First Minister Meets Burns Essay Competition Winner

On Thursday 5th November I had the pleasure of meeting the winner of the Robert Burns Essay Competition Russia 2009 during her visit to the Scottish Parliament. Organised by the St Petersburg Forum, in conjunction with the Federation's Schools' Committee, the competition took as its theme Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot.

Freda, me, Seraphima and First Minister

Following a comprehensive tour of the Paliament building, fourteen year-old Seraphima Nechaeva met the First Minister, Alec Salmond, and delivered an abridged version of her essay in perfect English, and occasional Scots, and demonstrated powerfully why she had been chosen as the winner. Without a note in sight, she spoke with a passion and an understanding of the poetry of Burns way beyond her years and had the audience spellbound by her use of language. Her essay was printed in the Spring Chronicle and is well worth a close read. If anyone has doubts about the impact Burns’ poetry and songs can have on people from outside Scotland this essay must surely dispel them.

As a token of his appreciation the First Minister presented Seraphima with a signed copy of a book on Burns and she in return presented him with an illustrated copy of her essay.

During their conversation it emerged

that her favourite Burns poem was John Barleycorn, which she knew off by heart, as she did several of his other poems and songs.

Seraphima was accompanied by her teacher Freda Zeitseva who had one of those ‘I can’t believe it’ moments during her visit to Ellisland Farm. One of the exhibits on display was a letter bearing the 1956 Russian ‘Burns’ stamps and the address on the letter was none other than that of Freda’s closest friend in St Petersburg. The phrase 'small world' springs to mind.

Meeting with Solway Offset Printers

On 10th November I joined Federation Chief Executive, Sam Judge, in meeting Mac Creedon and his staff at Solway Offset, the printers who produce the Chronicle and other Burns’ publications including the forthcoming ‘Big Issue’ which will chronicle all the Homecoming events. Following an enjoyable lunch in the Globe Inn, Peter Westwood and I gave Sam a conducted tour of Burns’ sites in Dumfries including Burns House and the Mausoleum.

Father of the Bard Project

On 13th November I had the privilege and pleasure of attending the launch of the second ‘Father of the Bard’ DVD in Mackie Academy, Stonehaven. The aim of the project is to promote a greater understanding of the life of the poet’s father, William Burnes, and also the poet’s links with Kincardineshire.
The project had a dynamic leader in Dave Ramsay (see photo above) and he achieved wonders in getting actors with severe mental and physical disabilities to play the leading roles in the DVDs. Local primary school children also took part as extras and they were thrilled to be driven to the event in stretched limos in true Hollywood style. During the morning Dave and I addressed the senior pupils at the Academy and hosted a most enjoyable question and answer session on the life and works of Burns.

Lanarkshire Association of Burns Clubs Meeting

On 14th November I attended a meeting of the Lanarkshire Association of Burns Clubs in Fir Park Social Club. Chaired by President Archie Cowie, the meeting highlighted the busy programme of events being undertaken by the Association and they are to be commended for their inter-club visitation programme with provides an opportunity for fellow Burnsians to mix at a social level. On display at the meeting was the glass trophy awarded by Super County in recognition of the work done by the Association in promoting Burns through the schools’ competition. The meeting highlighted to me yet again the importance of the work that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ to put the aims of the Federation into practice at grass roots level.

I was delighted to be presented with a paper-weight, specially commissioned for the Year of Homecoming, as a reminder of my visit.

Representing the Federation at Rotary Conference

Rotary District 1020 is one of three Rotary districts in Scotland and covers 64 clubs in and around Edinburgh, the Borders and the South West. As their contribution to the Year of Homecoming District 1020 helped sponsor the Federation’s Burns Summer School and Conference in Dumfries during the summer. It was therefore very gratifying for me to link up with these fellow Rotarians at the District Conference in York over the weekend of 23-25th October and, in particular, to relay a message of goodwill from the Federation to the President of Rotary International, John Kenny, the first Scotsman ever to hold that prestigious appointment.

I conveyed our good wishes firstly through, Colin Mailer (see right), the President of John Kenny’s home Rotary Club of Grangemouth and secondly through Virginian, Eric Adamson (see left), the RI President’s representative at the Conference. During his address to the conference Eric highlighted the strong influence of Robert Burns on the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris and, in particular his ideas of our common humanity which resonated with the ideals of the Rotary movement.

