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Blasts of January chill find Scots deeply involved in steaming haggis puddings, warming toasts of whisky and many spirited addresses to the haggis. But for Burns Suppers, the ugly old pudding might never made it into the 19th century, let alone survived the 20th century’s fast-food revolution.

It’s now over 200 years since Burns’s death, yet thanks to him this ancient method of stuffing an animal’s innards into its stomach bag remains more or less intact. Developments with plastic casings notwithstanding, we still eat the same old pudding which inspired him to write his ‘Address to a Haggis’ in the winter of 1786.