Well here it is, my first "Message from the President." Let me start by saying a heartfelt "thank you" to all who supported my candidacy. I am excited and honored to be serving as president of the SST, and am looking forward to a great year.

Let me also thank outgoing president Mike Lawler for a job well done. During Mike’s tenure we increased our membership, re-instituted Society Sunday Brunches, "upped the ante" in our monthly raffles, and helped to raise our profile by organizing a society table at the Tattoo and other events. Thanks again, Mike, for your faithful service to the SST for the past two years. Thanks also to Christine Lawler for your patience and support.

I am proud to say that we have a very strong Board of Directors. Our first order of business is to adopt a budget. We hope to finalize the budget in April, and will share it with the membership in May.

One of my goals as president is to build upon past successes while looking for ways to energize the Society members – new activities? New projects? We are open to suggestions.

To that end, we will soon distribute a survey to all members. You will be asked to share your views and concerns about what you like about the Society, and what areas need improvement. Are there some programs or activities you would like to see us consider? The survey will be a great opportunity to let us know your opinions.

Above all, I encourage all members to actively participate in the Society. This is YOUR Scottish Society, after all. If you have a concern or an idea, please bring it to my attention, or to the attention of one of the Board members. We need for all members to be "part of the solution."

We have a lot to look forward to this year: the International Tattoo, an active festival season, future Sunday brunches, perhaps a few Society "Pub Nights," the Williamsburg Scottish Festival in September, Burns Night, and the Scottish Christmas Walks in Alexandria and Portsmouth. It promises to be a great year for the SST.

Thanks again for the opportunity to serve as your President. Now let’s get busy!

Yours Aye,
Manny

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Last December, on our way to buy a live tree from a Northern Neck Christmas tree farm, Skip and I stumbled upon the town of Kilmarnock, in Lancaster Co. Now many of you are probably familiar with this interesting town, but it was new to us, and I suspect to several readers.

As Skip pointed out on our way in, Kilmarnock was named by Scottish merchants in the 1770s for Kilmarnock, Scotland. The lingering connection to Scotland was immediately apparent - the first thing we noticed were the street signs adorned with pipers welcoming us to the fair town. It certainly looked promising!

The first order of business was lunch and a wee beer, and we were surprised and delighted to spot the “Pipers Pub” almost immediately. Located at 37 North Main St., it was hard to miss.

This pub was remarkable. First, the menu: they featured a most delicious bill of fare, including Bangers and Mash, Shepard’s Pie, grilled Irish cheese sandwich, and smoked salmon. Also impressive was the beer selection: Robert the Bruce beer, Merlin’s Ale, Black Douglas Ale to name a few. They also serve a "Thistle Margarita," though we didn’t sample it. But the icing on the oatcake was the scotch selection: no fewer than 14 single malts were offered at the bar. Now That’s impressive!

The proprietor of Pipers Pub is Jack Fearing, who many of you may remember as a local piper with TP&D. He now pipes with the Kilmarnock Pipe and Drums Band.

It’s Jack’s influence that sets the tone for the pub. Jack and his wife Sherry lived in the UK for over five years, and patterned the Pipers Pub after some of their favorite public houses in Britain. They opened the Pipers Pub in 2003.

They have live entertainment at least three nights a week, and they usually try to highlight Celtic music, or at least off-beat music with a local flare. Among the bands on the schedule was the Dragon Run Bluegrass Band, which piqued our interest. We hope to catch them at a later date. The pub usually has local music CDs for sale, which is a great way to support their local music scene.

There is an event called "Scottish Days" in October, though we didn’t get all the details. Could be fun!

Several antique stores are located on the main drag. (In fact, Skip and I picked up some vintage Highlander cap badges and WWI Canadian Highlander memorabilia at one the shops – at a good price, too!) There’s a motel within five minutes drive, so if you want to make a weekend trip of it, you’re all set.

The pub is closed during the winter months, but should reopen in April. Send Jack an e-mail at kincora@rivnet.net, and let him know you’re interested in making the trip to Kilmarnock. You won’t be disappointed!

