EAST KILBRYDE

EK PROBUS CLUB

Words by Ken Lawton

The meeting was opened by President Drew Kean, who announced that two of the members, Stuart McKinnell and Adam Dickson had passed away. A minutes silence was held. He carried out the rest of the business and then introduced the speaker, Mr Jim Carruthers.

A local man from Forth, he had worked mainly in the Financial Services industry but found time to be a keen angler and tier of flies for that sport.

He was also a Past President of the Hamilton Burns club and of the Motherwell Speakers club as well as a Past master of Lodge Hamilton Kilwinning No7.

He began by outlining the times that Burns lived in (January 25 1759 to July 21 1796) which was that of the Scottish Enlightenment.

His contemporaries were such people-as Adam Smith, Lord Byron, Gainsborough Telford and Macadam American war of Independence, to name but a few.

When we look at Burns Cottage in Alloway we may think that it was quite poor but in fact was of a good standard for its day and his family was of middle class with his father being a horticulturist.

Through the Scottish Presbyterian Church of Scotland, education levels in Scotland were the best in Europe.

Almost every family had a bible in the house and so literacy levels were high. Burns himself was no slouch as he got taught in Latin French English grammar and later on in geometry and surveying which allowed him to be an honorary member of the Chartered Surveyors.

He probably inherited ambition from his father while his mother gave him a love of music.

A ‘poor ploughman’ he was not, although he was farming at Tarbolton from the age of 18.

He joined the Bachelors Club in Tarbolton which was more of a debating

society rather than its misconstrued reputation as a drinking club.

From the age of 21 he was writing poetry embracing the whole of humanity from such poems as Holy Wullie’s Prayer to The Cotters Saturday Night. As he reached age of 22 in1781, he was made a mason in the Tarbolton lodge.

And by1784 he was appointed Depute Master which in those days ran the day to day business of the lodge ant its meetings where as the Master of the lodge was held by a local laird or dignitary – more of titular head. In those days the masonic lodge was run on similar lines to a today’s Credit Union.

Many of his poems were first heard in the lodge until some people in the lodge, like the local printer, encouraged him and, supported by them, to publish.

This first edition was known as the Kilmarnock edition and some 612 copies were made available, by subscription, at three shillings each for which Burns receive £20 (£19,000), a tidy sum in those days. His brother Gilbert also joined the lodge about this time.

In 1787 the Right Worshipful master of Lodge St Andrew in Edinburgh during harmony after the lodge meeting stood up and said , “A toast to Caledonia and Caledonia’s bard.” The main painting (1787) that we see of Burns by Alexander Naysmith does not show a ‘poor ploughman’ who would normally be wearing a smock and nicky tams (the name given to the string used by farm workers to tie their trousers below the knees, partly to hitch them up out of the mud) he was always well dressed.

That same year he received a degree in the Royal Arch – although it was probably an honorary one.

He married Jean Armour in 1788 and moved to Dumfries to become an Excise Man and joined the local Dumfries Lodge. Despite sizeable sums of money salary etc. he was a poor manager of money.

When he died at the age of 37 in 1796 his funeral was attended by some 12,000 people.

When you think of the lack of roads and transport in those days, that was

a fantastical turn-out for his funeral and shows the high esteem in which he was held.

He was first buried in the N.E.corner of St Michael’s graveyard in Dumfries, then five years later he was laid to rest in the Mausoleum, in Alloway, beside his wife and sons.

The vote of thanks was given by Mr Allan Stevenson who said that,” this talk had been an interesting story and presentation in Masonry. It was a fascinating subject and you had opened the door to this, through your diligent research.” He asked the club to show their usual mode of appreciation.

The next meeting will be on January 22 when Mr. Kevin Kerrigan will talk about “Buffalo Bill, Wounded Knee and Glasgow.”

For further information please access our EK Probus’s web site which can be found at ekprobus.wordpress.com.

We look forward to welcoming everybody.