Another nod to Robert Burns’ life & writings at The Blue Wing Frog

On Saturday, February 1^st, exactly one week after Scottish poet, lyricist and beloved “Bard” Robert Burns’ January 25 birthday, those bred to Scotland or just attracted to the Scottish way and Burns’ timeless way of expressing the life, longings and hopes of the Scottish, and really people in general, gathered to celebrate his life.

Event co-sponsors and hosts Scott and Lisa Jenkins of Mountain Home Bed & Breakfast in southern Warren County and Robert Hall and Kelly Sprague of The Blue Wing Frog venue on Chester Street in Front Royal, explained the week’s delay in celebrating the life and writings of Burns as not wanting to compete with the nearby Virginia Beer Museum’s third annual Burns celebration several blocks away.

From left, EDA Board Vice-Chair Jeff Browne and event co-sponsors Lisa and Scott Jenkins of Mountain Home B&B in southern Warren County. We asked Lisa and Scott if they found the spectacular Sean Heely Celtic Trio wandering along the AT. Not quite Lisa replied, piper Tracy Jenkins is their son. Royal Examiner Photos/Roger Bianchini

And having now attended both this season’s Chester Street in Front Royal Burns events, this reporter would offer that as a continued good idea, as the maternal side Scot in me would have suffered greatly by missing either event. For surely now there now will be a reprise to this sold out and successful inaugural Mountain Home-Blue Wing Frog Burns evening as well.

And if by some measure this most recent event might be considered a tad more sedate than the previous week’s, that is only from a certain perspective; and certainly not from an entertainment, ceremonial haggis presenting, multi-course dinner, and dramatic, brogue-tinged readings of Burns’ works, perspective.

A portrait of Robert Burns painted by his friend, Scottish painter Alexander Nasmyth – Public Domain/at Wikipedia

Musical entertainment was provided by a trio headed by U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Sean Heely. The Sean Heely Celtic Trio was sensationally rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Kevin Elam and Scottish Border Piper Tracy Jenkins. It was apparent from the start of Saturday’s festivities that this was not this trio’s first go-round with a Burns event.

Heely led the trio through a variety of traditional Scottish music, as described on the Trio’s website, “fiery dance tunes, ballads, sea shanties and ancient soaring melodies from Scotland and Ireland”, well at least the Scottish ones Saturday night.

The Sean Heely Celtic Trio get down to musical business as they did throughout the evening at The Blue Wing Frog-Mountain Home B&B sponsored Burns night.

And with a distinctive brogue Heely took the lead in reading Burns works, which included “Address to a Haggis”, “Green Grow the Rashes”, “The Broom of the Cowdenknowes” and “To a Mouse”, the latter an apology to a mouse for a farmer’s plow overturning its burrowed home, and a personal favorite of this reporter, “Easy and Free” which was popularized in modern times by The Pogues (originally known for you Gaelic speakers as “Pogue Mahone”) with bassist Cait O’Riordan on vocals as “A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day”.

The packed house also chimed in for a rendition of Burns’ “Old Lang Syne” adopted as a New Year’s tribute-lament to friends near and far away. Burns works continue to speak to us over the centuries, as annual celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic will attest.

Heely and piper Jenkins helped Blue Wing Frog owner Hall present the traditional Scottish haggis. And after “the piper was paid” Blue Wing Frog owner Robert Hall acknowledged partner and chef supreme Kelly Sprague’s production of the haggis, central to any Burns Day celebration.

Top, Blue Wing Frog owner Robert Hall tells Sean Heely, I’ll carry the haggis out, but you have to cut it; center Heely ‘pays the piper’ Tracy Jenkins for piping in the haggis; and below Heely says a ceremonial prayer before opening the haggis by sword.

Eat it and don’t ask, I would suggest after downing the haggis portion of a spectacular, Scottish-tinged multi-course meal provided by the Blue Wing Frog hosts. So what if the innards are wrapped in the animals’ intestines? – It appeared to be an air and germ tight containment apparatus, opened ceremonially by Burns poetry reading and fiddling savant Heely.

Another highlight of the evening was provided by dueling “Toasts to the Lassies and Laddies” provided by Greg and Janice Olmstead, who seemed as if they may have also had previous experience in toasting the timeless conflict of perspectives between men and their female counterparts. The toasts were offered with affection, irony, a hint of sarcasm, and humor. Greg’s opening toast ended with a nod to the “lassies’ chassis” leading to much a raised toasting glass going bottoms up.

Above, Greg Olmstead concludes his ‘Toast to the Lassies’ leading to a rousing cheer from the men (some of whom stood); and bottom, Janice Olmstead returns the favor with an equally tongue-in-cheek ‘Toast to the Laddies’ present.

Janice’s stirring response to her husband culminated with a call for the ladies to rise for their “Toast to the Laddies” got one anonymous lassie present to comment, “Why, they didn’t stand for us” – followed by cheers, toasts, standing, sitting and a rousing good time had by all those laddies and lassies present.

And so it was on February 1, 2020, a month to the day plus 224 years after Burns’ death on January 1, 1796 at the age of 37.

Aye, ye died far too young, beloved “Rabbie” Burns – but your words penned in over 500 poems and song lyrics keep you with us to this day and beyond.

Salute the Bard of Scotland!!!

A standing ovation, well deserved for the Sean Heely Celtic Trio and Scottish Bard Robert Burns.

The Blue Wing Frog owners Robert Hall and Kelly Sprague, far left, acknowledge their staff for a job well done as the evening wound down.

And Hall singles out Sprague for her yeoman’s work in the kitchen, including preparation of the haggis.

After leader Sean Heely switches to his ‘fat’ mandolin, his trio launched into some of their ‘fiery dance tunes and ancient soaring melodies’ of the Celtic variety, to an appreciative audience.

And the Olmsteads illustrate that their marriage survived their dueling tongue-and-cheek Toasts to the Lassies and Laddies – well done, table partners.