Traditionally a Burns Supper is held on the Bard's birthday, although the first was held by the poet’s friends at Burns Cottage on July 21 to mark the fifth anniversary of his death.
Over a meal of haggis, neeps and tatties poetry is recited, such as ‘To a Mouse’ and ‘Address to the Haggis’, with the men making fun of the women in the ‘Toast to the Lassies', before the girls have the last laugh with the 'Reply From the Lassies'.
Here’s what was going on in the Capital in the 1950s and 1960s.
1. Poetry in motion
Poets Norman MacCaig, Hugh MacDiarmid and Sydney Goodsir Smith at a Burns Supper at the Peacock, Newhaven, in 1959. Photo: Unknown
2. A grand evening out
The Edinburgh Widows and Widowers Association Burns Supper in 1963. Photo: Unknown
3. Diners assemble
The Old Peoples Welfare Council Burns Supper in the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms in 1963. Photo: Unknown