The conference also provided an opportunity for me to do a bit of international promotion of Burns through the Group Study Exchange (GSE) and the Ambassadorial Scholar programmes. The photograph above shows me with the GSE team from South Africa which the Rotary Club of Kirkcudbright hosted for a few days. Earlier in the week the team had enjoyed a comprehensive tour of Dumfries conducted by Federation Past President, Wilson Ogilvie.

Shirley’s Farewell Concert

In her usual selfless fashion the Federation Chief Executive, Shirley Bell, insisted that there should be no great fuss made of her impending retirement during the Edinburgh Conference because it would detract from the main focus of the event, the inauguration of the new President. However, the Board decided it couldn’t possibly just let her sneak off without some tangible recognition of the tremendous amount of work she had done for the Federation over the past twelve years. The result was a wonderful dinner concert on 9th October in Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries, ably organised by Past President John Haining. Shirley, husband Jack, daughter Alison and daughter Lesley with grandson Hunter, were piped in to a standing ovation from 96 of Shirley’s friends who had travelled from far and wide to join in the celebrations.



Shirley was particularly pleased to see eleven Past Presidents who had attended to pay their respects in person. I was reminded quite pointedly that I shouldn't be in the
photograph because I wasn't a Past President!


Her good friend Peter Westwood (right) had produced a beautiful programme, produced gratis by Mac Creedon of Solway Offset Printers, outlining the format of the evening.



I had the unenviable task of making a speech which would do justice to Shirley’s immense achievements as the Chief Executive over those twelve years, often in the face of hostile opposition. However, after it, I had the pleasure of handing over a farewell gift on behalf of the Federation. Senior Vice President David Baird presented her with a painting from the Federation and Jim Shields presented her with a bouquet of flowers, also from the Federation. Jim Robertson conveyed the good wishes of the Robert Burns Association North America (RBANA) and presented a gift from them.

After dinner, John Caskie acted as Master of Ceremonies for a most enjoyable evening of entertainment from singer and raconteur William Williamson, young Burnsian Holly Little, JVP Jim Shields, fiddler Ian Kirkpatrick, accordionist John Douglas and even John himself. In her gracious farewell speech Shirley thanked everyone who had supported her over the years and wished her successor Sam Judge every success as he takes the Federation forward.

‘The Whistle’ Recitation Competition

Most Burnsians will be familiar with the poem The Whistle written by Burns to record a drinking contest held on Friday 16 October 1789 at Friars’ Carse, the home of one of the three participants, Capt Robert Riddell. The winner of the contest was Alexander Fergusson of Craigdarroch. What a joy it was for me to attend the first-ever recitation competition featuring the poem, held exactly 220 years, to the day, since the original contest.











The Whistle William, Willie, and Andrew

The event was made all the more special because descendants of Alexander Fergusson, Andrew and William Fergusson-Cuninghame were present and had very kindly brought along “the little ebony whistle,” as Burns describes it, the trophy won by their doughty ancestor at the original contest.

The whistle had been brought to Scotland by a “matchless champion Bacchus” who accompanied Anne, James XI’s Danish queen in the sixteenth century. However, the Danish champ hadn’t reckoned on the drinking prowess of Sir Robert Lawrie of Maxwelton who duly won it off him before he in turn lost it to a member of the Riddell family.

There were four competitors (see left) and the worthy winner of the recitation competition was Willie Horne (see right), past winner of both the Tam O’Shanter and John Lapraik recitation competitions.

The inspiration behind the competition was Ian Millar from the Thornhill Burns Club and he and his club colleagues are to be congratulated on organising a splendid evening compeered, in his usual good humoured and enthusiastic way, by Ronnie Cairns.

International Connexions with Russia and Japan

One of the most satisfying links enjoyed by the Robert Burns World Federation is with the charity, The St Petersburg Forum, which has its roots in an association forged between Scotland and Russia during the 900-day siege of Leningrad in WWII. As a token of solidarity during the siege, the women of Airdrie and Coatbridge sent an Album of Friendship to the women of Leningrad (now known as St Petersburg) which had a huge impact on morale and so began the link with Scotland. In the mid-nineties the St Petersburg Forum charity was set up and one of its major initiatives is to organise schools competitions with a Scottish theme. The winners of the ‘Knowledge of Scotland’ competition are rewarded with a two-week tour of Scotland and I had the pleasure of meeting this year’s winners on two occasions. The first was in the Globe Inn, Dumfries, on Sunday 27th September, where the Russian students were joined by local Scottish youngsters for an evening concert organised by Jane Brown, the manager of the Globe Inn and an ardent supporter of the St Petersburg Forum. On the Russian side, Liza Kozunova and Veronica Shcheveleva gave their humorous take on the tradition of Hogmanay and Victor Zheltyannikakov enlightened us on the history of the Stone of Destiny, all of them displaying an impressive mastery of the English language. Corin Halliday led off the Scottish side with his stirring bagpiping followed by recitations and songs from Megan Mulgrew, Heather McCafferty and Sean McKenzie with Bethany Hanley chipping in with her spirited bagpiping. A most enjoyable evening.

