Granite: 7x8x4ft 12.00 tons. Location: Station Square, Milton Keynes. Sold.
Photo courtesy of Milton Keynes Council.

O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast

Carved in Creetown granite this sculpture celebrates one of Burns’ last poems written for Jessy Lewars who nursed him during his final illness. The sculpture shows a couple comforting each other in times of trouble. In Milton Keynes the local people call it “the cuddling couple.”

O wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee;
Or did misfortune’s bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
They bield should be my bosom.
To share it a’, to share it a’.

Robert Burns

A plaque of the poem in braille accompanies the work. Purchased by Commissions for the New Towns following a major exhibition of Rae’s work in the city from 1995-1999.