0:00:09 > 0:00:12Well, here we are in Motherwell.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This indeed is Motherwell, where I was born and bred.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Born here in 1969.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Grew up just over there, somewhere,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24and I got a lot of my education just below that tower there, in the Motherwell Town Snooker Club,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28where I spent a lot my years. You learned a lot of things in there.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31And there's my fitba team, even, Firpark Stadium.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Still going to see Motherwell every week.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36But it's weird. When I was growing up, I was one of they guys,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40didn't know what I was going to do with my life, but here I am now,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44been working on the wireless for years, burnt my gums on the radio,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and writing in the paper for years and years, as well.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48So, where did it all come fae?
0:00:48 > 0:00:54'Well, it's been a bit of a puzzle to me for the past 30-odd years, now.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57'At primary school I was never the Horace Broon character
0:00:57 > 0:01:00'who walked away with the dux medal, and I was honkin' at fitba.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03'But the one thing I did love was the poetry of Robert Burns.'
0:01:03 > 0:01:05How dare you set your fit upon her.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07'So, I'm setting out on a wee journey
0:01:07 > 0:01:13'to find out a bit more about Robert Burns the man...'
0:01:13 > 0:01:16He was the first modern rock 'n' roll hero. Absolutely.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20'..what us Scots think of his poetry today.'
0:01:20 > 0:01:23It's boring, it's old fashioned, nobody cares anymore.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25What about 'blether'?
0:01:25 > 0:01:29'I meet a man who reckons we should be proud to use the Scots language.'
0:01:29 > 0:01:33If a child came into a class speaking French, round of applause.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34"What a talent you have."
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Speak in Scots? "Here, speak properly, what's wrang with you?" We've got to re-think this.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44'And a real eye-opener - a Burns boffin pointing out just what an influence the bard had on me.'
0:01:44 > 0:01:46And you've got a great story -
0:01:46 > 0:01:49discovering talents that you didn't know you had,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52talents that actually have become your professional life,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and Burns is behind all of that.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11'My journey starts at Calder Primary School in Motherwell.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15'It's now more than 30 years since I was a pupil,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'which means they've had plenty of time to put up a blue plaque.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21'But, at least they did let me have a chat with the current heidy,
0:02:21 > 0:02:22'Molly Scott.'
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- Right, so that was me in the school. - Mm-hmm.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Get a wee look. Don't know if you can pick me out.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30- Very good.- Very smart pupils. All in uniform.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34'For three years running, primary 5, 6 and 7,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37'I won the Burns Federation top prize,
0:02:37 > 0:02:42'not just for the school, not just for Motherwell, but for the whole of Lanarkshire.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44'And back then it was a right big deal,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48'with just about every school in Scotland taking part.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50'But, if I say so myself, TC was the Top Cat.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55'And, here's the evidence in these black and white photies.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58'Eh, that's me on the left, by the way.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:04ALL: I married with a scolding wife The fourteenth of November.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06'As a way of marking my return to Calder Primary,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10'I've decided to have a bash at reciting my winning poems to the whole school.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15'But first, I got a wee refresher from the current primary 7 pupils.'
0:03:15 > 0:03:17ALL: And many griefs attended.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21'It was a bit different 30 years ago.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24'Practising the poem in front of your classmates
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'was really just an audition. The real deal was yet to come.'
0:03:28 > 0:03:33When you'd come out the classroom, you kind of knew the poem, but you weren't an expert,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37you didn't maybe have all the gesticulations and the real bit of fire in your voice.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41And when you were walking down here, you'd be absolutely panicking,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44cos this was like Carnegie Hall,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47The O2, whatever you want to call it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Even got a wee shiver just thinking about it, there.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53You would be out here,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55in front of the entire school.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58All your teachers down both ends of the hall.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01And then you would immediately forget the first line.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And then it would come back to you - bang!
0:04:04 > 0:04:05And away you'd go.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22'I haven't done a Burns recital, or, for that matter, even read a line of Burns,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24'since I left here.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27'But I'm hoping the auld magic will come flooding back,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31'and I'm really hoping it's not a tough Motherwell crowd.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Mr Cowan, would you like to come in and join our assembly this morning?
