Travel Notes: Dunedin — Day 11
Dunedin, or How to Address a Haggis
28 October 2005
Dear Family & Friends,
I have now officially been initiated into the family of Tour Managers—because I now know what happens at a Haggis Ceremony. Believe me when I tell you: it is not for the faint of heart.
First, there is preparation and instruction in the proper decorum, etiquette, and procedures regarding the haggis.
Next comes the solemn oath and swearing-in.
Then you proceed into the ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance befitting the haggis.
After that is the address itself—delivered with explanation and flourish.
Finally, there is the toast.
When all is said and done, and your haggis has been properly addressed, you may say to yourself: Well done. That will do.
Okay… what really happens is this:
Your Tour Manager volunteers you to be part of a ceremony.
The Haggis Master of Ceremonies dresses you in the plaid of the night (ours turned out to be the plaid of Otago, the region where Dunedin is located).
You are assigned a task. I was last in line, carrying a tray with a bottle of Scotch and five shot glasses.
Then you wait to be led into the ceremony:
First comes the Piper
Next was Michelle, carrying the sword and shield
Then the Haggis bearer (another coerced volunteer)
Followed by the Master of Ceremonies
And finally me, bringing in the drinks
We marched into the ceremony room, did a few turns around the audience bearing the haggis, carefully placed the haggis and Scotch on the table, and then listened as the Master of Ceremonies explained what haggis is, why we address it, and who first did so. Then he addressed the haggis—no, you don’t mail it, you eat it—and finally, we toasted the haggis.
A few important clarifications:
A. Haggis is a sausage mixture of meat, oatmeal, and herbs, cooked in a cleaned-out, inside-out sheep stomach.
B. We address the haggis because Robert Burns, the poet of Scotland, addressed it back in 1795 or so, making a statement to the Scottish people about embracing their heritage.
C. We toast the haggis because the first address performed after Burns’s death included a toast in his memory—and like all good traditions, it evolved.
Anyway… it’s a Scottish thing. And when in Dunedin, you do the Scottish things.
We also visited the Royal Albatross Centre, though we didn’t see many albatross—they’re busy mating and laying eggs, and who wants an audience for that? It was still a lovely drive along the Otago Peninsula and back, and yes—we even saw sheep grazing on green pastures. We also spotted a fur seal taking a nap on a sandy beach, close enough to feel almost personal, as we passed by in the big yellow bus.
Some of us went to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory to see a chocolate waterfall and enjoy free samples—yum! Others toured Speight’s Brewery to learn how beer is brewed, with free samples at the end of that one too.
Tomorrow we head toward Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand. I’m praying for clear weather—because tomorrow is also the day I ride in a helicopter for the first time in my life!!
Whoo-who!
More later…
Love to all,
TJ