Robert Burns -statues galore

We were on the Moscow metro and a man in our party was wearing a kilt when a woman stepped forward, opened a book, and began reading some Rabbie Burns poems to him.

This was some years ago and the first indication I had of the power of Burns abroad.


So it comes as little surprise to learn that after Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus, Robert Burns has more statues dedicated to him around the world than any other non-religious figure.

Today a new one was unveiled on the Bard's birthday.

The sculpture, by Kenny Hunter was commissioned by Scottish Tevision, and unveiled at the National Trust for Scotland's Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.


We have this one in Stirling which I must confess I have walked past many times without giving it a second glance. But I needed a blip pic for the day and what better than a statue of Burns.

Background info

Robert Burns (25 January 1759 - 21 July 1796) (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, Robden of Solway Firth, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard)[1][2] was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a "light" Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt.