Dunblane Burns Club

09/06/2026

It's
today. Robert Burns had a close connection with Archibald Montgomerie, the 11th Earl of Eglinton. The Earl supported Burns by standing as a guarantor for the printing of the 1786 Kilmarnock Edition of his poems and later subscribed for multiple copies of the Edinburgh First Edition (of which Dunblane’s historic Leighton Library has a copy). Burns expressed his gratitude in a letter to the Earl, acknowledging his patronage as a "bounty peculiarly suited to my feelings"

08/06/2026

It's today as 8 June 1809 English-born American Founding Father, French Revolutionary, political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary Thomas Paine died. He had published his "Common Sense" in 1776 and "The American Crisis" in 1776–1783, two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he helped to inspire the colonial era patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. He wrote "Rights of Man" (published in 1791) defending the French Revolution against its critics. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era ideals of human rights.

Robert Burns was influenced by Thomas Paine's "The Rights of Man" with both Burns and Paine dealing with the idea of liberty, equality and universal human rights. "A Man's a Man for A' That" written by Robert Burns (and first published anonymously in 1795 in The Glasgow Magazine for fear of recriminations or arrest), with these themes (and based on "Rights of Man" by Thomas Paine), was the song chosen to be sung at the opening of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999.

▶️ https://youtu.be/hudNoXsUj0o

In my opinion, this is the most memorable rendition of this song ever. Memorable because of the occasion, but also because of the straight-forward, honest d...

07/06/2026

👑🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 1329 King of Scots, Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, died. Robert Burns wrote the song "Scots Wha Hae" to immortalise the address by Robert the Bruce to the Scottish soldiers prior to the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 (exuding patriotism and courage, urging the people of Scotland to stand up against oppression and fight for freedom), using the melody which, according to tradition, was played by Bruce's army at the Battle of Bannockburn.

▶️ https://youtu.be/BD2GeJeEpZc

Music video I made to the song Scots Wha Hae, which was based on th...

07/06/2026

👑🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 1329 King of Scots, Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, died. Robert Burns wrote the song "Scots Wha Hae" to immortalise the address by Robert the Bruce to the Scottish soldiers prior to the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 (exuding patriotism and courage, urging the people of Scotland to stand up against oppression and fight for freedom), using the melody which, according to tradition, was played by Bruce's army at the Battle of Bannockburn.

▶️ https://youtu.be/BD2GeJeEpZc

Music video I made to the song Scots Wha Hae, which was based on th...

07/06/2026

It's today. Robert Burns wrote a letter to his father, William Burnes, on 27 December 1781. That letter is the only surviving letter of Robert Burns to his father. In the letter, Robert Burns apologises for delaying writing to his father, and describes his ill-health as being similar to when the pair last met. This letter is in a volume of Burns’s letters and poems from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library at the National Library of Scotland.

06/06/2026

👓 It's
today. If Robert Burns had penned an ode to spectacles do you think it might have gone something like this:

"Ode to Spectacles

In yon auld library, dimly lit,
Whaur dusty pages whisper secrets,
There sits a pair o' spectacles,
Worn and wise, their frames o' metal.

Thae glasses, perched upon a nose,
Peer through time's mist, as stories unfurl.
E'en as ink fades, and parchment crumbles,
They ken the tales o' yesteryear.

Through spectacles, we glimpse the past,
Auld faces etched in sepia hues,
The bairns at play, the lovers' trysts,
And battles fought 'neath skies sae blue.

When words grow sma', and letters dance,
These trusty lenses magnify,
Revealin' worlds unseen by mony,
Guidin' minds through life's labyrinth.

So here's tae spectacles, dear frien's,
Wha've seen it a', through thick and thin,
Aye perched upon our weary brows,
Guidin' us through life's grand vows."

05/06/2026

It's
today, raising awareness of the need to look after our planet. While the poems of Robert Burns don’t explicitly address environmental stewardship, they capture his love for the natural world and its vulnerability. His works, including poems such as "Song Composed in Spring", continue to inspire appreciation for nature and encourages us to care for our planet.

▶️ https://youtu.be/byYaab8nLps

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

04/06/2026

It's
today. Robert Burns built Ellisland Farm in 1788, living and farming there until 1791. He had nine or ten cows, including three Ayrshire cows, from which cheese was made from the milk. Robert Burns wrote a quarter of his songs and poems there, including Auld Lang Syne. The wife of Robert Burns, Jean Armour, was a social and agricultural powerhouse, taking on a leading role at Ellisland, and she was a highly respected figure amongst her dairy workers alongside whom she produced cheese and milk.

03/06/2026

1774 Paisley “Weaver Poet” Robert Tannahill was born. A contemporary of Robert Burns, the younger Robert Tannahill looked up to Robert Burns. Both poets wrote in Scots and in English. Both wrote of similar universal themes. Both are commemorated in the Hall of Heroes (as in this image) in the National Wallace Monument on the Abbey Craig. Both had a collection of poems published which ran out within weeks of printing. Both are depicted on the lower sections of the Scott Monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh. They were both nearly the same age when they had their lives cut short. And both had a connection to Dunblane: Tannahill having worked for a time in Dunblane and writing a love song connected to ("Jessie, the Flower of Dunblane") and Burns writing a number of poems/songs inspired by his visit to Dunblane.