Stop
Press - our Holy Fair on Saturday 2nd June
will be headlined by capercaillie
Please remember our friends at Darvel
Click
here for Darvel Music Festival Webpage
Syllabus
2011-2012
7
February - Historian, Stanley Sarsfield,
The Eglinton Tournament of 1839.
24
February - Jean Armour Birthday Party with
Jane Brown of The Globe Inn, Dumfries -
Finger Buffet
6
March - Michael Hitchon, Gardens of Europe
20
March - A G M
24/25
March - Annual Outing 'In the Footsteps
of Burns' - Overnight Bus trip
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tourist
Plaques Project now completed and 'Unveiled'
Robert Burns Blue Plaques Guide
(available
from the Museum)
A Guide to Mauchline
Kirkyard
The
above Project was funded by Ayrshire Leader
plus
donations collected at our
own Burns Suppers.
The Plaques 'Sub-Committee' of Andy
Bell, Ian Lyell and Drew Baird pictured
at Poosie Nansie's and the Whitefoord Arms.
Russell Wyllie
finishes the Ailsa Craig Granite stone outside
the museum.
Hand
Held Audio Trail Guides
covering most of the sites now available
from the Museum
Returnable Deposit
£5
Tour Scripted and narrated
by Ian Lyell
__________
__
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Also,
how about our new Designer Club Tie:-
£10 to non-members + £2.50 Post
and Packing. Pease send cheque to Mauchline
Burns Club, c/o Burns House Museum, Castle
Street, Mauchline, Ayrshire.
Designed
by Billy and Jean Sharpe.
Latest
Newsletter
Mauchline
Burns Club are very sad to report that Alex
Wyllie, looking
so well below, died on 7th August 2011 in
his 89th Year. We
are sure that Alex will right now be sitting
talking to Robert Burns about
the experiences they both had while farming
at Mossgiel!
The
Mauchline Burns Club are very pleased to add
our congratulations to our friends and
helpers, Alex
and Nancy Wyllie who celebrated their 60th
Wedding Anniversary on
1st August 2011. Alex
and Nancy are the farmers at Mossgiel Farm,
Mauchline and
the Club are grateful for all of their help
in so many ways.
The Mauchline Burns
Club are sad to announce the death of Bill
Bee,
Honorary
President of the Club. Bill died on 9th May,
his 93rd Birthday.
On
the day of Bill's funeral the Mauchline Burns
Club saltire on the National Burns Memorial
in Mauchline, flew at half mast and no one
deserves that unique tribute more than Bill
Bee the cronie we pay tribute to here..
Bill
arrived in Mauchline in 1948
and soon he was on the Community Council,
the Library Committee, and a Burns Club member.
By 1951 he was secretary of the Club. He held
that post until he became President for two
years in 1965.
On
his professional retirement from his Mauchline
Pharmacy 20 years later the Club gratefully
accorded him the title of Honorary President.
While
serving as Secretary, he witnessed the opening
of the Jean Armour Homes close to Mossgiel
in 1959. This unfortunately caused the closure
and dilapidation of the important Burns properties
in Castle Street .
The
Castle Street crisis stage came when a local
councillor enthusiastically proposed total
demolition. Unexpected
salvation for these properties came in a January
visit by the radio and film personality Jameson
Clark. For
a radio broadcast, he was conducted round
the Burns sites by Bill and some others. The
state of the Castle Street properties was
highlighted, and with a few discreet shoulders
- including Bill's - to a broken door, entry
was made.
The
subsequent broadcast brought the full shame
of the situation to the public attention.
As a result, a restoration committee was set
up with no other than Bill as Secretary and
Treasurer. Fund raising projects culminated
in an official raffle in 1970 with the massive
first prize of a Robert Burns £5 note.
But the commitment of that small group of
local men ensured the survival of the building
which is with us today as the Burns House
Museum .
Bill's
interest in Burns was not that of the obsessive
reciters of The Cottars Saturday Night and
Man was made to Mourn, or of those obsessed
by the insignificant minutiae of the poet's
life.
His
was a practical interest in using Burns to
serve Mauchline and using Mauchline to serve
Burns. Serving
the local community was a towering principle
in Bill's life and for that we owe him a huge
debt, and by 'we' I mean not only the Burns
Club but the whole village community. It is
a better place for his living in it.
