Happy Robbie Burns Day!!!

AE FOND KISS

by: Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!

Who shall say that Fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle lights me,
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy;
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her was to love her,
Love but her, and love for ever.

Had we never loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved sae blindly,
Never met--or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae farewell, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!

BANNOCKBURN

by: Robert Burns (1759-1796)

At Bannockburn the English lay,--
The Scots they were na far away,
But waited for the break o' day
That glinted in the east.

But soon the sun broke through the heath
And lighted up that field of death,
When Bruce, wi' saul-inspiring breath,
His heralds thus addressed:--

"Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled--
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led--
Welcome to your gory bed.
Or to victorie!

"Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lower;
See approach proud Edward's power--
Chains and slaverie!

"Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!

"Wha for Scotland's king and law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand or freeman fa'--
Let him follow me!

"By Oppression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!

"Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Let us do or die!"

And who could forget...

AULD LANG SYNE

by: Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Chorus

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

I

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to min'?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

II

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

III

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary foot
Sin' auld lang syne.

IV

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae mornin sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.

V

And here's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine,
And we'll take a right quid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne!

Chorus

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

On the 250th anniversary of his birth, I celebrate Robbie Burns Day. Ah Robbie Burns, national poet of Scotland. How your words have touched so many through the years. I love Robbie Burns - he is such a romantic really. I mean, the man really loved women - a lot of women, and had oodles of children to prove it. You might call him the romantic, poetry writing, slightly less sexist James Bond. Ah Robbie, a lover, not a fighter - however he was a true Scotsman - which you can see clearly in the above poem - Bannockburn. He has fueled the fire of Scotland in reclaiming it's sense of individuality from years of English oppression. I say that as an English person. However, I am a Scot too, (and Irish) so I feel it. Who wouldn't feel for the plight of Scotland regardless of their lineage.

So, in honor of the romantic Mr. Burns, I ate haggis. That's about the only traditional thing I did today (besides reading poetry). It wasn't even real haggis, but the Vegetarian variety. I had an opportunity to go to a Burns Supper on Friday but missed it - due to mismanagement of time. :-( It's ok though. My makeshift "Becky version" Burns Supper consisted of...



Hall's Vegetarian Haggis. I could have made my own, I found a recipe to do so, but it was just a lot less hassle to use a ready made store bought one. It was dead tasty too.





All cooked up (in the microwave - that's right) and ready to eat. Mmmm.

Dinner also consisted of...



Every type of veggie I had left in my fridge that I was concerned might go bad if I didn't use. I then covered it in the leftover peanut sauce that I mixed up last night for my Peanut Noodles dinner. (another JVR recipe)



The finished meal - leftover veg covered in peanut sauce, vegetarian haggis, and Black Current Squash - makes for a tasty, simple, Beck-ified Burns Supper. Hope you all have a lovely Robbie Burns Day yourselves. :-)