Oxford Omnibus: Burns, Haggis and a Ceilidh

Regents Park student giving praise to the Haggis, which has just been brought to the table

In Scotland and parts of England, January 25 is the day traditionally set aside to honor the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns; the Burns celebration is called Burns Night. In many of the Oxford colleges, Burns night was celebrated this week. At Regents Park College, we were a few days late -- celebrating Burns Night on Friday, January 28, at Formal Hall.

The students and faculty/staff dressed up in their best attire (cocktail and party dresses for the women and tuxes and kilts for the men) -- looking mighty smart. There were a lot of guests in the hall -- probably about 200. The faculty/staff and their guests marched in to the music of a bagpiper. Then we all sat down for our Scottish meal.

We had Cream of Leek soup for our starter. After that the Haggis was brought in with a lot of fanfare. The chef carried it steaming on a plate, with the bagpiper close behind. It was placed before the college president for his approval, and a student read an ode to the haggis. Haggis is a meatloaf type dish, made with many of the throw-away parts of the animal; traditionally, it was cooked in a cow's stomach. It also has oatmeal added to it. The haggis we had was very tame compared to the old version -- it was actually pretty good!

The haggis is difficult to see. It's just to the left of the lady in foreground's pinkie.

After this ceremony the college president said a traditional Scottish called the Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it;

But we hae meat, and we can eat,

And sae let the Lord be thankit.

Before the end of the meal there were tributes to Robert Burns, the lassies and the laddies. After a dessert of some sort of whiskey mousse, we all filed out to the bagpiper's refrain. Then the faculty and staff gathered for a malt whiskey tasting. It's a bit too strong for my taste, thank you very much.

Following that was the beginning of the ceilidh (pronounced kale-y). It simply means a social gathering, but this night was a gathering for music and dancing. One of the Spencer House students, David (from Scotland), played the fiddle, and his friends William and Davey, played the accordian and drums, respectively. Also William called the dances, which began with the Gay Gordons and the Flying Scotsman. The students seemed to really enjoy this -- although it was harder than they expected (like square dancing, but more complicated). The challenge was made more difficult due to the fact that some of them were a bit tipsy (the malt whiskey!).

I cut out by 10:30 and took a taxi home; the kids didn't get back until much later -- way after midnight. A good time was had by all. See more pix below.