Russian students with Young Burnsians and piper

The second occasion was two days later in the Eastwood Theatre, Giffnock, where the Russian students were joined by clarsach players Clara Wheeler and Cheryl Turner from St Ninians High School, both members of the East Renfrewshire Symphony Orchestra which will be touring St Petersburg next June. On this occasion Veronica gave a very moving address on the Holocaust Memorial Garden in Pushkin, Victor displayed his virtuosity on the classical guitar and Liza performed a brilliant gypsy dance which had the audience clapping enthusiastically. The photograph shows the three St Petersburg students, me, and Councillor Alan Lafferty the Education Convenor for East Renfrewshire Council. On the wall behind are some of the paintings from the Forum’s art competition organised by May McMaster. Also taking part were Helen Morrison, Anne Fawbert, and Tom and Elizabeth Clark, all doing splendid work with the Forum.

Keeping up the international theme, I spent a very enjoyable day, on Wednesday 30 September, with a Japanese journalist, Yoichi Haruyama, a staff writer on the Saturday edition of Japan’s largest selling newspaper The Asahi Shimbun which has an 8 million daily circulation. He is researching the origin of Auld Lang Syne so Burns Chronicle Editor, Peter Westwood, and I took him, and his very accomplished translator Yuko Satoh to Ellisland Farm to show him the very room in which Burns wrote his great anthem which is so popular in Japan that many people there believe it is a Japanese song! The article is due out by the end of the year and we have been promised an advance copy. We also showed them the Globe Inn, where they enjoyed the superb Cullen Skink soup, and Jane Brown kindly gave them a conducted tour of Burns’ favourite howff before we rounded of the tour with a visit to Burns House and the Mausoleum at St Michael’s Church. The photograph shows from left to right: Yoichi Katuyama, me, Yuko Satoh, Les Byers Curator at Ellisland Farm, Peter Westwood and Ronnie Cairns, Chairman of The Friends of Ellisland

Continuing the Japanese theme, my wife Pat and I were invited to a private viewing of Japanese Art and Crafts in the Dovecot Studio, Edinburgh, organised by Kozo Yoshino on behalf of the Victor Murphy Memorial Trust and opened by the Consul General of Japan, Mr Masataka Tarahara. The invitation stemmed from a guided tour I had given Kozo, and some visiting guests, of Broughton House, the National Trust of Scotland property in Kirkcudbright, with its wonderful Burns Collection and Japanese paintings by Edward Atkinson Hornel. Mixing with other guests I became even more aware of the popularity of Burns in Japan, especially his songs, yet again reinforcing the impact of Burns’ international appeal.

Tam O'Shanter Competition and Ellisland Ploughing Competition

One of the highlights of the President’s year is the Tam O’Shanter Competition, held in the Globe Inn (see right), the poet’s favourite Howff, and organised by the Dumfries Ladies Burns Club No1.

This year’s competition was no exception and I had the honour and pleasure of being one of the judges alongside Willie Horne, last year’s worthy winner, and Isa Hanley, the Federation’s Schools Convenor. We had six excellent and very different recitations which made judging a real challenge. However, Margaret Cook, from Irvine Lassies Burns Club, was chosen as the worthy winner. She is seen below, proudly clutching her trophy, alongside the other competitors, judges, and President of Dumfries Ladies Burns Club No1 Shona Shaw.

How appropriate that my next event following the Tam O’Shanter competition should be held at Ellisland Farm where Burns had written his masterpiece. And what an event it turned out to be! Much to the envy of all my male colleagues I was privileged to spend a whole day as escort to Joanna Lumley at the Homecoming Ploughing Match organised by the Friends of Ellisland Farm.

She was an absolute joy and threw herself wholeheartedly into the event, ploughing with tractors and with horses, signing autographs, posing for photographs, conversing with the competitors and public with her easy charm and showing a genuine interest in all that was going on. Her husband, internationally renowned composer and classical musician, Stephen Barlow, also played a full part chatting freely to everyone he met.