0:04:35 > 0:04:36OK, here we go. Good morning.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40PUPILS: Good morning, Mr Cowan.
0:04:40 > 0:04:41Brilliant.
0:04:42 > 0:04:43'OK, here we go.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47'And remember, the last time I stood here, I was 11 years old.'
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Address To A Haggis by Robert Burns.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
0:05:00 > 0:05:03'I genuinely thought it would all come back to me,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06'but only a couple of lines in, I began to sense
0:05:06 > 0:05:08'it was all going horribly wrong.'
0:05:08 > 0:05:10TAM LAUGHS
0:05:10 > 0:05:14PUPILS BOO AND CHEER
0:05:14 > 0:05:18'But no need to panic, Tam. It was only an address to an auld pudding.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20'The real test is the big one.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25'All 20 verses of it, and as a kid, it was my absolute favourite.'
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Tam O' Shanter, by Robert Burns.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32When chapman billies leave the street
0:05:32 > 0:05:35And drouthy neibors neibors, meet...
0:05:37 > 0:05:40..As market days are wearing late
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And we sit talkin' o'er the gate
0:05:43 > 0:05:45TAM LAUGHS
0:05:45 > 0:05:47'Ah, Tam. Had thou but been sae wise,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49'to look at the book before you arrived.'
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The mosses, waters, slaps and stiles,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56That lie between us and our hame.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Thank you very much.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01PUPILS BOO AND CHEER
0:06:06 > 0:06:07Aye, all right, all right.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17There you go. Just be grateful the dead cannae sue.
0:06:17 > 0:06:18Sorry, Rabbie Burns.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22But, that was horrendous. That was a wee bit scary, as well.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24And I must be honest,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26even though it was 30, 32, 33 years ago
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I was doing those three poems,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32I did genuinely think somewhere they would be still lodged in there.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34But they weren't.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38- Did you enjoy that, or was it rubbish?- Eh, good.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39TAM LAUGHS
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I get a feeling that if we did a wee bit of,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47maybe even went down to Burns country, you never know.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49A wee bit of it might start coming back.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52But, do I want it back? That's the thing.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01'So, time to get back to basics.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06'And where better to start than Burns's old stamping ground?'
0:07:06 > 0:07:07While we sit bousing at the nappy
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Come on, Rabbie. I need your help here, pal.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12I got booed! Booed off stage
0:07:12 > 0:07:15by the weans at my old school.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Need a wee bit of inspiration. Help us out.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21While we sit bousing at the nappy
0:07:21 > 0:07:23An' getting fou and unco happy
0:07:23 > 0:07:27'Ayr town centre is absolutely crammed with references to Burns.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29'So surely this is where I'll find all the real experts.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33What's your all-time favourite bit of Rabbie Burns?
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- Ohhh!- No, I don't remember that one. What was that fae?
0:07:36 > 0:07:37SHE LAUGHS
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Wee, sleekit, cow'rin tim'rous beastie
0:07:40 > 0:07:41That's about as much as I know.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45- Seriously, is that all you know? - I did it at school, I've remembered that line.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48A man's a man for a' that and a' that.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50- You like that?- I like that.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Some hae meat and cannae eat And some hae meat that want it
0:07:53 > 0:07:56We hae meat, and we can eat Sae let the Lord be thankit. Amen.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00- And who wrote that?- Rabbie Burns! - Good. What's it called?
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Oh, To A Mouse or something. I don't ken.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07And do you think, yourself, it should be taught to the kids?
0:08:08 > 0:08:13I think they should be getting taught more about the Second World War and stuff,
0:08:13 > 0:08:14and current things.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Old, really old. Nobody cares anymore.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20He was born in 1759, give the man a chance.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Exactly, he should be kept in 1759, there's no need for him now.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26What about yourself? A wee bit of Burns, what would it be?
0:08:26 > 0:08:28My Luve's like a red, red rose
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- And that's my wife.- Right. - You believe that if you want.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34HE LAUGHS
0:08:34 > 0:08:35Thanks. >
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Do you think kids should still be taught Burns?
