A debating club founded on 11^th November 1780, by Burns, Gilbert Burns, Hugh Reid, Alexander Brown, Thomas Wright, William M'Gavin and Walter Mitchell, all young men of Tarbolton parish.

Their aims were to 'forget their cares and labour in mirth and diversion', to promote friendship and to improve their minds with meaningful debate. The club met regularly.

At this first meeting, in the public house of John Richard, Burns was unanimously elected president for the night. Rules were drawn up, the tenth and most significant of which read: 'Every man proper for a member of this Society, must have a frank, honest, open heart; above anything dirty or mean; and must be a professed lover of one or more of the female sex. No haughty, self-conceited person, who looks upon himself as superior to the rest of the Club, and especially no mean spirited, worldly mortal, whose only will is to heap up money shall upon any pretence whatever be admitted.' Somewhat like Round Table!

229 years later it was the turn of Troon 41 Club and to mark the occasion National President Vaughan Harris was invited to attend. The historic location, the presence of memorabilia and various pictures and drawings of our National Bard, hightened our enjoyment of the evening.