The Robert Burns World Federation Newsletter Issue 5 September 2013 The main topic for this newsletter is the wonderfully successful Federation Annual Conference held in the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. The highlight of the weekend was the inauguration of a new President when Mrs Jane Brown took over office from Mr Bob Stewart after his outstanding year in post. It may come as a surprise to some that Jane is actually the sixth female President because many are under the impression that the ‘Burns Movement’ is an exclusively male domain. It can only be hoped that Jane’s year in office will see more lasses being encouraged to take on prominent positions within the Federation. On that note, the saddest part of the Conference was the announcement that the Office Administrator Corinne Buivenga will be leaving in November because she is moving out of the area. I wish to record my heartfelt thanks to her for her support and encouragement. We will all miss her cheery presence in the office. Editor In this Issue: Page Song Composed in August - Federation Annual Conference 1-2 - Burnsong 2-3 - Thornhill Burn s Club Anniversary 3 Now westlin winds and slaught’ring guns - Brow Well Commemoration 4 Bring Autumn’s pleasant weather; - Calgary and Irvine Burns Clubs 4 The gorcock springs on whirring wings - Burns Encyclopaedia 5 - Edinburgh Celebrations 5-6 Amang the blooming heather: - Dalkeith Memorial Campaign 6 Now wavering grain, wide o’er the plain, - ‘Rabbies Girls’ Burns Night 7 Delights the weary farmer; - Dover and East Kent Scottish Society 7 The moon shines bright, as I rove by night - Trysting Thorn + Highland Mary Monument 8 To muse upon my charmer. - Coila 8-9 - Ayr Flower Show 9 - Wreath Laying Kilmarnock Cross 9 - Irvine Lasses 10 - Houston Burns Supper 10-11 - Cape Town Burns Supper 11 - Robert Burns the Biker 11-12 by Robert Burns - ‘The Year of the Haggis’ Launch 12 President Jane Takes Over The Federation’s Annual Conference was held in the very impressive setting of the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow over the weekend of 6-8 September. In addition to the AGM, two splendid dinners, a ceilidh and a dance, the main event was the inauguration of the new President of the Federation Jane Brown. During the handover Jane was generous in her praise of the work done by outgoing President Bob Stewart. He had been a fantastic ambassador for the Federation during his year of office and guided it through difficult financial times and led its emergence as a revitalised and dynamic organisation. In response he acknowledged the tremendous support he had received from everyone but, most especially, from his charming wife Frances. Newsletter Editor -Mike Duguid (Literature Convenor) Registered Office: Dower House, Dean Castle Country Park, Kilmarnock KA3 1XB Company Registration No 196895 Email [email protected] Tel: 01557 860040 Scottish Charity No SC029099 e-mail: [email protected] Tel 01563 572469 Website address: www.rbwf.org.uk To unsubscribe please email [email protected] Newsletter Page 2 of 8 The Bard in New Zealand As an added extra to the annual conference a ‘President’s Gathering’ quiz was held in Glasgow; it which was won by the Past Presidents of Ayrshire Association of Burns Clubs, and a social with contributions from the gathering. One turn which went down particularly well was a poem The Search Goes On recited by Jeanette McFarland pictured right with her husband Travis. Jeanette, from Auckland, was attending the conference with the aim of picking up ideas for the Robert Burns Pacific Rim Association Conference due to be held in Auckland in 2014. The opening verse read: I'm searching for a man - not any man will do I've a short list of applicants that I am sifting through some are so inferior they don't fit my criteria I have my standards - he's got to tick the box there seems to be a shortage: are we running low on stocks? am I right to be so fussy I'm no Gorgeous Gussie - and it's true a man's a man for a' that and a' that... but ah, how my starved heart yearns for a real man like Robbie Burns The poem was written by Barbara Hawthorn from Auckland for a Burns Society function in 2008. While Barbara admits that she does not have “a single drop of Scottish blood”, her husband cherishes his Scottish roots and is deeply involved in Scottish society activities within New Zealand. Barbara says she always feels honoured to be included as “an alien in the midst of the tartan throng” She is a retired maths teacher and is a prolific poet, well worth a read, who publishes her work on her blog: www.behwordz.blogspot.co.nz The remaining verses of the The Search Goes On can be found on the website under her January poems. Honorary Presidents One of the highlights of the Annual