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Absolutely. I think it's positive.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41It's part of our culture,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43and I think it's positive to get them involved in that.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Any country you stay in, you need to be involved in your culture, and know where you're from.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52And that's a massive part of Scotland, and especially Ayrshire's history.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55'There's no better place to immerse yourself
0:08:55 > 0:08:58'in the history of Burns, than just down the road in Alloway.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01'This is the epicentre of all things Burns,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03'including the brand-new £23 million museum.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06'The heid bummer here is Nat Edwards,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08'and in my personal tour of the museum,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12'he revealed his in-depth knowledge of the bard,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14'and some incredible facts.'
0:09:14 > 0:09:18In Japan, for example, if you cross the road at one of these pelican crossings,
0:09:18 > 0:09:23and you press the button, if you're crossing one direction it plays Coming Through The Rye.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27- Oh, right.- It's a tune people are familiar with. Didn't even realise it was Burns,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31but they've been hearing it since they were knee-high to a grasshopper.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33The song they play to clear shopping centres in Japan
0:09:33 > 0:09:38at the end of the day, to tell everybody to go, is Auld Lang Syne.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41One of the national songs of Bangladesh is based on
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Ye Banks And Braes O' Bonnie Doon.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47But it's a song that every taxi driver in Bangladesh thinks of as their song.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51And that's the great thing about Burns. People have heard a wee bit of Burns,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54they'll recognise a quote, they'll recognise a snatch of music,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56and suddenly he's somebody who's very familiar.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00'I'd only been in here five minutes, and any other museum,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'I'd be been fast asleep by now.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05'But I was genuinely beginning to find this place fascinating.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09'And then Nat played his trump card, and showed me and exhibit
0:10:09 > 0:10:12'that genuinely took my breath away.'
0:10:12 > 0:10:15I'm almost getting a wee kind of tingle.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19So that wee pen set has been in the hand of Robert Burns?
0:10:19 > 0:10:22That's absolutely amazing. Tell us about that.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27It's hard to sum up in a few words how magical that is.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Burns wrote in the ale houses and the brothels and the houses he visited,
0:10:31 > 0:10:32and just in the fields.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36And that pen set tells you all of that.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40And it might even have been one of those pens, for example, that wrote Tam O' Shanter?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43There's a very good chance that it was, yeah.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47It's the equivalent of seeing Van Gogh's paintbrushes or George Best's boots.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52They're physical connection through an object with the very best that the man's got to offer.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55'I'd always thought Burns was just a farmer who wrote a few poems,
0:10:55 > 0:11:01'but I'm now beginning to think he wouldn't look out of place in the line-up of the Rolling Stones,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04'or maybe even on the cover of Sgt Pepper.'
0:11:09 > 0:11:12He took music and poetry that other people had been doing,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15but without the sexiness and passion.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17He gave it a huge new audience,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and he made Scottish writing and Scottish poetry and Scottish music
0:11:21 > 0:11:23international and sexy and revolutionary,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27and absolutely put a fire under the establishment.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32So, Nat. Sum up for me, then, Robert Burns in one word.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Rock 'n' roll.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39He was. He was the first modern rock 'n' roll hero.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48'30 years ago,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50'the words "rock 'n' roll" and "Robert Burns"
0:11:50 > 0:11:52'didn't appear in the same sentence.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54'Things have obviously changed.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56'And, while standing on the Brig O' Doon
0:11:56 > 0:11:59'where Tam O' Shanter's horse lost its tail,
0:11:59 > 0:12:05'it makes me wonder, apart from winning certificates and trophies, what Burns did for me.'
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I'm looking here after 30 years at Tam O' Shanter.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09When chapman billies leave the street
0:12:09 > 0:12:14And drouthy neibors, neibors, meet As market days are wearing late And folk begin to tak the gate
0:12:14 > 0:12:18But after that, I'm thinking "what does that word mean? I don't undertand that bit."
0:12:18 > 0:12:23Was I just learning it parrot fashion? Learnt all the words, but didn't actually understand them.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26And I must honest, if I was a kid now, looking back at that,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and it wasn't forced upon me a wee bit,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31I don't know if I could be bothered with it.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36So, is there a better way of learning Scots, understanding it,
0:12:36 > 0:12:40where a lot of it isn't actually gobbledegook?
