Hopes are high for Burns club return
Covid-19 puts plans on hold...for now
This weekend many Strath residents will be tucking into haggis, neeps and tatties, or raising a toast to the Bard as the country celebrates the birth of Robert Burns.
Unfortunately, there will be none of the usual Burns suppers memorialising Scotland’s favourite poet this year.
However, hopes are high that what used to be a staple in the Strath’s social calendar could be resurrected in 2022 .
Strathearn Burns Club was in danger of folding at the beginning of last year.
Formed in 1889 and one of the oldest clubs affiliated with the Burns Federation, the club was left with only one remaining member – Crieff ’s Stewart McBain, who acted as president, treasurer and secretary.
But, following an appeal in the Strathearn Herald, new interest was generated and Mr McBain decided to continue the club’s membership with the federation.
Strathearn Burns Club used to attract upwards of 150 guests to its annual Burns suppers, and it is hoped these days can return.
An online presence to bring the club into the modern day is also planned to help spark the resurrection.
Mr McBain told the Herald: “So that we will retain continuity with the Robert Burns World Federation, I took the decision to pay the
£77 annual subscription and we are ready to pursue bringing the club back to life when the Covid-19 virus is finally behind us.
“With the invaluable help of Ian Stewart, immediate past chairman of Crieff Highland Gathering, we had managed to engender some interest in regenerating the club but, as with so many other activities and interests, we had to shelve planning and recruitment for the foreseeable future.
“There remains hope that we may hold a Burns Supper in 2022.
“Meanwhile, Ian Stewart is setting up a Strathearn Burns Club Facebook page and we hope to establish a social media presence during the coming year.”
Ian Stewart has also been helping out his friends across the pond at the Scottish Heritage Association of Northeast Ohio with its virtual Robert Burns celebration event, which is on Facebook this week.
To help promote the Strathearn Burns Club, he gave them a rendition of Tam O’Shanter which was filmed at Drummond Castle and can be found on YouTube.
Mr Stewart commented: “I’ve always had an interest in Burns and hadn’t heard much about the club in a long time until the article, so that’s why I contacted Stewart to get involved.
“Unfortunately with the current situation, we have not been able to do an awful lot.
“The good news in a sense though is that there are a couple of people interested now but until we get beyond this virus situation there is not a lot we can do.
“This last year was not any good for us for going forward but hopefully this year we can.”
Burns expert Mr McBain has picked a suitable verse of Rabbie’s to sum up the current climate.
He added: “With regard to a poem, I think we could do worse than go to our old favourite ‘ To a Mouse’, written by Burns in 1785. ‘But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain : The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft a-gley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain
For promis’d joy.
Still thou art blest compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee: But oh ! I backward cast my e’e On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear!’
If you’re toasting the bard at home this weekend or reciting some of his poetry, send your pictures to news@ strathearnherald.co.uk.