The malls of Bournemouth’s Castlepoint Shopping Park reverberated with the stirring sound of bag pipes to celebrate Burns Night. As piper Jeremy Martin played favourite strathspeys, reels and jigs in honour of the Scottish bard, a cooking demonstration was provided by Brockenhurst College’s New Forest Cookery School, showing how to cook and serve haggis, either traditionally or creatively. Kitchen Manager Jane Purkiss and Chef Tutor Ian Hewitt invited shoppers to try haggis oat cake, soup and koftas.
Castlepoint’s General Manager Peter Matthews said that the celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns were appreciated by hundreds of the park’s visitors.
“We had a tremendously positive response from shoppers, not just those who originate from Scotland, who had the opportunity to enjoy the music and taste haggis for the first time. Jeremy’s pipe playing encouraged impromptu dancing on the malls, and foot tapping and handclapping from the less energetic!”
PHOTO: Haggis dish tasting – (from left) Peter Matthews, Jane Purkiss, Jeremy Martin and Ian Hewitt.