Pipers Pub, 37 N. Main Street, Kilmarnock, VA, 804-435-7178

Leonard & Catherine Hudson - Clan: McDonald

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Jessie McNeill recently celebrated her 80th birthday at a grand party in Elizabeth City, hosted by her children. Over 100 revelers attended, and helped her celebrate. Sounds like the social event of the season!

Dave & Nancy Montgomery recently bought a Nova Scotia bungalow to enjoy during their many visits to Pictou Co., NS, Nancy’s old "stomping grounds." Congratulations, and have fun!

While many of us were reveling at the OV St. Pat’s parade, Edward Brash completed the Shamrock Marathon in Va. Beach. He promises next year to wear a kilt! Cool!

Bob & Jeanne Rider recently returned from a trip to Ireland, where they saw the Glengarry Bhoys perform several times. Now back stateside, Jeanne is set for knee replacement surgery this month. Hoping for a speedy recovery, Jeanne!

Speaking of jet-setters, Robin & Manny Willis are enjoying a trip to England. (Manny said he wanted to, "Do a little research on the enemy!") They are still in the Old Country at press time. We look forward to welcoming them back soon.

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Re-enactors from the 76^th MacDonald Highland Regiment of Foot recently gave a presentation to the Norfolk Chapter, The Virginia Society, National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, of which C.G. Miller is a member.

Although technically in "enemy camp," the lads in red did a good job of explaining the daily life of a Scottish Highlander fighting for the Crown during the Revolutionary War.

The meeting took place at the Duck Inn, at the mouth of the Lynnhaven Bay. Ironically, this was where the 76th first set anchor when they sailed to Virginia.

At the March general meeting of the SST, members elected a new field of officers to serve the Society for the coming year.

Thanks to the Nominating Committee for putting together such a strong list of candidates.

President: Manny Willis (1-year term)

Vice President: James Taylor (1-year term)

Treasurer: Dave Montgomery (1-year term)

Secretary: Marcey Hunter (1-year term)

Board of Directors: Mark Allen (2-year term), Genene Butler (2-year term), Randy Dedrickson (2-year term)

I never thought I’d be a plunker – St. Martin’s wasn’t all that bad. Neither was my first year at St. Pat’s. My new school introduced me to new faces from such far away places as Dumbarton, Clydebank, and Alexandria, not to mention Helensburgh and Old Kilpatrick. My second year was different: that’s when I started plunking, and got to visit such far-off places as Dumbarton, Clydebank, and Alexandria, not to mention Helensburgh and Old Kilpatrick. No, they weren’t bad days; in fact they were smashing – it was just that school got in the way.

Several reasons, linked together, contributed to my delinquency as a plunker, the sight of St. Pat’s being one of them, and what they taught inside those not-so-hallowed walls another. I mean just the sight of St. Pat’s was enough to sicken your mince. What an edifice! You really had to see it to appreciate it – if it at all was appreciable. It looked like a prison.

First, from the direction we traveled, we had to walk up a steep hill to get to it. How dumb is that? How stupid can you get? If you want kids to go to school, one should build the school at the foot of the hill. In that manner the kids would lallydaddle, roly-poly down the hill into school. They’ll always run up it to get out!

The building itself left me with impressions of what Barlinnie looked like. (Barlinnie being Scotland’s answer to Sing Sing without an electric chair.) To enter the premises one had to pass through two big, imposing, iron gates. I think they were designed to keep people in rather than prevent them from entering. Next, one had to walk up the esplanade, which happened to cross atop the railways lines, which ran below. A huge fence rose high into the air and ran behind the small wall, which skirted the railroad. Explanation went that that particular structure was to keep boys from falling off the wall on the wrong side onto the railroad tracks as they walked the wall – as boys were wont to do. Who’s kidding who? (Oops should say whom, Mr. Mac Auley?) Truth be known, I think it was there to stop them from jumping onto the railroad tracks.

At the end of the walkway, there it was in all its glory: Saint Patrick’s High. A three-story edifice, complete with basement. Three stories of gray stone. What can one say about that gray stone? It was warm gray? Beautiful gray? Imposing gray? Distinguished gray? Hell, this was a building not a head of hair.

And not a curtain in the place! What kind of atmosphere was that? Common knowledge dictated that every window in every house in Scotland had curtains. In fact when a family moved from one flat to another the very first thing they did – the very first thing – was to put curtains up. Not this place.

