I hope you are feeling well rested after the festive season. Holidays can bring a mix of emotions, where feelings, both good and bad, are magnified and intensified. Good cheer, warmth and optimism are often counterbalanced by sadness, nostalgia and loneliness. Rest and relaxation alternate with stress and rushing about.
As I rode in the bus, first day back to work after the holidays, I reflected that one of the primary joys and attributes of Scottish Country dancing is that it provides us the opportunity to escape the myriad of mundane daily thoughts and worries to live wholly in the moment. We all know how hard it is to dance successfully if we can’t turn our internal chatter off and focus the mind and body on the task at hand. And what a “task” it is! - full of motion, music, poise, human interaction… truly good for body and soul!
Don’t forget that Saturday, January 14, is our Twelfth Night Social. It takes place at Vanier School on Ennis Avenue, and we request that you be there in time to start dancing at 8:00 pm sharp! Corryvreckan will be playing for us, and if you haven’t picked up a booklet with the dance descriptions, they will be available at class this coming Monday and Thursday, or at the social. There is a $10 door fee to cover costs, and it would be appreciated if everyone brought a small snack to share with others at the intermission.
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cups shortening
6 tbsp. cold water
Stir rolled oats, flour, sugar, salt and soda in a bowl. Work in shortening with fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle with water, form into a ball with your hands. Roll out fairly thin on a floured surface. Cut in 2 ½ inch squares or circles. Arrange on a lightly greased (or parchment paper-lined) cookie sheet. Bake in a 375° F oven for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Enjoy!
Submitted by Louise Beaton
Some years ago I was invited to propose the "Toast to the Lassies" at the Leamington Spa RSCDS Branch Christmas dinner. My research into the origin of the term led inevitably to the works of Robert Burns and some interesting linkages with Miss Jean Milligan, the co-founder of the RSCDS, and Thomas Mickle, a great Scottish explorer who accompanied Marco Polo on his travels to Asia in the 13th Century. Although our Scottish members will already be familiar with this story, it may be new to others.
Robert Burns is famous for his poems and prose, written in a language which is largely incomprehensible to speakers of English. Born on 25 January 1759 in a thatched cottage in Alloway, he was a famous womaniser who is credited with personally arresting the population decline in his home area. When he was fourteen he was sent to Ayr to lodge with an English teacher called John Murdoch, who also taught him to write musical scores, as well as Latin, Science and History.
Burn's first score dates from this period - the piece in question was Elizabeth Paton. She lived over the baker's shop across the road from Murdoch's house, and was the subject of a bawdy Burns' poem "My girl's so airy", published just before she gave birth to his first illegitimate child on 22 May 1785. The baby was named Liz after her mother. Liz senior was followed by Nelly Kilpatrick and a year later by Peggy Thomson but, as all Scots know, Liz was Burns’ first love. She is featured in his very first attempt at poetry after their first romantic encounter. Carried away by the memories of the dalliance on the previous evening, Burns wrote in the vernacular style for which he eventually became so famous, but incorporated a word of Latin ("Amo" = "I love"):
"Liz, Amo, strong spurtle in eternityIf you take the first letters of the words in these lines, you will see that they make up the words "LASSIE" and "TOAST". Cryptographers have since discovered that these acronyms (or the variation "LASSY") occur frequently in Burns' poems.
The spurtle was, of course, the spoon used for stirring the porridge and it was probably this phallic imagery of Liz grasping the spurtle which raised the puritanical ire of John Murdoch, leading him to interrupt Burns' first poetic effort with a hefty clout. The Spurtle is now well known as a dance movement, while the "Silver Tassie" is the name of a very popular Strathspey.
When Burns was in his heyday as a poet, all men wore the sporran but it was (and still is) forbidden apparel for a lady. In his amorous dalliances Burns soon learned that he could measure a lady's interest by the attention she gave to his sporran - if she tried to swing it to the side, he knew he was in with a chance. This prompted him to write "Ladies all swing sporran yearn". (Note again the acronym "LASSY").
In the early days of the RSCDS there was, in fact, a move to allow ladies to wear the Sporran, but this idea was firmly squashed by Miss Milligan, who ruled that formal wear for ladies would comprise a white gown with a tartan sash. She was a purist who believed strongly in limiting relationships to flirtatious glances and the light touch of hands. She realized that the scope for such touches would be enhanced if a lady could ask her partner to check that the sash was pinned properly to her bosom, or to run his hands over her buttocks to ensure that the sash was hanging smoothly.
