Address To Haggis.
Burn's Night Supper saw Chris, in his best Mrs Doubtfire accent, address the haggis before it was devoured by a boatload of ruffians.Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns.
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o the puddin'-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy of a grace As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o need, While thro your pores the dews distil Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight, An cut you up wi ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like onie ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive: Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive, Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve Are bent like drums; The auld Guidman, maist like to rive, 'Bethankit' hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout, Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad mak her spew Wi perfect sconner, Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash, As feckless as a wither'd rash, His spindle shank a guid whip-lash, His nieve a nit: Thro bloody flood or field to dash, O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread, Clap in his walie nieve a blade, He'll make it whissle; An legs an arms, an heads will sned, Like taps o thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies: But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer, Gie her a Haggis!
We're still not entirely sure what it means.
The Ice Breaker.
The thaw has started and we were woken this morning by the shudder of the boat bouncing off the edge of the ice in the pool around us. It feels uncannily like we are forever bouncing off a lock wall... And into the wall on the other side. So, off I trundled, barge pole in hand, to free us from our ice prison. See the small section of broken ice in the photo above? That is all I've managed to do so far. The ice is over five inches thick and terribly hard work. I'll have amazingly magnificent and rather manly muscles before this day is out! I'm also hoping that by breaking up the ice the cats will not want to walk on it anymore. I've heard too many stories of pets drowning... Actually, dogs to be specific, but still, it's not worth the risk.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)