Advertisement

Isle of Wight Caledonian Society celebrate Burns Night with songs and dances

Kieron Cooney on the bagpipes, followed by chef de cuisine Alan Reeves, bearing the haggis, and New Holmwood Hotel staff member carrying five tots of whisky. Photo by Helen Danby.
Kieron Cooney on the bagpipes, followed by chef de cuisine Alan Reeves, bearing the haggis, and New Holmwood Hotel staff member carrying five tots of whisky. Photo by Helen Danby.

THE Isle of Wight Caledonian Society hosted its annual Burns Night celebration — a firm favourite on the society social calendar.

The event was held at the New Holmwood Hotel in Cowes.

Last year’s event was cancelled due to lockdown measures, and for a while, it was touch and go whether this year’s event would be able to proceed.

IW Caledonian Society president Judy Valvona welcomed the members and guests, and the Selkirk Grace was recited by Keith Campbell.

Kieron Cooney piped on the haggis, followed in procession by the chef de cuisine, Alan Reeves.

The haggis was then addressed by Bruce Campbell, from Corsham, near Bath.

The hotel provided a five-course silver service meal, followed by an entertaining Immortal Memory speech by Keith Campbell and three Robbie Burns songs, sung by Fiona Capewell.

Terence Willey praised the women and ‘toasted the lassies’, and Stephanie Burgess had a cheeky response before ‘toasting the laddies’.

Following the formal part of the evening, Aileen Napper was the MC for the Scottish county dancing, which was a new and exciting venture for many of the attendees and was enthusiastically undertaken.

Many of the 60 members and guests attending had been before, but there were also several new faces.