St. Andrew's Day - Gung Haggis Fat Choy style

St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.  St Andrew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples and he lived and worked as a fisherman in Galilee. He was the brother of Peter, another of Christ's disciples.

A few days ago... Maggie Shiels of the BBC Radio Scotland program "Scotland Licked" asked me if I had any plans for St. Andrew's Day.  I had to confess that I hadn't thought about it.  But I promised I would celebrate now that she had brought it up.

So... how did Toddish McWong celebrated St. Andrew's Day?  By forgetting to wear my kilt - but with the freezing temperatures and yesterday's snowfall still hanging around the upper elevations, I didn't dare. 

St. Andrew was a fisherman, so for dinner I ate fish.  Well actually it was sushi, and it was during a meeting for the Save Kogawa House committee.  Next I went to see the musical show celebrating the music and dance of South Africa, called Umoja, "the spirit of togetherness."  Amazing! Filled with incredible songs, drums, music and dance... I will write my review later.

The most important thing I did on St. Andrew's Day was go to my favorite drinking establishment in Vancouver - Doolin's Irish Pub, where we celebrate "Kilts Night" on the first Saturday of each month. My buddy Rod and his brother Rick were my drinking partners as we celebrated with Guinness.  We had the Irish Nachos made with potato chips... covered with cheese, sour cream, onions, diced tomatoes...

Doolin's is fun - the waitresses all wear short plaid skirts, and I recieved greetings from Evan the manager, Christine Van, the promotions manager, and Jenny our waitress.
Bear,Me, Dallas and Raphael at Kilts Night
Vancouver really doesn't celebrate St. Andrew's Day.  There's a mention in the Georgia Straight by Jurgen Goethe about a limited release Scottish Ale by Granville Island Breweries.  A few of the local Scottish societies are having St. Andrew's Day dinners.  But nobody's invited me yet.  Maybe they're afraid I might bring my accordion.

It was way back in 1955 on St. Andrew's Day in 1955, 21 Scottish Canadians groups finally opened the United Scottish Cultural Centre at Fir and 12th Avenue in Vancouver. (In July, 1986, the centre would move into a new home at 8886 Hudson in Marpole.)  Apparently there was a party there on Nov 26th, Saturday Night - but nobody told me. 
- Joe McDonald on flute
Mad Celts was providing the entertainment - and Joe McDonald band leader is my regular piper for Gung Haggis Fat Choy.... and he didn't tell me!