What a thrill to be in Dunedin the very same night on which Scottish Singer of the Year Emily Smith and her Husband Jamie were performing their concert in the Otago Settlers Museum in the heart of the city. A packed-house audience were captivated by the range and quality of the musicianship of this incredibly talented duo. Emily sang many of her own delightful compositions and Jamie played exerpts from his new album and demonstarted vituoso skill on the fiddle which had the feet tapping and hands clapping.
They also sang several Burns' songs from their Year of Homecoming show 'Adown Winding Nith' and showed Burns' song-making capabilities off to great effect. All-in-all a delightful evening which is part of an exhausting trip for Emily and Jamie as they tour Australia and New Zealand.
This fine statue (just visible above the mace) sits prominently in front of the Anglican Church (below). 
Close by is the very striking Presbyterain first Church with its close connexion to the Robert Burns story in that his nephew Thomas Burns (son of Burns' brother Gilbert) was the founder minister of the church and played a fundamental role in setting up the city of Dunedin. 
He was also a member of the founding committee of the internationally-renowned Otago University. During a visit to the present-day University I had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Liam McIlvanney, author of the splendid book 'Burns the Radical,' who currently occupies the Stuart Chair in Scottish Studies. As well as researching the influence of the Scottish Diaspora and other groups of emigrants, he is making a particular study of the contraversial New Zealand poet James Keir Baxter who was one of those selected for the Burns Writing Fellowship - a highly prized residential writer's position at the University. 
Before catching the ferry for South Island we stayed overnight with my 'new' cousin Yvonne (below) and her husband Peter who gave us a wonderful tour of Wellington - a great end to the North Island part of our trip. Photo shows the ferry route through the Cook Straits. 
President Tom Shiels (middle) presided over proceedings and Pat and I were presented with beautifully carved wooden pens as a memento of our visit. These had been carved by our host, and Club Secretary, David Small, ( second from right) and pictured below with his wife Beth and ‘Lass’ their cairn terrier.
They could not have been kinder hosts and gave us a memorable start in our exploration of New Zealand's North Island. I was also given a bound copy of a poem entitled ‘An Epitaph and Eulogy for Robert Burns” written by Charles Colquhoun Rowan, a member of the Club. Later in the day I paid a visit to the very fine 1921 Burns Statue in the Auckland Domain Gardens. 
6 February 2010
This was an evening full of variety with a highland dancing demonstration and opportunity to partake in country dancing interspersed between the dinner courses. It also included the most impressive and dramatic haggis ceremony with sword-wielding escorts guarding the ‘beastie’ before the puir wee thing was ceremoniously despatched in grand style before being piped back to the kitchen. I was particularly pleased to see Ron Johnston and his wife Joan (below) who had hosted me on my two previous visits to Melbourne when he was the Hon Secretary of the Burns Club.
On this trip we were looked after with most thoughtful hospitality by Bill and Ina Graham, a couple who came originally from Ayrshire and work incredibly hard on behalf of all the Scottish societies in and around Melbourne.
And what a delightful surprise I had when past-President Bobby Carson presented me with one of his beautiful rams-head lamps on behalf of the Club in recognition of my being the first Club member to become the President of the Robert Burns World Federation.
The award-winning Scots poet Rab Wilson proposed a particularly fine Immortal Memory focussing on the influences which Robert Burns would have gained from other literary sources but also highlighting the impact of political, religious and social turmoil which feature in his poems and songs. His wife Margaret (pictured) delighted the company with beautiful unaccompanied singing of Burns' songs. 
Another tradition is to have an International Toast and this year we were delighted to welcome Simon Faed, a descendent of James Faed, one of the famous family of artists from Gatehouse of Fleet.
Margaret is to be congratulated for encouraging so many youngsters to get involved and the fact that this was the eleventh such supper provides a fitting testimony to its popularity. It was a pleasure for me and Federation Chief Executive, Sam Judge, to convey kindred greetings to the company from the Federation.
In particular, I stressed his life as a ploughman especially for the benefit of two widows in the group. Willie Fairley, a ploughman from Twynholm, had died recently and at his wife Joan’s request I had recited Burns’ famous poem To a Mouse at his funeral. For Barbara McCaig I recalled how I had interviewed her husband Jack as part of my degree studies at Glasgow University in 2002, shortly before he died. Another ploughman, he was deeply knowledgeable about Burns and was an accomplished bothy ballad singer. Burns meant a great deal to both men.
