DSABC: Functions

All events require advance booking. Booking forms are provided to members with the bimonthly Newsletter.

Burns Dinner

Saturday 25th January 2025, 6.45 for 7.15 pm

Mickleover Golf Club

Booking deadline 10th January

Cost £32
Includes three course meal

Booking form in the December Newsletter, or Contact us

The premier event of the year, the Burns Anniversary Dinner (or Burns Supper) is held on the Saturday evening closest to the anniversary of the Bard's birth (25th January); (we may need to vary the date for 2021 due to venue availability). While a very formal event, the evening, as Burns himself would have wished, is full of amusing speeches, "sangs and clatter".

The format has changed little since the first event in 1891. The first half comprises the Selkirk Grace followed by a four course meal, including of course the parade of and Address to the Haggis. It is customary during the address for the reciter to remove the chef's hat with his dagger (or skean dhu). (Experienced chefs ensure they are wearing a tall hat!!).

          Cock a Leekie Soup
          The Haggis
          Roast Aberdeen Angus wi' tatties an'other kin o' kailyard dainties
          Kebbuck wi' Biscuits
          New Maskit Coffee

The second half starts with the Guest Speaker (occasionally travelling from Scotland specially) presenting the eulogy (delivered with much humour in Burns' own style) and proposing the formal toast to The Immortal Memory of Robert Burns.

Interspersed with songs (solo and communal), the remainder of the celebration comprises toast and responses:

The Land/City We Live In is proposed by a Member of the Association and usually provides a platform to offer advice to the City Council. The Mayor or Mayoress of the City of Derby is usually an Association guest at this Dinner and is given an opportunity to respond to this toast.

To the Lasses is proposed by a male Member of the Association and responded to by one of the fairer sex. The volume of applause decides the "winner" and, since she has the last word, the lassie usually wins!

By custom, the evening concludes with the singing of The Star O' Rabbie Burns whose chorus is as follows:

Let kings and courtiers rise and fa',
This world has mony turns,
But brightly beams aboon them a',
The Star o' Rabbie Burns.

A Wee Blether and a Bite to Eat!

This wa held for the first time in September 2024, to replace the former President's Reception, and as the first social event of the season.

St Andrew's Lunch

The Association's major celebration of Scotland's Patron Saint's Day comprises an informal lunch. Held on the Friday during the day nearest to St Andrew's Day (30th November), the event is one of food, song and laughter.

Reports on past events

It was a dry evening at Mickleover Golf Club unaffected by the winds in the Cairngorms that day. We were welcomed by the DSABC President, her consort, and the Guest of Honour and his wife. We took our seats and the top table guests and hosts, including the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Robin Wood, and his husband, were piped in. The piping of Mr Andrew Walley was notably inspiring. Our President welcomed everybody and gave the traditional Selkirk Grace, and then took whisky with the piper.

We were then entertained to a marvelous and elequent Toast to the Haggis. Our 'Chef' was pleased to be uninjured as he bravely lost his hat. The meal of Haggis wi' champit tatties and neeps, roasted Aberdeen Angus, then cheesecake or biscuits and cheese, was first class.

After the meal the President, in poetic mood, invited the prestigious Past Presidents to have a drink with her, and invited donations for Scottish charities. We then thanked the club staff who were present and went on to toast the Queen and sing the National Anthem.

