I was invited by Mael Coluim to the Scottish Society of Fredericksburg VA Burns Supper held at the F'burg Country Club.
I'll be sharing photos of the evening. It's a night of firsts for me. My first Scottish event, first Burns Supper, my first taste of Haggis (oh my!), my first bottle of single-malt Scotch whisky.
Well, on to the pictures!
The University of Mary Washington pipe band in their university tartan kilts. The band is very good and so are their dancers.
Dancing.
More dancing
The dedication and toasts:
Many toasts weer offered that evening --- mostly for leaders of various countries. In the program, there were poems read (dedication to the lassies), and of course the Ode to the Haggis. I thought it was well done!
One reader read two love poems by Burns. She explained that Valentines is only a couple of weeks away, and added a third poem, a non-Burns poem: "500 Miles" by the Proclaimers. It was very well read, and the lyrics are indeed romantic. I enjoyed its addition.
And my first Haggis. (And I'm a 1.5-year vegan!!) That night was a special night and I suspended some of my dietary guidelines. I actually liked it! and Haggis has Oatmeal - so that's even better
[This to satisfy The Rule: without pictures, it didn't happen]
After the event, some more pictures were taken:
Mael and other members of the Scottish Society of F'burg.
with me and The Sword
Well I unbuttoned my waistcoat (it was post-dinner after all). [I know, I know: if waistcoat, no belt. If no waistcoat, wear belt].
My newest DIY --- it's a double-box pleat wool in mustard color.
It's actually not completely finished yet - I didn't have enough time.
We had live musical entertainment: a very talented duet of singers who sang several songs based on Burn's poems.
And then the Raffle.
There were about 12 raffle items, a huge sword, Scottish tea set, and a bottle of Glenlivet 12 (which you can imagine had the most tickets placed into its raffle "pitcher." Yes, I put most of mine in there.
Before dinner I went to the bar and got me a red wine in the left hand and a glass of Laphroig 12 on the right. That's my second dram of single-malt. [The first time was Macallan 12 exactly one week ago.]
The surprise of the evening was that Mael Coluim won 4 of the prizes!!! What luck and he passed on some of that luck to me in the form of the Glenlivet 12. How generous of Mael and how lucky of me. When he handed me the bottle, I felt warmth in my face. LOL It was entirely an unexpected pleasure. Thank you very much Mael.
I invited Mael for a nightcap at the F'burg pub where we were last Sunday for the Burns Toast. It was decidedly a different atmosphere. The place was packed and when we both walked in - the attention turned thick. It was so thick, you could cut it with... well you know. Really. Heads turned. Well were both dressed very well. We had to walk the walk around the place to find a spot. We did, but not long, a group of folks at a nearby table waved Mael over and started talking to him. I saw Robert (the whisky expert who trained their staff there - we met him last week) and went over to say hi.
The manager, upon seeing Mael and me, went over and instructed one of the bartenders to give us our second round o' Guiness on the house. Nice!
Ha! That would never happen if it weren't for the kilt!
Mael asked me, "how does it feel to be like a regular?" hahaha--- I live 60 miles away and I've gone there twice in week. LOL. Thanks to Robert Burns!
We had a wait staff come over and compliment us on our grand look. She was pretty too. Another wait staff came up and said that we were putting their kilted crew to shame and commented that it seems that these crew have been going around the long way to try avoid coming near us (to stave off the comparisons I guess). Hahahah.
Thanks Mael for the excellent company and conversation. With all that time we spent the Pub@Fredericksburg, we didn't even mention BSG (Battlestar Galactica!, lol).
Well, I was a happy camper as I drove back home around 2 in the morning (I needed the EtOH to be metabolized before driving!), after a successful first Burns Supper for me, and hanging out at the Pub with Mael Coluim, the gentleman of Fredericksburg. And NO I did NOT open the Glenlivet for a sampling.
Mael, feel free to add your take on the festivities of the evening.
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