For those who don't know, this Thursday is Burns' Night, the national celebration of Scotland's most famous poet, author of Auld Lang Syne among other things. The two main events as far as I can tell are the recitation of Burns' "To a Haggis" and the consumption of said meat product accompanied by "neeps and tatties" aka mashed turnips and potatoes.
There are a number of Burns' Night events going on all this week, and I had been planning on going to the international students' center one this weekend (I'm also going to a ceilidh on the day itself.) I figured I'd get the haggis and the poem at least, even if it was mostly with other Americans in my program.
Instead, I walked into the Folk Music society meeting tonight to see a microwave in the center of the room, and people walking around with paper plates of haggis, neeps, & tatties. So, I can now report that haggis does in fact have a meatloafy texture, and tastes, I was surprised to find, a bit like liverwurst.
If they read the haggis poem I missed it, but I did get to hear the full dramatic rendition of Tam O'Shanter presented by a student in a kilt (one of many), which in the short version goes something like
1) Tam is very drunk, but needs to go home although his wife Kate is going to tell him off for being sloshed
2) Tam rides through the storm, and finds a big party of witches a devils dancing around in an old church
3) All of the witches are old & ugly, except one who is not. She is young and curvy to behold and dressed in a skimpy outfit called a cutty sark (?)
4) Tam gets excited and yells out something to the effect of, "well done, cutty sark!"
5) All the witches hear him and he has to run away. He escapes, but his horse loses his tail
This reading came in the middle of all the usual FolkSoc goodness, which is heavy on fiddle/whistle tunes with songs thrown in for good measure. I did manage to inject some shapenote (thanks, Hoy) which went over I think very well. Which I suppose means I'm going to have to start knowing more of it off the top of my head...poor me!
Edit - Um, cutty sark the undergarment, not cutty sark the boat. F'ristance, on the right:
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