Honorary
President, Ian Lyell took over from Bill,
both as Secretary of the Club and as Secretary
and Treasurer of the Burns House Museum, and
in those dual capacities he was Ian's close
mentor but at the same time Bill maintained
his active involvement in both bodies. This
active involvement continued. In January 2010,
the proposer of the Toast to the lasses withdrew
at short notice and Bill stepped in. He
also offered to take an evening in next session's
Burns Club syllabus. The topic was to be the
Border reivers, for although he was committed
to Mauchline, he never forgot his border roots.
At
our annual Celebration in January past, the
Club marked Bill's long connection with the
Club by presenting him with a bottle of whisky
- the brand most appropriately - Immortal
Memory. When he returned to his seat, he growled
at me – Was this your idea?
A
short time later on a visit to him I was offered
a dram. - Of Immortal Memory? I asked.
No
– he growled again – That's not for drinking.
This
growl actually indicated the value Bill put
on this gift from the Club - and that we had
done the right thing - and now we must feel
that even more.
.
Bill
had a growl and could be carnaptious and a
bit of a curmudgeon. Some people were a bit
wary of him for he was not afraid to speak
his mind, particularly if something was not
being done properly or in line with his high
standards.
He
could never forgive Kilmarnock folk for their
poor standard of dress.
Burns
in the Epistle to a Young Friend recommends
–
'The
glorious privilege
Of
being independent'
And
that's what Bill was. Independent
A
line from Burns' Dedication to Gavin Hamilton
is also most appropriate to Bill -
'The
gentleman in word and deed'.
At
our next Burns Club meeting in October, the
custom would be to mark the passing of a member
with a minute's silence.
I
would suggest this would be most inappropriate
and would be interrupted by Bill asking -
What are all the grace proud faces for?
Let's
have a dram.
And
that is what should happen.
No
silence but a dram and a toast to our cronie
- Bill Bee. Thank you Bill.
Honorary
President, Ian Lyell.
Best Wishes and Good Luck from the Club to
Members, Malcolm Noble and Maurice McKendrick,
who have started a new business doing Burns
Tours.
Our Annual Jean Armour Birthday
Party took place on Friday 25th February
During
the evening, the Club were poresented with
a bundle of rare books by Associate Member,
Angus Condy from Kirkliston.
Angus
donated the books in memory of his son, Angus
Condy lll, who died in a freak electrical
accident at the age of 37.
All
the books in our library are available to
members on loan by contacting Billy Sharpe,
Club Librarian.
First
Class entertainment by Piper Jimmy Wyllie
and two friends.
Photo
of Angus, his books and President Hugh Brown,
below:-
The
Birthday Cake
Our
Wreathlaying at the National Burns Memorial,
Mauchline on 25th January 2011
Our Burns Supper 25th January 2011
Bill Bee gets his
Long Service Award from President Hugh Brown
Sad
News
We
are sad to tell you of the death of our long
time member, friend and crony, Fergie McCartney
on 25th August 2010.
Fergie
was an active Member of Mauchline Burns Club
for very many years, earning the title of ‘Honorary Member' to try to recognise some
of the work he did for the Club. He regularly
turned down requests to become Vice President
and President although he certainly earned
his place there. His wide knowledge of the
County of Ayr meant that he knew a great deal
about the places around which Burns circulated.
He seldom had his head in a book but he was
a walking encyclopedia – not that he blew
his own trumpet - but if asked he would gladly
respond in great detail. With Fergie's attention
to details the questioner would take away
from the conversation not just the answer
to his question, but a desire to find out
more. He shared that avid interest in local
history with his wife, Betty.
One
of Fergie's Burns Club jobs was to fly the
Scottish Flag at the Burns National Memorial
on suitable occasions. It is a very windy
spot at the top of the Tower and often, Fergie
and Betty would have to repair and refurbish
the flag before it could go up again. We are
very proud and pleased that we were able to
honour Fergie by flying his flag at half mast
on ‘his' tower on the day of his funeral.
Among
the many high moments he Treasured through
the Burns Club was the club visit to Passchendale
in Belgium to be present at the unveiling
of the commemorative statue to the Scottish
Soldiers who died in 1917 and the laying of
a wreath at Ypres. Fergie went back to there
when Mauchline Burns Club donated and took
out four benches to be placed around the monument.
Fergie
was a great collector of things, which must
be one of the greatest understatements of
all time. Nothing was thrown away that might
some day be of interest or come in handy.
