Chapter 72.2: Burns Supper

We're about to head out for a Burns Supper. For those who aren't familiar with them, Burns Suppers are the annual remembrance of the Scottish bard, Robert Burns, who is best known for the poem Auld Lang Syne as well as A Man's a Man For A' That, To a Louse, and To a Mouse. Burns was born on January 25, 1759, so next year will be a hearty anniversary indeed!

Of course, at a Burns Supper, you can't enjoy the night without the Address to a Haggis. While people usually have a bad impression of haggis -- primarily because it's cooked in stomach lining -- it's actually not all that bad. And it goes well with scotch.

In keeping with the life of Rabbie Burns, who fathered at least eleven children, a Burns Supper has a tendency to be filled with vitality and fun. Ribald stories are often told in addition to respectful recollections about the bard himself. But like most special dinners, it's mostly about community getting together and sharing a meal and a pleasant time. Aye.

Chapter 68.9: 700 Years and Counting

My, how the time doth fly. Seven hundred years already? Feels like only a century or two. That's right, today is the seven hundredth anniversary of the arrest and masacre of the Knights Templar. The legend (and after 700 years, I think most things are either legends or matters of faith) is that King Philip IV of France was in deep to the Templars -- who, despite their vows of poverty, were the richest mo-fos in the world, in part because they invented checking and were pretty swift with a sword, so no one was going to say "Yeah, you and what army" when Vinny Templar came looking for his cut.) So Phil, with the help of Pope Clement, set out to wipe out his debts in one fell swoop and take out the Templars to boot. That occurred on October 13, 1307. It was a Friday (though I'm no savant, so I'll take that calendar thing as a matter of faith), which some say is why Friday the 13th became associated with bad luck.

Of course, there are other theories about Friday the 13th, and since today's Saturday, I'm not going to expound on that. If you're interested, I encourage you to use your library card.

Why should I care about this date? No real reason. But for many years, my wife and I have joked about the Sinclair connection to the Knights Templar. Those who read or watched The DaVinci Code should be aware of Roslin Castle, which is a Sinclair castle in Scotland that contains numerous Templar and Masonic references. The Sinclairs were key leaders in the Knights Templar. There is also a legend (and this is clearly at best a legend, no basis in fact as far as I'm aware) that the Sinclairs are derived from the daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and were somehow in the Merovingian line -- a point I don't even see in Wikipedia, so I'm certainly not giving it much credibility.

Like I said, I've got no real reason to pay this much attention. However, if you heard the news yesterday (Oh boy...), you may have heard that the Knights Templar were granted a reprieve on the charges of heresy, which were Pope Clement's basis for allowing Philip to send his hit squads out to arrest and kill the Templars. Oh well, what's 700 years between friends? Happy Friday the 13th, enjoy your Saturday!