display - a 4 year old and a 6 year old taking to the stage amongst their peers - it was sweet. But the 16 to 18 year olds were amazing - modern style Highland Dancing, expertly choreographed, beautifully executed alongside the more traditional.... 

Then Burns Supper with friends - haggis, neeps and tatties, Scotland's traditional dish cooked by a Costa Rican, a Mexican, a German and a Greek!! We turn them all into Scots eventually.....

As part of the 250th anniversary celebrations, the Scottish Government has developed a programme of events and celebrations throughout the year, to encourage Scots living abroad, people with Scottish ancestors and those just interested in visiting, to come on over for a holiday  - Homecoming Scotland! So if you've ever wanted to visit Scotland, it's a good year to come - helped along by our pathetically weak currency....