On Wednesday I visited Kelso which is a small borders town. It has an Abbey which was originally in Selkirk (the town I am living in) and was later moved to Kelso brick by brick. I also went for a walk along the Tweed River and saw a salmon leap, which was fantastic.
On Friday my cousin came down from Edinburgh and I went out for dinner with some of his friends and ended up at the Towns Arms which is an old Pub in Selkirk that my Dad used to frequent!
Saturday I went to see a game of Rugby with my cousin and his girlfriend before going on to Edinburgh for my first Burns Supper with some of their friends. It is the 250th year since the birth of Robert Burns a famous Scottish poet who wrote the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. So to celebrate people all around the world but especially in Scotland hold a Burns Supper which consists of Haggis, Tatties (potatoes) and Neeps (turnips). The dinner was fantastic and we finished the night with a few glasses of wine and a couple of games of Guitar Hero!
Today (Sunday) we were joined by my other cousin and we headed up to Blackford Hill for a fantastic view of Edinburgh. After a slippery walk up the hill we made it to the top. Thank goodness as I really didn't fancy sliding to the bottom! It was a nice day - even if it was a bit cold - which gave us fantastic views of the city including the castle and Arthur's Seat. After sliding our way back down the hill I was spoilt by a quick sightseeing tour of the city by car before catching the bus back to Selkirk.
Once back in Selkirk I was treated to my second Burns Supper with my Aunt and Uncle. The tradition calls for a 'Toast to the haggis' which is a Burns poem consisting of several verses. My Uncle announced I was to recite the 'Toast to a haggis' which would have been interesting considering I can't pronounce half the words and the other half would have sounded ridiculous in an Australian accent we settled on my reciting the Selkirk Grace which Burns also wrote but is much shorter! I've included the words below:
Selkirk Grace
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
