Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Robert Burns, Scotland’s National Bard

• Robert Burns Interactive: Actor Andrew James Weir charmingly plays the part of Robbie Burns, reciting his poetry and talking about his life. Click the picture to get started!

• Robert Burns Country: the official Robert Burns site … lots of interesting stuff. “Everything you wanted to know about Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard (and lots more besides).”

• Wikipedia: Robert Burns

• The Robert Burns Association of North America is dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the life, works and philosophies of Robert Burns, and hosts an annual conference usually in May or June.

• The Robert Burns World Federation has many of Robert Burns’s poems with English translations.

• Gung Haggis Fat Choy: In 1998, Chinese New Year and Robbie Burns Day were only two days apart. Chinese Canadian Todd Wong planned to cook a Chinese New Year’s dinner for some friends, but decided to combine the celebration with Robbie Burns Day. And so the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner began. Here's the whole story: Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner.

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Tartan and Scottish Clothing

• Scottish Highland dress: R. P. Blandford & Son, Ltd. sells and rents high-quality items made in Scotland. Located in Redlands they’re a bit far from Santa Barbara, but they have a complete line of merchandise in stock.

• Scottish History Online: History of Scottish Tartan & Clan Tartans, a brief overview from ancient to modern times, and how the various clans came to be associated with their tartans.

• Wikipedia: Tartan; History of the Kilt

• Scottish Tartans Museum has a page on The Kirkin’ of the Tartans Tradition which presents valuable historical background for this modern ceremony.

• A page about our own Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan.

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Scottish Games

• Seaside Scottish Highland Games, a short drive down the road in Ventura.

• San Diego Highland Games: History of the Scottish Games

• Wikipedia: Highland games

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Scottish Dance

• The Bracknell Reel Club has dance instructions and a brief history, Background to Scottish Country Dancing.

• Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Los Angeles Branch

• Royal Scottish Country Dance Society: Classes in Santa Barbara

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Scottish Music …

• An introduction to the Gaelic music tradition and its connection with the language.

• A short article on Piobaireachd with interesting history and traditions.

• Temple Records in Midlothian, Scotland, specializes in “the best in Scottish Traditional Music, plus a little bit of Irish Music for good measure,” including such well-known acts as The Battlefield Band.

• The Clarsach Society: History of the Harp in Scotland

• The Music of James Scott Skinner has a wealth of material on this key figure in Scottish traditional music, including excerpts from his recordings made in 1910 and 1922.

• Andrew Lens’s Bagpipe Journey is an entertaining and informative website for pipers from beginners to professionals, with helpful articles on the practicalities of the Highland Bagpipe from how to find a teacher to how to season a bag.

• Wikipedia: The Great Highland Bagpipe; also see Bagpipes

• Andrew McNabb: Introduction to Bagpipe Music

• Ewan Macpherson: The Pitch and Scale of the Great Highland Bagpipe

… and Local Musicians

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Saint Andrew, Scotland’s Patron Saint

• National Archives of Scotland: Saint Andrew — how he became Scotland’s patron saint, his symbolic importance in Scottish diplomacy, and the origin of the saltire flag.

• Wikipedia: Saint Andrew; Scottish Legends about Saint Andrew

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Historic Sites

• Ardgrain is thought to be the oldest house in Buchan, Aberdeenshire.

• Historic Scotland is the agency safeguarding Scotland’s historic environment. Their web site has a great deal of information, though you may have to do a bit of searching to find what you’re looking for.

Robert Burns   ·   Tartan & Clothing   ·   Games   ·   Dance
Music   ·   St. Andrew   ·   Historic Sites   ·   Culture & Language

Scottish Culture

• See Rickey Pittman’s Books page for The Scottish Alphabet, a charmingly illustrated book for young children with scenes of Highland culture. The Scottish Alphabet Sample gives you a free preview. And here’s a review.

• Scotland — the Official Online Gateway provides information on the community of Scotland, living, working, studying, visiting, and doing business in Scotland, with links to other official Scottish sites.

• Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts was founded in 1938 as a school devoted to the study and preservation of the Gaelic language, arts and culture. They have a page of Useful Gaelic Expressions with sounds, so you can hear the pronunciation.

• Rampant Scotland has a page of links to Gaelic and Scots language sites.

• “For mony bairns, Scots is the language o the hame.” Scuil Wab has activities using the Scots language for young children and teens.

• scots-online.org has a Scots Language Translating Dictionary, articles, Scots literature, and more — “Pittin the Mither Tongue on the Wab!” Hae a leuk at the Introduction to Modern Scots.

• Humor: What’s Under the Kilt? — “an insightful and humorous look at the Scots.”