0:12:40 > 0:12:43ALL: # You put your oxter in, your oxter oot,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45# in, oot, in, oot,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47# shake it all aboot.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51# You do the shooglie-wooglie and you birl around,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55# that's what it's all aboot. Tam! #
0:12:59 > 0:13:02'At Glencairn Primary, another school in Motherwell,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'I caught up with Matthew Fitt.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06'He's taught the Scots language
0:13:06 > 0:13:07'in over 1,000 schools,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10'and he's written loads of books, all in the Scots language.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15'He teaches the kids modern Scots first.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18'And then he gives them a flavour of the old Scots that Burns used.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23'But what motivated Matthew to do all this in the first place?'
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I think it goes back to when I was in primary 6,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29when I got belted for using Scots words in the classroom.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31I said to the teacher that I didnae ken something,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33and she went aff her heid about it.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36I thought, "Well, I need to learn English to get on." So, I did.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Point tae your left lug.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I realised there was something missing in me,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and it was the Scots language.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45So Scots is something that's part of me.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It's in here, and it's in here as well.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50There was naebody around to tell me what Scots was,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52so I had to go and find out masel, ask people, read books.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54And I ended up writing, masel.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58What about mingin? Put your hand up right now if you're mingin.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00PUPILS LAUGH
0:14:00 > 0:14:04'Mingin, boufin, loupin, boggin. Magic!
0:14:04 > 0:14:08'The kids are now getting taught the full vocabulary.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13'But hands up if you think Matthew can solve a personal language problem.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- 'I've got a wean. That's Scots for "baby".- Thank you.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18MATTHEW LAUGHS
0:14:18 > 0:14:22And she's at an age when they're meant to be taking everything in, you know.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26And whenever I do stuff like, "Come on, we'll look oot the windae",
0:14:26 > 0:14:29or, "Come here, I'll lift you up aff the flair" or whatever,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32my wife disnae like it. So, should she have a problem with this?
0:14:32 > 0:14:38Not really. Because she's hearing Scots fae you, and hearing English, I imagine, from your wife,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and so your lass is being brought up bilingual.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43And a lot of folk hae a problem with...
0:14:43 > 0:14:45So, my baby's bilingual, already?
0:14:45 > 0:14:47A lot of folk hae a problem with the word "bilingual"
0:14:47 > 0:14:50cos it means you're taking Scots seriously as a language,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54but surely learning the language of your faither is an important thing?
0:14:54 > 0:14:58'And, when it comes tae Scots, you CAN teach an auld dug new jinks.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03ALL: # Heid, shooders knaps and taes Knaps and taes
0:15:03 > 0:15:06# Heid, shooders, knaps and taes Shanks and taes... #
0:15:06 > 0:15:08'So, it's official. It is OK to talk in Scots.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11'Ma bairn will be singing Heid And Shooders
0:15:11 > 0:15:13'like a lichty the nichty when I get hame.'
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Brilliant!
0:15:15 > 0:15:19'But I hear one of the highest seats of learning are also talking Scots,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23'in the shape of a new Robert Burns study centre at Glasgow Uni,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26'Co-run by professor Kirsteen McCue.'
0:15:26 > 0:15:30So, Kirsteen. This is actually your place of work, of course.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- Is this all for Burns? - Oh, I wish it was all for Burns!
0:15:34 > 0:15:36This is the Bute Hall at Glasgow University...
0:15:36 > 0:15:42'Now, I've never been to university, so I had nae idea what was going on.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46'Kirsteen later told me that this is a graduation.'
0:15:46 > 0:15:50I'm quite embarrassed that you put this on for me, today.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Normally with other folk we've interviewed you just get a cup of tea.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57- His doctorate in Tommy Cooper studies, there.- That's right.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58SHE LAUGHS
0:15:58 > 0:16:01My mum's got a lampshade like that.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06Somebody was telling me recently the coloured hoods are all based on Scottish heathers at Glasgow.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11'Kirsteen is one of the world's leading authorities on Burns and his work.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15'So I took the opportunity to ask a very scholarly question.'
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Was he a great intellect, then? Was he a real brainbox?
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Would he have been the Horace Broon from The Broons if he was here now?
