A grand night was had by all 235 guests at the Ajijic Annual Robbie Burns Supper, held at the Hotel Real de Chapala.
All proceeds from this successful event will be used by Niños Incapacitados to provide needed medical aid to more than 160 children in the Lake Chapala area.
Bagpipes played Scottish tunes to welcome the guests, many of whom wore tartans: Men in dress kilts, ladies in tartan dresses, skirts or tartan plaidies. Before the waiters served the delicious meal, which included the traditional Scottish delicacy haggis, guests sipped cocktails and enjoyed watching and participating in some Scottish country dancing led by Ajijic’s own Phyl Gaskell and her Scottish Country Dancers.
The traditional Grand March piped everyone in to dinner. The dining room, decorated in tartan banners, Scottish flags, pictures of Rabbie Burns and wonderful flowers on every table, would have made the bard himself proud. Mike Bishop gave a rousing and highly charged “Address Tae The Haggis” performance. That was followed by The Selkirk Grace and then the hot and tasty dinner, ending with a bite of home-made Scottish shortbread. Drams of whisky were poured ready for the highly entertaining toasts including Dave McIntosh’s “Toast Tae the Lassies,” which takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to relationships. Much laughter was heard and the roast and response were hearty and good fun. The evening rounded off with everyone participating in a sing-along of Scottish songs with Belva Valazquez and Dave Pike. There was a 50/50 raffle draw and, finally, “Auld Lang Syne” was sung by everyone to close out a highly enjoyable and entertaining Robbie Burns Supper event.