Dozens turn out to celebrate a great Scot
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/01/2017 (3357 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In tribute to Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, Brandon’s Scottish community came together for their annual Burns Supper on Saturday night, at Sokol Hall.
While John Pratt read Burns’ famous “Address to a Haggis” poem while presenting the traditional dish, he clarified that it’s not actually his favourite Burns poem.
One of his favourites is “To a Mouse,” which relays the tale of a farmer taking pity on a field mouse.
“As a farmer in Scotland who used to plow a lot, I’ve seen that happen over and over again,” Pratt shared, adding; “It’s something that means a lot to me because I’ve seen it happen.”
Scotland-born, Pratt relocated to Manitoba in 2002 in order to further his career in agriculture.
Once here, he found that he didn’t have to toss his culture out the window, with a healthy Anglo-Saxon community living in Westman.
For this community’s Scottish members, the annual Burns Supper remains a yearly highlight, arriving around the date of the poet’s Jan. 25 birthday.
“Especially when you’re a long way from your homeland, it’s good to get together with like-minded people and share your culture,” Pratt said.
While “Address to the Haggis” is not his favourite poem, Pratt said that he found himself drawn to reciting it several years ago and has simply kept it up.
Prior to his taking a leadership role, Pratt said that he’d heard it recited well and “maybe not so well,” and that when he saw someone do it not so well, it sparked in him the desire to learn it himself so he could do it well.
Complete with the theatrics of cutting open the haggis, Pratt said that one can’t simply recite a poem and that one must perform the words, to “bring it alive.”
Taking these words and performance to heart was fellow Westman Scottish Association member Sandy Donald, who does cite “Address to the Haggis” as his favourite Burns poem.
The traditional Scottish dish, made of poor cuts and the “awful of animals” that most people toss away is emblematic of Scotland’s underdog status and their underlying spirit to overcome hardship, Donald shared.
As such, the haggis remains central to Burns Day celebrations, with Evan Dyson, 17, bagpiping the dish in on Saturday.
While about 100 people celebrated Burns on Saturday, many more are expected to soak up Scottish culture during this week’s Westman Multicultural Festival from Jan. 26-28, during which various pavilions will be set up throughout Brandon.
The Scottish pavilion will be held at the Imperial Ballroom at Victoria Inn (3550 Victoria Ave.), during which Pratt has pledged to perform “Address to a Haggis,” which will be served each night.
For more information on the seven pavilions featured at this year’s event (England, Honduras, Ireland, Mauritius, Philippines, Scotland and Ukraine), visit the event’s website, gotothepavilions.com.
» tclarke@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB