Och aye, laddies! 'Twas a night to remember, and the ghost of Robbie Burns must still be smiling after the jollifications to celebrate his birthday. On January 27th of this year 2012, Hermanus Bowling Club held its first Robbie Burns Night celebration, and what a night it was, with Scots and ordinary mortals alike making sure that the memory of the great poet, composer and ladies man from the land of heather and bagpipes would endure for yet another year.
After all the guests had enjoyed a welcoming drink and had settled themselves at their tables, proceedings were opened with a toast to Scotland, followed by a reading of the traditional Selkirk Grace by that canny Scotsman and chief organiser, Andy MacRae. Cock-a-Leekie soup followed, and then it was time for the Haggis to make it's eagerly awaited entrance !
Led by that splendid Piper, Roger Hendry, club Chef Quinton carried the beast through the applauding throng and ceremoniously presented it to the head table, where it was briefly addressed and summarily dispatched to Haggis heaven ......
After the main course (with morsels of the late Haggis) and sweet, the 100-strong gathering listened appreciatively to a splendid address by Alan Calder (renowned Hermanus Scot and golfing partner to Andy MacRae) lauding, in rousing fashion, the Immortal Memory of Burns :
After a session of pipe tunes by Roger, Andy again took to the microphone to present the Toast to the Lassies,
which was duly followed by a Response from the Lassies delivered by Avril Sinclair......
What was scheduled to be a rollicking end to the evening, the singing of well-known Scottish ditties by the jolly crowd, ended up as something of a disappointment due to the inadequacies of the antiquated sound system installed in the clubhouse. Rumour has it that this system is soon to be replaced, which is good news. After all, one of the leading function venues in the town can surely not continue to rely on such outdated equipment.
A hearty rendition of Burn's best known composition, Auld Lang Syne, restored the gathering to good humour, and suitably brought down the curtain on a most enjoyable night. Many a comment was made anticipating the 2013 event. A final happy note: the club benefited from a generous donation of R3000 presented by the evening's sponsors, deVere (South Africa).
