Happy Birthday Rabbie

Happy Birthday to Rabbie Burns. Today, deerhounds everywhere should be looking forward to tucking into a wee piece o Haggis, alang wi ‘tatties and neeps’ to celebrate the 250th anniversary o’ the birth o’ The Bard.

To celebrate this anniversary, there is so much going on, infact a full year of celebrations begin in Scotland. All Scottish deerhounds who have ever considered visiting their country of origin – this is the year to do it. The year of Homecoming.

What’s more the deerhound club are holding their annual breed show at Dunblane hydro from the 17th ’til 19th of April 2009. Why not come along and visit? For further information on Dunblane follow this link.

And if there was someone who knew how to capture the emotions of every deerhound in words, it was our very own Robert Burns

My Heart's In The Highlands

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth ;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

Farewell to the mountains, high-cover'd with snow,
Farewell to the straths and green vallies below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods,
Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

To enjoy a recital of the above work by HRH The Prince of Wales follow this link.

Further links for Rabbie Burns and preperations for Burns suppers can be found by clicking the links within todays post and should you want music for this evenings Burns Supper – go here to visit the world's first website to offer every single Burns song as a download.

Enjoy the celebration.

Deerhounds - how we ‘Broach’ the subject

Here’s a fine little piece of art I can tell you little to nothing about. I don’t know the period from whence it came, if it’s gold and silver, nickel and more nickel or if it is a one off or mass produced object. What I can say is it measures no-more than two inches across and clearly depicts a deerhound in pursuit of the quarry. What can you tell us about this brooch?

2009