Libby’s Naked Diary: The joy of a Burns Night Highland fling
IT IS Burns Night this Saturday, the annual celebration of the life, poetry and birthday of Scottish superstar Robert Burns, when even the most tenuous links to Scottish ancestry are upheld with haggis, bagpipes and whisky. I can claim a grandfather from the Highlands and am therefore preparing to party with all three. What, however, is a party without dancing? London Reels has been teaching Scottish reeling for over 50 years with lessons, socials and balls at Knightbridge’s St Columba’s Church.
The modest £9 entrance fee covers a class followed by a social, with all profits going to charity. I arrived at 6.45pm when the doors opened and was stunned by the masses of people already clamouring to get in. The capacity of 300 was easily filled by the time the lesson started at 7pm and from then on it operates a one-in, one-out policy. Almost every decade over the age of 18 was represented, with the vast majority being young professionals in their twenties and thirties. A trestle table with jugs of squash, paper cups and sharpie pens was swarmed by people who diligently wrote their names on their cups so as not to lose them.
The authoritative Eliza, who went on to lead the class, urged us all to keep to one cup only to avoid wastage – the bar would open after the class. I had just discovered Naked Wines also does a range of spirits, so had popped their James Eadie Miltonduff 9-Year-Old Small Batch Single Malt Whisky (Naked Wines, £43.99) into my handbag for sneaky top ups between dances. This Speyside single malt is a smoothly warming pleasure of baked apple and vanilla and far lighter on its feet than I proved to be.
Reeling is ideal for mingling: come solo, with a partner or with friends. Each dance requires people to make up groups of a certain number, so there is a flurry of activity as guests rush to join with strangers and make up the required number. My guest and I stood flummoxed in the middle of the floor when Eliza declared the next dance was for two ladies and one man, until a couple approached us and asked if we needed a chap – at which point they split, he took our hands, and his wife headed off to find another pair.
How much swinging is involved in naked Libby’s Diary this I wondered? Was this a hot bed of extra-marital activity? Were we to be propositioned for a Highland ‘fling’? But no, it all seemed to be about the dance itself, with groups splitting and merging throughout the evening. In any given group there would be a couple of absolute pros, their legs whipping back and forth in perfect time as they swirled across the floor, but they were always patient with the clumsily bobbing beginners such as myself, counting us in and pointing the direction we were meant to be spinning.
“Skirts up, trousers down” a young man shouted at me, and I was briefly thrown by such a direct proposition, but it turned out this is the direction men and women move when reeling in rows. For such a simple style of dance, it can feel like a code. There are codes for behaviour too. For example, it is against etiquette for a lady to decline an invitation to dance when approached, even when sweaty and trying to surreptitiously pour some more whisky from her handbag, so the evening was one of high activity. Zumba eat your heart out.
When the class ended and the social began it became notably more raucous. Reeling is a great connector, and new alliances were formed in an instant. I may not have been the slickest dancing partner, but I took the opportunity to share my whisky out to mass approval. Robert Burns may have thought “hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and reels, put life and mettle in their heels” but such mettle is aided by a decent dram.
A NAKED PAIRING: Denis Crespo Le Chene Noir 2023 with Haggis
THOUGH traditionally a whisky would be the proper pairing for haggis, personally I prefer wine with a meal, so I selected the Denis Crespo Le Chene Noir 2023 (Naked Wines, £16.99; Angel Price, £12.99) from the Rhone in France. These full-bodied red blends are always robustly packed with flavour and finesse, and this beauty is made even more wonderful by the fact Denis Crespo employs 60 local families, meaning they have a real and positive impact on the local community.
There are a range of wines that could work with this pairing from lightly fruity Beaujolais style reds, to black-peppered Syrahs and the weighty, richness of a Viognier – but for me this wine covers all bases. Haggis is richly savoury with a peppery spice that is matched by the spice in the wine, which also has deep elegant flavours of black fruits and bramble and a pleasantly herbaceous undertone that compliments the earthy, gamey qualities of the dish. A great choice for your Burns Night dinner.
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