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Branch Activities - 2008

Continental Restaurant in Old Quebec City QC, November 24th 2008
Four Members of the Scottish Parliament were in town for a meeting with the Quebec Government and they asked to meet the local Scots. To our surprise, the delegation was headed by Jamie Stone, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, whom we met him at the Gala dinner of Clan Gunn International Gathering in July 2000. When comparing genealogical information with Jamie Stone, we found out that he and I (Ted) are third cousins, once removed, on the Matheson side of the family, both descending from the Rev. Charles Ross Matheson. What a surprise that was! See photo taken moments later. The other MSPs were Alisdair Allan, Murdo Fraser and Tom McCabe.

From left: Louisa Blair, Quebec author & journalist; Tom McCabe; Alisdair Allan; Ted Gunn; Murdo Fraser and Jamie Stone. Photo by Louise Gunn.	Jamie Stone MSP and Ted Gunn
Almonte ON, August 23
We drove to Almonte on the Friday as usual, enjoying the pleasant weather and arrived at our B & B by mid-afternoon. Once established, we had a dip in the pool and then went to the fair grounds to set up our tent for the next day. Saturday was another lovely day and we had many visitors, including members and friends, at the Clan Gunn tent.

With good friends Ray and Peggy Peters	Rod, Debbie Steele and daughter visit our booth at the North Lanark Highland Games in Almonte, ON

Fergus ON, August 8 - 10
After registering at our hotel in Guelph, and suitably dressed in Scottish attire, we made the 30 minute drive to Fergus. There we visited the fair grounds and found the location of our tent for the next day and went back to Guelph to have dinner in one of our favorite restaurants. The following morning, the weather was fairly nice as we prepared our tent to receive visitors but after a couple of hours the skies darkened and before noon it was pouring rain. The situation became so bad that the March of the Clans and the opening ceremonies had to be cancelled. As the day progressed the rain continued, the flow of visitors dwindled and not one member appeared at our tent - that was unusual. Before the end of the afternoon, many clans had packed up and left the grounds driving through deep mud to exit the Avenue of the Clans. There is an annual tradition at the Fergus Festival: a delegation from the organizing committee select a clan tent for the best presentation and the winning clan is awarded with a handsome whisky decanter. However, that carries with it a condition: the winner is expected to have that decanter with him/her when next returning to a future festival and it is expected to contain a good single malt whisky for those who wish to partake of a wee dram. Towards the end of the afternoon, as we were packing up during a break in the weather, we were surprised to have a delegation appear at our tent. We were notified that due to the unfortunate conditions, there would not be a 2008 award for the best tent but instead they had decided to present the award for ¨ Die Hard Clan 2008 ¨ and that we had been chosen. We are delighted to have chosen for this honour. By Sunday morning the rain had ceased and we returned to Fergus where we attended a church service that included a Kirkin' O' the Tartans ceremony. We then made our way over to the festival site that was still very wet and muddy. No cars were permitted in the area of the Avenue of the Clans, so with a few documents and books in a brief case we picked our way through the trouble spots to our tent. There are always fewer visitors on the Sunday as many clans go home at the end of the afternoon on Saturday but on this day hardly anyone came to our tent. By mid-afternoon, the skies became dark and menacing once again and we packed up and left the area heading East via secondary highways north of Toronto to avoid the heavy traffic on the 401 or 407.

Courtesy of John and Andrew Campbell. Left to right: Louise and Ted Gunn, President of the Festival Bill Rowe, Cheryl Rowe, and Ambassador Caroline Laing.	Andrew Campbell, Chairman, Avenue of the Clans, Louise and Ted Gunn, President of the Festival Bill Rowe, Cheryl Rowe and Caroline Laing.

Ted getting instructions from John Campbell regarding the future content of this beautiful decanter.	Chatting with the Rev. David Whitecross after the Kirkin' o' the Tartan ceremony at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Fergus, ON

Montreal QC, August 3
	The skies were cloudy when we arrived at the fair grounds on Sunday morning. Shortly after getting established the rain started again and continued off and on for the balance of the day. Fortunately, we had covered our tent with a tarpaulin and that prevented us from getting soaked. The visitors were few and much reduced from normal. However, we did have a visit from a member and a few friends dropped by to chat.
One of our new members, Mélanie Bouchard came to chat with us during a break in the weather.

Maxville ON, August 1 - 2


Photo, courtesy of Debbie Steele. Clan Gunn members Alan and son Kris Robson, and Debbie Steele prepare to accompany Ted for the parade of the clans.	Clan Gunn participate in the parade of the clans at the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, ON.
	We had a very pleasant evening with friends at the Tartan Ball on the Thursday prior to the games. We even indulged in a few dance numbers after dinner as a much appreciated band The Brigadoons from Cornwall was providing the music. Louise couldn't understand why I was able to dance so easily when I had trouble walking. I could not really explain this except that it could have something to do with my Scottish blood! Friday was a very nice day on the grounds of the Glengarry Highland Games and we spent the time visiting boutiques, watching competitions and chatting with acquaintances. On Saturday, the weather was very pleasant in the morning as we set up our tent in one of the large barns designated for the clans and was still fine as we lined up for the parade of the clans that marked the opening ceremonies. This year, there were a few Gunn tartans in the parade as I was joined by members Debbie Steele and Allen Robinson along with Al's son Kris. We met Dr. David Hannay, Chief of Clan Hannay and member of the Standing Council of Clan Chiefs in Scotland, who was visiting Maxville and then Montreal to promote the 2009 Gathering in Edinburgh next July. By mid-afternoon, the weather changed as a major thunder storm hit the area and people out on the grounds were forced to seek cover. The spacious clan barns were a good refuge for that and it essentially increased the activity at our booth.
Chief David Hannay leads his clansmen during the parade of the clans.

