My
Long-Awaited Journey Through Burns Country
By Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Atlanta, GA, USA
This past August, after a fun-filled
week in Edinburgh enjoying the best ever tattoo according to those “who
know”, and an all too brief jaunt into the Highlands to see all lands once
occupied by but still held sacred by Clan Shaw members, my wife Susan and
I dropped our traveling companions, Dr. David Shi, President of Furman
University, and his lovely wife Susan at the Inverness airport early one
morning. We then proceeded to do something we had never done on our
previous trips to Scotland - drive toward Burns Country to visit as many
of the historical places as we can that were made famous by the National
Poet of Scotland whom we have come to love and respect as much as any
native Scot.
Our first stop was in Glasgow to
visit George Square and the Mitchell Library. There is a magnificent
statue of Robert Burns in George Square and once the pigeons gave me a
brief respite from landing on the head of the statue and my dodging their
missiles, I took several pictures. Not far away, towering over the Burns
statue, was one of my hero, Sir Walter Scott. It is so high that you have
to crane your neck to see the top of it. About 10:30 a.m. we made our way
over to the Mitchell Library to see the reputed world’s largest collection
of Burns books and Burnsiana. Unfortunately, there was no one available to
show us through the Burns Library because everyone was “on break”. They
advised us to come back at 2:30 that afternoon. I asked if 1:30 would be
okay since we needed to head on down toward Ayr. “No sir,” the
receptionist said, “They will be on afternoon break.” No comment. I’ll
phone ahead next time to see if an appointment can be made.
After a pretty decent pizza for lunch,
we lingered in George Square until the appointed hour and finally got in
to see the marvelous treasure of Burns items. Our hostess was Elaine
Stanier, Team Librarian, a most courteous guide. Their Burns room is about
the size of the basketball gyms I remember playing ball in as a boy in
Mullins and North Charleston, SC. You could literally spend days and days
in the library pouring over the 5,000+ books on Robert Burns. Be still, my
panting heart!
Unfortunately, explained Ms. Stanier,
the only person on the library staff knowledgeable about Burns had
recently resigned, and there was no one to answer our specific questions.
Be still, my burning heart! Susan and I did spend over an hour pulling
books and jotting down the necessary information to seek them out on
Amazon.com, etc. Luckily, I’ve been able to purchase a few since returning
from Scotland. Our guide did give me a Robert Burns bookmark that the
library had used for a conference, and it is highly prized.
Kilmarnock
was our next destination. Not many towns
cast boast of a small book being printed by John Wilson that today is
worth over $60,000 a copy. After parking, we thought it would be a good
idea to buy some Burns postcards to send to our friends back home, but
after walking the town mall, looking in every shop that had cards, we came
up empty. No one sold Burns postcards! The clerks just shook their heads
when we asked. I guess stranger things have happened. However, we did find
our way to the quite unusual and unique full-body statue that honors both
Robert Burns and John Wilson sharing the same pedestal located on the
upper part of the mall. More pictures.
We then rode over to Dean Castle to see
if anyone was in the office of the Burns World Federation, and this time
luck smiled on us. What a pleasure to meet Shirley Bell, the executive in
charge of the Federation, and her equally capable Office Manager, Margaret
Craig. Learning we would be in Dumfries on Saturday night, Mrs. Bell
invited us to dinner if our schedules worked out. Next, following the
Burns Heritage Trail brochure we were given by Shirley and Margaret, we
were off to Irvine to find the nine-foot high bronze statue of
Burns. We struck out there, completely. We asked several pedestrians and a
policeman where the Burns statue was located, but no one knew. Finally, we
found a taxi driver who told us to “go to the end of the street, turn
right, go to the first round-about, turn left, follow that street all the
way to the park and you will find it on the left hand side of the road.”
We thanked him and walked for about 15 minutes only to discover it was a
statue of a politician! We walked back to the main street, asked a few
more people and gave up after spending and hour and a half trying. Next
trip I’ll make better plans and contact a member of the local Burns Club
for assistance. Time did not permit a visit to the “oldest continuous
Burns Club in the world”.
