The Gathering 2014

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Interesting... no mention of the date, just that it's happening in 2014...

[Mael Coluim]

Thanks AE for the link! I will definitely return and hope to share a pint or two with you, again. We had quite a number of Malcolms and MacCallums of Scotland visit our Clan tent. So evidently some Scots knew!

For me it got me to Scotland, again. My trip thre was more than just The Gathering as attested by my photo journal.

[cessna152towser]

From my Scottish perspective, I have to admit to a certain cynicism. The 2009 Edinburgh gathering might have been good fun for our visitors from overseas but what was the point of calling it a Homecoming Event when there were few if any Scots on the clan tents to welcome our visitors, and when the cost of joining the clan march was made so expensive as to discourage all but the most ardent few Scots.
Spare a thought for the Scottish performers, and also for the tradesmen who set up and dismantled the event, and who made it such a great event for our overseas visitors, yet were left unpaid when the American based organiser liquidated his company.
Because the 2009 event was such a fiasco Stirling Council were able to buy the right to stage the next gathering for a bargain price. Hopefully they will be able to find somebody more competent who can organise it much better than the 2009 fiasco.

[AcuteEnigma]

It did not really cost anything to join the clan march. Some people just waited for their clan down by Parliament and started walking with them.

But yes, the price of the Passport was high. I won't buy one again but then I won't ever go through that again. I bought mine in October and did not receive it until 11pm the night before the event. I was told they did not get mailed out in March because they were trying to arrange for clan members to sit together at that dance/show. What nonsense! What a nightmare!!!

I got an ulcer trying to track down where my passport was.

As for sitting in those seats with someones knees pressing in my back, I wish I had just kept marching. And after all that, did I get to sit anywhere near anyone in my clan? nope.

Still, the Gathering itself and the march were awesome.

[Oldhiker]

Spare a thought for the Scottish performers, and also for the tradesmen who set up and dismantled the event, and who made it such a great event for our overseas visitors, yet were left unpaid when the American based organiser liquidated his company.

Semple is American? I do feel bad for everybody who got left holding the bag being unpaid but it did bring a pile of cash to Scotland. Most people visited other areas before and after the event. Has anybody calculated how much that might have been?

I did enjoy meeting several Xmarkers, Alex was one the crew. It wasn't all bad

[AcuteEnigma]

According to Jamie Sempill's profile on www.panalba.com, he lives in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Please remember the Gathering 2009 took place in the midst of the Great Recession, the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
(hopefully not to become the Great Depression II)

Anyhow............

According to the 'Scottish Daily Record', "The Gathering event generated £10.4 million for Scotland's economy and £8.8m in Edinburgh, with 47,000 visits made by people from across the world."

[mookien]

Spare a thought for the Scottish performers, and also for the tradesmen who set up and dismantled the event, and who made it such a great event for our overseas visitors, yet were left unpaid when the American based organiser liquidated his company.

IMHO there was/is no excuse for that. The problem could have been obviated, and can be in the future, if the Scottish authorities require the organizers to buy insurance against default. In the U.S. this is referred to as "posting a bond". It's a cost-of-doing-business to the organizer that can be recouped through an incremental increase in ticket prices.

[Santa Wally]

Thanks AE for the link! I will definitely return and hope to share a pint or two with you, again. We had quite a number of Malcolms and MacCallums of Scotland visit our Clan tent. So evidently some Scots knew!

For me it got me to Scotland, again. My trip thre was more than just The Gathering as attested by my photo journal.

Ern,
I discovered your photo journal about a month ago. I wasn't as active on the forum when I first joined in May of that year so I missed it when you originally posted it. A couple of months ago, it was linked in another thread and I logged on over several days reading through your journal and ALL the links. Great photos and commentary. An excellent travelogue.

If you have not seen Mael Coluim's (Ern's) thread, I recommend that anyone reading this, click on the "photo journal" link in the above quote for an outstanding photo travelogue.

Ern, Thank you for all the photos and the time you took for posting your fantastic thread re: The Gathering and the visit to Robert Amyot (Ancienne Alliance) and Lady Chrystel in the French Alps.

[Mael Coluim]

Thanks Santa Wally! It was a trip of a life time. Redshanks (Chris Taylor) took me for a personal tour of the Argyll that was par excellence bar none.

If the creek don't rise, I be headed back to Scotland with the tour sponsored by the Scottish Tartans Museum. Yes, kilted again!

[bdkilted]

I was in Scotland in June 09, and it seemed that everyone I met asked if I was staying for the gathering. So most of the B&B owners, and merchants all over Scotland knew about it. We went early and did not go to the gathering because we were travelling with children and didn't think they would do well in the crowds. As it was, we have a great 10 days seeing much of Scotland, and our family heritage sites. If the merchants didn't make money, it certainly wasn't because they charged too little. I did the math and found I was frequently paying over $10 US for a ham sandwich.