The Waverley Gazette

Burns' Night is on Monday 25 January 2021

At this time of year, with Burns Night approaching us on Monday 25^th January, eyes turn again to Scotland.

And to the question of did Robert Burns wear tartan and did he wear a kilt?

Burns was a lowland farmer. He was conventionally dressed, in breeches.

He wore the Shepherd's Check, a black and white checked fabric. This design is also known as the Border tartan, and that is sometimes known as the Northumbrian tartan, Shepherd's Plaid, or Borders' check. It has been around for a long time and so it has many names. Sir Walter Scott was also known to wear the Border tartan. James Hogg also wore this tartan. The modern Border tartan is a crossweave of small dark and light checks, much simpler than many of the colourful, complex tartans we know and think of today when tartan is mentioned.The picture here, right, is of Robert Burns at Sciennes House, Edinburgh. The painting is by Charles Martin Hardie. This picture is reproduced in the book: 'Robert Burns in Edinburgh' by Jerry Brannigan, John McShane and David Alexander, picture permission: Abbotsford House.

And did Robert Burns write Auld Lang Syne?

No, but he was the first to record this traditional song on paper. It is a Scots-language song preserving old friendships and looking back. Burns was the first person to write down the song. He wrote it down and the song was published as 'The Scots Musical Museum' in 1787 by James Johnson. 'Auld lang syne' can translate as 'long, long ago' or 'for the sake of old times'.

Haggis Recipe

And as the countdown to Burns Night begins, and Scotland has entered yet another lockdown as of midnight last night, we wish to think about happier times and good things. We are share this recipe for Haggis, from our archive, reproduced from "The Glasgow Cookery Book" (copyright Glasgow Caledonian University, published by Waverley Books), a wonderful recipe book with over 1000 recipes.