Drum major George Alderman remembered at Robbie Burns Night

It was another sold-out crowd of about 200 people, including the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band, at the 26th annual Robbie Burns Night held Saturday at the Kincardine Legion.

Hosted by the band, the event featured delicious food and great entertainment.

Piper Jennifer Farrell and drummer Mike Smith opened the evening by playing the Piper's Welcome.

Brenda Colquhoun piped in the haggis, carried by Andy Smith, and Scott Duncan gave the Address to the Haggis. Cathy Milne read the Selkirk Grace and the crowd enjoyed a delicious roast beef dinner, complete with the haggis, beautifully done by Cate O'Brien and her team of volunteers.

Following the meal, Stuart Killin offered the Immortal Memory of Robbie Burns.

“Why do we celebrate Robbie Burns?” he asked. “Why not Adam Smith, father of modern economics; or Sir Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin; or Sir William Paterson, the Scotsman who founded the Bank of England; or Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone?”

Joking with the crowd, he offered some “fake news,” stating there was even a pair of Scots who invented high-speed Internet. “It could be true,” he said. “That's why we speak so fast because we want to get as much out of our paid phone calls as we can!”

Identifying Burns as the Shawn Mendez (Canadian singer-songwriter) of our time, he attempted to put forward an argument that given enough time, he could prove through the Internet that Mendez and author David O'Conner are, in fact, related to Burns.

“Burns was a failure at relationships but a hopeless romantic,” said Killin. “We celebrate him because there are some aspects of him in all of us. And there is an affliction in all of us to make a difference in the lives of others and make our mark in history.”

He then raised a toast to Robbie Burns.

Barry and Rosemary Neilson offered the Toast to the Lassies, and the Reply from the Lassies.

Wearing a Black Watch tartan kilt and a tie fashioned with his grandmother's Allison tartan, Barry pointed out that he is 50 per cent Scottish because his father was born in Glasgow, but the other 50 per cent wonders whose idea it was to wear a kilt in January in Canada!

In hilarious fashion, he offered up some wonderful points about Burns and the lassies, and about Burns, himself.

“Burns loved the lassies – ALL the lassies,” he said. “He wrote poems to them – 'We can't live without the lassies, but it's damned difficult living with them'.” He then raised a toast to the lassies.

Rosemary offered up even more hilarious bits about the men.

“Men don't always say what they mean,” she said. “Here's a guide – when they say 'That's interesting,' it really means 'Are you still talking?' or 'I can't find it,' means 'You didn't come and place it in my hand'.” She added that there is no greater stress on a marriage, than when a man comes down with a cold! She then raised a toast to the laddies.

The Kincardine Scottish performed four songs and urged the crowd to Name That Tune.

The Pleats, featuring Nick and Nicole Reid, Brenda Manderson and Laurie Dalton, performed, followed by another set by the Kincardine Scottish.

This was the most poignant moment of the night, as the band included among the ranks a drum draped in black cloth, and played “Highland Cathedral,” in memory of drum major George Alderman who died Dec. 26 last year.

Alderman joined the Kincardine Scottish in 1994 and was an international champion drummer, as well as Canadian champion and North American champion. He was also a champion superior drum major for five consecutive years.

The evening ended with a Toonie Toss for those who wanted to take home some of the extra haggis.