Tales from the kilt: celebrating Robbie Burns' 260th birthday
CBC News | Posted: January 24, 2019 10:09 PM | Last Updated: January 25, 2019
Calgary-based storyteller Calum Lykan was born just a few kilometres from the birthplace of the legendary poet
Friday marks a special day for the Scots.
It's the 260th birthday of Robbie Burns, Scotland's most famous poet.
And among those celebrating will be Calum Lykan, a Scottish storyteller based in Calgary who was born just a few kilometres down the road from Burns' birthplace, Alloway, Ayrshire.
Lykan appeared on the Calgary Eyeopener to explain why Burns and his work are still being celebrated after more than two centuries.
Below is an abridged version of that conversation.
Q: Tell us about Robbie Burns and why he is so celebrated.
A: Robbie Burns, Robert Burns, there's so many ways to say it. He's a national treasure in Scotland, but he's also become this kind of worldwide phenomenon because of his poems, his songs. They're all so well known.
The greatest example I can give is, at New Year, in most of the countries I'm aware of, there's a song sung when the bells ring, and that's Auld Lang Syne … well, that's one of Burns'.
The way I look at it, and if we take Alberta as a great example … I come from a tiny country, which could probably fit in Alberta maybe four or five times. I come from a little county in that country, which is probably smaller than Calgary, and that's where Burns is from.
There's this tiny little place in the world with this one man who was a farmer … and all of a sudden, worldwide, we're singing this song from this one little guy who existed in Ayrshire in Scotland.
Q: How does that make you feel?
A: As a man born three miles away from where he was born, I'll be honest, when I grew up, I wasn't a fan. We got it drilled into us in school. It was a constant thing, so you kind of rebel against it.
And even to this day, I love Burns. His poems to me are the lesser thing though. His poems and songs are stunning, but I actually like him as a man. His history, his life is far more intriguing.
Q: Now you are a professional storyteller. How did you become a storyteller?
A: Every story has a story. I used to be a banker, a recruitment consultant. I was a blue collar worker for years, and I was miserable. I hated it.
And it was one of those strange things I fell into, storytelling. I was always terrified of public speaking … and I ended up doing a little historical weapons display show in Edinburgh, talking about the history of the Scottish clans and the weapons. And it kind of made me realize, "Oh, it's not as terrifying as it should be."
From that, I started working at a friend's walking tour company. I started learning the stories and history of Edinburgh and wanted more. That's when I made this rather embarrassing discovery. When I started to research storytelling, I discovered about 200 yards from where I worked every day for about 40 years, there was actually a purpose-built centre called the Scottish Storytelling Centre, dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.
Q: Can you very quickly tell me a story?
A: Let's go back to Burns, because he is the focus. It's his birthday. He's 260 years old today. Burns was a fascinating character, and his love live, his passion, was in my mind the greatest thing. His passion for the female form and his country. He was overall a passionate man. I always say he was very fond of the lasses.
He went up to Edinburgh when he started to become famous. He was getting a wee book published … and he was just a socialite. Everyone loved him. He was meeting people like Sir Walter Scott, lords and ladies. But he found this fine lassie called Agnes Nancy Maclehose.
She was married but estranged from her husband. He was working over in Jamaica, and things were very tumultuous in their relationship. So they started a wooing together — but it was by letter, so very romantic. And to protect each other — because Robbie was married himself — he called himself Sylvander and she was Clarinda. They used pen names.
As a result, this escalated, and the passion burned inside him. And Burns one day could take it no more — he had to express himself in the proper way. So he decided enough was enough, and he went to her door to confront her and profess love … but she wasn't there.
So nine months later, a wee package arrived in that home. And that's the finest example of Burns. His wife actually made a beautiful statement that, "My Robbie should have two wives to look after all these Burns."
Q: You do love to tell stories. You're a great storyteller. Why do you love doing it so much?
A: It's a beautiful craft … there's such a collection of stories out there, myths and legends, historical accounts, but also personal stories. And the greatest fear of a storyteller is that they're lost, because if those stories vanish, what do we have?
Even if you look at the most basic early fairy tales, they all had a wee message. Maybe it was be wary of the stranger —Little Red Riding Hood is a great example — but they've all got a moral, or a message or just for entertainment. And if those stories are lost, what do we have?
Then it just becomes an empty, silent world. So for me, I love collecting stories ,and telling stories and passing them on. And I always say to everyone at my shows, we breathe new life into stories, and stories are a gift. When I tell someone a story, I would love for them to take that story and pass it on and let that story travel the world. That's the way it should be.
Q: I understand your stories are going to be travelling around Calgary. You're going to start doing some walking tours.
A: That is correct. I used to do walking tours in Edinburgh, and since I've come to Canada, I think I've burned everyone's ears about not doing walking tours. "I'm bored. I really miss the walking tours. I wish I could be doing them." This year I thought, they may not work, because Calgary is a very different city from I'm used to. But I thought, if they're not out there, I won't know.
I'm still developing them, I think March is the date I'm looking at launching. I've got three in mind, one is already posted and already I've had a wee bit of response.
Q: Will you be dressed in your full kilt?
A: Yes. Being cheeky, I've called it Calgary's Kilted Walking Tours. And my main tour is Kilted Calgary, a Scotman's Tale, which is focusing on the Scottish aspect of Calgary, all the sites and locations and history.
I've also decided to bring back my Whisky and Tails Tour. Who doesn't like a wee dram? That's all about going to a few fine establishments, sampling some whisky but also getting the history, stories and folk tales surrounding whisky, which are just beautiful and fun.
And then my last one is because I got myself a new dog recently. I picked up a wee puppy, and I thought, people in Canada travel with their pets but don't always get to do tours or events. So I've decided to do a Tales for Tails Tour.
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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener