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Recent Happenings 2009–2010Scottish Society Meetings & Special Events 2009–2010 · 2008–2009 · 2007–2008 June 12th: Installation Dinner at The SizzlerOur members and guests started off the summer with dinner and friendly companionship, with piping by Bob and Jim on small pipes and Highland pipes, and Robert W. on tin whistle. May 15th: Beltaine Potluck SupperMay is the month of our annual business meeting and election of next year’s officers. We feasted on spring salads, tasty entrées and desserts, and discussed ideas for coming programs. Entertainment: bagpipes and Scottish music, of course!
April 25th: Kirkin’ o’ the TartanThe Scottish Society again hosted the annual Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan and Blessing of the Wee Beasties at Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara. See the 2008 photos and description for more info. We gathered on the lawn afterward for conversation over tea and cookies, and then dinner at The Sizzler in Goleta. Charlotte Boechler covered the Kirkin’ for The Santa Barbara News-Press, April 28 edition, with photos by Matt Wier. You can find it here: Bless the Pets (registration required).  March 20th: Irish Potatoes and Scottish Country DanceSince St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Scotland as well as Ireland, we feasted on delicious Irish potatoes and toppings prepared by Kathleen, with salads and desserts brought by everyone else. After that, we moved the tables out of the way and were entertained by Frank Ibbott’s Scottish Country Dance students, who got us out of our chairs to join them for some of the dances. January 23rd: Robert Burns Potluck CelebrationOur Robert Burns Pot-luck Celebration at the Church of St. Andrew was a great success! Thanks to all who came and joined in the friendly atmosphere. We had 92 guests altogether, filling all our tables. There were so many tasty dishes it was like a huge Thanksgiving dinner in January! There was more than enough variety and quantity, with plenty of salads, main courses, desserts and, of course, Kathleen’s delicious haggis and neeps. Thanks also to those who helped set up during the day and who stayed after and helped put things away, and to those who contributed to prizes for the drawings. Your contributions are very much appreciated. Last, but certainly not least, thanks to all those who helped make this a traditional Burns Night dinner: Henryk for saying the Serkirk Grace, Andy for his superbly performed Address to the Haggis, Barbara and her piano accompanist Elaine for the songs by Robert Burns, Robert and Lilian for their amusing Toasts to the Lassies and Laddies, Vince for leading us in singing Rantin’ Rovin’ Robin, and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Pipe and Drum Corps for the traditional pipe tunes. We all had such a good time, we’ll probably do a pot-luck again next year! To get an idea of what it was like, see photos of our 2008 Robert Burns Celebration at St. Andrew. November 14th: St. Andrew Pies & Peas DinnerSt. Andrew is Scotland’s patron saint, and we celebrated St. Andrew’s Day with a delicious dinner prepared by Kathleen and Emma. We started with salad and moved on to meat pies, peas, sausages, mashed potatoes and gravy, with apple pie for dessert. Pastor Dr. Brett Becker told us about the Church of St. Andrew, and entertainment was provided by pipers from the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department. And the harp and tin-whistle duo of Patricia and Robert played Scottish fiddle and pipe tunes including The Drunken Piper, Neil Gow’s Lament for his Second Wife, and The Ewie with the Crookit Horn. Wikipedia has an article about St. Andrew and his connection with Scotland. 
September 19th: Poetry of Robert FergussonWe started off the fall season with pipe music and good friends, and a talk about the Scottish poet Robert Fergusson (1750–74). Dr. Henryk Minc described Fergusson’s short life and his influence on the young Robert Burns, and read some of Fergusson’s poems. Kathleen again brought her delicious cock-a-leekie soup, which has become a tradition for our fall meeting. Bronze statue of Robert Fergusson outside Canongate Kirk. Photo © copyright Brian D. Osborne, licensed for August 30th: Scottish Country Tea DanceThe Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Los Angeles Branch, hosted a dance from 3–6 p.m. at Serra Hall near the Santa Barbara Mission, with tea and other refreshments provided by the Santa Barbara students of dance instructor Frank Ibbott. There were 14 Scottish country dances in all, with a break in the middle of the program for refreshments. The weather was quite warm enough for iced tea, but we found the hot tea, sandwiches and pastries to be just right. The dance was so enjoyed by those attending that many asked for it to be an annual event. |
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Correspondence: Scottish Society of Santa Barbara |
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