Happy Burn's Night

To everyone who's having a Burn's Supper  I hope your haggis is spicy.

We were out bowling with the cubs, our belated Christmas visit, so we didn't have out own supper this year.

We did however go out to see Eddi Reader on Sunday night, at the Brig o Doon House Hotel, in Alloway, and she performed a few Burn's songs and there was a haggis, neeps and taties supper, so all was not lost.

It was actually a really good night.
I had only heard a couple of her songs before this - "Perfect" from when she was with Fairground Attraction, and "The Patience of Angels" from her solo career. Since those days she has taken a real interest in the poems of Robert Burns (something she was into as a child) and not she probably does more than anyone to promote Burns. A good half of the numbers they performed were Burns pieces, but everything was fantastic - she has an incredible voice - what a range.
It was witty as well. A lot of funny  stories about her experiences and the history of the songs between songs.

It was a good performance. they played for about 50 minutes then went off for a 40 minute break. During this break we were treated to a plate of haggis with neeps and taties (diced turnip and mashed potatoes). I don't usually get haggis (well usually once a year with the cubs) and as ever I enjoyed my portion.
The band came back on and played for another 40 minutes. At that point Eddi pointed out that they wee supposed to stop and go back upstairs and wait for us to encourage them back down. She then said that she was getting too old for the stairs and if we didn't mind they would  just stay put and play another two ("or three if we pick a  short one") which is exactly what they did.

The concert was titled "Burns, Candlelight & Eddi Reader" and billed as "An intimate evening with renowned Scottish Singer / Songwriter Eddi Reader paying tribute to the bard" and it certainly was. The venue was a medium sized function room with about 12 or 15 round tables seating between 10 and 12 people. It was packed though - apparently sold out with the hour of opening and forcing another night to be added.