Audio guide to give scoop on Scots bard

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Fans of Scotland's forgotten poet are taking steps to make sure people who see his monument can get all the facts on his life.

Bob Watt of the Friends of Robert Fergusson wants a plaque proposed for Edinburgh's Canongate -- which already boasts a statue of the bard -- to include a telephone number for an audio guide on Fergusson's life and times. Watt hopes to use the latest in technology so the guide can provide downloadable pictures of 18th century Scotland and an appropriate soundtrack as well.

"With most statues you just see the person's name and after the unveiling they are completely forgotten about and people walk past them not having a clue what they did," Watt told The Scotsman.

The Robert Burns Society of New York and the St. Andrews Society of New York State have agreed to put up money for a plaque. But Watt said he knew the local authorities would never agree to one large enough to provide all the information he wanted.

Fergusson, famous during his lifetime and a major influence on Burns, sank into obscurity after his burial in Canongate Kirkyard.