Scottish Homecoming Announced for 2014

[cessna152towser]

Was the Scotland branch of your Clan asked to host a tent and they declined?

No were never invited and when we sought to get involved with the Edinburgh gathering we were told that we could not have a clan tent because it had already been allocated to this smaller and newer group from the USA. I had an exchange of e-mails with Jamie Sempill who claimed to have done some internet research and decided that this other group could better represent us. Though I have reason to believe that he simply went around the groups who had tents at Stone Mountain in 2007 or 2008 and invited the people manning them to go to Edinburgh. Scottish participation from a number of other lowland clans was similarly excluded from Edinburgh.
My own clan society and the American society who came to Edinburgh both contacted me and requested me to meet with Leslie (LAScotswoman) who was a member of both societies and who came over to Scotland to do some troubleshooting. She had done a lot of research on the clan genealogy and had identified a potential hereditary Head of Family who would unite the various societies who wanted to represent the family. She and I met with the Lord Lyon to discuss the recognition of a Chief and also with Sir Crispin Agnew QC who would represent the applicant in the Lyon Court. As a direct consequence we now have a petition before the Lord Lyon for appointment of a Chief, we are meantime represented on the new Council of Armigerous Clans, and a new unified clan society with worldwide membership has been set up.
The Edinburgh gathering, well it left a bitter taste with many Scots but the North Americans seem to have loved it. Thanks to the initiative of Richard Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Chief of Clan Scott, we were able to hold our own Muster of the Clans for the lowland families at the end of September in the Scottish Borders where many of our visitors from USA and Canada told us they had only decided to come after hearing glowing reports from friends who had been to Edinburgh in July.