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Yeah, he was. He was very well read.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31As quite a young man he was a reader of philosophy and of literature.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35He was very, very deeply influenced by Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40In fact, To A Mouse, they say, is a direct response, in some ways,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42of Burns' reading Enlightenment philosophy.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45'Kirsteen is undoubtedly a smart cookie.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50'But I thought it was time to impress her with some of MY credentials.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53'And, as it happens, I once met her dad,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'the late, great Scots singer, Bill McCue.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58'And check this out -
0:16:58 > 0:17:00'two of my winning Burns certificates were presented to me
0:17:00 > 0:17:02'by the great man himself.'
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Your dad presented me with both of these.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Oh, you're joking!
0:17:08 > 0:17:10March 1981. You can have a wee look at them.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14- That's weird, the person that gave me them was a McCue.- That's weird!
0:17:14 > 0:17:16And now I'm passing them on to his daughter for a wee look.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23- "Smashing attack."- Yes.- "First class delivery." "Almost too loud."
0:17:23 > 0:17:24Yeah, keep going.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26SHE LAUGHS
0:17:26 > 0:17:31The adjudicators were very kind. But your dad, honestly, was even better. I vividly remember it.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34He came up at the end, shook my hand, just a wee boy, I was,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38he shook my hand and said, "That was great" and "Really good".
0:17:38 > 0:17:41'So I was encouraged by Bill McCue all those years ago,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43'but can Kirsteen McCue shed some light
0:17:43 > 0:17:47'on how I might have benefited from the Burns competitions?'
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Kirsteen, would it be fair to say, then,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51that Burns preserved the Scots language?
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Could I even go further and say that if it hadn't been for Robert Burns,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I wouldnae be speaking the way I speak now?
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Yeah, I think you could follow that through to a logical conclusion.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04My literary colleagues would say,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07"Well, it wasn't just Burns, it was a whole load of others."
0:18:07 > 0:18:09But for the majority of Scots,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13if they only come across one piece of Scots literature
0:18:13 > 0:18:16or one Scottish writer in their lifetime, it will be Burns.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19So, from that point of view, yeah, I think it is.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Now, the thing is, with the way I speak,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25I've had folk having a go at me, having a wee pop at me.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27They hear this voice on the radio and they think,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29"Oh, he's almost putting that voice on,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33"because it's the fitba he's talking about all the time."
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Is that just utterly ridiculous?
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Should I be proud of the way I speak?
0:18:37 > 0:18:42I think the key thing is to feel natural in your own language
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and to be able to speak in that language
0:18:44 > 0:18:46with a certain level of confidence.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51And I think there's a real problem with Scots, actually, in our country, in that context.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54And I think the fact that you speak the way you do on radio,
0:18:54 > 0:18:56is the way many people...
0:18:56 > 0:18:59You hear the programmes, the football call-in programmes on a Saturday,
0:18:59 > 0:19:04you're speaking the same language as the people who are listening to those programmes.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Right, so anybody that's criticising the way I speak,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10can I just claim that the baton has been passed on to me
0:19:10 > 0:19:12from our national bard?
0:19:12 > 0:19:13Can I make that claim now?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Yeah. Do you write poems?- Eh?
0:19:16 > 0:19:17SHE LAUGHS
0:19:17 > 0:19:19So, do you write poems?
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Yes. "There was a young man from Sanka, who..."
0:19:22 > 0:19:23No. Do you know that one?
0:19:23 > 0:19:25I can imagine!
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I think there's two things happening here.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Yes, I think you could quite legitimately say,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32"I'm taking the baton of Burns"
0:19:32 > 0:19:35in the sense of keeping a living language going.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38But Burns was also a creative writer.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39He was also an artist.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42And I don't think we should forget that, as well.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45He's doing artistic things with language.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47It's not to suggest you're not being creative, Tam,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50but you're using a living language in a living way.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53You're not using it in a creative way in terms of literature.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54So Burns is doing the two things,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57but you're certainly carrying half of the baton on.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58Right. OK.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04'To be honest, I reckon she was just being nice, saying "half the baton."
0:20:04 > 0:20:06'But that's quite a responsibility.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11And it's beginning to sink in that Burns had a bigger influence on me than I thought possible.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'Being booed aff the stage...
0:20:16 > 0:20:20'..a stage, remember, that I once owned, was humiliating.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26'So, I decided I would try and redeem masel,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29'and go back and put on a proper Burns day for the kids.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34'So, what do I need for a proper Burns day?
