'Burns night' in Southern Touraine...

Celebrated 'Burns night' with friends here in France and they did the 'Bard' proud.Excellent meal of cullen skink, tatties,neeps and haggis and rounded off with cranachan.

As the only  Scotsman present I was called upon to read some of the bard's work and do a bit of of chantin' and wheechin.

French connection...

Looking forward to getting back to France...a bit more work to do here but aim to be in Barrou for 16th February. Touched on this before but Ayr has its very own French connection - it is twinned with St.Germaine-en -Laye just outside of Paris.

At 'Place de St.Germaine-en -Laye' you could be forgiven for thinking you just might be in France!

Love the bandstand there.

The towns have been 'twinned' since 1984 and last year there was a 30th aniversary 'Burns Supper' attended by 300 people in France to celebrate the occation. 

In search of the bard...

Friends Mike and Liz will be attending their first Burns Supper soon  (Burns night is 25th January) so we had to take them along to his birthplace and scene of  one of his most famous poems in nearby Alloway 

His humble origins were probably not as nice as this but they have tried to show how the house might have looked and still have some original pieces of his and his parents furniture on display in the nearby heritage centre.

 While we were there the BBC were filming an interview with Ricky Ross (Deacon Blue) on the poet. He insisted on being photographed with me!

We also took them along to the brig o' Doon which features in Burns' 'Tam o'Shanter'

You can read more re this neck of the woods on a previous post here

 Plus more on Rabbie here

Burns Supper...

Attended our first 'Burn's supper' here in France last night excellent night held just outside Le Grand Pressigny by Dave and Jane...Rabbie would have approved - good company music and haggis!