Burns Night

Balliol celebrated Burns night last weekend! Robert burns was a Scottish poet, who influenced many poets to followe. To name a few, John Steinbeck took the title of 'Of Mice and Men' from the last stanza of Burns' poem 'To a Mouse': "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley." Bob Dylan selected Burns' 1974 song 'A Red, Red Rose' as the lyric that had the biggest effect on his life.

Anyway, the brits celebrate Burns by eating haggis (sheep heart, liver, and lungs mixed with oatmeal and spices!) and drinking a lot of scotch. The haggis was brought out on a huge platter, and led by a bagpiper. With the dinner came some readings from Burns' works, and 'Burns': the guys of the college read a speech mocking (burning) the girls in the college, and vica versa. The night finished with more Scotch, and a ceilidh, a traditional scottish dance. Below is the haggis, and some post-dinner socializing.