The sporran was, of course, the invention of Thomas Mickle, that great Scottish explorer I have already mentioned. When he travelled with Marco Polo to China in the 13th Century, he wore the then traditional Scots garb of a length of woven cloth, kilted about the waist, with the remaining material tossed over his shoulder, a claymore in his belt, and a bag to carry his most valued possessions, because the kilt has no pockets and the sporran had not yet been invented.
Thomas left Marco in China and went on alone to Japan seeking goods which could be sold in Scotland. At that time the Japanese used small bars of silver called "an" as currency. They wore pocket-less kimonos with a wide belt called the "obi". Their "an" was carried in pouches suspended from a short silk cord, with a carved "netsuke" or "mouse" at the other end, which was tucked into the obi. When he asked what this pouch was called, he was told: "That's for 'an.' Thomas decided that this product would go well with the kilt, and stole the design for use in Scotland. He adopted the phrase "----'s for an" as his brand name, though he later changed this to "Sporran" as tooth-less Scots found the original name hard to pronounce. Back in Scotland the product sold so well that Thomas changed his name to Mickle o'Sporran, which later became contracted to MacSporran. The name MacSporran became the name of the custodian of the clan silver and it is still in use to this day.
While travelling with Marco Polo Thomas lived mainly on a food concentrate called Ha-Chi-Sir meaning "the Sneeze of Death". They discovered this product in the mountains of West China where it was the staple diet. (In Chinese "Hachi" means "sneeze", while "Sir" means "Death"). The concentrate consisted of grain and herbs, chopped liver and many other nourishing ingredients sealed and carried in a sheep's gut. The product had a long shelf life and, understandably, no animals would touch it. Thomas brought the recipe for Ha-Chi-Sir back to Scotland, initially calling it Ha-Gi-Sir to avoid copyright problems. In the vernacular this name was shortened to haggis, when it was immortalised by Burns in the Ode to the Haggis.
In later life it was not always easy for Burns to sneak out of the
house to pursue his romantic interests with the lassies. His wife was
always very suspicious if he announced in the evening that he was off
for a breath of air or to stretch his legs. By coincidence many Scottish
shepherds had adopted the English name of Lassie for their sheepdogs.
Sadly, there had been a decline in the woollen industry at this time,
and many sheepdogs had been abandoned because there was no work for them.
There were stray sheepdogs all over the town and, like many other kind
hearted Scots, Burns and his wife would save their stale bread, toast it
and give it to the strays. So Burns found he could easily escape from the
house for a while, simply by telling his wife:
"I'm awa' to gie the Toast to the Lassies".
And so, whenever Scots and their friends join together to eat, drink and make merry on formal occasions, they eat Haggis and the memory of Burns is preserved forever in the "Ode to the Haggis" and the "Toast to the Lassies".
[Those interested in finding out more about Robert Burns, might like to check a web site set up by the National Library of Scotland and what is described as the official Burns web site]
Reprinted from the Scotch Circle, Vol.22 No.4 Nov. 2002
and Vol.23 No.1 Feb. 2003
RSCDS Canberra and District Branch
The Ladies Man
from Pat’s Party Pieces, by Pat Batt of Barnet, England
I’m a two-sex Scottish Dancer, and may seem rather dim,
As I never spend one evening as a full time her or him.
I change my sex from dance to dance, my corners always alter.
It’s really not surprising I occasionally falter.
The old and simple dances I can manage very nicely,
And I can learn a new dance, and do it most precisely.
But when it comes to next week, I don’t know if I can,
For I learnt it as a woman and dance it as a man.
And so, you men who have the luck to stay always the same,
When female gentlemen go wrong, be sparing of your blame.
I’ll add a postscript to this tale – one comfort I have got.
When both the women change their sex, it doesn’t show a lot.
The Burns Night Supper, hosted by the St. Andrew’s Society, will be held this year on Saturday, January 28, at the Legion Hall in Pleasantville. Come at 7:00pm for 7:30pm. Tickets are $40 per person, and can be obtained from members of the Society. Noreen MacLennan and Penny Gillies will also have them available at class.
The bill of fare, apart from the usual haggis, roast beef dinner, pipe band, ceilidh dancing led by Noreen and Martin, with Corryvreckan, includes:
| Address to the Haggis: | Nigel Duguid |
| The Immortal Memory: | Stewart Gillies |
| The Toast to Newfoundland: | Di Dabinett |
| The Toast to Scotland: | Lloyd Pike |
| The Toast to the Lassies: | Phil Bording |
Newsletter editor: Mary Bridson, mbridson@mun.ca