Ayr
was different since the statue sits in the middle of the town. There was a
pharmacia a few doors away, and they made my day because of the numerous
Burns postcards they had in their card rack. The statue of Burns is in a
wee park in the center of town with a few benches scattered about, and
there we found the pigeons more cooperative than at Glasgow’s George
Square, so out came the cameras. Susan and I proceeded to jot a line or
two on some of the Burns postcards. I had this brilliant idea of taking
them back across the street to the Post Office and mailing them from Ayr.
A Robert Burns post card postmarked from Ayr, what a neat little way to
say hello to our Burns friends in the States. How disappointed I was to
find out that the mail is picked up in Ayr and taken to Glasgow to be
postmarked! I think they call this progress. However, we did see a pub
called “Honest Man Bar” (the “honest man” being a phrase of Burns) so we
wandered in for a glass of wine to drown our sorrows and met a most
engaging bartender, Richard Saunders. Asked about the name of the pub, he
replied, “Aye, Robert Burns!” Today, at home on our Burns’ library shelves
are two bottles of “Honest Man” wine, one red and one white, that we
bought at a modest price and lugged the 5,000 miles back to Atlanta.
After a night on the seashore at the Horizon Hotel, “Ayr’s
Only Seafront Hotel” which in the words of Willie Shakespeare was “much
ado about nothing” (Sardine space, anyone? We won’t go back there!) we set
off for Alloway, birthplace of the bard. I guess Alloway would be
considered a suburb of Ayr since it was just a few miles down the road. We
were not disappointed. The Burns Cottage, familiar to all Burnsians the
world over, is easily recognized. The Cottage and Museum are first rate as
is the Burns Monument and Gardens just a couple of blocks further along
the road. We visited the auld Alloway Kirk where the poet’s father is
buried, and then we walked over to the Brig O’Doon. The Tam O’Shanter
Experience will have to wait until the next trip to Burns Country -
Dumfries beckoned urgently since we did not have a room reserved for the
evening. But, you can bet your bottom dollar I was a happy camper that
morning, having taken in the cottage, museum and monument and, just as
important to me, the Burns store which contained a few books and numerous
pictures and items of Burns!
We then began what was a tedious drive
down to Dumfries, tedious because of the single lanes and so much
traffic on a Saturday. We passed a sign to Ellisland but due to time
constraints and in search of a bed, we short-listed the farm for our “to
do” list next time we are there. I can see why Shirley Bell rides the
train from Dumfries to Kilmarnock!
Arriving in Dumfries that afternoon we
set out to find a place to spend the night. You’ll do yourself a favor if
you write down the name Rivendell, 105 Edinburgh Road, if you like
upscale B&Bs that do not attempt to play robber barons for wayfaring
travelers on a late Saturday afternoon. There was one room left, and we
jumped at it. You can find this particular B&B
at
www.rivendellbnb.co.uk. The
young couple, Karen and Bruce Harper, who own Rivendell have both recently
retired from the local police force and are to be congratulated for the
fine services and accommodations they provide for about £22 per person.
When Susan and I return to Dumfries, Rivendell will be our destination.
The rest of Saturday afternoon we spent
in Dumfries seeing the Burns statue, The Globe Inn and the Burns Howff
Club upstairs, the house Burns died in, and in St. Michael’s kirk yard,
home of his final resting place, the Robert Burns mausoleum. Here he rests
with some of his children and his beloved “Bonnie Jean”. It was our good
fortune to meet a young man who works at the Burns house named Paul
Cowley. He shared a lot of history about the house Burns died in, as well
as the cemetery and mausoleum. He personally escorted us over to the
cemetery a wee walk away and with key in hand opened the gates to the
mausoleum. Paul then took us over to the Globe Inn that Burns was known to
frequent. He led us upstairs to the Burns Howff Club where we found out
that the members of that quaint Burns Club are raising money for a statue
in honor of Jean Armour. Brace yourself when you see it. Since the world
has basically been relegated to seeing pictures of “Bonnie Jean” as an
older, more mature woman in her later years, the maquette they showed us
is of a younger time in her life. If this is anywhere near what Jean
Armour looked like as a young woman, then one can see why Burns was so
taken with her. She is portrayed as a beautiful young lass, very pleasing
to the eye, rather “fetching” as the old phrase goes. Excuse me for saying
so and I do not wish to offend anyone, but she is portrayed as rather sexy
in the small statue. Do I like it? You bet I do! You will like it too
unless you are an old foggie and slave bound to the older pictures of her.
