All French at Burns Supper

On Saturday February 1 , I sat with around 257 guests at a Burns Supper.... and they were all French.

But not only were the people of Ayr’s twin town St Germain en Laye celebrating the birth of our national poet they were marking the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Town Twinning agreement by the late Provost Gibson Macdonald and French Mayor Michel Pericard.

A momentous event and one attended by seven members of Ayr Town Twinning Association, a small group of players from the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra along with their founder and conductor Wallace Galbraith. And from South Ayrshire Council? The empty chair, just missing the tub of lard or ice sculpture. Nor was there any official letter of apology or congratulation. Verbal excuses were made on behalf of Provost Helen Moonie who had been invited. To say the Scottish contingent were embarrassed doesn’t quite cover it. Meanwhile Mayor Arnaud Pericard’s son of the original signatory was there along with other councillors and officials of St Germain.

I know times are hard but with cheap flights to Paris the council would have got change from £ 200 .

The generosity of the French hosts would have covered any other costs. Plus I would have thought that an SNP led council supported by EU loving Labour would have been only too keen to attend a major European event particularly on the first day of Brexit. So much for the Entente Cordiale.

Ann Galbraith, former South Ayrshire councillor