Brian Hewes writes:

The Occasion - Burn's Night; the event - the Club's celebration of the poet's birthday. Merryment in the bar beforehand with members buying drinks for fellows. It is 7.30pm and Piper Tom strikes up his bagpipes - its funny how such a discordant noise can excite the mind - as he leads us into the dining room.

We know the formalities and so we clap as we stand behind our chairs in time to the music, then President Bob is the first to wrestle with the poets words "Some hae meat and canna eat....". And then the parade of the haggis around the dining room; first the Piper then the Chef carrying the pudding on a silver platter then Poosie Nancy Doreen, fully equiped including dagger. [Poosie Nancy ran premises were the local ner-do-wells met; a favourite haunt for Burns.]

And now the climax as our our good and true Scotsman Alex [all the way from Dundee] repeats the famous address to the haggis - "Fair fa' your honest sonsie face, Great Chieftain o' the pudding race...." Alex, in full dramatic style with memorised verse and theatre - the pudding stabbed and raised for admiration - powerful stuff! The waitresses now busying around to deliver us all haggis,tatties and neeps. The gravy boats are full of whisky and Eric never allowing them to empty.

After the banquet the Loyal Toast. The immortal memory with the toast to Robert Burns. What would the entertainment produce? A word dialect and memory masterpiece from Su Bryant and two poems read by Ann and Peter Dethick in their local 'lingos'.[still not understandable]. Joy won the quiz with 6 1/2 marks out of 15. And prizes to the chosen.

Then Peter, Beryl and Susan leading a Scottish sing-a-long with Tom's bagpipes to add a fling. Finally we enjoy Ken's Raffle and sing Auld Lang Syne (properly). The drunken lot round, and including Alan Barber, traipse home.