Burns Night

It strikes me as a massive coincidence that tonight is Burns Night. Obviously, it's only a coincidence to me...

I was watching Scrubs on E4 earlier, and the episode was 'My Best Laid Plans'.

J.D. says "They say the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." I love that quote, it makes me think of John Steinbeck's novel obviously, but when i searched the quote i found Burns' original Scots poem 'To a Mouse'.  

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,"

or in English,

"The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,"

So anyway, aside from the literary genius, i'd never heard of this Burns Night malarkey. Apparently they celebrate it in Northumberland as well as Scotland. 

This guy did everything! He is regarded as Scotland's national poet, he was a pioneer of the Romantic movement (suck it Southey, Wordsworth and Coleridge), and he inspired the founders of liberalism and socialism (apparently). He also wrote Auld Lang Syne (aka. that song we all sing at new years, still don't know what it means...).

So Burns Night is like a second national day for Scotland, i think that's a bit unfair. But actually it is more observed than their actual national day, St. Andrew's Day.

This blog then, has served as a kind of Burns Night memorial to the man himself. I love that Scrubs made me think of this tonight, of all nights! 

"And fare thee weel, my only Luve
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile."

Well, I'm off to make some haggis!