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Tag: neeps and tatties

London Trip – Day 2

Culture, Comrades & a Ceilidh

After a big, hearty breakfast in my hotel—more than pictured—I was ready for a full day in London. I had planned some museums and exhibitions I hadn’t seen yet, and the first one was almost next to the hotel: the London Canal Museum.

The second stop was the library, to see the Treasures of the British Library. Among those treasures were the Magna Carta, and original manuscripts from Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen. Great stuff, for a bibliophile like me!

I then visited to the British Museum for even older versions of the written word, in the exhibition Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt.

After all that sauntering I was well overdue for a coffee, so I went to Monmouth Coffee for my fix. That gave me the energy for one more cultural stop: the Museum of Freemasonry. We have one in Brussels as well, but with London being the birthplace of freemasonry, and quite a bit more traditional, I could not afford to miss this one!

Time for a pie—well, a sausage roll—and a pint—well, halves and thirds—at the Sutton Arms! It looks like a classic pub, but had quite a few modern craft beers on tap! From there I got on the new Elizabeth Line, a train line that had been long in the making, and provides a faster connection with the west of London.

And in the west I finally got to visit The Dodo Micropub, where I also met up with some London friends for a couple of beers. On the way back east I stopped at A Pint of Hops for a couple more… Crowded, standing space only, but nice people, and great beer.

Properly sauced, I was ready for the main event of the evening, a Burns Night Ceilidh, my excuse to walk around in London in a kilt all day… Loads of fun, although a bit more chaotic than other ceilidhs I’ve been to!

Before finally heading back to the hotel, there was one more important stop: BrewDog Camden! After ‘a couple’ of beers with Ryan, I then called it a night…

Haggis, clapshot and whisky sauce

Yesterday, for the first time I had the opportunity to cook with haggis myself. Someone in Brussels bought a couple of those huge 1.36 kg MacSween haggis rolls for a party, but didn’t need all of them. Now she needed the freezer space, so she was giving them away to anyone interested: lucky me! 🙂

The first haggis dish I cooked was haggis, clapshot and whisky sauce. I don’t think the swedes are exactly the same in Belgium, and I didn’t quite follow the recipe, but the result was really nice, and even my girlfriend—who was a haggis virgin—liked it! Just as well, since I still have about 2.3 kg of haggis in my freezer now…

Can’t wait to try some breaded haggis balls next!

Burns Night

Tonight – the 25th of January – is Burns Night, the celebration of the birthday of Robert Burns. The most traditional way to do this is having a Burns Supper, with very Scottish dishes like cock-a-leekie and haggis, neeps and tatties, accompanied by a dram or two of whisky.

Unfortunately I won’t make it to the Burns Supper they’re having at the Church of Scotland in Brussels tonight—working too late—but there will be an alternative Burns Night celebration organised by the Celtic folk group Bothán, at De Kam. And there will be haggis and poetry from the bard!

Time to kilt up!

Edinburgh – Day 3