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For Immediate Release Contact:
Anne
Macpherson
Coc1@mhcable.com
518 851
9670
CLAN MACPHERSON
ASSOCIATION
TO
CELEBRATE 60TH ANNIVERSARY
Ten Day
Event to be a Really Big Dhubh!
Newtonmore, Scotland: There is nothing like a really big
party to get a Clan together and the Clan Macpherson Association is getting
ready for the biggest party ever, The Really Big Dhubh*. Starting August
First, Clan members from across the globe will gather in record numbers to
celebrate the 60th Diamond Jubilee Association gathering.
The event spans ten days and much of Macpherson
country-with its center in Badenoch. The Clan has been coming home every
year for 60 years, but this one will truly be the Big Dhubh. “I have the
great honor of being Chief of Clan Macpherson for 36 years, and so my
memories of our Association Gatherings are rich and numerous,“ says Sir
William Macpherson, Cluny, 27th Chief of Clan Macpherson. “Every
year brings fresh enjoyment and a variety of events woven into our popular
program of festivities. Now as we approach our Diamond Jubilee we are full
of expectancy, and we hope for another record attendance,” continues Cluny.
Clan Association members from as far away as the United
States, Canada, Borneo and Australia are expected to attend.
The Clan Macpherson is famous for its bold march over the
bridge from Old Ralia to the Highland Games at Newtonmore. In the past
only the men of the Clan were allowed to March, but that changed. When
Catherine Macpherson, the first International Chairwoman of the
Association, was in the forefront of the parade.
At the Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of the
Clan, over 500 kilted men with banners and swords blazing marched over the
bridge to the delight of all attending the Games at Newtonmore. In 2006 the
Clan Association hopes to break that record.
Events begin on Tuesday, August 1st in Edinburgh
with a tour of the Royal Mile, followed on Wednesday with a tour of the
Royal Museum of Scotland.
Thursday takes the Clan to the heart of Clan Macpherson
Country where many of the members will see the real landscape of the famous
BBC show Monarch of the Glen. Friday, the 4th
gets down to Clan business, but not for long because there are so many
activities planned from a dancing class to…., Clan Macpherson is famous for
its love of Scottish Country Dancing and jigs and reels till the wee hours
during the evening events.
Friday also takes the members of the Association to the
Highland Field Sports Fair at the Moy Estate. This Highland event is full of
pageantry and demonstrations from field trails to archery. There will be
competitions in fly casting, gun dog handling and clay pigeon shooting. For
visitors to this event, the Highland Field Sports Fair is a unique
experience. There will also be a golf competition held in Newtonmore and a
visit to Ardverekie Estate, the fictional home of Sir Hector of
Monarch of the Glen.
And if that is not enough excitement for one day, there is
the Chief’s Reception and the Jubilee Ball. This is the first formal event
of the Annual General Meeting of the Clan Macpherson Association.
Saturday the 5th, sees the men of the Clan
mustering for the grand march over the bridge with Cluny in the lead with
his personal banner, and if there is any strength left there are the
Newtonmore Highland Games including the famous hill race up Creag Dhubh-also
featured in Monarch of the Glen and a much needed wee dram.
Festivities continue late into Saturday night with the Haggis
Supper and International Celidh.
Because Clan Macpherson is stalwart and strong it is expected
that the Clan will continue to rally on Sunday with a Church service in the
morning, worship at the Jubilee Carin, and a grand picnic at the Carin of
Cluny of the 45, with spectacular views of the whole of Badenoch. But all
must keep going for a group picture at the Carin and then tea at Balavil
House, home of Allan and Marjorie Macpherson-Fletcher.
After tea, and perhaps 40 winks the Clan moves on to a Roast
Venison dinner at the Duke of Gordon and another ceilidh at Ruthven
Barracks. And if anyone is still standing, its back to the Duke of Gordon
for more entertainment.
But its still not over, on Monday the 7th, the
Clan gathers at the Scottish Toursim rated three star Macpherson Museum.
This museum is not only the heart of home for the Clan but it is also a
state of the art facility where anyone with a computer may visit via an
electronic tour.
For the fittest among the Clan there is a walk up Creag Dhubh,
a 2,500 foot mountain in the center of Clan Territory. Creag Dhubh is not
only the war cry of the Clan but it is central to Clan Macpherson folklore.
For anyone who has ever read Kidnapped, the mention of
Cluny’s Cage brings back memories of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his flight
from the British. It is here that, as legend tells it, Cluny of the 45
“entertained” Bonnie Prince Charlie while on the run from his enemies in
September of 1746.
Finally, for those who have survived, and being Macpherson’s
they all will, there is the treat of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Clan Macpherson is a Clan filled with many famous and some
infamous Clansmen including Cluny of the 45, General Birdseye Macpherson of
Civil War fame, James “Ossian Macpherson, who first wrote down the tales of
Ossian and also published a book of old Gaelic poetry which lead to a
literary revolution in Britain and Europe. Samuel and Malcolm Macpherson,
two soldiers of the Black Watch who were shot for mutiny in 1743 in defiance
of the London Government which had broken its word in trying to send them
abroad, one of the reasons that the Clan sided with the Jacobites two year’s
later. And the infamous fiddling Macpherson, who hung from the gallows
tree. Today the Clan continues to produce leaders in many fields, from
model Elle Macpherson to famous piper Donald Macpherson, Civil War historian
James M. McPherson and Seven Year’s War expert and author Ian McPherson
McCulloch. And then there is the woman who invented the Macpherson Strut,
not a way of walking, but the most vital part of any smooth riding car.
*”Craeg Dhubh Clan Chattan is the war cry for this highland
clan. The Clans’ famous Highland Wildcat with claws extended warns, “touch
not a cat but a glove,” for the Big Dhubh, the big cat will be purring a
warm welcome for all its cousins.
The Big Dhubh may be the biggest party that the Highlands has
ever seen. Registration can be made on line at the Clan Macpherson
Website. Creagh Dhubh Clan Chattan and have a wonderful time.
See
http://jubilee.clan-macpherson.org/ for additional information |
