curiouswombat: (notes from a small island)
[personal profile] curiouswombat
Burns' Night was, officially, 25th January - i.e.the anniversary of the birth of the poet Robert Burns. But we usually celebrate it on the nearest Saturday evening, so it was our Burns' Night Supper last night.

When I say 'ours', it is our church that organises what our toastmaster (who is also the Speaker of the House of Keys) calls 'not only the Island's Premier Burns' Night event - but the Premier Social Event of the year'. Perhaps he exaggerates a little - but it is a big event and a chance for us to put on our glad-rags and eat in one of the best hotels on the island.

This year there were about 90 guests, many of the men in kilts, most of the others in Evening Dress, all of the ladies in evening wear, although not all in full-length. And it was absolutely pouring with rain, the wind was a steady 35mph with gusts up to 60 - and the hotel in question is on the seafront.

I dropped S2C, D-d, her partner (useful male from work who is not, she points out, currently a boyfriend) at the door and had to park a little way away - only about 20 - 30 yards as it happens - but I was still soaking wet from the bottom of my coat to the bottom of my dress...

We had to do our utmost to make sure D-d didn't get wet as she was one of the speakers! There are a series of traditional toasts and replies at a Burns' Night Supper and one of these, at a Burns' Night outside Scotland, is 'To Our Adopted Homeland'. This was being proposed by HRH The Lieutenant Governor (the representative of The Queen, Lord of Mann - like the Governor General of Australia or Canada, but on a smaller scale!) - and D-d made the reply on behalf of the Manx - a five minute speech.

She did really well but, sadly, I was so busy listening I forgot to take her picture! However she looked very pretty in a full length red dress with her hair falling in its natural curls.

There is however, as always, a picture of the pudding

S2C and I sat at a table with some people I knew, and some I didn't - D-d and her partner sat at the top table and kept the Governor entertained.

Had I been sitting there too, I wouldn't have got my camera out to take a picture of pudding - but on our table it only occurred to me when one of the couple I didn't know got his out to do just that!

We had pheasant and pork paté for starter, the haggis was duly piped in and addressed in great style by Speaker Rodan, and eaten with neeps and taties (and a very good haggis it was, too), then we had chicken breast with vegetables, followed by a lemon posset with blueberry compote and a blueberry tartlet....

lemon posset with blueberry tartlet

The sticks are chocolate curls. The blueberry compote was separate and I thought it looked prettier before I added it, rather than after. It tasted as good as it looked.

Finally, with coffee, we got chocolate dipped shortbread...

 photo chocolateshortbread_zps58d1f9e5.jpg


The speeches had to be good to keep us all awake after that!



Unrelated - how wonderful is it that one of the experts on Time Team is called Dr Helen Geake?

And did you know that the reason we serve lemon with fish has nothing to do with flavour, but that in the Middle Ages it was thought lemon juice was the best thing to dissolve fish-bones - so the wedge of lemon was to suck if you got a bone caught in your throat? I learnt that factlet from The Unbelievable Truth on Radio 4 - even their comedy programmes are educational - they just can't help it! They were also taking the micky out of fifty shades of Grey... how wonderful is Radio 4?

Date: 27/01/2013 08:28 pm (UTC)
ext_47048: (Dragon)
From: [identity profile] jay-of-lasgalen.livejournal.com
I quite forgot about Burns Night this year (we don't celebrate it officially, but Mr Jay likes haggis). However, as he admitted he thought it was on January 28th, we'll do it on Monday instead ...

I like The Unbelievable Truth (I like most of Radio 4, to be honest) and often find myself shouting 'That's true!' at the panel. There are some fascinating snippets of information to be found there, including the one about lemon and fish. I never knew that before!

Date: 27/01/2013 09:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I like haggis now and again - S2C loves it. The worst thing about the traditional version is peeling the neeps.

I am an inveterate Radio 4 listener, too - such snippets as why lemon with fish really are fascinating, as well as fun.

Date: 28/01/2013 09:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dougalsservant.livejournal.com
I know what you mean about the neeps - at one stage I thought a circular saw would have been handy!

Date: 28/01/2013 09:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
My granny taught me to use a very big knife and cut them into slices about an inch thick, then peel the edges of those discs before cubing them. But that first task of cutting the slices gives me blisters - a power-saw would certainly help!

