Scotland — Part 4. The Ceilidh, Auchtermuchty and a quick stop at St. Andrews

We came back to Edinburgh, but only for one evening. It was an evening of revelry, otherwise known as Ceilidh Dance (pronounced kay-lee). We were entertained by traditional folk music and dancing (yes, some of us were made to dance as well, although most of us were not dressed as formally as the occasion called for). There were traditional Scottish bagpipes, accordion and guitar and the dancing of the swords. The dancing of the sword was done by a girl of 10, who performed brilliantly. Obviously, this wasn’t her first — or likely even her 50th — performance. In the dance, two swords are laid on the stage in an X, and the dancer deftly dances atop them — lively bounding and crossing feet without touching the swords, as the music gets faster and faster.

The food was outstanding — there was tender steak, lovely whipped potatoes, steamed and flavorful vegetables, and sweet, creamy desserts. And here, while we are discussing dinner, naturally, I should talk about haggis, which was presented to us with proper pomp and poem — Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns*. I should point out that I have been looking forward to eating haggis for a long time. As a person who loves organ meats (Ok, I get it, it’s not everyone’s cup of organ meats), what I forgot was that I don’t love oats. I found this oat/offal combination in haggis … really dry. Unless there is an addition of a sauce (whisky sauce is absolutely a must), it was nearly inedible for me. On the other hand, I can simply drink the whisky…