The Cape Society
- Wed 25 Sep 2023
- Fergusson Pilgrimage
- Come help warm Fergusson and pay homage to his concentrated contribution to life and the Cape Club. This year's grave-side visit will be a little more poignant given Burns' elder brother in the Muse died 250 years ago.
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Meet in Tolbooth Tavern, located here in Edinburgh's Canongate, between 19.30 and 20.00. We'll head in to Canongate Kirk at 20.00. Guests welcome
- Report
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This year (2024) marks the 250th anniversary of Fergusson's death and as well as the return
of friends from
The Real Mary King's Close, the Cape Society was also honoured with the
presence of the
Fergusson Project,
in the form of researcher Amy, accompanied by one of her Glasgow University colleagues.
In all, 13 friends of Fergusson gathered around his gravestone at one point or other
and listened to Steve give a little detail on Fergusson, his relationship with the Cape Club,
his obituary and his poem, "A Tavern Elegy". Playing the role of Precentor,
everyone joined in singing the Cape Song before
Colin polished off the evening's fitting tribute with a little whisky over the grave.
Matt kindly provided some Bowmore whisky which happily filled a few stomachs, including those of grateful Knights
of the contemporary Cape Society. It was a well chosen bottle, coming, as Matt pointed out,
from a distillery founded in a year that was within a stone's throw of Fergusson's untimely and tragic demise in 1774.
It was great to see real young blood taking time out of Fortnite
to take part in what some very young eyes might consider a dusty old event: thanks Owen!
Having earlier met in the Tolbooth Tavern (before heading for the traditional statue photo then on in to the Canongate Kirkyard) some of the party retired to the Canons' Gait pub, where a quiet corner was taken over and some Fergusson-like conviviality ensued. Knights politely declined the invitation to further high-jinks at Mortal Cocktail in the famous Craig's Close, long ago home of James Mann's, Isle of Man Arms tavern, but had no doubt it will be visited in the near future. Thanks again Matt.
A special thanks to everyone who travelled far and wide to take part in this unique anniversary Fergusson Pilgrimage.
Mobile-friendly picture gallery.
