25th Annual Texas Scottish Festival

[Morris at Heathfield]

Well past time for me to go to bed, too. But here's one last picture, taken from the "Glenfinnan Tent" as I was leaving the grounds:



*yawn*

Good night!

[Jack Daw]

Great pics! I'm sorry I had to miss the games again this year.

[McMathTX]

Some of the XMarkers I recognized from previous Highland games: kscaddo, medic78, ShaunMaxwell, and McMathTX. (Or am I only imagining that I've met McMathTX?) But more than half of the group I had never met in real life.

Great pics Morris! You look familiar to me also, but I can't be sure because I'm doubly cursed - I'm terrible at remembering both names and faces!
Dean

[Zardoz]

A brief timeline of the kilt. I thought the knife pleats came a bit earlier, but I don't know when they became widespread. Not a bad general history of the kilt, and he did dismiss a number of pernicious myths, but I had a few quibbles with some of the information he gave, although I don't really remember what they were now. I couldn't help wondering what Matt Newsome would have said if he had been in the peanut gallery. I didn't really say anything, except for informing a few people of the Scottish Register of Tartans website.

Always fun to see Austin's 'Torf the kiltmaker', he's quite the character. You should see the presentation he does about Scottish castles with paper and cardboard models and photos cut out of magazines
Really I feel like he perpetuates as many 'pernicious myths' about kilts and tartan as he dismisses. As far as not being aware of online databases, I'm not sure he's really aware of the interweb in general.

Anyway, great photo essay! I wish I could have been there! Great to see two Houston pipe bands win in the comps.

[WillieMacG]

At the Clan Donald booth I tried to see if I could find anything on an ancestor of mine who was apparently born in eastern New York state in the mid-18th century. No luck. I remembered that at previous games Clan Donald had a chart of all their tartans. I asked to see it so I could take another look at the MacRory tartan. Yeah, I know there's always the Tartan Ferret and the Scottish Register of Tartans, but it seems more real when it's on a piece of paper at the Highland games. I'm sure it would seem even more real if it were woven and made into a kilt....

Nice shot of the Clan MacInnes tent in the background! Can't quite see me as I was sitting in the back of the tent in the shade. Too bad I didn't yet know about this forum or I could have met several of y'all. Ah well, maybe next year. BTW, I did notice a huge omission in your report. It was HOT!!!! But, great pics all around! Thanks for the thread.

[mookien]

Again, "the next best thing to being there". Thank you.

The only thing I missed was a picture of you in the kilt. You should have asked Miss Angus for a snap. ;)

[ShaunMaxwell]

Not to hijack the thread, but here are a few more shots of some of the athletes competing (though I NEVER seem to be able to get good shots in Arlington, as the light is always pretty harsh — and I've misplaced the hood for my long lens — and your view of the athletes is often obscured by fencing and distance).















And last but not least, our own Terry Smith throwing the Braemar stone:

[Mike_Oettle]

Many thanks, Shaun, for posting your pictures. I am sure Morris’s pics are fantastic, and probably every X Marker in North America can see them, but all I get is a succession of logos showing a frog in an ice cube.
Regards,
Mike

[cessna152towser]

Excellent set of pics, I am always interested to see photos from highland games around the world. The pipe band performing inside a marquee looks unusual from a Scottish perspective.

[Morris at Heathfield]

The only thing I missed was a picture of you in the kilt.

*psst* I might be in the group photos that other members have posted.