Date: 27/01/2013 09:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com
Tonight, I was forced to invent the haggis risotto to deal with a leftovers overflow. Not too shabby, but not a patch on your Burns night!

Date: 27/01/2013 09:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
Haggis risotto sounds good. On the BBC recipe page there is also a recipe for haggis bhajis!

I've also used haggis to stuff chicken breasts.

Date: 27/01/2013 09:51 pm (UTC)
ext_15169: Self-portrait (Default)
From: [identity profile] speakr2customrs.livejournal.com
Haggis leftovers? Inconceivable!

Date: 27/01/2013 09:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pondhopper.livejournal.com
It seems odd that you celebrate Burns Night on the Isle. I suppose it has to do with the displaced Scots as you mention the "adopted homeland" toast.

I just saw a series of photos from another friend here about another Burns Night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!
:)
The banquet sounds superb and that dessert....
*drools*



Date: 27/01/2013 09:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
Our church was founded in 1825 by ex-pat Scots who wanted a Scots' Kirk - some people still refer to us by that name! A core of Scots, and some Irish, has always been a part of it - we are the nearest thing to their home churches and so, as they come to the island, they gravitate to us.

I'm not sure when the 'Social Committee' organised their first Burns' Supper - but it has been part of the church social life for a very long time - and is attended by a good few people who aren't part of our congregation, but know a good Burns' Night when they see it!

And yes - the food was excellent.

Date: 27/01/2013 09:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pondhopper.livejournal.com
That explains it then...so many good things come from tradition.
:)

Date: 27/01/2013 09:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mummy-owl.livejournal.com
We had a Burns night on Friday at a friend's...a full report and photos will follow...when I get around to it :-)

Your dessert looks scrummy!

Date: 27/01/2013 09:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I had intended to take more pictures - Here is a picture of us at last year's (http://s4.beta.photobucket.com/user/curiouswombat/media/family%20pics/2012.jpg.html) - D-d likes red dresses - that is a different on to last night's!

But the dessert was so pretty it was worth a picture.

Date: 27/01/2013 09:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chaotic-binky.livejournal.com
The food sounds yummy!

I have never heard of The Unbelievable Truth but I do listen to the News Quiz on Radio 4, which is fun. I download them on podcast so I can listen to them again. It is amazing how much I miss due to interruptions.

Date: 27/01/2013 10:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I love the News Quiz - it is probably my very favourite radio programme. But The Unbelievable Truth is fun, too.

The food at the Burns' supper is always very good - and this year's pudding was a real triumph, I thought.

Mind you, S2C doesn't like lemon apart from with fish - he doesn't like it in anything sweet - so we asked could he have ice-cream. Then the man sitting on the other side of me said 'Ice-cream? I'd rather have ice-cream too, can you ask him to get me some when he comes with that one?' So the two men beside me had chocolate ice-cream instead!

Date: 27/01/2013 10:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estelcontar1.livejournal.com
It sounds like you had a most delicious Burns Night. I love a good haggis. Pity you didn't take a picture of D-d.

What an appropriate name!Image

I had never heard about the lemon and fishbone thingy. That is the kind of trivia I enjoy.

Date: 27/01/2013 11:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I'm hoping that there will be a good one of her amongst the official photos.

And I'm really glad that someone else likes the idea of Dr Geake!

The lemon thing is a lovely bit of trivia - the sort of thing I will remember for years, no doubt!

Date: 28/01/2013 12:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cairistiona7.livejournal.com
Your bash sounds wonderful. There's always several Burns Night celebrations in my area... lots of people here with Scots heritage. Burns, bagpipes, kilts and haggis are a large part of the cultural patchwork here.

Date: 28/01/2013 08:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
Burns' Nights really are good fun - I can imagine the ones in your part of the world will resemble ours quite a bit. What might be interesting would be to see how much they differ. Although I do know that yours won't have proper haggis as, for some reason probably related to lack of knowledge, the US government declared them illegal and not fit for human consumption some years ago!

Date: 28/01/2013 06:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ellynn-ithilwen.livejournal.com
Sounds like a great day. :) And looks like a tasty one, too! :)))

Date: 28/01/2013 08:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
It is a really good night out - and the food is definitely a big part of it.

Date: 28/01/2013 08:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gamiila.livejournal.com
Do you know, I have never yet had the opportunity to taste even the tiniest morsel of a haggis? That's something I'll have to remedy before I die...