Of course that could have been overlooked with decent architecture, but the façade was flatter than Mary Mc Gilvery’s chest, and that was saying something. The only attempt at column structure was when the boys lined up for class. Boys that didn’t plunk, that is.

Inside they made out they taught us a lot of smart things, like Shakespeare, and all that. Mind you, here was a Sassenach that wrote these boring, long stories, using really strange words, asking, "What’s in a name?" In the name of the wee man, he was writing the stories and he was asking us? "What’s in a name?" was he teapot lidding or something? Everything is in a name. Take plunking, for example. There is so much to that word. A thing of beauty. The Bard’s folk called it truancy. Truancy! Makes you want to throw up. Yankees called it hooky. (That’s what wee Scottish boys did when the "cleeked the gird.) Me, I called it plunking, a beautiful two syllable verb that echoed melodiously through the air. Obviously Shakespeare never plunked. I did. Many times. Me and my china, Francie.

Except for one year, Big Francie and I went to school together from day one. It would be fair to say we were a wee bit daft, but not altogether completely stupid. Our qualifying test for entrance into St. Pat’s resulted in a B for both of us, but Big Francie’s mother had visions of him becoming a priest or a nuclear physicists or something, and a B didn’t quite fit the bill. Aiding matters was the fact his father passed the plate at Sunday mass each week, so she had no trouble convincing Father O’Leary to put a good word in with Biddy Gillen, the headmistress, and somehow or other Francie was promoted to an A student.

This enabled my "Big China," to take Latin and French, thus laying the groundwork for his pre-Vatican training. Consequently I didn’t see as much of the big yin as I used to. During that particular year Francie was caught – not once, but twice – trying to help Mary Mc Gilverys’s chest grow. (The fact he was caught twice left me wondering how many times he actually did try. He wasn’t very good at it, obviously, as Mary’s chest remained almost as flat as St. Pat’s edifice.) A few more amorous adventures told the Renton Romeo he was not cut out for a Latin lifestyle. Pope Pius’ loss was my gain, Francie dropped down to the B class for his second year. Everything happens for a reason? God works in mysterious ways? Whatever it was, the plunking escapades were coming to the fore.

It’s difficult to say who was the better (or worse) influence on whom. We were often classified as two peas in a pod, but that was not the drift. We were opposites; Francie came from a family adequately financially endowed. My family was so poor one could see the rib cages on the mice that frequented our abode. Francie was big – especially by Scottish standards – while I was the smallest in the class. (And that included the girls.) I was the chatterbox; he was the girl getter. He was complacent; I was brash and nervy. Between us we had it all.

But it was wee Harry Mc Callion’s fault we were led astray. To this day I blame Harry Mc Callion. (A guilt complex on my part: Harry was smart, and a non-plunker.) Francie and I never did our homework. Francie used to get a copy of the homework from Harry, and I, in turn, would get a copy from Francie. One night, the inconsiderate Harry was burled away to the Western Infirmary with an acute case of appendicitis. (Brought on, no doubt, by Celtic losing 2-1 to Forfar Athletic.) In his incapacitated state, Harry had not done the homework. We were up the proverbial creek. There was only one remedy.

"Let’s do it," said the big yin.

"Okay," said I. And we did it.

Francie and I stepped out to broaden our intellectual horizons in a different manner.

We plunked school.

To be continued...

Planning for the Williamsburg Scottish Festival continues at a quick pace. A few updates:

The honored clan this year will be Clan Scott;

There will be a sanctioned piping competition, with four judges. Susan Cocke will be helping to organize the competition;

There will be a harping competition, which will include a Clarsach competition, a rarity among east coast Scottish festivals. Rita Hamilton will head this up;

The St. Andrews Society of Richmond will be handling the information booth and ticket tent;

The Newport News Police Pipe & Drums will help set up the field on Friday night;

There will be a Campground Ceilidh on Friday night, in addition to the traditional Balmoral reception at the Westpark Hotel;

There may be a Sunday morning Kirking at the campground. Still working on the details for this;

There will be a Highland Dance competition, as well as Celtic dance demonstrations. Lynnette Fitch Brash is helping with this;

Still working on musical entertainment. Look for some big announcements soon;

There will be a number of historical re-enactors. Larry McCauley is organizing this; and

Advanced ticket sales will be available online. Don’t want until the last minute!