Before opening the event she received a surprise visit from a Nepalise family from Moffat who wanted to show their appreciation of her campaign to support the Ghurkas by presenting her with a bouquet of flowers. Most interestingly, the father, Dawa Sherpa, is the gardener at Craigieburn House, an area closely associated with the lovely Burns’ song Craigieburnwood written for Jean Lorimer.

Joanna opens the Homecoming Ploughing Match Surprise visit by Dawa Sherpa and his family

A full programme of entertainment was skilfully compeered by Robert Burns himself (AKA William Williamson) and included a supremely talented group of young Burnsians from Sanquhar who performed a selection of poems and songs from Burns and other poets. Joanna was particularly taken with Heather McCafferty’s expert rendition of ‘The Rights of Women’ and was pleasantly surprised to learn of Burns’ radical thinking on the issue.

'Robert Burns' explains the workings of Ellisland Farm

We both had the chance to plough a furrow with a pair of horses, the first time for us both, and quite a challenge, especially with the swing plough, but very fulfilling. As the owner of a shire horse herself, Joanna took a deep interest in the Clydesdales and the ploughing equipment. She clearly understood the enormous influence on his poems and songs which the unmediated closeness with the earth afforded Burns during his ploughing. I certainly began to appreciate how Burns might have developed a slight stoop.

During the day I had the pleasure of announcing the opening the new ‘Jean Armour’ path. Generously funded by the Glasgow Masonic Burns Club and the Rotary Club of Dumfries, the path was laid by the Friends of Ellisland and offers a new route from the farm down to the banks of the River Nith. All in all this was a fantastic day, blessed with good weather but I am only too aware it could only come about by the sheer hard work of lots of dedicated volunteers. My thanks go to Ronnie Cairns as chairman of the Friends of Ellisland and especially by Tom Johnstone who mastermined the event and ran it with calm determination and good humour.

Friday, 18 September 2009
Federation 'Homecoming' Conference Edinburgh

What a dream start to my year as President with a most memorable Annual Conference in the capital city. Now, almost two weeks after the event, I am only just surfacing from that dream. The weekend started in the sumptious surroundings of the National Gallery with a reception generously provided by the Scottish Government. My last duty as Senior Vice President was to propose a vote of thanks and I had the opportunity of meeting the First Minister Alex Salmond who had earlier given a rousing speech, rightly highlighting the outstanding success of the Homecoming initiative, with its special focus on the 250th birthday of our National Poet, extolling the virtues of the Robert Burns World Federation and challenging us to redouble our efforts to promote a greater understanding of the Bard's life and works. Master of ceremonies, Hardeep Singh Kohli, kept the evening's entertainment at high tempo and we were treated to acts of the highest calibre from singer Charlotte McKechnie, poet Rab Wilson, musical group Sgiobalta and the three wonderful Scottish tenors, Caledon.

Following the Annual General Meeting, at which Jim Shields was elected as the Junior Vice President, the delegates were treated to four outstanding lectures from Professor Ian Campbell, Dr Kirsteen McCue, Dr Gerry Carruthers and Professor David Purdie, each addressing an interesting aspect of the life and works of the poet. Clearly the highlight for me was the investiture dinner in the 'Thistle Suite' at Murrayfield Stadium. As I have already said in my first blog, it was a huge honour to assume the office of President of the Robert Burns World Federation. It was also a great honour to have as our guest speaker Mike Russell, MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, who gave an inspiring speech which demonstrated both his deep knowledge of, and admiration for, Robert Burns. As someone who had benefitted from studying for an honours degree in Scottish Studies at the Glasgow University Crichton Campus in Dumfries, I was delighted to be able to offer my personal thanks to him for his tireless efforts in helping to establish the campus in the first place but also for supporting the decision to save the campus from threatened closure in 2007.

I am particularly pleased to have such fine deputies in David Baird and Jim Shields. See the trio above, having clearly enjoyed our wine with dinner or maybe it was the effects of superb drinks reception hosted by official sponsors of the Federation, Isle of Arran Distillers, earlier in the evening.

