As a result of Catriona Smyth's email to me who will be attending the Gathering. Catriona is coming from Edinburgh, Scotland. To those with stories to tell at the ceilidhs, here is an idea to get the ball rolling! Cheers, Scott -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have given a lot of thought to the suggestion of putting something together to mark the Gathering. After being in Tiree at Easter it dawned on me. Before I launch into my idea I need to tell you that I think that it has already been discussed, but I did not keep an eye on all the discussion, so I may well be not be up to date on what has been decided,so bear with me. The number of people I saw in Tiree and all the friends I saw reminded me that the oral tradition of story telling is still strong in Tiree (although there are not so many people who remember the stories). To mark the ocassion I think a collection of stories about Tiree or Tiree related things from the children of the emigrants would show the oral tradition did not dissapear. It can mean different things to different people just what you mean by a story telling. There are the stories of how the families left Tiree and settled, what things they did,said etc in Canada, how hard it was etc. Louise MacDougall could tell me that Sarah MacDougall her ancestor could only speak Gaelic. The family had the Oban Times sent out to them every month but someone had to read it and then translate it for her so she could get all the news from home. You get the idea. If there is to be a Gathering in Tiree then the other side of this could be done. All the Tiree families who had family emigrate could tell the stories from The Tiree point of view. You get the idea. Have you read the "Crofters Trail" it was written by a journalist who went round the Islands collecting stories about emigrtion and then went over to Canada and did the same there. He was able to put several families in touch with family in Scotland they did not know about through their telling of stories. I have not read "Crofters Trail", but expect I should. I did read Louise' story of her family....very amazing. The ceilidhs should include time for Louise and others so fortunate to share the stories of their ancestors pertaining to their lives on Tiree and emigration from Tiree to destinations beyond. (Scott) Let me know what you think and if I am several paces behind everyone else as I have a feeling you may already be organizing something like this. Catriona --------------------------------------------------------------------------------