Rev Tom Wilkinson said at his funeral ‘Never
in the sheds and garages of Mauchline, was
so much retained for future use by one man,
for so many'.
We
will miss Fergie McCartney.
Successful Car Treasure Hunt on 14th
August run by
Maurice McKendrick and Malcolm
Noble
On
Saturday 14th August some 35 Members, wives
and friends took part in a well organised Treasure
Hunt around Mauchline followed by a meal and
chatter in The Fairburn in Mauchline. How
much participants enjoyed it was proved by
the happy and cheerful banter before and during
the meal. The joint was buzzing! Malcolm
received a resounding 'yes' from all present
when he asked if the Members would support
similar informal get-togethers so look out
for some novel ideas from Team Malcolm and
Maurice. A very hearty thanks to them both
for all the work involved in organising the
Treasure Hunt and Congratulations on a job
well done.
Malcolm Announces the Winner
John Sutherland's winning team with
organisors
Maurice McKendrick
(Top Left) and Malcolm Noble (Bottom left)
John
Sutherland's winning team with organisors
Maurice McKendrick (Top left) and Malcolm
Noble (bottom left)
Clark Milliken receives the
Wooden Spoon
Margery Howe has won the £20
Billy
Sharpe hands over the Chain of Office to 2010/11
President Hugh Brown
Handout for Footsteps
of Burns Border Tour 27th and 28th March 2010
Robert
Burns completed his Border Tour between May
5th and June 1st 1787. When you take into
account all the places he visited and distance
travelled, which included the North of England
(next year perhaps) it was no mean feat considering
he was on horseback.
Our
first trip to the Borders was on 24 th March
2007 and we will inevitably retrace some of
our steps to places already visited. However,
if like me, you never seem to tire of the
Border countryside.
Leaving
Mauchline we head towards Biggar and Blyth
Bridge onto the A701 to Leadburn where we
join the A6094 to Roslynn Chapel an architectural
gem. Though there is no mention of Burns visiting
Roslynn it is well worth taking the time to
see it for ourselves. We will have a guided
tour here.
Leaving
Roslynn we head along the A6094 to Bonnyrigg,
turn right on the A68 through Dalkeith then
left onto the A6093 to Pencaitland and Haddington.
It's here in Haddington we will meet up with
members of Grants Braes Burns Club at the
Tyneside Hotel where we take lunch. After
our meal, members of the Grants Braes Burns
Club will show us the Burns related sites
around the town. The club took its name from
the house (now demolished) where Gilbert,
his family and mother lived. After our tour
we bid farewell to our hosts (and day trippers)
and continue south on the next leg of our
journey.
Grants Braes Meets
Mauchline
Our Posy at Burns'
Mother's Grave in Bolton Kirkyard.
Mauchline, Grants Braes and entertainers
Aislynn Faulkner and Careen Scott at
Bolton
Kirkyard,
where above grave is.
Grants Braes successful Project Built Cairn,
walk and parking etc where Burns' mother's
house was situated.
We
head south east on the A1 to Dunbar as Burns
called it “a neat little town”.
It was here on 22 nd May that he dined with
the Provost and called on Miss Clark, a maiden
in the Scotch phrase, “guid enough but
no' brent new”. She wanted to see what
a rare show an author was; and to let him
know that, though Dunbar was but a little
town yet, it was not destitute of people of
parts. Dunbar is of course better known for
its fine brewery which produces among others,
Belhaven Best.
It
is not possible for us to follow exactly Burns'
route as he criss-crossed this region on his
travels. On the 21 st may he arrived at Peasebridge
and dined with George Sherriff – “a crashing
bore, talkative and conceited” – Sherriff,
suddenly called away on business, left Burns
alone the rest of the evening with his sister
Nancy. Fortunately, brother George arrived
home just in time. Next morning as Burns was
saddling up, to his astonishment, Nancy appeared “as fine as hands could make her”,
in cream-coloured riding clothes,
hat and feather” to accompany him to
Dunbar. In a letter to his friend Ainslie
he described the journey.
In
the words of the Highlandman when he saw the
Devil on Shanter-Hill in the shape of five
swine – “My hair stood and my pintle stood
and I swat and trembled” – Nothing
could prevail with her, no distant insinuation,
no broad hint would make her give over her
purpose (to make a sweetheart of me among
her relations); at last, vexed , disgusted
and enraged, I pretended a fire-haste and
rode so hard she was almost shaken to pieces
on old Jolly and to my great joy, she found
it convenient to stop at an uncles house by
the way. I refused to call with her, and so
we quarrelled and parted.
