Here's the scoop - yesterday (Sat 20th January) I met Laura downtown; the day was very cold with small banks of snow around the streets, but with beautiful blue skies and sunshine. I took her to the cafe where we had had our first date, Everest Cafe on Queen West (which serves Himalayan food) and we had lunch. I should point out here that I recently invested in a digital video camera, so I caught the whole day on tape for eternity, which you'll see. I told Laura I was making a documentary for my family, tee hee. Then I broke the news that I'd booked a lovely room at the Old Mill Inn where the Burns Supper was being held. Later, we gathered our things and headed for the glens - or West Toronto!
We took our time getting ready in a truly fantastic room (we were delighted by our home for the night) and I had the full regalia - kilt, sporran, Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat with silver square buttons, hose, flashes, sgian dubh, kilt pin and Gillie brogues. Laura was wearing her lovely custom made dress that you saw in the photos recently. We went down to the dinner (in this hall
http://www.oldmilltoronto.com/photos/BruleRoom1.html ) and the 48th Highlanders piped in, there was the Selkirk Grace, a wonderful Ode to the Haggis and then the toast to the Immortal Memory..... During dinner I spotted the chap who recites the poems and songs, a distinguished, tall gent I remembered from last year with a silver beard, and it turns out he's a Minister called Malcolm Sinclair, a Canadian-Scot (he offered to marry us down the road, before I'd even asked Laura. I told him that first thing's first!). When he went off to the bathroom I hurriedly followed and caught him in the hallway. I explained my idea, that I wanted to read The Red, Red Rose and then propose to my beautiful girlfriend. "What a splendid idea!", he remarked and we hatched a plan that he would, as is customary, sing the first verse and then..... well here's what happened 20 mins later!
Malcolm is on stage in front of the 400 guests, he begins to sing the love poem. After the first verse he stops abruptly and then says, "This really needs the voice of a younger man, a man with young love in his heart, so I'd like to invite my friend Tom Quinn up here to do this..." I'm filming all this and I pass the camera to Laura who is of course very perplexed as she was thinking there must be another Tom Quinn in the audience. Up I get, legs not quite jelly, and recite the final two verses. I thank Malcolm for the opportunity, explain that my Mother was born in St Andrew's, Scotland and that I'm only English by accident (to get the crowd on my side of course!) and that I've been here since Sept '05 and I have a very important question to ask my beautiful girlfriend, Laura......... Gasps from the ladies in the audience! I hand the mic back to Malcolm and make my way down towards Laura to much thumping of tables and clanging of glasses, who now is
really wondering what's going on.