General Meeting was the announcement of the award of ‘Honorary President’ to three stalwarts of the Federation. On the left of picture are George and Enez Anderson, both past Presidents, who continue to give outstanding support. Second from the right is the much-loved ex-Chief Executive Shirley Bell who continues to offer her guidance and support. Also in the picture are Alex and May Crawley from Canada who had received their awards during the Robert Burns Association North America conference earlier in the year. ‘Burnsong’ Burnsong, which ran its first programme of events in 2005, was conceived in response to the then First Minister's call for innovative ways to celebrate Robert Burns, his heritage in Scotland and beyond. Focusing on songwriting, Burnsong has continued to support songwriters from Scotland, and further afield, through workshops, competitions, and tuition. Burnsong pioneered the songwriting "hothouse" - a retreat where songwriters from differing genres spend a week writing new material, but instead of writing in isolation, they Newsletter Page 3 of 8 tested their skills (and sometimes their comfort zones) by writing in collaboration with another songwriter. The "Gathering" has continued - an open invitation, generally once a year, which selects two or three of Scotland's best current songwriters to attend a songwriting retreat. Songs are submitted anonymously, selected by a panel of experts, and the winners go on to attend a tutored retreat. Early on, under the direction of Professor Nigel Osborne, a course for songwriters on how they might approach formal teaching in a school or college setting provided both information and confidence for a group of ten songwriters. A further development, Teach, Write, Create is the educational pack, a resource for teachers or songwriters on planning, delivering and celebrating new songs written by school children. The pack was written from an educational standpoint, to mesh with the school curriculum, and it has supported a series of "Burns and Rivers" projects in schools, which start with Burns' own work on nature, and move on to inspire new work from the children. Adult songwriters, either emergent or established, have enjoyed retreats in the Galloway countryside, from which the new songs have come in huge numbers. Burnsong has hosted at least ten, and the average number of songs created is never less than thirty, which means that the world is richer by over 300 songs. The most recent event was in partnership with the University of Bath Spa, under the direction of Prof. Joe Bennett, head of the songwriting school, and is the second to be held at Shennanton House, Wigtownshire; participants from Scotland, England, Norway, Switzerland, USA and the Netherlands were grouped with leading songwriters including Jez Ashurst, Andy White and Boo Hewardine. Between them something like forty new songs have been crafted, started, and many of them sung with panache at the two sharing gigs at Bladnoch Distillery. The buzz in the room, and later across social media, has been in direct relation to the energy on stage at the gigs - considerable. Perhaps the best accolade has come from Ian Green, of Greentrax, who posted on Facebook .... "when you see bands like Kilmarnock Edition coming out of Burnsong, you realise how important it is" . For Burnsians, the focus on contemporary songwriting in many styles is a tribute to Burns' own interest in song, and his understanding that the song carries the message almost more powerfully than anything else. [Submitted by Jennifer Wilson, Hon Secretary, Burnsong. For further information see www.burnsong.org] Thornhill Burns Club 10th Anniversary On Saturday the 20th July Thornhill District Burns Club held a Burns Supper and incorporated celebrating the club's tenth anniversary. The club was established in Thornhill 1925-39 and re-established in 2003. Top table were from left to right Kate Kaye who replied to the toast to the lassies, Stephan Hastie delivered the immortal memory, the club's president Ronnie Cairns, publicity officer Halina Cairns, William Crawford proposed the toast to the lassies and Rev. Ella Pennington the grace. The haggis was piped in by William Prentice carried by Geoff Martyniuk and addressed by Iain Rogers. We had songs from Victoria Hastie and Les Byers and were also entertained by Nathan King, Mhari Dalgleish and Catherine Anderson. The VOT was by Peter Moran. Newsletter Page 4 of 8 Annual Brow Well Gathering Burnsians from all parts of Scotland assembled at the Brow Well near Ruthwell on the evening of 17th July when President Mrs. Jane Brown of the Southern Scottish Counties Burns Association welcomed the company. The official party of Burns Club presidents and delegates were piped to the well by Pipe Major Callum Watson.