I
think at last, Robert may have met his match!
Flirtation with pretty women, as he often
declared, was just his kind of sport, but
every now and then it backfired.
The
next leg of our tour takes us to Dunglass
where Burns was invited to dine with Mr Hood
but had to refuse due to illness.
Thursday
24 th May – Mr Kerr and I set out to dine
at Mr Hood's on our way to England – I am
taken extremely ill with feverish symptoms,
and take a servant of Mr Hood's to watch me
all night – embittering remorse scares my
fancy at the gloomy forebodings of death.
I am determined to live for the future in
such a manner as not to be scared at the approach
of death – I am sure I could meet him with
indifference, but for ‘The Something' beyond the grave – Mr Hood agrees
to accompany us to England if we will wait
him till Sunday.
The
following morning he had breakfast at Skateraw
with Mr Lee, “ a farmer of great note
and an excellent, hospitable, social fellow – compatible at dinner – my revd acquaintance
, Dr. Bowmaker, a revd, rattling, rattling,
drunken old fellow – two sea Lieutenants,
a Mr D Lee, a cousin of the landlord's, a
fellow whose looks are of that kind which
deceived me in a gentleman of Kelso, and has
often deceived me; a goodly, handsome figure
and face which incline one to give them credit
for parts which they have not… Mr Lee detains
me till next morning”.
Friday
18 th May – Via Manderston, Chirnside, Foulden,
Eddrington, Mordington and Halidon Hill to
Berwick – an Idle town, bit rudely picturesque
– meet lord Errol in walking round the walls
– His Lordship's flattering notice of me (Burns
always loved a lord) – Dine with Mr Clunzie,
Merchant. – nothing particular in company
or conversation – come up over a bold shore
and over a wild country via Burnmouth to Eyemouth
– sup and sleep at Mr Grieve's.
At
last, going in the same direction as Burns,
albeit for a short distance and not in the
same order.
EYEMOUTH
Saturday
18 th May – spend the day at Mr Grieve's –
made a Royal Arch Mason at St Ebbe's Lodge
– Mr William Grieve, the eldest brother, a
joyous warm-hearted, jolly, clever fellow
– takes a hearty glass and sings a good song
– Mr Robert Grieve, his brother and partner
in trade a good fellow but says little – Mr
James Carmichael, schoolmaster, of the partie
an agreeable fellow – take a sail after dinner
– fishing of all kinds pays tithes at Eyemouth.
Eyemouth Plaque commemorating
Burns joining the 'Royal Arch'.
The
Eyemouth Lodge considered Burns a very distinguished
visitor indeed. They did not even charge him
the usual fee, and the cutlery and utensils
he used at the ‘repast'
have been kept to this day. The minute for
19 th may reads:
At
a general encampment held this day, the following
brethren were made Royal Arch masons, viz:
Robert Burns from the Lodge of St James, Tarbolton,
Ayrshire and Robert Ainslie, from the Lodge
of St Luke's, Edinburgh…Robert Ainslie paid
one guinea admission dues…Robert Burns admit.
Gratis.
Mauchline
Burns Club and Eyemouth Masons and Burns Club
Members in Masonic Lodge
Our
overnight accommodation in Eyemouth is the ‘eye sleep inn' where we
will shower and change (optional) before going
into town to the Ship Inn for dinner and hopefully
meeting with some of the Eyemouth Burns Club
members for a tour of the Burns related sites
and some harmony. It is twin bedded rooms
with two exceptions (already booked), so please
choose your roommates carefully!
After
breakfast on Sunday, again at the Ship Inn
we head for Duns.
Friday
16th May – Dined at Duns with the Farmers
Club – Company – impossible to do them justice
– Rev Mr Smith, a famous punster and Mr Meikle,
a celebrated Mechanic and inventor of the
threshing-mill – lie again at Berrywell (home
of Robert Ainslie)
On
arriving at the Ainslie home at Berrywell
he found Rachel waiting for him. There was
no one else at home and Burns found himself
alone with her in the house. He was enchanted
with her. ‘Miss Ainslie' – the amiable,
sweet, the sensible, the good humoured,
the sweet Miss Ainslie, all alone at Berrywell…
' The two had dinner together – ‘how
well-bred, how frank, how good she is'. There
was no banter, no flirtation here, although
he did note later, ‘I could grasp her
with rapture on a bed of straw'. Burns
was at his gentlemanly best. There was no
sport to be had with his best friend's sister.
