The Schottland Vereinigung celebration of Robert Burns took place in the Alte Turnhalle, Beerfelden on February 1, 2020.
About 150 people attended and the evening was opened by the Clan Pipers Frankfurt, joined by Neil Clark (Falkirk) and Lothar Eckmayer (Bad König).
Rüdiger Holschuh welcomed everyone and the very heavy haggis was brought in by Heather Matheson (Jenkins Dancers), along with Thomas from Clan Pipers and Neil, who performed the address with much drama and passion!
The haggis was then served along with the traditional mashed neeps and tatties. The local whisky distillery, St Kilian, had set up a whisky bar which proved to be very popular throughout the evening.
After the supper, Heather Matheson and Laura Boyle from Jenkins Dancers performed a couple of dances, with Neil providing the music on Highland Bagpipes. Then Kathryn and Neil, as Glenbervie Folk Duo, played a mainly instrumental set of Burns’ and Scottish tunes. The dancers came back on, followed by Clan Pipers Falkirk.
Then it was the audience’s turn to dance, as Kathryn and Neil provided the music for the ceilidh. This proved to be very popular, and even a Strip the Willow was attempted! This was followed by a raffle, then Laura and Heather did their last set of dances, to rapturous applause! Glenbervie played their closing set of mainly Burns’ songs, and were joined on stage by Lothar on pipes, for two tunes.
Finally, everyone was on their feet in a circle, to close the evening by singing Auld Lang Syne, led by Kathryn and joined by the pipers for a rousing last verse! Safe to say, a fantastic time was had by all, and it was a true joining of two nations in the celebration of Scotland’s famous bard.
Neil and Kathryn are most grateful to Barbara and Lothar for being superb hosts and showing them some beautiful parts of the area during their stay, and would also like to thank the Schottland Vereinigung for inviting them over to take part in the event.
Falkirk Twinning 