Burns And The Bankers

London lawyer Nicola forsakes a night at home with the kids and makes her way to a Burns supper where she's the guest of the Federation of Scottish Bankers, a fine body of tartan-clad men, stewed in quality single malt. An English fish in decidedly Scottish waters, she knows nothing of the habits and traditions of this most Caledonian of occasions, let alone cullen skink and mashed-up sheep or, indeed, the Bard's poetry.

The evening is a lengthy trial for Nicola, but among the ribald bonhomie and overt sexism the story of Burns's life unfolds and snippets of his immortal words begin to show her that there's more to life than statutes and status - there's the possibility of romance, however fleeting. Ae fond kiss, indeed...

Here's a good comedy to listen to as you peel those hard neeps for your Burns Night supper. It's about young English lawyer Nicola (Sophie Thompson) whose work takes her to a Burns Night dinner in London, a corporate one. The water of life (aka whisky) flows and she's a bit put out by the general goings on. But then, as the evening continues, she starts to comprehend why the poetry of Robert Burns spoke to many a woman in its time, and still reaches hearts today. Nimbly dramatised by Liz Lochhead from a story by Helen Simpson.