15th Annual Burns Supper - Friday 13 February 2009
In the 250th Anniversary Year of our Bard's Birth
Chairman: Walter Sneddon
The top table, Tom Barlow, Ian Collins, Walter Snedden,
Bryan Weir, George McCaughey and John McKenzie.
Another highly successful Burns supper was held in the clubhouse on Friday 13th February 2009. With an impressive array of performers and artistes and a full house this event seems to go from strength to strength. Once again the organisation was great and our thanks go the organising committee and the bar staff for keeping us well lubricated throughout the evening.
We must also thank the following lists of sponsors for their kind support of the event;
W. Crichton, D. Hamilton, R. Mills, E. McCallum, D. Nicolson, C. McDonald, D. McDonald, M. McDonald, W. Snedden and R. Wyllie.
Our music for the evening was provided by our excellent accompanist, Gordon Kinniburgh with the pipe music once again coming from Malcolm Gilmour who piped in the Haggis and later entertained us with his selection of bagpipe music.
(You can enlarge the thumbnail images by moving your mouse pointer over them)
Our singers for the evening were Tom McRae and Ben Morrison. Tom gave us Ye Banks and Braes and My Love is Like a Red Red Rose and Ben did Mary Morison and Ae Fond Kiss. We are lucky to have these great singers amongst our own club membership.
The evening got off to a great start with a very confident Address to the Haggis from Ewan McCaughey. Later on in the evening Ewan also gave us a passionate rendition of To a Mouse complete with the beastie and the nest. The bard himself would have been proud to see his work presented thus. Ewan is a very talented young man who is in demand at more suppers and events each year. We can look forward to his contributions for a long time to come.
The main item on the Burns supper program is The Immortal Memory, which was presented on this occasion by VOLBC club member Bryan Weir. This was his first first "memory" and in this he offered his impression of what Burns meant to him. He also provided interesting material on what the bard looked like, how he acted, how he lived and how he died in poverty. Bryan brought out the genius of the bard in many fields and highlighted his satirical wit and his amiability. He also dispelled some of the myths surrounding him and portrayed him in a fairer light than some of his detractors.
John McKenzie entertained us with his version of Tam o' Shanter. As always, John provided an enthralling rendition os "Tam". His very convincing performance had some people wondering if he was reliving personal memories. Our thanks go to John for an excellent performance.
The "weel kent" Tom Barlow presented A Mournfu' Tale. This is not a Burns work having been written several years ago by Dumbarton Burns Club member James Hempstead. The humorous and very entertaining poem was written about the late John H Glen, funeral director. We have never heard it performed better and it was clearly very much appreciated by the audience, many of whom had never heard it before.
Bob Wyllie and David McDonald are two of the organisers of this event. As well as being heavily involved in the organisation of our supper they also entertain us and on this occasion they presented their Grave Remarks complete with their toppers. This was a unique piece of entertainment that proved to be a hit with the audience. The remarks were addressed to several people including jockeys, churchmen, farmers, working men and Mauchline men. No one escaped their wrath or their mirth. This was a very talented display which we shall surely see performed again.
Next up was the immediate past president of the Alexandria Burns Club, Ian Collins. Ian was tasked with the Toast to the Lasses this evening. He painted a humorous and familiar picture of some of the lasses we all know, calling upon his own wide experience of the fairer sex in his delivery of a very funny toast. The round the world trip was particularly well received. Many people will find it hard to think of down under the same way again.
Walter Sneddon as chairman for the evening was the glue that held the night together. Walter provided a warm welcome to the guests and his friendly but firm hand on the proceedings ensured that we enjoyed a very successful Burns Supper.
Finally we came to the vote of thanks propsed by George McCaughey. George, who had earlier proudly watched his son Ewan performing with aplomb, turned up at the start of the evening with two blank sheets of paper. He was busy throughout the evening scribbling away and trying to keep track of the program and the performance. His Toast to the Artists was entertaining and very efficiently presented (to the extent that his notes were used as the basis for this report).
This is always one of the hardest toasts of the night but George delivered it with aplomb. He also offered his appreciation of the audience, which had given the very best of order throughout the evening. The audience then joined together to sing Auld Lang Syne to finish off a very entertaining evening.
