Edited by Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Dawsonville, GA, USA
Email: jurascot@earthlink.net

This is an unusual presentation in that the Robert Burns World Federation has begun distributing a newsletter and, yes, you will find Issue 1 below.  It’s the first time I have felt the necessity to include an organization’s newsletter on our web site. I do so for several reasons, and I have been given permission by Mike Duguid, Editor of The Robert Burns Federation Newsletter, to put the entire newsletter on the pages of Robert Burns Lives!. The federation is seeking new members and among the many benefits of a membership is the annual Burns Chronicle produced by friend and colleague Bill Dawson who has done an outstanding job since he became editor. Now we have a newsletter as well. Their annual meeting is worthy of your time, and I have been able to attend two of them - in Atlanta and Ayr. I have been a member of the federation for years and find the Chronicle an indispensable research source when writing an article or preparing a speech on Burns.  Some of our readers are already members, but let me encourage those who are not to consider this resourceful avenue.

All you have to do is contact the federation office for the necessary information. Believe me when I tell you that your participation is not only needed by the federation but will become an interesting part of your life, especially those who have a desire or the need to learn more about Robert Burns. I have worked hard over the years to collect every issue of the Burns Chronicle and probably have 99% of them. You might even find yourself collecting them one day! I would like to congratulate the federation for reverting back to the practice of publishing only one annual volume - some things are best left “the old way”!

There is a brief article on page 3 of the newsletter below on Robert Burns Lives!. I’m never comfortable accepting compliments, and this is no exception, but I do thank Mike for allowing the article to appear in his newsletter, particularly in the first ever issue when there are so many more speakers with more intriguing topics. Also you will find a photo of the Burns Club of Atlanta that I am particularly proud of which I was so fortunate to take on January 3, 2003 after a rare blanket of snow in Atlanta. The picture appeared on the program of ROBERT BURNS: AT HOME AND ABROAD, A One-Day Conference Hosted by the Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow on January 12, 1013. In addition, I would like to thank administrative assistant Corinne Buivenga, (pronounced “bouffin hah”) for sending me the newsletter in a Word document format so I could transfer and share it on our web site.

It is with humble thanks and appreciation I bring you Chapter 166 of Robert Burns Lives!. (FRS: 3.6.13)

I wasn't able to include the newsletter in here due to formatting issues but have converted it to a pdf file which you can...

Download here