President's Message - Summer 2010

Here in the UK we have just elected a new Government and the pundits were quite correct in their prediction of a “hung Parliament”.  It now remains to be seen how the coalition government works out in practice.  Let’s hope the two parties sharing power will be able to work well with each other.

Up in Edinburgh at our St Donan’s Day Dinner in April, thirty-four of us were given an “insider” view of the Scottish Parliament building by our host for the evening, Jamie Stone MSP. It is a fascinating building, and just about every feature and furnishing has its own story to tell. Our host relayed many of these stories with great humour, so we felt well entertained before we even sat down to dinner!

The visit to Dynamic Earth was also greatly enjoyed by the handful of souls who braved the rain the following morning.  It is well worth a visit if ever you are in Edinburgh.

We were delighted to have Rich and Linda Gunn with us on the weekend, and we greatly enjoyed their company.  They also very kindly presented commemorative gifts to a number of those present in honour of the Society’s 50^th Anniversary.  This Golden Jubilee Year will culminate in an extended mini-Gathering in Caithness this July.  One of the ways in which we are celebrating the occasion is with an art competition for primary school children, and the winning entries will be on display at the Clan Centre for the duration of the mini-gathering.  As mentioned in the last Herald, we are also hoping that many will bring along family trees, photos, etc to display in the Clan Centre on that Friday.  Later the same evening we will have a ceilidh and supper at Clyth Hall, which should be great fun.  Following a day on the field at the Halkirk Games  on Saturday, the formal dinner in the evening will take place at Forss House Hotel, Thurso.

A booking form and full programme for the mini-Gathering will be included with the June Herald, and I would like to encourage as many as possible to book in and join the celebrations.  For those who do not take the Herald, a copy of the booking form can be e-mailed on request. 

Contact helen.hill@virgin.net

Hope to see you in July!

Helen Hill

The next meeting for Council Members will be held in the Ross Institute, Halkirk on Saturday 31^st July at 9.30 a.m., followed by the AGM at 11.00 a.m.