0:20:34 > 0:20:37'Haggis. Aye. Definitely need a haggis.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39'But what do you do with a haggis?'
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Cut you up wi' ready sleight
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Like ony ditch
0:20:45 > 0:20:47And, O what a glorious sight...
0:20:47 > 0:20:50'Ricky Hutchison is an expert Burns supper man.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54'And he's brilliant at the Address To The Haggis.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56'He's also a lawyer from Airdrie,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59'so, I'm sure he's carved up quite a few big puddings in his time.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01An' legs an' arms, an' heids will sned,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Like taps o' trissle.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08'Nah, haggis is oot. Kids hate haggis.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14'Matthew Fitt had suggested playing an auld Scots game called flighting.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19'Two folk go head-to-head, using one-word insults in turn, until you get a winner.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24'So Matthew, you're the boss, you can go first.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- Numpty.- Warmer.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- Bauchle.- Tube.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30- Hornie golach.- Cabbage.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32- Kale.- Eejit.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- Bahookie.- Fartypops.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39- I think I clinched it, there. - That's it, that's the winner.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41MATTHEW LAUGHS
0:21:41 > 0:21:43I gie up!
0:21:45 > 0:21:49'Nah, I'm not so sure. One slip of the tongue and that game could easily get out of control.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53'The one thing I definitely have to include is Tam O' Shanter.'
0:21:53 > 0:21:56If I'm going to have a crack at doing a bit of Burns,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I need somebody who's going to help my performance.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01And where better to come than here?
0:22:01 > 0:22:03King's Theatre in Glasgow,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06where the star of the show is miss Karen Dunbar.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Now, I saw Karen performing Tam O' Shanter in front of a packed crowd
0:22:10 > 0:22:14about a year, two years ago, and it was amazing.
0:22:14 > 0:22:1813 minutes of sheer magic when she was on stage.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Brilliant performance.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22And if anybody could help me,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25I'm pretty sure Karen could. Fingers crossed.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Don't just learn the words, learn what it is underneath it.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Tell them a story wi' they words.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37But know the story you're telling.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39And if you can manage that, Tam,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41I'll take my hat off tae ye.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43TAM LAUGHS
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Can I be so bold as to ask you, just for me, for auld time's sake,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49could you gie us a wee bit of Tam O'Shanter?
0:22:49 > 0:22:51With a bit of gusto? And I'll take some tips.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Right, from the top of my heid,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and the top of my heid is very far up, as you can see.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Magic. Here we go, then. Just for me.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Tam O' Shanter by Robert Burns, as told by Karen Dunbar.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Right.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Ehm.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09But Maggie stood right sair astonish'd
0:23:09 > 0:23:12Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd
0:23:12 > 0:23:15She ventur'd forward on the light
0:23:15 > 0:23:19And, vow! Tam saw an unco sight!
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Warlocks and witches in a dance
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Nae cotillon brent new frae France, no
0:23:25 > 0:23:28But hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys and reels
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Put life and mettle in their heels.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33'Now, when Burns wrote Tam O' Shanter,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36'I bet you this is exactly how he wanted it performed.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38'Well, maybe without the hat.'
0:23:38 > 0:23:41He screw'd the pipes and gart them skirl
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Till roof and rafters a' did dirl...
0:23:44 > 0:23:46You're not gonnae be able to dae this.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49No, honestly that's absolutely brilliant.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53I am totally gubbed. That's it. Leave it to the experts.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Me and Burns recitals? Finito!
0:24:00 > 0:24:03If he really wanted to dae something for the weans...
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Charity marathon or something?
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Ehm...
0:24:07 > 0:24:13No, Tam is more than capable of it, but the work it takes, actually,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16to put it across with confidence,
0:24:16 > 0:24:21I think, and connection is maybe a wee bit more than reading a book.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23He'll dae it. He will.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24You think? No? No, he'll not.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26No, he will. No, he'll not.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35'But there's mair than one way to skin a haggis,
0:24:35 > 0:24:36'so forget the usual stuff,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39'I'm taking the kids from my old school on a mystery tour.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41'And, to get them in the mood,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44'what about a wee song I picked up in my travels?'
