Hello and welcome to a great new idea. This story – first posted for Burns celebrations in 2010 – takes a new turn for 2011 as Clan Radio joins with Kiltr (social media networking for the Scottish diaspora) to bring you the Burns Super Supper. Click here to enjoy the feast.
The story began this way in 2010…
Here’s your invitation to host a traditional Burns Supper – with pipes, poetry, speeches and song – for a very inventive fundraising campaign during January and February. “It’s a credit crunch Burns supper”, says Mary Millar of the Meningitis Research Foundation who has teamed up with Clan Radio to provide you with the essential DIY kit. The only thing they don’t do is cook and eat the haggis for you! (click below to hear a taster).
For a that, and a’ that,
It’s comin’ yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brithers be for a’ that.”
The aim (which fits well with the World Kitchen) is to encourage families and community groups to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) with the help of a “Burns Super Supper” CD produced by the internet radio station Clan Radio.
For a donation of £5 you get the CD which guides you through the complete Burns Supper from the piping in of the haggis to Auld Lang Syne through all the toasts (to the haggis, the Immortal Memory, the lassies, and a’ that) with poetry and song – and a 30 minute interlude of music to give you time for some eating and drinking. Anything else you raise during the supper (say, £5 per guest) can be sent to MRF (see below).
To listen to sampled extracts of the Burns Super Supper click here: Burns Super Supper Taster by innerear
“Instead of one big fundraising event we are looking for lots of people to contribute relatively small amounts from lots of different events,” says Mary Millar. “It’s a credit crunch way for people to celebrate Burns and help charity”.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
The inspiration comes from Robert Mackenzie who started Clan Radio to broadcast the highlights of the annual Gaelic talent show (The Mod). He now finds an “almost scary” amount of interest in Burns from different people across the world. That set him thinking:. “Wait a minute, I would love to have a CD that tells me how to run a proper Burns Supper.”
The result is “the world’s first interactive Burns Supper” – 80 minutes of beautifully produced downloadable music, song and poetry (from singers and musicians giving their time freely, many of them volunteers working in hospital radio). The podcast programme will be broadcast on Burns Night (Monday 25 January) beginning at 8 pm on Clan Radio with listeners across the world. But as Mary points out the Burns Supper season lasts until the end of February, ” the CD lets you organise your own event wherever and whenever it suits you”.
The campaign hopes each supper will raise at least £50. (Anyone raising more than £250 gets a free bottle of whisky.) To find out more and to get your CD, contact Dawn Carrie or Alison Baker on 0131 510 2345 or email dawncarrie@scotland-meningitis.org.uk
Both Mary and Robert are keen to connect with ethnic minority community groups, emphasising the international appeal of Burns.