Happy Burns Night

[billscottmorri]

Happy Burns Night to all, even you foreigners. For those of you who lack the great good fortune to know who Robert Burns was he is Scotland's national poet. Been dead a couple of hundred years but laive in well in millions of hearts.

A lover of freedom, whisky, women...a great supporter of both the French and American revolutions and a firm champion of the glory of the indivual he was Abe Lincoln's favourite poet and has been translated into more languages than possibly any other poet.

He wrote "For Auld Lang Sine" which most of you will know and is an inspiration to this day.

I planned to write this yesterday but I was at a Burns Night and got properly hammered as is traditional.

[the ace]

What was it he said about the Union again ?

"What strength or guile could not subdue,
Through many warlike ages,
Is wrought now by a coward few,
For hireling, traitor wages.
The English steel, we could disdain,
Secure in valour's station.
But English gold has been our bane,
Sic' a parcel o' rogues in a nation."

Of course, he also wrote, 'A man's a man for a' that,' and is, indeed, sorely missed, but never forgotten.

[billscottmorri]

As the great man said

'Wha, for Scotland's king and law,
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand, or Freeman fa,
Let him on wi me.

We are a lucky wee country to have him in our birthright.


Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.



Here's tae us.

[Mackie]

Getting very tired of Burns Night becoming sullied by petty political bickering. He was a far more complex character than nats or unionists recognise.

[the ace]

Originally Posted by Mackie

Getting very tired of Burns Night becoming sullied by petty political bickering. He was a far more complex character than nats or unionists recognise.

Of course he was, he appreciated the finer things in life (like the ladies) and was a bl**dy good poet to boot.

He belongs to all Scots, and to humanity as a whole, but everybody quotes the bits he likes.

[ShAA]

Happy Buns Night to you, Scots!

[joea]

Aye, missed that I'll have a drop of some single-malt this week to make up for it. Happy Burns day!!

[billscottmorri]

Fortunately the concept of Burms Night is quite flexible. The Chamber of Commerce gig in Geneva takes place tomorrow so we are still celebrating the great man.

[stalin]

Originally Posted by billscottmorri

to know who Robert Burns was

i do know, we studied him at school back in the Soviet days - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns#Russia

[billscottmorri]

Originally Posted by stalin

i do know, we studied him at school back in the Soviet days - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns#Russia

I remember when I was a member of the Scottish Soviet Friendship Association and we hosted a welcome for some Russian visitors. We were amazed when almost all of them knew who Burns was.

A great compliment from a nation with such a cultural history of its own.