Robert Burns supper January 2011
It’s never too early to start preparing for your annual Burns Supper, which usually takes place sometime in mid to late January to coincide with the Scottish Bard’s birthday on January 25th.
Robert Burns
Voted “The Greatest Scot” by a pretty impressive pool of 35 movers and shakers supports the success of the new National Trust for Scotland museum – Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.
You can search online for more information about Robert Burns, suppers and haggis, but the real reason we continue to celebrate Robert Burns 251 years after his birth is because he wrote beautiful poetry like this:
Ae Fond Kiss by Robert Burns
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever
Ae farewell, and then forever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and goans I’ll wage thee.
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him
Me nae cheerful twinkle lights me,
Dark despair around benights me.
I’ll ne’er blame my partial fancy:
Nothing could resist my Nancy
But to see her was to love her
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never loe’d sae kindly,
Had we never loe’d sae blindly,
Never met – nor never parted -
We had ne’er been broken-hearted.
Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever
Ae farewell, alas, for ever
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.
Beth’s Recommendation: If you can’t get your hands on a Haggis then maybe this year you can celebrate by supporting this amazing group of Scots who are climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to host the world’s Highest Burns Supper and raise money for Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland.
Re:solution Wall in Edinburgh
We all make resolutions every new year and then, well, sometimes we don’t actually make them a reality. This year can be different with Scotland’s Re:solution Wall standing outside the Parliament building at the foot of the Royal Mile today. This is a place where we can share our hopes and plans for the future. This is another Hogmanay activity provided for free in Edinburgh.
Beth’s Recommendation: If you can’t make it to Edinburgh then you can post your resolution for the world to see on the Edinburgh Hogmanay website. To help inspire you here is a streaming video webcam of the Royal Mile.
Robert Louis Stevenson – new website
The Storytelling Apartment is distinctly Scottish which translates to Scottish music CDs, Scottish movie DVDs, Scottish treats such as Tablet, raspberry jam and Irn Bru.
Lighthouses in Scotland
The Scottishness also includes books by Scottish authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson. We have a rather large softcover volume of his major works in the apartment.
Did you know that RLS’s family built lighthouses all around the coast of Scotland? His family wanted Robert to continue in their footsteps but he knew he always wanted to be writer.
Beth’s Recommendations: No matter where you live, it seems that RLS probably paid you a visit. This new website is a treasure trove of information, photos and links. Have fun exploring this site!
Tell-a-Story Day – Friday 30 October 2009
How perfect is this for our Storytelling Apartment?!
This is Scotland’s national day of storytelling and you can write about anything you like. 
There are FREE online resources here.
Beth’s Recommendation: If you write a story about a visit to Edinburgh you can send it to us and we’ll post it here.
By Leaves We Live – 26 September 2009
The Scottish Poetry Library is having their annual fair of artists’ books and small presses on Saturday, 26 September, 11am to 6pm. You can drop by anytime throughout the day to celebrate poetry. There is a full programme on the Scottish Poetry Library website.
Beth’s Recommendation: While I don’t read nearly enough poetry I have become a big fan of Jackie Kay a Scottish poet who incorporates the Scots language in a way I can understand and is also often incredibly funny. So I promise to read more poetry in the coming year! Oh, and The Scottish Poetry Library is just down the street from the Storytelling Apartment!
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Beth Edberg
Beth has lived in Edinburgh for 11 years and adores this city. Exploring Edinburgh is never ending and Beth loves to share stories about all the great places to go, things to do and people to see. Beth admires great customer service and secretly wishes she was a secret shopper. Beth is a co-owner of the 4 star, self catering Storytelling Apartment on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.
