FANS of the Scottish Bard Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns will tonight (January 25) be digging out their Tartan Trews and rehearsing their ‘toasts’ to celebrate the poet’s life and work.

They’ll also be raising a glass and tucking in to ‘haggis, neeps and tatties’.

It’s a perfect chance to gather the clan on a cold winter’s evening, tuck in to a scrumptious supper and address the haggis in time-honoured tradition.

One person who celebrates this day every year is Andrew Burton of Burtons Butchers - which provides haggis from Macsween, Edinburgh’s finest supplier. He said: “Burns Night is an evening that we always enjoy with family and friends.

“It’s something different that we don’t do any other time of the year, and there’s always someone new at our table keen to try the famous dish.”

There are not many who can claim Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and Abraham Lincoln as fans, but Rabbie Burns can – the Bard captured some of Scotland’s most expressive and reminiscent prose, and is known for his inspirational and touching writing style.

Tam O’Shanter, To A Mouse, and A Red, Red Rose are among some of his popular poems, however his ‘Address to a haggis’ has to be the most famous of all – a poem read every year at the annual gatherings: Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great Chieftan o’ the Puddin’-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy of a grace As lang’s my arm... Robert Burns.