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Clan Sinclair 2000 Gathering
Dear Friends,
What seems but a short time ago, Margaret, Viscountess Thurso, requested Malcolm Caithness to chair the meeting
of the Clan Sinclair Caithness. During that meeting, Lord Thurso and
Lord Caithness suggested that something special should be done for the
Millennium.
What the committee took on board was the 2000
Gathering, little suspecting the amount of planning and
organizing that was to come.
I was then the new guy on the scene and quite
content to sit back, listen and learn. Learn I did, and very quickly,
for before I knew what was happening, I was voted onto the organizing
committee, there I meet the most dedicated team of workers I have ever
had the pleasure of working with, Lady Margaret, who chaired the
meetings and never seemed to tire, in spite of the serious hip injury,
our secretary, Kay Dunnett, who kept us all informed of every move
that was made, again, even though laid low with the serious leg
injury, she never wavered, our treasurer Nicky Sinclair, who had just
taken over the reigns at Strathmore Lodge, with her husband, the Hon,
Patrick Sinclair, had so much work to do of their own, from
heating, wiring and decorating, setting up the dining
facilities/kitchens etc. But, they were still there
when it mattered.
Ruby, Maureen, Donald, and David, all Sinclair's,
and dedicated to the clan chief.
It is now a small piece of Sinclair history, but I
could not let it pass without paying my respects to such a dedicated
team of workers, who I was privileged to join.
And now to the visitors who joined the pilgrimage
to Gods country, you were the kindest with your complements, you were
the most generous with your donations and purchases, you were to most
tolerant with our weather, particularly, the winds of Noss.
From all the team who worked up at Noss,very best
wishes from,
JOAN, LESLIE, RON, EUAN, SHAUN, JIM, and OLWEN.
Yours Aye
IAN of NOSS
Pictures of Gathering events:
http://www.clansinclair.org/cg2k5.htmWe are just back home from Sinclair 2000. It was brilliantly organised and executed by our Chief and Lord Thurso with the Clan Society in Caithness, and comfortably transported by Niven Sinclair's coaches. Our Chief's son, Lord Berriedale was always at his side. His daughter, Lady Iona attended the Clan Games and the Ecumenical Clan Service, involving a long rail journey to be away from her work over the weekend, and Lord Thurso proved to be an impeccable Master of Ceremonies. His mother, Lady Margaret Thurso was present at all the main functions, making everyone welcome with her grace and charm. Always guiding us were the local Sinclairs of the Caithness Society with their warmth and hospitality. Keep an eye on the Clan Trust site www.clansinclair.org for photographs and reports, and as the Sinclairs return home, tearful at the parting, but motivated by our Chief, and fulfilled beyond measure by the finest of experiences of Clan Sinclair more will appear on the Clan Sites! Watch also for more details of the new Clan Sinclair Centre at Noss, miraculously transformed by Ian Sinclair with the help of Major Ron Sinclair. There is a new shop with many attractive items, some essential for our under- standing of our heritage such as the Sinclair Castles video, which is much more than its title would suggest! Again watch the Trust Site for details. We have updated our site to show the Norwegian's Greeting "Budstikke" in its new home at Noss, the Niven Sinclair Library. See the Norway/Pillarguri section on our site. We have also set a link to the site showing work by the Clan Trust Sculptor, Shaun Williamson on our links page. There is nothing we can say here that truly expresses the experience we all shared. If you didn't get to go, you'll have to wait for Sinclair 2005 to find out! Yours aye Iain www.iain.laird.btinternet.co.uk He is really the sparkplug behind the trip; the one with the ideas who kept saying, YES, we can make this happen. He has devoted the last 20 years, or so, to promoting Clan Sinclair and getting projects going to save the castles, etc. He has written numerous articles and has helped others to do research for Sinclair books of their own. I have a feeling he is waiting to see if others take up the reins and get things going in the right direction. It appears that this is happening as there has been a lot done in preliminary planning, engineering studies, governmental paperwork for historical buildings, etc. We learned a lot, saw a lot, and met a lot of interesting people. Reception at Parliament was crowded, but plenty of good food and drink. Tour of the House of Lords and House of Commons was fascinating...then the next day we saw Tony Blair on TV standing right where we had been while he made his impassioned arguments. We took too many clothes, especially me, then left the raincoats on the bus the day we went to Edinburgh Castle because it was such a nice day. Two hours later, there was a huge downpour just as it was time to return to the busses. I was soaked to the skin, and got on asking, "Is this were the wet t-shirt contest is being held?" Lots of people bought the $1.50 plastic ponchos from the gift shops (shops were prepared) , but then stood huddled in the doorway with their ponchos on. I finally shooed a bunch of folks out so that others could come in. Darndest thing...stand there with rain gear on and won't go out into the rain. It wasn't as cold as we thought it would be, but we did have sprinkles, mist, clouds, fog, and a bit of wind. I was only cold twice, and was glad to have my down jacket once. The castles were amazing, fabulous, interesting, and fun. We saw ruins in the fog that could have had ghosts in them if you wanted to believe. Also castles that had been upgraded and redone as recently as 1880s - 1920s which are quite livable with plastered inner walls and paintings rather than tapestries on the walls. One such place is owned by a Sinclair family (spelled St. Clair) who live in London and rent it out most of the year (sleeps 8). However they were there and had arranged a tea for all of us...50 at a time. The three floors below ground level had not been touched and were the original rock walls , cooking areas, etc of the castle. Food was good, although we did get tired of French fries (chips) and/or nice baby new potatoes, but often both were served at a meal. Marc finally took to ordering curry just to get rice, but still the chips came on the side. He and I also went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch one day, you guessed it, chips on the side. At our very fancy Clan Banquet (3 wine glasses, 3 forks, etc), sliced wheat bread was served, pre-buttered and cut diagonally. The meal was delicious. Anyone would have been impressed by the luncheon spread the chief put out for us at the Hallkirk highland games. Platters of sliced meats included turkey ham, beef, and venison as well as a whole smoked salmon. Desserts were spectacular: very light cheese cakes (more cream than cream cheese) in every flavor, a warm chocolate cake with fudge sauce, a toffee cake with warm caramel sauce, wonderful ice cream with so much cream in it ! Yes, we ate haggis: the stuff in the hotels was cheap, had lots of oats and was kind of dry, but we did get the good stuff a couple of times. Meat markets had it for sale & I would have loved to bring some home. Alice Miller of CA Sinclair 2000 is featured in the October Issue of Scottish Field, p. 63,with a photo of Donald L Sinclair, Lord Thurso, Lady Thurso, The Earl of Caithness, Bill Sinclair and Rory Sinclair and a photo of the Clan meeting at the British Legion Hall in Thurso together with a brief write up. |
www.clansinclairusa.org