Hey, we were all young and good looking at one time! The statue is to be
erected in Dumfries adjacent to St. Michael’s Church and the Burns
Mausoleum. David Smith, Hon. Secretary, wrote in an October email to me,
“hopefully the project will be completed by July, 2004 and perhaps your
members (Atlanta Burns Club) will be able to visit the statue should you
make a future visit to Scotland.” In a November email he further writes,
“We hope to unveil the Jean Armour statue on 21st July, 2004,
the anniversary date of the death of Robert Burns…The proposed site is
outside the front gate of St. Michael’s Kirk, with Jean looking down
towards Burns House.” As far as I know, there has never been a statue of
Jean Armour erected anywhere in the world while her husband has more
statues in his honor than any man who ever lived. This said, if any of you
are interested in joining me in making a donation to this worthy event,
please send your check to:
Mr. David
Smith
Hon. Secretary
Burns Howff Club
C/o Globe Inn
56 High Street
Dumfries DG1 2JA
Scotland, U.K.
What do you do on a Saturday night in
Dumfries? We joined up with Shirley Bell and her husband, Jack, for a
wonderful dinner at a small Italian restaurant named Benvineto’s. I like
to think I know a little about Italian cuisine having frequented for the
past 25 years Atlanta’s finest Italian restaurant, LaGrotta (owned by our
good friends, Sergio and Ursula Favalli with whom we recently toured
Italy). I was not prepared for what took place that night at dinner. The
place was jammed full of people - you get a good feeling when you walk in
knowing the locals have filled it to the brim. Simply put, the food was
delicious. The wine was just as good and inexpensive. I ate till I thought
I would pop, and the four of us had a fine evening sharing food, wine and
maybe a few lies! If the food we enjoyed that evening is any indication of
how good the young chef is, suffice it to say he can more than hold his
own with any chef I’ve seen on the Food Network, including the guy from
Fall River, MA. It was that good! We have eaten in many fine Italian
restaurants here in the States and abroad, and my old favorite LaGrotta is
still the Grande Dame of them all. Yet, I found myself whispering
something in Susan’s ear as we walked to the car that night I thought I’d
never say - “Move over LaGrotta!”
Early Sunday morning, after as good a
Scottish breakfast as one could ask for, we were off to Kirkpatrick Durham
to meet with antiquarian book dealer, Benny Gillies. I met Benny on the
internet. I had visited with him at the book fair in Edinburgh a week
earlier and had passed on purchasing a first Edinburgh Edition (1787) of
Burns’ Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. All weekend I
kept kicking myself for not buying the book. I just knew he had sold it.
Even though the book had two pages of facsimile replacements, I now hoped
I had not made a mistake by not buying it in Edinburgh. I was greatly
relieved when Benny told me he still had the book, so I bought it right on
the spot after, of course, a little negotiation. If my Daddy knew what I
paid for this book, even though he was a college man himself, he’d think I
had lost my mind and would, as the old saying goes, “turn over in his
grave”. But I know one thing, an opportunity to buy this book does not
come along often, and I know one more thing, the book is now mine. For a
relatively new Burnsian, life does not get much better than the last three
days.
We drove the remainder of the day to
reach Manchester for our flight the next morning. Burns country was now in
the past but will always remain in my heart. But next July we plan to
return to Scotland with our son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Denise.
Maybe, just maybe, we can steal away a day or two and once again head
south out of Glasgow. Fortunately, we have already secured our Delta
tickets, and when the Jean Armour statue is unveiled and dedicated on July
21, 2004, we will be in the air on the way back to Atlanta. (11-11-03).
Plaque at the Burns House in Dumfries,
Scotland, where he died
Mausoleum in Dumfries where Burns is buried
along with his wife, Jean, and several of his children
Robert Burns on one side and John Wilson,
printer of the Kilmarnock edition of Poems Chiefly in the
Scottish Dialect.
Bed in which Robert Burns died in Dumfries
Burns Monument in Kilmarnock with a protective
fence |