0:24:44 > 0:24:47ALL: # Heid and shooders knaps and taes, knaps and taes
0:24:47 > 0:24:51# And een and lugs and mooth and claes
0:24:51 > 0:24:55# Heid and shooders, knaps and taes knaps and taes. #
0:24:55 > 0:24:56Again!
0:24:56 > 0:24:59# Heid and shooders, knaps and taes knaps and taes
0:24:59 > 0:25:02# Heid and shooders, knaps and taes knaps and taes
0:25:02 > 0:25:04# And een and lugs and mooth and claes
0:25:04 > 0:25:07# Heid and shooders, knaps and taes knaps and taes. #
0:25:10 > 0:25:14'This mystery tour will take the kids back in time.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16'250 years back in time.'
0:25:16 > 0:25:19You should be showing some 18th century manners,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21so girls, lifting your...
0:25:21 > 0:25:25And boys, you should be letting the girls walk in front of you.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32'The kids get to spend the whole day dressed in 18th century clothes,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36'and act out a day in the life of Burns and his family.'
0:25:36 > 0:25:39So, have we got anybody who'd like to volunteer to be Agnes?
0:25:39 > 0:25:41OK, your hand was up first, in you come.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43You come and sit, and you can be Agnes
0:25:43 > 0:25:47You can sit and nurse a baby in that chair there.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54'This mystery tour has also taken me back in time, but only 30 years.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58'And I think about the fantastic feeling I had
0:25:58 > 0:26:00'when I won these trophies.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03'And when I learnt to stand up in front of an audience
0:26:03 > 0:26:04'and gie it laldy.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09'Burns clearly helped me in my journey,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12'and I feel it's time to pass on the baton.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15'And, inspired by my favourite exhibit at the museum,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17'I had a wee gift for the kids.'
0:26:17 > 0:26:19And I want you, whenever you feel inspirational,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22whenever you feel a wee bit like Robert Burns,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24and you want to write some stuff doon,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27write it into your notepads with these pencils, and you never know -
0:26:27 > 0:26:29one day in the future,
0:26:29 > 0:26:34there might be a museum named after one of you in Motherwell.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35So you can dish these out, OK?
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Yous'll all get one the now, but you can fire them out.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Thank you very much. Even better, who likes crisps?
0:26:41 > 0:26:43- ALL: Me!- Right, I've got haggis crisps for you.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45ALL: Ewww!
0:26:45 > 0:26:47TAM LAUGHS
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Don't "Ewww!" They're actually very good. Gie them a go, first.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53There you go. Thank you.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57And as a wee special treat just to finish,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59cos I know you did all enjoy it,
0:26:59 > 0:27:04what I'm gonnae do for you now is read, one more time,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08a wee bit of Burns. So, here we go. Tam O' Shanter, by Robert Burns.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11SCREAMING
0:27:25 > 0:27:27'Eh? How's that for gratitude?
0:27:27 > 0:27:32'I was tempted to lock the wee bampots up for the night in Burns' haunted hoose.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35'But, I forgave them, and decided I better get them back up the road.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37'And at the end of my journey,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41'I go home knowing that I've had the best seat in the house -
0:27:41 > 0:27:44'next to Robert Burns.'
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Burns, obviously, as I've learned, was determined
0:27:47 > 0:27:49to hold on to the Scots language,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51and even though, let's be fair,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54the language has evolved a hell of a lot since then,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and there's still loads of words within Burns poems
0:27:57 > 0:27:58that I wouldnae know
0:27:58 > 0:28:01and the kids here wouldnae know,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05it's obviously important, still, to haud on to the language.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08And keep it strong.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11And having learned the whole thing that Matthew Fitt was telling us
0:28:11 > 0:28:14about being bilingual, and not thinking that Scots
0:28:14 > 0:28:17is something to be swept under the carpet.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21I mean, never in my life did I think I'd be able to turn around
0:28:21 > 0:28:23and say, "hey, I'm bilingual".
0:28:23 > 0:28:25So I'm quite happy about that,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and if bilingual means me being quite happy going on the radio,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33speaking the way I do, speaking Scots, then absolutely brilliant.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36So I do feel quite good about myself with that, aye.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk