Turriff Burns Supper
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A company of around 50 gathered for the 183rd Turriff Burns Supper, which took place in Kastille on Friday evening.
The evening was organised by Turriff And District Rotary Club with member Eric Mutch taking on the role of Master Of Ceremonies.
The haggis was piped in by former Citizen Of The Year Billy Hepburn, carried by Rose Logan as Nancy Poosie and Jock Logan as Laird, before being addressed by Tom McAllion with what Eric described as: “real passion and flair”.
The immortal memory was originally meant to be given by MP David Duguid but he was unable to attend, so instead Iain Matthews stepped in and reflected on the impact of Burns’ art even now.
A few bothy ballads were then performed by Douglas Hay - who was invited to entertain after qualifying for the Scottish Bothy Ballad Championships in Elgin later this year - with the company singing along.
He also recited a few poems which had been written by poets from the north east of Scotland throughout the evening, including one about how Robert Burns might live his life in the year 2020 with social media and dating apps, a theme which Eric also discussed.
Iain returned to the podium to deliver his Toast To The Lasses.
There were plenty of laughs as he recounted stories in which men didn’t get it ‘quite right’, followed by the men of the company joining together in the toast.
Following some more ballads, The Last Word was given by Iain’s daughter Christina, who paid homage to great Scottish men, including Alexander Graham Bell, Lewis Capaldi and, of course, Robert Burns.
The evening rounded off with the drawing of the raffle, a vote of thanks from Olin Thores and everyone joining together for Auld Lang Syne.
