A Man's a Man for a' That

25th January 1759 - Robert Burns was born.
Burns' Night is a big occasion throughout Scotland and in many other parts of the world too.
I grew to love his poetry and songs over the years we lived in Scotland and this one - sung by Dougie McLean - is just one of his hundreds of works and my favourite version of 'Is There For Honest Poverty' (For a' that an' a' that). https://youtu.be/v6iWmlFaCCc

He tells us in this poem that good character and honesty are far more important than status and riches and in the last verse that we should all learn to live together in unity, no matter what nation we belong to -  'the world o'er'.
http://www.forathat.com/a-mans-a-man-for-a-that.html

Although I was born in Lancaster and brought up in Liverpool I always had a yearning to go to Scotland. When I was 5 I used to tell people that when I grew up I would marry a Scotsman. I used to watch The White Heather Club and I loved Andy Stewart! The family used to smile and wonder where this love of all things Scottish came from. My mum said that her Mum's family was Scottish but had no idea where from or about her Mum's background as she died when my Mum was only 10.

I grew up and forgot all about those childhood fantasies and in 1974 went to Germany as an au pair, where I got married and had my 3 children.
10 years later, after my ex and I had had a break up I wanted to go home. My family had missed out on seeing the children and wanted to be closer to them. However we got back together and moved as a family.  Instead of going to the Liverpool area though we somehow ended up in the Dumfries and Galloway area in SW Scotland, first staying in a community called 'Lothlorien' for a couple of weeks and then living in a static caravan in Southerness for 6 weeks. We loved the area and eventually found a cedar clad cottage to rent on the top of a hill in High Auldgirth.
Eventually the marriage broke down again and after that Frank and I got together in 1997.
I had never questioned my ancestry, I suppose I was too busy bringing up children. One day I saw an advert for Ancestry.co.uk with a special offer of 4 months for £20. Curiosity got the better of me and I joined.
It took a week for me to find out that my maternal Great Grandparents - Patersons - came from Auchencairn, near Kirkcudbright, near to where we lived. My Gt Granddad and his Dad before him were tailors. 
The other men in the family worked in the leadmines and the quarries. My Great Uncle Andy was an exceptional stone mason and was asked to lead a team of men to build the war memorials in that area including the one in the park in Dalbeattie.
I still have a 3rd cousin in Dalbeattie and also one in Vancouver who I never would have known about had I not joined Ancestry. A few years ago, the 3 of us met up in Castle Douglas. I can remember the surreal feeling, while sitting in 'Designs' cafe of sitting there with family I never knew existed before.

That,  my friends is where my love of Scotland came from, it was my roots calling me. Then years later in 2018 my other roots called me (and Frank) back to England, and although we are in Yorkshire we're just a few miles from Lancashire where we both originated. I've rejoined Ancestry, so who knows what else I'll discover.

I also did my grey roots on my head yesterday! :-D

Stay Safe friends ;-)X