A Grand Sausage

High Park Club, where we curl on Friday nights, owes its existence to the Scottish game. Last Friday, when we visited, we took part in another Scottish tradition; Address To the Haggis.

The reading of this poem, by the famous Scottish poet, Robbie Burns, is the cornerstone of the celebration of Burns’ birthday, January 25, 1759. Burns was the son of tenant farmers and grew up living with poverty, hardship and manual labour. He had no formal schooling, but he taught himself the English language, well actually, the Scottish dialect. And the result was lyrics that are fondly remembered over 250 years later.

Many of us sang one of his best-known pieces, Auld Lang Syne, on New Year’s Eve. As young children, we may have heard parts of his Ode To A Mouse, a tribute to the small animals sharing his farmland.

The writing we recall on Burns’ birthday is his dedication to the haggis, intended to be read by someone, preferably of Scottish descent, as he or she escorts the mighty sausage to the buffet table. A bagpiper leads the procession:

“Good luck to you and your honest plump face, Great Chieftan of the sausage race!

Above them all you take your place. Well are you worthy of a grace!”*

*Then a wee dram of fine Scotch is used to toast the haggis.

The poem goes on to name the ingredients of the haggis, which might put you off your breakfast, so I’ll just say that they are chopped up and mixed with onions and spices, the more the better, and then stutffed inside the casing of a sheep’s stomach. Food was scarce in Burns’ life and no part of the animal was wasted. The haggis is often served with potatoes, turnips and cabbage, which help to mellow the taste. It is all very filling.

Besides his stomach, Burns filled his life with food for his brain. He wrote songs, learned some French and Latin, and eventually published a volume of poetry that was admired by farmers and literary critics alike. He worked hard to acquire the nuances of poetry writing. During his short life, (he died at age 37), he wrote so much popular verse that he was considered the patron poet of Scotland.

Burns also socialized a lot. He had numerous friends who met at local pubs and sang together. And he had a lot of female relationships including 3 marriages and several affairs. The result was 12 children. Burns’ biographers estimate that he has about 900 living relatives in the 21st. century. He certainly put that sausage, I mean haggis, to good use.

Sources say that Burns’ most famous living relative is Tommy Hilfiger. Tommy is the great, great, great nephew of the poet. Apparently Tommy does not publicize this kinship. In addition, there are monuments to Burns around the world. The closest one, should you wish to visit, is in Allen gardens in downtown Toronto. And you can find a haggis recipe online.

Sue

Monument in Toronto