The Guest of Honour was then invited to celebrate The Immortal Memory of Robert Burns. He gave a most interesting speech delving deeply into the background of the language that Burns had used in his poetry. The evolution of the English language after the Union of 1707 was noted along with traditional Scots, spoken outside larger cities with its romantic and meaningful historic nature. He said that Burns was one of four National Poets of Scotland, and that a National poet must write poetry that closely identifies with the Nation‘s cause. A National poet must write in a national language and hewent on to ask whether Scots was a language or a dialect. Amusingly he said someone had commented that a language is a dialect that has an Army and a Navy. He commented that most of Burns' 18th century customers who could afford to buy books spoke English, which encouraged its use along with traditional Scots. However, in contrast, Burns was described by his widow as a man who never spoke English but spoke very correct 'Scotch'. On the question of the standing of the Scots language, he said that it was not actively suppressed and was used freely by working people in small towns and businesses. Burns' ability to write in Scots and English and a combination of both was helped by his education from his teacher John Murdoch and Burns' father, and his father’s circle of friends. Influences such as Pope, Steele, Addison and others had been important to Burns. He commented that Burns' love of company through boisterous intellectual male friends, attractive women, and community, were the basis for his bold original style. Burns' ear and memory for song were described as prodigious and we were told that he reshaped familiar ballads into new compositions in a process he called 'crambo-jingling'. Mixing of Scots and English language was noted in for example in The Lass of Cessnock Banks where he praises her air, her form, her face, and later her 'rogueish een'. Burns learned from Robert Fergusson how to use older Scots tunes in forms such a standard 'Habbie' type of rhythm. Interestingly, henoted that the words O wad some Power the giftie gie us had complex origins and the idea/ theological argument was made by Adam Smith in the Theory of Moral Sentiments. Turning to Tam-o'-Shanter we can see mixtures of Scottish and English lines which gives the poem very funny parts. Finally he referred to Robert Burns' egalitarianism and the fact that he was a model for many poets outside Scotland: Keats, Wordsworth and Clare in England, Whitman and Frost in America. Burns was an internationalist who supported liberal and republican clauses at home as well as England, America and France. He was a great master of language who fused Scots and English into a 'kaleidoscopic variety of poetry and song'. We then toasted his memory in silence.

There was then a presentation of our traditional speech The Land we Live In. Comments about the origins of Derby having a Collegiate church in its centre were noted with interest. Legacies such as Abbey Street, the Friary, Nun Street and Monk Street are all familiar to us. He went on to remind us of famous forebears such as the Strutt family, Erasmus Darwin, Wright of Derby and William Duesbury all notable characters. John and Thomas Loombes established a Silk Mill in 1721 which was the first one in England. Following on from International Combustion, Rolls-Royce, British Rail and British Celanese, we now have Toyota Cars and electronics businesses like Pektron. Explaining the Arts that have flourished in Derby Chris mentioned, amongst others, Rowena Cade from Spondon the founder of the famous Minack Theatre in Cornwall. Looking to Derby's needs in applying to become the City of Culture he said that we needed a major venue, a rebuilt Assembly rooms or similar with performance areas fit for purpose. If, with assistance, we can achieve this, Derby will be building on the great successes of previous centuries. The toast was to The City of Derby.

We went on to enjoy the Reply to The Land we Live In from the Mayor, Councillor Robin Wood. The Mayor started by reminding us how well known Joseph Wright is in other parts of the world. He then said he enjoyed the Bonnie Prince Charlie re-enactment each year and called for volunteers to contact him if any are interested in prolonging this tradition. Regarding City development he said that rebuilding the Assembly rooms was too expensive but the Becketwell development was going ahead well and a 3,500 seat entertainment venue was planned there. Also on the theme of the Arts, we were reminded that Derby Theatre is a good size and is already in an excellent position with access to Derbion and City Centre car parks. The Mayor encouraged everyone to go to the newly renovated Museum of Making, a huge recent and ongoing success which is winning awards, (it has a lovely cafeteria). Finally we were impressed to hear in passing that the Mayor is the founder of Disability Direct a successful charity in its own right. A cheque from the Association would be going there.

The Toast to the Lasses was ably presented, cherishing the memory from Inverness of Elizabeth McIntosh who was known as both Josephine Tey, the author and Gordon Daviot the playwright, and also explaining other treasured memories of lasses from the Saturday night hops in the Caledonian Hotel ballroom. Girls were on one side of the room and boys on the other. We were reminded to listen to our wives especially if they comment on what we are wearing. The ladies were reminded that it takes little to satisfy us! The toast was The Lasses.

The wife of the Guest of Honour then gave us a most entertaining Reply on behalf of the Lasses. She explained how her family had a mixed background of loyalties between Scotland and England. Swapping shirts depending on who was winning a sports match was not unheard of. In the past she said many women had had limited choices and she encouraged all women to give themselves as many work choices as possible. She went on to refer to The Rights of Woman written by Burns in 1792. She then reminded us that Mary Wollstonecraft had been instrumental in Burns thinking at that time. She noted that Robert Burns had not been good at relationships so she made a point of encouraging us all to take special care of all women. Her advice for marriage was simply 'Be good to each other'. She then cheered the ladies by asking them to stand and Toast The Laddies. This was warmly welcomed.

Our Honorary Secretary then gave a passionate and most enjoyable recitation of Holy Willie’s Prayer. He introduced it by helpfully explaining the characters of William Fisher, Gavin Hamilton and Robert Aitken and how the Presbytery of Ayr was the centre-point for the amusing prayers.

