Peggy Cameron - Isle of Tiree Gathering - "An Tirisdeach" (The Tiree Newsletter) article. Thank you Peggy Cameron of Isle of Tiree, Scotland for the email! Much appreciated to you and the other Tiree attendees - Lachlan Brown, Mary Davies, Mary MacLean and Adam Smith. Thank you to everyone else too that made the Isle of Tiree Descendants Gathering the success that it truly was. Cheers, Scott www.isleoftiree.net Gordon Scott's wonderful webite. www.tireegathering.com Friday, Saturday, Sunday, July 23, 24, 25, 2004 - Guelph, Ontario, Canada. www.visitscottishheartlands.com < neat website which you can subscribe to at no charge to receive a newsletter. To those celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend have a great one. We certainly have much to be thankful for! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is the article from the most recent issue of "An Tirisdeach" (The Tiree Newsletter). It was written by myself, with contributions from the other Tiree attendees. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIREE GATHERING AT GUELPH, ONTARIO, CANADA. 23 - 25 JULY, 2004. "Ceud Mile Failte - Welcome to the Tiree Gathering 2004". This was the motto of the Schedule of Events which each participant received from the volunteer Tiree Gathering Committee ; a list of "Who's Coming", a registration form, a map of the Gathering venues, an accommodation list and information to help anyone attending this exciting weekend in Guelph were sent out from April 2004 onwards. The city of Guelph (founded in 1827 and named after one of the family names of the British royal family), is 60 miles from Toronto; about one hour's drive on the 401 Highway or via rail. Five visitors from Tiree descended on the seemingly quiet university town of Guelph in late July ; Peggy Cameron, Mary MacLean, Lachie Brown, Mary Davies and Adam Smith. After registration, the first event on Friday was a visit to the University and an exploration of their Scottish Collection which is one of the finest in the world. We were given an intensive survey of all materials, maps, books etc. on the five floors of the university. Besides books on Scottish history, literature, newspapers and periodicals, religion and science, there is an Atlas and Map collection in the basement e.g. l895 Royal Scottish Geographical Society Atlas of Scotland is to be found here. The library also has a unique copy of a literary magazine, "The Spy", edited by James Hogg (the Ettrick Shepherd). Later that day at the Boathouse beside the picturesque Speed and Eramosa river, Calum MacKinnon (from Braeside, Heanish, Tiree,) and well-known fiddler, now living in Seattle, entertained us alon! g with Scott Cameron and his young musicians. On Saturday morning, a series of workshops kept us busy. A. Presentation and launch of "Tiree Interconnections". This is a comprehensive database project linking the families of Tiree. B. History of Tiree and Tiree settlements. C. "Songs, stories and survival" which was an overview of the rich folk culture of the Isle of Tiree and Canadian settlements. In the afternoon, we gathered at the Royal City Park. It was now Ceud Mile Failte to the Guelph Pipe Band who played a concert selection and also provided accompaniment for the Marlene Matthews Highland Dancers. The Guelph Pipe Band was formed in l922, making it one of the oldest Pipe Bands in continuous operation in Canada with a long history of excellence in competitions. The band wear the Red MacCrae tartan, in honour of Colonel John McCrae, a Guelph resident famous for his poem "In Flanders Field". I think what many people appreciate about a highland gathering or games, is the connection to an older way of life. Lachie Brown of Balevullin commented that he was disappointed that we were not accompanied by some of the many talented musicians from Tiree, for they would surely have had received a wonderful welcome. On Sunday, 25th July, we boarded a bus along the Elora Road to the Bruce County, where its shoreline is dotted with the Great Lakes Lighthouses; emphasizing the importance of transportation on the Lakes. We saw the large barns that mostly belonged to MacKinnons and also one built by Archie MacKinnon's family from Salem. The waters of Lake Huron can be treacherous, but we delighted in a warm paddle at Southampton. On our journey we saw a horse and buggy of the Mennonite community; they are members of "peace churches" and hold a doctrine of non-violence, and also reject the use of modern technology such as mechanized transport and electricity. I met a farmer called Marge from Saskatchewan, who had 300 cattle, and presented her card with a picture of a young calf with fleece ear muffs made by herself. Did I laugh ! It seems that if they didn't put these on the calves, the winter frost would be so intense that it would cause holes in the calves ears. Tiree crofters don't know how lucky they are in our climate! Gathering attendee Mary MacLean of Scarinish reflects on how the weekend began, " .. a time of sharing information, of puzzling over family trees, of meeting new and old friends, parades, museums, University of Guelph, ceilidhs, dinners, an outstanding bus tour, musical entertainment, sharing a few drams, picnics in the warm sun, roaming around cemeteries searching headstones for the mention of Tyree, early mornings and very late nights all packed full of activities and laughter. I got little sleep as I surely did not intend to miss a thing ! " Mary Davies was also thrilled to meet with many folks from the USA and all parts of Canada and old friends from as far away as Australia. Her grandson Adam Smith had a ball. Scott Cameron, Archie Mackinnon, Leanne Piper and the many volunteers that gave freely of their time and skill, are to be congratulated on ensuring that we all left Guelph with a great feeling of contentment and comradeship. This Tiree Gathering was a wonderful success; and we hope that we can all build on this initiative, and all work together to make the Gathering here on Tiree in 2006 a fantastic experience. Peggy Cameron - Isle of Tiree, Scotland --------------------------------------------------------------------------------