Tam o’ Shanter Hits Kirkcudbright. If not in person he is here in paintings by Alexander Goudie on display over the summer season in our Town Hall —

The above painting signed by Goudie himself shows him take a degree of licence to my morning walk for my newspaper. No doubt along the lines that our Scottish bard Rabbie Burns took when describing Tam o’Shanter’s ride home from an Ayrshire pub —

I’m no Burns Buff but I can imagine the story goes something like this.

After a few drams in his local tavern the bold Tam climbs on his horse and makes his way hame through the forest where the trees are gnarled and twisted by the winds off the sea —

All goes well until our mounted hero reaches the ruined church —

where countless ghouls and ghosties enter Tam’s imagination —

Then it’s case of digging in the spurs and heading for home with the horde and harridans in hot pursuit —

The chase goes on through briar and thicket —

with the Hellish Legion on his tail —

until Tam reaches the Auld Brig —

But in Retrospect you had best get along to Kirkcudbright Town Hall where Alec Goudie tells the whole story from the Burns poem as only he can —

For more of Goudie’s work visit Roxelle House, Alloway, Ayrshire who are the usual custodians of the Tam o’Shanter paintings that have been lent to Kirkcudbright for the Summer Exhibition.

With the bold Tam out of the way they might even have room to hang some of Goudie’s other work —

Alec certainly knew a thing or two about the female form.

Apologies to the Burns Scholars if I strayed from the script but I’ve been to the exhibition and it’s a cracker! Well worth a visit even if it is free to enter 🙂

Tam o’Shanter Hits Kirkcudbright