The great Scottish poet, Robert Burns, was born January 25, 1759. The anniversary of his birth is celebrated by Scots the world over with Burns Suppers, complete with haggis, fine Scotch whisky, speeches and recitations of Burns' works. Many folks who wish they had been born Scottish have been seen at such gatherings. A fine example of how to celebrate the Scottish Bard's memory in a modern, multicultural way is Vancouver's Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.
This January 25th, embrace your inner Scot: try some haggis wi' bashed neeps & champit tatties, toast your best lassie (or laddie) wi' a wee dram, or simply read a Burns poem aloud in your best Scots brogue. And when all is said & done, join hands with your loved ones for the singing of Auld Lang Syne:
As you can see, this is a mystery cache, so it is not located at the coordinates listed above. They lead you to a convenient parking area for gathering the info you'll need. The final is a bit less than 10km away from the statue. This container is a wee L&L (800ml) which can be found by making use of info gleaned from the Robert Burns Memorial in Vancouver's Stanley Park. The coordinates for the statue are N49 17.830 W123 8.080 (why not make this part of your travels in the park while doing Monuments, Plaques and Statues Oh My!!!?).
Check out Robbie's statue and the many plaques that adorn its base to decipher your hints thus:
N 49 ab.cde W 123 f.gff
ab = years after Burns' death the statue was first dedicated, divided by 11
c = using the dates on the plaques for The Cotter's Saturday Night & To a Mountain Daisy, add together the final digit of each date then add together the digits of that sum
de = Burns' age when he died, doubled then add 1
f = final digit of the year the statue was unveiled
g = last digit in year on the Tam O Shanter plaque
The final is a bit less than 10km away from the statue. This cache has been placed with permission. Please take care to put the container back so muggles won't see it. There is no need to enter any building or business to retrieve the container.
Above all else, Robert Burns valued brotherhood and friendship, so I leave you with an excerpt from A Man's A Man For A' That:
Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a’ that,) ...
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.