St. Andrews Day

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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:24 am

Not one Scotsperson has mention it.

Here be a poem by Robert Burns.

A Winter Night

When biting Boreas, fell and dour,
Sharp shivers thro' the leafless bow'r;
When Phoebus gies a short-liv'd glow'r,
Far south the lift,
Dim-dark'ning thro' the flaky show'r,
Or whirling drift:

Ae night the storm the steeples rocked,
Poor Labour sweet in sleep was locked,
While burns, wi' snawy wreaths up-choked,
Wild-eddying swirl;
Or, thro' the mining outlet bocked,
Down headlong hurl:

List'ning the doors an' winnocks rattle,
I thought me on the ourie cattle,
Or silly sheep, wha bide this brattle
O' winter war,
And thro' the drift, deep-lairing, sprattle
Beneath a scar.

Ilk happing bird, - wee, helpless thing!
That, in the merry months o' spring,
Delighted me to hear thee sing,
What comes o' thee?
Whare wilt thou cow'r thy chittering wing,
An' close thy e'e?

Ev'n you, on murdering errands toil'd,
Lone from your savage homes exil'd,
The blood-stain'd roost, and sheep-cote spoil'd
My heart forgets,
While pityless the tempest wild
Sore on you beats!

Now Phoebe in her midnight reign,
Dark-muff'd, view'd the dreary plain;
Still crowding thoughts, a pensive train,
Rose in my soul,
When on my ear this plantive strain,
Slow, solemn, stole:

"Blow, blow, ye winds, with heavier gust!
And freeze, thou bitter-biting frost!
Descend, ye chilly, smothering snows!
Not all your rage, as now united, shows
More hard unkindness unrelenting,
Vengeful malice unrepenting.
Than heaven-illumin'd Man on brother Man bestows!

"See stern Oppression's iron grip,
Or mad Ambition's gory hand,
Sending, like blood-hounds from the slip,
Woe, Want, and Murder o'er a land!
Ev'n in the peaceful rural vale,
Truth, weeping, tells the mournful tale,
How pamper'd Luxury, Flatt'ry by her side,
The parasite empoisoning her ear,
With all the servile wretches in the rear,
Looks o'er proud Property, extended wide;
And eyes the simple, rustic hind,
Whose toil upholds the glitt'ring show
A creature of another kind,
Some coarser substance, unrefin'd
Plac'd for her lordly use thus far, thus vile, below!

"Where, where is Love's fond, tender throe,
With lordly Honour's lofty brow,
The pow'rs you proudly own?
Is there, beneath Love's noble name,
Can harbour, dark, the selfish aim,
To bless himself alone?
Mark maiden - innocence a prey
To love-pretending snares:
This boasted Honour turns away,
Shunning soft Pity's rising sway,
Regardless of the tears and unavailing pray'rs!
Perhaps this hour, in Misery's squalid nest,
She strains your infant to her joyless breast,
And with a mother's fears shrinks at the rocking blast!

"Oh ye! who, sunk in beds of down,
Feel not a want but what yourselves create,
Think, for a moment, on his wretched fate,
Whom friends and fortune quite disown!
Ill-satisfy'd keen nature's clamorous call,
Stretch'd on his straw, he lays himself to sleep;
While through the ragged roof and chinky wall,
Chill, o'er his slumbers, piles the drifty heap!
Think on the dungeon's grim confine,
Where Guilt and poor Misfortune pine!
Guilt, erring man, relenting view,
But shall thy legal rage pursue
The wretch, already crushed low
By cruel Fortune's undeserved blow?
Affliction's sons are brothers in distress;
A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss!"

I heard nae mair, for Chanticleer
Shook off the pouthery snaw,
And hail'd the morning with a cheer,
A cottage-rousing craw.
But deep this truth impress'd my mind
Thro' all His works abroad,
The heart benevolent and kind
The most resembles God.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

Quote:

Not one Scotsperson has mention it.

What?! I was asleep. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:15 am

Happy St. Andrews day to all my compatriots Cool

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:40 am

I did notice that the Google (UK) front page today has the the Saltire on it.

When I went to Edinburgh on St George's day, they made a rubbish job of celebrating that, so lets hope for a happier St Andrew's day! Smile

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:37 pm

Up the haggis! A wee dram ae whisky in honour o the day.

Happy Saint Andrew's Day to our Scottish kin.

Love, a Scottish loving sassenach.

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:51 pm

Free Scotland!

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:08 pm

^^^Quote, Love, a Scottish loving sassenach.
Lady Cougar, that is what the highlanders call the lowland scots Laughing

Nicest people i have ever meet, haven't seen the haggis sexer Nanny Ogg on here today.

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:19 am

Years ago I was made an honorary member of The Lake Superior (Canada) Scottish Regiment. Always loved those officers in their kilts especially when they toasted the Queen at parties with one foot upon a chair, which answered the age old question of what is worn under the kilts! Laughing

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:23 am

^^^

Photos??? Laughing

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:25 am

^^^ One must do their own research - which is pretty easy when the toasts to the Queen were done with some great Scotch!! Very Happy

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:46 am

^^^

I forgot to say Happy Saint Andrew's Day!
My dad is from Inverness. He emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada in 1958. All of his side of the family are still in Scotland.

Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:15 am

You all have a great Saint Andrew's Day.