This was no ‘piece'. Rachel Ainslie was in
a different class altogether from Nancy Sherriff.
He went on ‘ Charming Rachel! May thy
bosom never be wrung by the evils of this
life of sorrows, or by the villainy of this
world's sons'. His prayer was answered.
She was only nineteen at this time, and although
she lived long, she never married and preferred
to live quite happily at home.
He
went to the local church in Duns with the
family on the Sunday morning and found himself
sitting with Rachel. She couldn't find in
her bible the text the minister, Mr Bowmaker,
had given out, which was on sinners. While
she was looking through the pages, Burns scribbled
the following in his notebook and passed it
to her:
Fair
maid, ye needna take the hint,
Nor
idle texts persue,
‘Twas
guilty sinners that he meant,
Not
angels such as you!
Burns
never lost his admiration for her, but he
always kept his distance, an unusual stance
for him. She was a friend. Strangely, he never ‘ made a song upon her'. Perhaps,
for the first time on the tour, Burns was
able to be himself with a woman.
While
at the Ainslie home he found packets of original
poetry sent to him by Londoner Symon Gray
who wanted Burns' honest opinion. Burns duly
replied to the first package: ‘ Simon
Gray you're dull today'.
And
to the second: ‘ Dullness, wit redoubted
sway, has seized the wits of Symon Gray'.
And
when a third bulky parcel arrived:
‘Dear
Symon Gray, the other day,
When
you sent me some rhyme,
I
could not then just ascertain,
Its
worth for want of time.
But
now today, good Master Gray,
I've
read it o'er and o'er,
Tried
all my skill, but find I'm still,
Just
where I was before.
We
auld wifes' minions gie our opinions,
Solicited
or no',
Then,
of its fau'ts my honest thoughts,
I'll
give - and here they go.
Such
Damn'd bombast no time that's past,
Will
show, or time to come,
So
Symon, dear, your song I'll tear,
And
with it, wipe my bum.
Nothing
further was ever heard from Symon Gray.
Taking
the A6112 we head for Coldstream, the entry
in his journal is short and sweet. “ Monday
7 th May – Coldstream – went over into England”. No more than four words for a significant
invasion. After all Robert Burns had never
stepped on foreign soil, he had never been
out of Scotland before. Ainslie told James
Hogg more than fifty years later that on this
single occasion Burns had knelt down and invoked
a blessing on Scotland, quoting his own work.
He and Ainslie returned to Coldstream and
spent the night there. While at Coldstream
Burns crossed the “ Glorious River Tweed”
and had tea with Mr Brydon. The Coldstream
gaurds, though not raised here, took there
name in memory of marching through here to
defeat Richard Cromwell and place Charles
11 on the throne.
The
Journal continues:
“Tuesday
8th May – Breakfasted at Kelso – fine bridge
over the Tweed – enchanting view and prospects
on both sides of the river, particularly the
Scotch side – visit ruins of Roxburgh Castle
– a bush growing where James 2 nd was accidentally
killed by the bursting of a cannon – bad roads
– magnificent farm houses and fine lands not
above 16 shillings a Scots acre – came up
the Jed to Jedburgh to lie and wish myself
goodnight”.
Passing
through Kelso as we head for Jedburgh we should
get a glimpse of Floors Castle a Georgian
structure with 19 th century turrets and domes.
“Wednesday
9th May – Breakfast with Mr Fair – who is
blind but the first man of business as a Writer
in the town. Mrs Fair, a crazy, talkative
slattern and her sister (Miss Lookup) an old
maid, get into an argument about the relief
minister.
Burns
was glad to escape the two women by going
two miles out of town to attend an auction
of land. He met a Captain Rutherford, an ex-soldier,
who had been in America with the British Army
and had been captured by the Chippewah Indians.
Burns happily accepted his invitation to dine
and was immediately captivated by the daughter.
