Alloa Burns Club puts some historical insight on the menu

However, the best have stayed at an Alloa club, which has been keeping the immortal memory of Scotland's national bard alive for more than a century.

And thanks to modern technology, anyone can gain insight into years gone by and how the traditional Burns Supper has changed over the years.

Records and menus from Alloa Burns Club have been preserved for the future thanks to a project with the University of Stirling and Clackmannanshire Council Archives with documents revealing just how much traditional suppers have changed.

The club evolved from the Alloa Tripe Club, established as early as 1827, into an organisation devoted to recognising the work of Robert Burns.

By the 1870s, the organisation was effectively already a Burns club, although the official name change only came about in 1912.

And the earliest Burns Supper menu, from 1927, revealed just how much the traditional supper held to celebrate Scotland’s national poet has changed.

Indeed, almost none of the items would be familiar to most who take part in the annual celebration on or around January 25.

THE OLD TRIPE CLUB: The first record of the club changing its name

The Alloa club's supper from 1927 included mixty-maxties – hors d'oeuvres or bite-size appetizers usually eaten by hand; nowt’s tail [oxtail] soup; birsled bubbly-jock [turkey]; kebbuck straes – crumbly cheese; and trimlin’ tam – a wobbly, trembling table jelly.

Naturally, the one thing that consistently appears on every menu over the years is haggis, or “Chieftain O’ the Puddin’ Race,” as Burns described it in his famous Address To A Haggis.

The minute books and menu cards also provide a window into social and cultural life in years gone by, according to current Alloa Burns Club secretary Duncan Sloan, who has been in the role since 2001.

Duncan told the Advertiser: “We've tried to simplify the menu, the actual food part of the evening.

“If you look at that menu card from the 1920s, it was pretty substantial – the current one we have is a more simple affair, albeit still quite a full menu of food, but it doesn't have the same range of courses they had a way back.”

And while the offerings have been simplified over the years, it is still a very formal evening at the club with a view of respecting its rich history.

The Immortal Memory, the toasts to the club and the lassies are still speeches made on every occasion, along with songs and recitations.

CELEBRATION: Members of the club were invited to the university last week before the physical records went to the Speirs Centre in Alloa - Picture by Glenn Bailes

The club had been hoping to secure the records for the future for some years, fearing history would be lost if something was to happen to the physical records.

To that end, they have been handed over to Clacks archivist Susan Yule at the Speirs Centre.

Archivist Susan told the Advertiser the project has been a great opportunity to work in partnership and thanked the club for ensuring an important part of Alloa's history is preserved for future generations.

She said: “The digitised images will showcase this visually interesting collection and open it up to a wider audience online.

“It’s a pleasure to give the physical records a home here at Clackmannanshire Archives in Alloa.

“This is a really interesting collection detailing the history and evolution of the Alloa Burns Club from its beginnings as a Tripe Club.

“The club’s minutes give a great insight into their organisation and membership over the years, which included many eminent local men, including brewers, newspaper editors and burgh magistrates.”

Susan continued: “The club’s records also provide a great source of information about the various Alloa establishments where these suppers were held, such as the Commercial Hotel, the Prince of Wales Inn and the Ship Inn.”

Club secretary Duncan also highlighted that the digitised records will now be available to both members and non-members and will be much clearer to read.

He added: “It's been great, we've been trying to get this completed for probably nearer 10 years, finding an organisation that had the necessary equipment and an appetite to do it was quite challenging.”

Thankfully, the university was able to utilise the latest technology to digitise the records.

MENU: The haggis and some of the toasts remained but many items have been simplified over the years

Its archivist Karl Magee said: “In 2021, we upgraded our digitisation equipment to the Zeutschel ScanStudio and we now offer a digitisation hub for heritage organisations and the creative community in the wider Forth Valley area.

“This collaborative project with the Alloa Burns Club and Clackmannanshire Council Archives highlights the potential of the ScanStudio to support the opening up of heritage across the Forth Valley Region.”

Of course, the main event for Alloa Burns Club comes on or around January 25 each year, but members have not forgotten their roots and still enjoy tripe, sheep stomach lining, each year.

The club also hosts annual Burns competitions both for primary and secondary school pupils.

The digitisation was supported by Stirling University student Kolja Sirok, as part of the Putting Arts and Humanities to Work module.

He said: “As a foreigner, I found the project very interesting because up to this point, I did not have any awareness of the Scottish culture of the mid to late 19th century outside the big two urban centres of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

“Reading the documents can provide great insight into Alloa’s cultural life in the second part of the 19th and 20th centuries.”

Visit collections.stir.ac.uk/archive-collections/ and search for Alloa Burns Club for the digitised records.