Cobourg ON, June 28
	We arrived in Cobourg on the day before the Saturday highland games event and set up our tent, anchored it well and took the precaution to cover it with a large tarpaulin since the weather forecast was not good for the next morning. Well, the forecast was correct and the rain was heavy at times during the morning. Many of the clan reps, who set up early in the day, were gone before noon as they were getting soaked. By early afternoon, the sun appeared and it was really quite pleasant once the ground had time to dry. However, the damage had been done as the planned street parade to the park and the official opening ceremonies had been cancelled and the visitors were few and infrequent at the clan tents that remained to the end of the day.
Marching in the rain. The Pipe Band passing in front of the Clan Gunn tent

Moncton Highland Games , Moncton, NB, June 14 - 15


Ian Gunn, President of the Clan Gunn Society of Nova Scotia, and his wife Sharon, now members of CGSNA.	Kirkin' o' the Tartan in Victoria Park, Moncton. Nancy, wife of John Patterson, the Clan Tent Co-ordinator, provided an interesting selection of songs.
	We arrived in Moncton prior to the weekend and spent some time just being tourists. Our local friends Ian and Sharon Gunn had reserved clan space at the site of the games in Victoria Park; so, on the Saturday morning, we erected our respective tents side by side. They were representing the Clan Gunn Society of Nova Scotia. The very windy conditions during the weekend required us to forego part of our normal display in front of the tent. However, we were spared the rain that plagued many future festivals. We had some interesting visitors at our tent including Senator Marilyn Trenholme Counsell MD who represents one of the nearby New Brunswick ridings.
Senator M. Trenholme-Counsell and her aide-de-camp visit our tent.

June 7th 2008 - Mount Hermon Cemetery
A celebration was held last June 7 th at Mount Hermon Ceremony to honor the men, women and institutions of Scottish origin that have contributed to the history and development of Quebec City.
	Rev. Hayes, Presbyterian minister of St. Andrew's Church, tells us about the Rev. Dr. John Cook who was the Presbyterian minister of St. Andrew's Church from 1836 to 1884. He also was one of the founders of Morrin College and Mt Hermon Cemetery in Quebec City as well as of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
Members of Clan Ross present at the ceremony: Marc Ross Lestage, organizer of the celebration. Suzanne Delorme, president of the Association du Clan Ross du Québec. Sylvain Ross, piper
	To indicate that Scots continue to immigrate to Canada, Capt. Jacques Mackay of the 78 th Fraser Highlanders gave the example of Ted's parents who came from Scotland, Hector in 1912 and Jane in 1931.
At the monument commemorating the disaster of the Montreal that occurred on June 26 th , 1857 at Cap Rouge near Quebec City. 179 of the 253 victims are buried in this lot.
	This was a very moving ceremony. Mr. Denis Robitaille, author of the book ‘ Une Nuit, un Capitaine ' sang a song that had been found in the pocket of John Downie, one of the victims of the tragedy, entitled ‘ Oh! Why Left I My Home '.

April 6th 2008 - Tartan Day
We started our celebrations with a well attended Kirkin' o' the Tartan ceremony at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, probably the first time that this ceremony was performed in Quebec City .

Courtesy of Michel Cescas
Diane Lacombe came from Montreal to spend time with Clan Gunn members and have her own Gunn tartan blessed at the Kirkin' o' the Tartan. She is the author of a novel about a Viking named Gunni.

Author Diane Lacombe (2 nd from left) joins Clan Gunn members
In spite of the inclement weather, there was a good crowd on hand. Mr. Jacques Joli-Coeur, Deputy Mayor of the City of Quebec, welcomed our group. He was accompanied by Mrs. Catherine Morissette, Quebec Member of Parliament for the county of Charlesbourg . The Scottish flag was raised to the sound of the bagpipes and everyone followed our 78 th Fraser Highlanders through the streets of Old Quebec .

Flag raising ceremony at City Hall

78 th Fraser Highlanders leaving City Hall. In front, Hamish Williamson carries the Saltire, Richard MacKay the Lion Rampant and Marc-Aurèle Chabot, the Tartan Day poster.

Courtesy of Marcel Bourgeois	Courtesy of Marcel Bernier




January 26th 2008 Robbie Burns Dinner
Our Robbie Burns' dinner held at the Quebec City Garrison Club was well attended. Everyone enjoyed the special presentations by our MC Simon Farnell-Morisset and Ted Gunn with the Toast to a Haggis. Guy Morisset, the officer commanding of Fort St. Andrew's Garrison of the 78 th Fraser Highlanders, welcomed everyone and Hamish Williamson entertained us to Robbie's best known poems. The younger members of the garrison also presented amusing sketches about life as a soldier in the 18 th Century. All through the evening guests were invited to share in the sing-song.

2008 - The Year of the Big Snow

Photo taken following a snowstorm.

Branch Activities - 2008