January is the time of year when millions of people worldwide raise a glass to Robert Burns. Dubbed variously as the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire – or simply The Bard – Burns is Scotland’s national poet and lyricist. Throughout the month of his birth – January 25 1759 – Burns Suppers of all shapes, sizes and tartan hues are set to offer haggis, tatties and neeps (see below) and invite devotees to down a dram or two of whisky, listen to readings of his work, and toast