Sunday's Morning Service was held at Canongate Kirk, The Kirk of Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle and will long be remembered by those attending. Superbly conducted by the Reverend Neil Gardner MA, BD and with a suffusion of Burns music, including a beautiful solo of Ca the Yowes by Nicola Wood, the service was hugely uplifting. Dr Donald Smith, Director of the Scottsh Storytelling Centre, delivered an inspiring address in which he masterfully dispelled many of the myths surrounding Burns' religious beliefs. Burns again took centre stage when Mike Russell, MSP, unveiled a bust of the poet (see above), created specifically to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Burns by international sculptor David Cornell and generously donated to the Federation. Also on display was the 'Tam O'Shanter' chair, acquired by George IV in 1822 during his visit to Scotland, and sent to Holyroodhouse by Edward VII in 1901. It came to Canongate Kirk specially for the Federation Service by gracious permission of HM The Queen.

As a most fitting finale to the weekend a large group gathered on the Carlton Hill to witness the re-dedication of the Robert Burns Monument. Following a long campaign, led initially by Tom McIlwraith and continued with unwavering dedication by Ralph Balfour after Tom's death, the monument has been beautifully restored in a collaborative project between the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh World Heritage. The re-dedication ceremony was ably led by Jim Shields in his capacity as President of the Edinburgh and District Association of Burns Clubs and will be forever treasured for the 'roof raising' rendition of A Man's a Man for A' That. Luckily, a reporter from BBC Radio Four, there to record an interview with me as part of a series looking back at the 'Year of Homecoming,' arrived in time to record the singing, so hopefully it will feature when the programme goes out in late November around the St Andrews Night period.

Overall this was a memorable Federation Conference, a fitting tribute to the late Harry McGuffog who, as conference committee chairman, had set up the overall plans for the weekend. My sincere thanks go to his widow May who, along with other members of the conference committee, ensured all the arrangements worked seamlessly. This was especially true of the slick operation involved in getting all the delegates bussed to and from the venues, done with humour and efficiency by John Caskie and his team of 'bus stewards'. I also want to recognise the generous contribution made towards the cost of transport by Floridian, Frank Campbell, currently President of the Robert Burns Association North America (RBANA). Finally, I am indebted to Chief Executive Shirley Bell and Office Administrator Margaret Craig who spend weeks before the conference working hard to ensure the important business and social aspects are properly addressed.

President's First Blog

The first sentence in James MacKay’s book The Burns Federation 1885 to 1985 reads: “a chance remark in a London park a hundred years ago led to the formation of a body which today ranks as the oldest national literary association in Scotland.” Little did I think when I regularly took my lunch in that same park near Embankment Station in the early nineties that I would become the President of that association, now known as the Robert Burns World Federation. However, last weekend during a marvellous annual conference in Edinburgh to mark the 250th anniversary of the poet’s birth, I had the honour of doing just that. And what a singular honour it was to don the chain of office bearing the names of so many distinguished predecessors who have kept alive and promoted the spirit of Burns which clubs and individuals, throughout the world, hold so dear.
I am delighted to be taking over at such an exciting period in the Federation’s history. There has been a huge stimulation of interest in the life and works of Burns generated by the Scottish Government’s Year of Homecoming, to which my immediate predecessor, Bill Dawson, has given his full and enthusiastic commitment. We must capitalise on the platform which the Homecoming has given us and use it as a springboard to launch new initiatives and also to build on events which have already proved successful. In particular, we need to find new ways of communicating with a younger audience so that they become enthused about Robert Burns beyond their initial contact through the Schools Competition. I have been delighted to note the drive towards closer ties between academics and what I would call ‘ordinary Burnsians’ for want of a better description. Each can aid the other in the study of the Burns story and so enrich our understanding of the multi-facetted poet who continues to fascinate us all. Finally, we need to work hard to remain relevant as a ‘worldwide’ Federation by strengthening our existing overseas links and forging new partnerships to broaden our appeal.
Thanks largely to the outstanding work done by the Chief Executive, Shirley Bell, over the last twelve years, the Federation is now on a sound financial footing and is recognised as the pre-eminent focal point of contact for all matters relating to the life and works of our national Bard. As she leaves on well-deserved retirement I look forward immensely to working with her replacement, Sam Judge, as he continues to build on that legacy. I am blessed with a very committed and capable board of directors, ably supported by Margaret Craig, now entering her twenty first year of administration work for the Federation. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of members and offer a sincere thank you for all the messages of good wishes and congratulations. I will do all in my power to promote the works of the Federation and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during the year. If I can help you in any way in my capacity as President please let me know. I wish you all the very best in your endeavors in celebrating and promoting the life and works of Robert Burns.