February 16-18, 2007
Last weekend, I was invited to the Berkshires (in MA) for a weekend-long celebration of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. He's responsible for the commonly sung New Year's song, Auld Lang Syne. We paid homage to this cultural icon with much pomp and circumstance, including haggis, Scotch, Burns Supper, poetry, and traditional reeling (Scottish country dancing). I had an amazing time, made some new friends, and learned a little about the famous Scot. In the words of Stuckey & Murray, "Bobby Burns '07! Yeah, yeah!"
Saturday was open during the day, so Bay, Keith, Brandon and I got up early to hit the slopes of Butternut.
The scene from the top of the mountain was beautiful.
The view from the lift.
Here's Brandon, who proved to be a great ski buddy for me.
And here I am, all bundled up. Luckily it was a sunny day, not nearly as cold as I'd anticipated.
After a couple of smooth runs, Brandon and I decided to take on the challenge of Lucifers Leap. We found it to be a very easy black diamond run.
Me, posing on the mountain, with Lucifers Leap
behind me.
Here's Keith, leading the crew over to another run.
There goes Bay (in all black), our only snowboarder.
There were some really cool snow formations on the trees.
Keith and Bay on the lift.
This tree was decorated with Mardi Gras beads,
plastic leis, and bras. Maybe someone was having
a little Mardi Gras celebration on the mountain.
Doug opened the evening with an intro about Robert Burns, and the Address to a Haggis.
The ceremonial stabbing of the haggis.
Come and get it!
My first haggis - with traditional neeps and tatties (turnips and mashed potatoes). It looks like cat food, and if you're squeamish, you probably don't want to know what haggis is made of, but it really wasn't bad. Some folks even went back for seconds!
A little pre-dinner entertainment by the Stuckey's.
After Burns Supper, we dug into a copy of Tiger Beat. Our favorites were the pullout posters. Jon and Brian wanted to toughen up the poster boys.
Our heartthrob, Mitchel, a little less sweet, a little
more weathered.
Keith kicked off the poetry part of the night with a poem he wrote, honoring Doug and the annual Burns celebration.
Joey's poem, in the voice of a beat poet, was a crowd pleaser.
Jon Murray went street thug with his reading.
The highlight of the poetry readings was the musical version of The Fornicator, sung by Jon, Katherine and Andy, with full-party participation. We all agreed this would be a great addition to the annual Burns celebration.
Before the night continued, we all took "The Oath of Fun-ness."
Next activity, tradition Scottish country dancing, known as reeling! Near the fireplace, Catherine demonstrates the sprinkler (this is NOT a reeling step).
Sarah, Brian and Bay demonstrate.
JJ and Andy really got into the figure 8s.
Carrie was clearly a seasoned reeler.
Freestyle madness broke out, and Bay busted out with the Roger Rabbit.
After a short break, EVERYONE joined in for a good round of reeling.
This is what 15-person reeling looks like!
Now THIS is a party!
Post-reeling, Stuckey & Murray entertained the party with some crowd favorites.
DL on the washboard.
Joey went for a softer sound, taking the brushes to the jug. Keith proved to be a skilled bongo player.
Kathrine appears to be serenading our other Tiger Beat heartthrob, Zac.
Sarah's full-bodied tambourine solos wowed the room.
Carrie's experimentation with the tin flute was equally impressive.
JJ was a pro on the triangle.
Duet by DL and Jon.
Bay showed off her skills on spoons.
JJ
Brian rocked out with the washboard.
Joey rapidly approached the end of his night.
Good night, Brandon!
Sunday, after a little morning snow, the sun broke through, so I explored the grounds. Doug's family has a beautiful piece of property and a lovely house here in the Berkshires.
There's a swimming pool somewhere under all that snow.
This is the pond, which freezes up enough to skate on.
