Saturday the 8th of February saw a slightly later date to celebrate Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, but it was a well turned out event with 130 revellers enjoying the hearty Scottish fare, whisky, haggis, poetry and Scottish country dancing. Greeted by the skirl of the pipes by Portuguese piper, Gonçalo do Carmo at the rustic venue of the Quinta de Santo António in Malveira da Serra, guests mingled for cocktails and nibbles before being warmly welcomed by Chieftain of the Society, Andrew Cunningham.

A delicious traditional meal followed, accompanied by wines and, of course, whisky before the Scottish country dancing began with the Haggis Chasers Ceilidh Band, who flew in from Scotland, especially for the event. The evening closed with a lively Auld Lang Syne at midnight.

Our sincere thanks to all who made the evening so successful, our sponsors William Grant & Sons for the Glenfiddich and Grants whiskies, our Celtic cousin, Gonçalo for his piping, Rosemary Adams for providing the delicious Scottish tablet to accompany coffee, Sebastian Kracun for his entertaining rendition of the Address to the Haggis, members of the Haggis Chasers Ceilidh Band for keeping us right on the dance floor and for entertaining us with a selection of songs and music and the staff of the Quinta for the delicious meal and attentive service. Special thanks also to friends of the Committee who gave up their precious time to help decorate and prepare the Quinta for the evening.

Our next event will be the St. Andrew’s black tie ball on Saturday 29th November, 2025 in the Hotel Palácio, Estoril. For further information please email: standrewssoclisbon.gmail.com. You can also see a few highlights of the evening on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LisbonStAndrewsSoc/