The Bard means as much to us as ever
season.
Since that time the Bard’s legacy has grown – we had the year of homecoming in 2009 celebrating the 250th anniversary of his birth which was calculated as bringing in an additional £360m spend.
No mean feat for a workingclass lad from Ayrshire!
Lest I be harangued by East Kilbride lovers of Burns, may I state right now that I don’t think it’s all about the money.
As Ms MacAlpine said in our debate, though: “There is no contradiction between honouring Burns as an artist and recognising his commercial worth.”
Burns the artist is renowned the world over for his wonderful poetry, for his having collected the traditional songs that he listened to through his childhood and for his humanity.
His work has been translated into more than 40 languages, there are Burns Suppers held in the most unlikely of places (I myself attended one in Fiji once – in July!), and, of course, Auld Lang Syne is sung by millions to bring in the New Year across the globe.
This Thursday in Parliament, we host the annual Burns Supper for the Consular Corps; it’s always fun to watch the new Consul Generals who are perhaps attending their first supper – the look of puzzlement at the “Address to the Haggis” – the “Address” is always given by the winner of the Burns schools’ competition.
Of course, our primary schools in East Kilbride have a strong tradition of Burns poetry and song – thanks to dedicated teachers and schools’ assistants.
It’s not just Scots that study the Bard – the Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow was founded in 2007.
And students come from across the continents to study Burns and his writer contemporaries.
The National Trust Burns Museum opened a few years ago in Alloway, South Ayrshire, and has proved hugely successful with overseas visitors following the Burns Trail.
Did you know that the National Burns Collection is housed across 26 sites in Glasgow, Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Dumfries?
Of course, East Kilbride has its very own Kilbryde Burns Club and that’s a supper I’m looking forward to at the beginning of February.
Fantastic talent always on show – a pleasure to attend, sit back and listen to excellence.
This week is Burns Week, though, so I’ll leave you with the writing of another Scottish poet who celebrates the legacy of Robert Burns; Stuart A Paterson, BBC Scotland’s poetin-residence.
Here’s a wee extract from his Burns Night Blessing, to go with your haggis, neeps and tatties... Happy Burns Day!
There is no contradiction between honouring Burns as an artist and recognising his commercial worth...