Clan
Gathering and AGM
Clan
Donnachaidh Society
From the
Secretary
The 2007
Gathering went with a swing with
64 members sitting down to
dinner. There were more
folk attending other activities,
such as the trip to Loch Ness,
the Ceilidh and the Annual
General Meeting. At the
AGM the question of when to hold
the AGM in 2008 came to the
fore, with much discussion and
argument. Some wanted it
to stay in October, others
wanted to go back to June, so a
compromise was decided upon –
FRIDAY 12th
SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY 14th
SEPTEMBER 2008 –
with other activities to take
place on the 10th and
11th September.
The attraction of this time of
year is because the Pitlochry
Highland Games takes place on
Saturday 13th
September. This
prestigious event has pipe
bands, dancing, and many heavy
events (such as tossing the
caber) all in the town’s
recreation ground. The Rannoch &
Highland Branch will be there
with a Clan Tent to welcome
everybody. The whole town
will be very busy at this time,
so it would be advantageous to
book well in advance for
accommodation.
The
Gathering 2009
A huge
advertising campaign has been
launched for The Gathering
2009. In two
year’s time
Scotland
will celebrate the birth of
Robert Burns and hopes that
everyone who loves Scotland
will come and visit – this is
called Homecoming Scotland.
It is hoped that there will be
special events all through the
year and especially over the
weekend of July 25th
& 25th in Holyrood
Park Edinburgh there will be the
following events:
 |
There will be over 80 clan
tents with 7,500 clan
members from all around the
world. |
|
The Highland Games will
attract a further 30,000
people over the 2 days. |
|
The centerpiece will be a
majestic clan march, and an
international assembly of
clans-people will parade
from the Royal Palace of
Holyrood along Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile to take
their seats upon the
esplanade of the Castle
rock, site of the Tattoo. |
|
Beneath the castle ramparts
a spectacular clan pageant
will unfold with pipers,
massed bands and highland
dancers. |
|
The World Highland Games
Athletic Championships will
take place this weekend. |
|
There will be contemporary
musicians, Scottish arts and
crafts and a ‘taste
experience’ of the best of
Scottish produce. |
It will be
set in the Royal Park of
Holyrood, with its breathtaking
volcanic backdrop of Arthur’s
Seat and Salisbury Crags, it
will showcase heavy events, such
as caber tossing and hammer
throwing, accompanied by time
honored disciplines such as
piping and highland dancing.
The Clan
Society plans to hold our AGM
the week before this in
Pitlochry (Killiecrankie Hall)
as usual and will hire a bus (if
needed) to transport people to
Edinburgh. We also plan to
hire one of the Clan Tents in
the Royal Park of Holyrood.
Information
about obtaining a passport
(tickets to all the events) can
be found on their website
www.clangathering.org/content/tickets.html
I am
looking forward to seeing you at
either or both these events,
Ginnie.