“Miss
Rutherford a beautiful girl, but to far gone
woman to expose so much of a fine, swelling
bosom…
H
met Mrs Fair and Miss Lookup, the sparring
sisters, the following day when he and Ainslie
were asked to join the ladies in an afternoon
walking party to the Love-lane. The acquaintance
did not improve on either side. This was because
all Burns' attention was given to Miss Isabella
Lindsay, a pretty girl, fond of laughing and
fun, but the other ladies, Miss Lookup in
particular, were keeping a wary eye on them
both. Shaking himself free of Mrs Fair and
Miss Lookup with some difficulty, he
“somehow
or other got hold of Miss Lindsay's arm – my heart thawed into melting pleasure after
being so long frozen up in the Greenland Bay
of indifference amid the noise and nonsense
of Edinburgh. The poet is a point and a half
of being damnably in love.
Just
as Isabella and Burns were getting better
acquainted, Miss Lookup fell upon them reproachfully
and abused the girlparticularly for her flirtatiousness.
Burns had to restrain himself from cursing
her to her face as an interfering old virgin.
After
breakfast the following morning, Burns took
the opportunity of walking with Isabella down
the garden of a friends house. He discovered
that his bosom “ is as tinder as ever…I
find Miss Lindsay would soon play the devil
with me”. He goes on: “After some
little chit-chat of the tender kind, I presented
her with a proof-print of my Nob which
she accepted with something more
than tender gratitude. She told me many little
stories which Miss L had related concerning
her and me, with prolonging pleasure – God
bless her. Was waited on by the Magistrates
and presented with the freedom of the Burgh”.
One
has the feeling he would rather have had the
freedom of Miss Isabella Lindsay! It is typical
of the man that he devotes a paragraph to
chit-chat after breakfast and one line to
a prestigious honour.
Leaving
Jedburgh we head for Melrose and have the
opportunity to visit Dryburgh and Melrose
Abbeys and take in the famous Scott's view.
Depending on time we will have an afternoon
break in Melrose before moving on to the Elphinstone
hotel in Biggar for dinner.
Saying
farewell to Biggar we wend our weary way home
to our respective abodes after having an enjoyable
and informative weekend.
Written
and Researched by Andrew Cooper
Secretary
Mauchline
Burns Club
Mauchline Burns
Club's International Haggis Addresser, Andrew
Cooper addresses the
Haggis
at the
Homecoming windup Party in the Oran
Mhor Glasgow in February 2010.
Could we do it?
Yes we could.
Mauchline
Burns Club are proud to announce that (further
to official confirmation from Guinness World
Records) we now hold the World record for
the biggest haggis ever cooked at 1234 pounds, some
534 pounds above the previous record.
Seen
below, left to right, are Mauchline Burns
Club members Fergie McCartney, Peter Scally (who
masterminded the cooking) and Jim Davidson
The biggest haggis the world
has ever seen was cooked in Mauchline and
it was a half-ton highlight
of the Mauchline Holy Fair. This
great chieftain was truly the greatest of
all time - a massive 1234 pounds. That's
534 pounds more than the previous record,
so the Mauchline record
should stand for years
to come.
Slow
cooking of the haggis began two days before
the Holy Fair.
It
was cooked in a specially made giant stainless
steel tank and no-one could be sure of what would
happen. Would the haggis burst open
and provide the largest tank of haggis soup
the world
has ever seen? And, even if it held, would
such a monster cook right through? Would
it even survive being lifted out of the tank?
Mauchline
Burns Club member Peter Scally, an ex-army
cook, was in charge of the process and he
watched over the haggis like an expectant
father. By the morning of the Holy fair,
the haggis showed
a small split on top and Peter feared it might
also be splitting at the
bottom. But
his nerves were calmed when liquid was drained
from the bottom of the tank - and it was clear.
The
bag survived cooking and lifting and was duly
cut open and addressed in the traditional
way by
Mauchline Burns Club's Andrew Cooper (see
below) before free samples were passed round the
crowd.
The
great event took place on the Bleaching Green,
where Burns met wife-to-be, Mauchline girl, Jean
Armour.
Witnesses
of the record attempt included Chris McCarthy,
managing director of old - established butchers
McKechnie Jess of Greenock who provided the
haggis. Others
were Provost Stephanie Young of East Ayrshire
and Torquil MacLeod, Director of Homecoming
Scotland.
Mauchline
Burns Club are grateful to the many people
who helped enthusiastically to create this
World Record.
Mauchline Burns Club's International Haggis Addresser, Andrew Cooper, addresses the half ton haggis with a 'knife' worthy of it's size. |
The late Fergie McCartney has a taste. |
