Can I do this at home?It's not often I give advice to folk about what to do behind closed doors – but you certainly can have fun in organising your own Burns supper. Here are ten steps to a great night for anything from four to forty folk:
Welcome your guests with a glass of Speyside malt whisky;
Say Grace before enjoying a starter of Scottish smoked salmon with a crisp white wine;
Address the Haggis (feel free to read to it – don't be shy!) and try it with mashed potatoes and turnips (and a wee bit more of that malt if there's any left!);
Serve a simple main course of Scottish steak with chips and peas, washed down by a nice ordinary Claret;
Round it off with a rich Scotch Trifle or some fine Scottish Cheeses;
Get a friend to speak for a few light hearted minutes and then lead everyone in toasting 'The Immortal Memory of Robert Burns';
Choose a poem (try 'To a Mouse') and pass the book round the guests with everyone reading one verse;
Enjoy the fellowship of your friends around the table;
Sing 'Auld Lang Syne' with a stiff glass of Islay malt as a nightcap!
Do it again next year!
Come and join in! Don't forget that Burns loved a party, so we owe it to him to make it a good one.
Alternatively all you golfers may be going to a Burns Supper or have been at one at your own Golf Club. Here are a few at Douglas Park Golf Club last weekend at their "early" Burns Supper singing a couple of songs
Here is a good article in the Glasgow Herald Today if you happen to be giving a "The Reply for the Lassies" Toast to the Lassies by Ruth Wishart in today's Glasgow Herald