Robert Burns

250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birthday today, so I put on my wellies and traipsed up a muddy lane in the wee village of Hillside to photograph a plaque placed in 2012 to commemorate a place he is supposed to have watered his horses whilst on a trip through this part of Scotland.  There was already a stone in the wall placed in 1930 for the same purpose - see the extra. It's very overcast today but I managed a good shot before the rain came on!  Burns' father was a tenant farmer wealthy enough to afford a maid servant, and a private tutor for his sons -  hense Robert's ability to write so profusely in both Scots and English. There's probably a lot of myth about the poet's work and life.  The poet Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978) probably hit the nail on the head when he wrote of Burns:  ‘Mair nonsense has been uttered in his name / Than in ony’s barrin’ liberty and Christ’!