The Broons Celebrate Robert Burns

Jings, crivvens, help ma boab! Join Maw, Paw and the rest of the residents of 10 Glebe Street as they celebrate Burns night in their own inimitable way. Packed with mouthwatering recipes such as skirlie, clapshot, and champit tatties with syboes, this braw book also includes poetry and comments from all the family.

This volume contains selected proceedings of a conference held at the University of Strathclyde in January 1996 to mark the bicentenaries both of Robert Burns's death and of the University's foundation.

January 25, 2009, marks the 250th anniversary of Burns’s birth. It will be a huge event around the world, not least across Canada. And we have the book! Robert Burns (1759-1796) is part of your life. If you’ve ever given or received a romantic red rose, or talked about a "do or die" situation, or if you’ve sung "Auld Lang Syne," you’re included. Others celebrate this ploughman poet with an eye for "the lasses" more directly. Every year, literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians, from coast to coast, go to Burns Suppers in January to celebrate his life. This year —2009 — will be the biggest ever, since it’s a 250th celebration of his birth. CBC TV is joining with the BBC to produce three one-hour programmes on his life, all written and hosted by Andrew O’Hagan, who is now the authority on Burns. This is because this book, published by Canongate in 2008, has already become a classic, bringing Burns to ordinary readers. Because Burns was on the right side of history, against privilege and rank and for everyone getting a fair chance, he is beloved around the world — in Andrew O’Hagan’s words, he is "the world’s greatest and most loveable poet."

When did Burns Suppers start? Why is it celebrated all over the world? Who can join in the fun? Spanning the history of the phenomenon, from the year of its creation in 1801 to the present day, this book offers you everything you need to know about the Burns Supper, and the poet for whom it is held every year. From the origins of the custom to its modern day interpretations, from the rituals and traditions to the fun and fellowship, this first full-length study of the unique annual celebration of Scotland's national poet answers every question you can think of, along with every one you can't.