Its Burns Night tonight!

Thanks, felice. I've never heard of pinhead oatmeal so the chunky stuff will have to do.

It's Australia Day tomorrow. Too cold for a barbie??

Many supermarkets sell Simon Howie haggis which is delicious. It comes in vegetarian and GF versions too.
Of course all haggis is improved by addition of a thimbleful of the craitur.
You won't know till you've tried it!
Enjoy celebrating Rabbie's birthday tonight, wherever you may be.

Merlot, if you use Lamb mince and pinhead oatmeal you will not be far off.
I have been using frozen rasps for years especially when doing large catering, just remember not to burn the oatmeal, I once had to toast mine for 150 people 3 times as I kept forgetting about it !!

kittylester

Thanks jaxjacky, Sainsbury's don't appear to sell it.

Same problem here, kitty. I searched online but the postage charges are more than the product itself.

I like to 'celebrate' anything and everything these days. DH has a bottle of Highland Park he's been saving (birthday pressie) so DD sent me a Slimming World recipe for home-made haggis.

Scottish grans will no doubt be horrified to learn that it's basically savoury mince and chicken livers with some porridge oats thrown in and the cranachan will be a frozen raspberry pavlova left over from Christmas.

chelseababy

I got my haggis in Sainsbury's on Saturday. I thought neaps was swede not turnips?

They are, but what you in England call “swede” we know in Scotland as turnips ie “neeps”

I will be having my last Haggis on Saturday night with the family and my one bubble friend.
It cannot at the moment be exported from Scotland so no idea when the next one will be.
We love Haggis and so do all the Belgians I know so it will be sadly missed.

I got my haggis in Sainsbury's on Saturday. I thought neaps was swede not turnips?

MawBe

The whisky is not compulsory WW!
Scotland’s”Auld Alliance” with France -of which all Remainers will surely approve- used to be given as the reason for the very excellent claret served at the Café Royal in Rose Street.
(Is it still there, Edinburgh Grans?)
So enjoy a ? or two instead!

You will be pleased to know that the Cafe Royal is still going strong (well, not right at this precise moment - Covid and all that, but you know what I mean!)

Thanks jaxjacky, Sainsbury's don't appear to sell it.

Grammaretto this is on BBC Scotland tonight at 8pm
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rs3k

Gwenisgreat1 you're welcome. Have some virtual whisky ?

Alegrias1 You have quoted my favourite Burns poem, thank you! Sadly in Yorkshire, married to a Yorkshireman who has no interest in The Bard, we won't be doing anything particularly tonight!

We are in the SE, but will link up with friends in Aberdeen for a post haggis address and to share a dram or two.

Whisky cured smoked salmon, haggis neeps and tatties, and cranachan, bring it on!

Mr Sainsbury will be delivering my MacSween’s haggis shortly. I’m missing my usual Burns Supper(s), so will just need to celebrate alone.
There was a time I could recite Tam O’ Shanter from memory, but I’ll make do with John Cairney’s version on You Tube.

Here’s a picture for Scots speaking friends.....

Just found this ( apologies for a bit of a long cut and paste but interesting!

Aside from the language links, the history of links between Scotland and Germany is rooted in trade. Long before Germany existed as a nation, during the Medieval period, Scottish traders were drawn to do business with the Hanseatic League, who operated from ports around the Baltic Sea, including those on the northern coast of Germany.

Trade with the German ports of the Hanseatic League was so important in Scotland that William Wallace, after his victory at Stirling Bridge in 1297, wrote to the governments of Lubeck and Hamburg to thank them for their support. He reassured them that now the English army had been beaten, German merchants would find it safe to trade in Scotland once more. Robert the Bruce also wrote to Lubeck in 1321 to strengthen trade between Scotland and the towns of ‘Alemannia

During the 15th Century, Scottish merchants trading in Germany were not always viewed positively by the locals. Laws restricting Scottish (and English) trade were introduced. Scottish settlers were sometimes viewed as an unwelcome minority group in Germany. Some moved on to Poland. But many others remained. However, throughout this and the following century, Scots continued to emigrate to Germany from Leith, Dundee and especially Aberdeen. Not all were wealthy merchants. The Duke of Prussia complained, in 1558, of pedlars and vagabonds from Scotland causing ruin to his subjects with their travelling trade !
Many more Scots made their way to Germany in the 17th Century to fight in the Thirty Years War. Thousands of Scottish soldiers fought in this conflict, on all sides and for all nations. Many settled in the region. Many Scottish academics also made their way from Scotland to Germany and strong educational links were forged. Germany’s religious divisions meant that both Calvinists and Catholics also sought refuge from religious persecution in the country. Ratisbon (modern day Regensburg) was particularly popular as a place of learning for the sons of Scottish Catholic families.
I think the first para is what you were meaning.
This is how I get stuck on my iPad for hours- one thing leads to another!

kittylester

Thank you for the reminder OP. (I have problems working out what day it is lately never mind the date ?)

Now I don’t have to think about what’s for dinner. I’d better prepare the neeps and tatties. (Yes I do have haggis in the freezer - doesn’t everybody?)

I once ran a taste test of vegetarian haggis and not one participant thought it was anything other than traditional haggis.

Here’s tae us; Wha’s like us? Gey few an they’re aw deid.

paddyanne

We had a trading "union" with Germany in the 13th century too .I believe the documents are still held in Germany and are put on display periodically.Maybe someone else will know the area ?

Possibly the Hanseatic League?

Kittylester - ??????
I wonder how much longer we’ll be able to call it the Gay Gordons?
Somebody was banned from Facebook recently for a week for a reference to the Devil’s Dyke somewhere!

Bloody phone- not sure the Burns belong to Robert!!

I met DH on December 19th 1969 at my company Christmas party (he had gone with his brother who worked for the same company) Our first dance was the Gay Gordon's.

5 weeks later we went to a Burns Supper and then to someone's house for more partying. He proposed while we were sitting on the floor in the someone's front room.

So, we have a lot to thank Robert's Burns for. I wonder if he will remember!!

And, I wish haggis was available gf!!

We had a trading "union" with Germany in the 13th century too .I believe the documents are still held in Germany and are put on display periodically.Maybe someone else will know the area ?

I'll be having haggis with dd,sil and dgs tonight as I'm part of their extended family. I used to recite Tam O'Shanter with actions at school Burns suppers when I was teaching. The best were the children performing though. I was part of a school trip to Russia in 1990 and the Russian children were fantastic at reciting Burns. He's very popular there.

The whisky is not compulsory WW!
Scotland’s”Auld Alliance” with France -of which all Remainers will surely approve- used to be given as the reason for the very excellent claret served at the Café Royal in Rose Street.
(Is it still there, Edinburgh Grans?)
So enjoy a ? or two instead!

I'll join you Grumppa. Not a Scot but love a wee dram. Its the Bunnahabhain for us tonight.

MawBe

I shall indeed be sitting down to my McSweens haggis (although it’s not a patch on Waters the Butcher’s in Selkirk High Street) with bashed neeps and tatties
I hope whitewave has managed to source her neeps by now.

Not me maw although I wouldn’t mind giving it a go. What I wish is that I enjoyed whisky.