Your desserts look scrumptious. I didn't know that factoid about lemon, but I do habitually finish my fish by consuming the lemon wedge, and have done ever since I was little. I always thought it was because I liked the taste, but maybe...it's a habit carried over from a previous, medieval life? Haha!

Date: 28/01/2013 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I will quite happily eat haggis - S2C is a really big fan. It is crumbly and peppery and really does go well with the turnip/swede and potato.

And the lemn snippet is really interesting, isn't it?

Date: 28/01/2013 09:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] clodia-metelli.livejournal.com
Huuuuuuuuuungry now. Also re: fish I did not know that! How lucky the flavour works anyway.

Date: 28/01/2013 09:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
It is an interesting snippet, that the lemon wasn't originally there for taste, as it really does work so well.

Or is it that we are conditioned to see it as a perfect pairing of flavours, I wonder?

Date: 28/01/2013 10:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] clodia-metelli.livejournal.com
I hardly ever eat fish, so I don't think I'm very conditioned. On the other hand, I remember being incredibly struck once in a pub by the delicious results of squeezing a lemon slice over steak and chips in the absence of vinegar.

Date: 28/01/2013 10:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wormwood-7.livejournal.com
Sounds wonderful. But it looks and sounds like you had a Burns' supper where the food was far above average for a Burns' supper. Must admit I fell out of love with the thing, the food, the tartan tat, the caterwauling bagpipes, a long time ago. This year was different however. I went to a cabaret with a different take on Burns. It brought back to me what a wonderful poet he really is. It had the best rendering of Tam O'Shanter I have ever heard too.

Date: 28/01/2013 09:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
This one is at one of the best hotels on the island so the food is really good. It is a good event for them, too - all the Christmas and New Year parties are over and it would be a quiet time - so our Burns' Night is a nice booking for them. Result is that they do their best to keep us there.

We are also bereft of tartan tat - the tables are dressed in blue and white (we are St Andrew's Church after all...) and about 1/4 of the men are entitled to, and do, wear kilts.

We do have a piper - who is, wonderfully, a Mr Shakespeare! But he only pipes in the speakers and then the haggis - so just enough pipe music I think!

But a proper reminder of what a good poet Burns was should be at the heart of the event - rather than the centre-point being the haggis - I absolutely agree. And so I rather think I would have enjoyed your evening a good deal.

Date: 28/01/2013 04:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spikereader.livejournal.com
I'm not one for haggis, but the dessert and shortbread biscuits look delicious. Glad you had a good time.

The lemon juice dissolving fish bone fact was one I said was true that the panellists missed! Listening to Radio 4 is one of my 2013 'attemptolutions' - a little less pressure than a resolution I feel - and is one that's going really well so far! I always found myself wishing I'd listened to programmes, and so now I'm making the effort, with the help of the iPlayer, which is a great help.

Date: 28/01/2013 09:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I rather like nice, peppery, haggis - but the dessert is usually the high spot for me, too!

I listen to Radio 4 quite a lot - but I do miss the quizzes and other interesting things that they used to have on at 13.30 -14.00 on week days. This was often my driving time from Douglas to one of the outlying clinics - and now that they have lengthened WatO and put the good stuff mid-afternoon I often miss them.

Date: 29/01/2013 01:35 am (UTC)
desdemonaspace: by <lj user="Teragramm"> (Default)
From: [personal profile] desdemonaspace
I wish there'd been a pic of D-d's dress.

Was there haggis? I must put that on my bucket list, eating haggis.

Date: 29/01/2013 01:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
There was, indeed, haggis - it gets a whole course to itself between the starter and the main!

I have one picture I took of her at a distance at the end of the evening but it isn't very good. So I do hope there is an official picture.

Date: 29/01/2013 11:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bojojoti.livejournal.com
We get the pudding and not the daughter! I hope there is an "official" photo you can share later.

I'm reading "Shades of Grey" by Jasper Fforde. My husband asked me if that was the book that all the hubbub was about. Heaven forbid! I don't knowingly read garbage. This book has nothing to do with the bestseller--including the quality of writing!

Date: 29/01/2013 01:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com
I did take one, distant, picture of her at the end of the evening - but it isn't very good. So I do hope for an official one.

I was tempted by Fifty SHEDS of Grey (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifty-Sheds-Grey-Erotica-not-too-modern/dp/0752265458/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359466709&sr=1-1) - but haven't succumbed yet.

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