There was then singing of Scots wha hae with gravitas, making folk sit to attention.

Our previous President then gave most appropriate and generous thanks to our President for chairing the evening, especially for creating such a happy atmosphere. The President then read out Fraternal greetings from other associations: Leicester, the Scottish Presidents Association, Nottingham, Bowhill Peoples Burns Club and Balerno (in honour of our principal speaker). She went on to extol the virtues of everyone who had contributed to the evening including those who had produced beautiful flowers and organised the collection. She was pleased to report that £377 had been raised for Scottish charities. A special thanks was given to our Honorary Secretary who she said was the backbone of the Association. Finally, she thanked the guests for coming to what was a most enjoyable and successful evening.

President's Reception and our 100th Anniversary - Saturday 26th September 2021

What a night to remember! The original celebrations, planned for 2020, were put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic so expectations were high that the event would go ahead as arranged this time round. We were not to be disappointed.

The Derby Scottish Association and Burns Club was inaugurated in 1920 and grew out of the already formed Derby Burns Club which had been formed previously in 1890. So really the event also celebrated 130 years of that original club. Obviously, no-one from the original DSABC club was present but there were guests attending whose membership stretches back a long time, one of whom can boast being a member for 70 years!

Other guests attending came from far and near - Nottingham Scottish Association and Leicester Caledonian Society being represented as well as past association presidents who made sterling efforts to be present at the event. The special guest of honour was Mr Marc Sherland - Past President of the Robert Burns World Federation (RBWF).

The venue for the event was the Grange Banqueting Suite in Littleover, Derby - an excellent and very accommodating setting - and the evening began with a drinks reception for our centenary President. Guests were then invited to take their seats in the dining area and the President and her guests were piped in by our piper for the evening from the Leicester and Rutland County Pipe Band.

Our President welcomed everyone to the celebration, especially our honoured guests for the evening and thanked everyone for all the hard work in organising the event.

The music for all of the evening's dances was provided by Chris and Julie Dewhurst - no strangers themselves to DSABC events - and their playing was a delight to listen to. Later in the evening Chris and Julie held us spell-bound as they played a selection of tunes from the Shetland Isles - ranging from a gentle 'armchair' melody to more up-beat jigs and reels - virtuoso performances.

Speeches at the event were few but important and memorable. Marc Sherland proposed a toast to the society, expressed how delighted he was to be with us, and noted that not only was he Past President of the RBWF but the current President of the Glasgow Haggis Society! Marc reminded the gathering of the history of the DSABC, some of the early characters in its formation, where it was based and some stories from those early days. Marc is a keen photographer, amateur performance poet and raconteur and promoter of the Scottish dialect used by Burns in his poetry.

Any DSABC event would not be complete without a selection of traditional Scottish tunes and our piper entertained us with a few Scottish airs whilst the assembled guests quietly sang along to one or two of the more well-known ones.

In a first for the society, we were also entertained by a step dancer with fiddle accompanist. It was lovely to see this different form of Scottish dancing and she performed a number of dances with superb grace and feeling.

It is traditional at this event for our dance instructor to design a dance specifically for each year's president and the DSABC dance demonstration team performed the dance Scott of Anaesthesia in honour of our President (a retired anaesthetist). The team also danced another new dance Derby Scottish Centenary Jig in commemoration of our 100 years.

Another tradition at the reception is for some of the men and women of the society to make fools of themselves in some sketch or act of buffoonery - usually linked to the job or a foible of the current president. This year an ad-hoc choir of inappropriately dressed men sang humorous renditions of Three little Maids from School and Scots like Horlicks (to the tune of Men of Harlech).

Of course, those attending also had their own opportunity to get on the dance floor and during the course of the evening Chris and Julie accompanied such dances as The Circassian Circle and the St Bernard's Waltz as well as a traditional strathspey and one of our favourites, Butterscotch and Honey.

The President rounded off our time together with copious thanks to all those who contributed to the success of the evening, once again thanking our distinguished guest, Marc.

After one final dance the assembled gathering stood together and joined in a heartfelt rendition of Auld Lang Syne. There was a huge sense of returning to normal. This was a glorious time full of song and dance. It was a night of friendships and fellowships renewed. It was a night of fun and laughter. It was indeed a night to remember.

© 2018-2024 Derby Scottish Association and Burns Club
This website does not use cookies, and does not collect/use/store any information about you or your identity