The first of a series of articles, written by Scottish experts and published by Panalba. By  James Irvine Robertson By 1400 the population was well settled. The isles had a strong dash of Viking blood but the Picts and the Scots had joined together and absorbed the more ancient Celtic tribes that had preceded them. The [...]

Sunday 24th July – A special civic Church service at 11.00 a.m. in the Kirk of St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, attended by most of the same people who were at the Dinner the evening before, together with the normal congregation of the Kirk. At the service, the first lesson was read by David Irvine of Drum [...]

Report by Alexander Brodie of Brodie: From the 24th June to the 4th July I had the honour and the pleasure to be Chief Guest for Scottish Heritage Week in New South Wales, Australia. These events were organised by the Scottish Australian Heritage Council whose members do an excellent job promoting and encouraging Scottish culture, [...]

Strengths and Aspirations of the Worldwide Clan Community as it Establishes Links to Twenty-First Century Scotland. Good morning. I have been asked to speak about the strengths and aspirations of the Scots abroad in the worldwide Scottish community as it establishes links to twenty-first century Scotland. There are approximately 5 million Scots in Scotland and [...]

WHEN asked to justify the existence of Clan Chiefs towards the end of the last century, that eminent historian, the late Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, himself Chief of the Name and Arms of Moncreiffe, would point to the impressive diversity of expertise that existed within their ranks. For a start, there was the [...]

CLAN CONVENTION: Breakout Session – Clans and Tourism The following are some of the conclusions on the main issues raised in the session I chaired: 1. SCOTTISH HISTORY If the SC (Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs) wishes to, it seems that there is nothing to lose from raising with the SNP the question of Scottish history being taught [...]

Summary of Main Points of the Clan Convention – July 2009 The Experience Preparation for the Convention was conducted by a Standing Council committee, with representation from the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body and The Gathering 2009 Ltd. The process was satisfactory, but suffered from co-ordination problems between the three partners. The Convention Day itself was [...]

The Year of Homecoming in Scotland, centering on ‘The Gathering’ in Edinburgh in July, has been a success.  This is in spite of little distractions such as global economic crisis, an appallingly wet summer in Scotland, and significant disagreement between Washington and Edinburgh over the basic meaning of the word Justice.  It has been a [...]