MORE people than ever before were at the Burns’ Night dinner held at the Waie Inn, Zeal Monachorum by the Rotary Club of Crediton, organised by Wilson and Brenda Mitchell.

Proceeds were for local charities and although the final figure is not yet known, the raffle alone raised more than £600.

With club members, most of the diners were local people and a few visitors to share the whisky (optional), haggis and poetry in honour of Robert Burns, probably Scotland’s most famous poet, on a day on or near his birthday, January 25.

Burns was born in 1759, died in 1796. The first supper was held in 1801.

On Friday evening, the proceedings began with Piper Ray Couch, a member of the North Devon Pipes and Drums, who played as people entered the Waie Inn and again before the welcome by Paul Evans, who hosted the evening.

He said that with 170 people present, there had never been so many at the Rotary Burns’ evening.

The haggis was carried in by 17-years-old Matt Goodman, a Year 11 pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s School. One family was represented by three generations.

Speakers were all Rotarians or partners, some being Scots, including Annie Robinson who gave the Ode to a Haggis and Michael Boyle, a Rotarian from Totnes who Addressed the haggis.

Ann Macbeth and her team arranged the flowers, former presidents Carole Webb and Sylvia Seage master-minded the raffle.

Suppliers were all from Scotland. The staff of the Waie were praised for the excellence of the Cullen Skink, a light smoked fish soup among the five starters. There were five desserts as well as the haggis with chappit tatties and bashed neeps and Famous Grouse cream whisky sauce or a beef casserole.

By Sue Read