The Rights of Women was written by Robert Burns in 1792.

Back in the days of Burns women didn't have many rights. The subject of women's rights was highly unpopular and very rarely talked about. Robert is being a bit of a rebel writing this poem, but he did love women and he was in favour of women's rights. It was written for a specific benefit night which was held at the Dumfries theatre on the 26th of November 1792. The benefit night was hosted by an actress called 'Louisa Fontenelle',

Address to the Toothache, written in 1786.

In the late 1700's dentistry didn't really exist. If you got the toothache you had to just deal with the pain, there was no pain relief. If things got really bad you would have to find someone willing to pull your teeth out. Probably a barber / surgeon.

Robert put all of his pain into this poem. You can almost feel the pain and misery of the ongoing toothache as you make your way through the verses.

Enjoy!

This week I am working in Stockholm.

I managed to get two English colleagues, Jim and Ru, to take part in a Burns quiz. The quiz is made up of two rounds of 10 questions, with the second 10 having a very Swedish twist. This was filmed in the Quality Hotel Globe in Stockholm after an afternoon spent wandering around the old town and having a few beers. 

I hope you enjoy it, join in, and get a better score than Jim and Ru.

Cheers!