Anyone who attended last year will agree that it was a very successful event. With a lot of hard work and enthusiasm, we hope to make this year’s festival even better. Please join us!

www.wsfonline.org

Each February an event takes place that SHOULD be on the calendar of all good Celts: the Midwinter Celtic Music Festival and Faire in King of Prussia, PA. Organized by the amazing Bill & Karen Reid of East of the Hebrides Entertainments ( www.eohebrides.com), this festival always offers the best of Scottish, Irish, Canadian, and American Celtic performers circulating between four stages, all under the same convention hall roof in one exciting, non-stop-fun weekend! The musical line up for February ’05 included Seven Nations, Searson, Gaelic Storm, the Jimmy Kelly Band, the Brigadoons, Blackthorn, Hadrian’s Wall, Brother, Enter the Haggis, a great new trad band from Dublin named Grada, Ed Miller, the Glengarry Lads & Lasses, and many more!

In addition to all the fantastic music – a true embarrassment of riches – there are many other fun Celtic activities going on all weekend. There are whisky tastings, the best assortment of Celtic vendors you will find anywhere, excellent libations (Guinness, Bass, Tullamor Dew, Blarney Mead, Harp, and more), and meat pies and bridies for sale. And I would be remiss not to mention the House of Gordon bakery, who is always there. Their selection of delicious Celtic isles baked goods is unrivalled. Performances by pipe bands, Highland dancers, and Irish step dancers round out the schedule. And if you feel like getting jiggy with it yourself, then there are Irish Ceilidh dance sessions led by the Timoney School of Irish Dance as well as Scottish step dancing workshops taught by yours truly! I was honored to be invited back for the 3^rd year to participate as a performer, but the truth is I usually go every year no matter what! It’s just too awesome to miss!

My husband Edward and I had a special experience at the Midwinter this year. Edward noticed a couple at one of my workshops due to the fact that the man was wearing a Stirling & Bannockburn district tartan kilt, and his wife had on a Ferguson modern tartan scarf. Now it was hardly unusual that they were both sporting tartan at the Midwinter – loads of folks do. The reason they caught Edward’s eye is that Edward’s family tartan is Stirling & Bannockburn, and it is rather rare. Add to that the fact that MY family is clan Ferguson, and you can see why that particular combination grabbed his attention. We talked to them after the workshop and learned that they are Dennis and Linda Wayne. Dennis’s grandfather was a Sterling; the name’s spelling changed when they came to America from Stirling, Scotland. During the course of the weekend, we met their granddaughters, Sarah Moyer and Chelsea Beauregard, as well as their daughter, Erin Sterling Carter. They all live hours away from each other in Pennsylvania, but every year the various branches travel to the Midwinter to meet for a weekend of excellent Celtic family fun that all the generations enjoy. And if bringing the extended family back together for a weekend like this isn’t an outstanding reason for the Midwinter to exist, then I don’t know what is. Unite the clans indeed!

Why not unite YOUR clan at the Midwinter in 2006? You won’t be disappointed. I guarantee it will be a Celtic weekend to remember. Two hotels and numerous restaurants are under the same roof as the convention center, so once you arrive for the weekend you don’t have to drive anywhere. You can easily go back and forth from your hotel room to the festival as it suits you. Mark your calendars now – the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th of February 2006 – with most people being off from work on Monday the 20^th, Presidents Day. Check the East of the Hebrides web site for details – as Bill says, "Ye cannae beat it"!

Tidewater Pipes & Drums and The MacArthur Memorial hosted a solo piping competition and judges' recital on April 9, 2005, at MacArthur Square in Norfolk, Virginia. The competition, sanctioned by the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA), attracted 33 amateur pipers from six mid-Atlantic states.

Following the competition, the TP&D hosted a recital featuring judges Bob Worrall and Chris Hamilton and Grade 1 Piper of the Day Mary Wallace.

Tidewater Pipes & Drums is pleased to announce the winner of its Gen. Douglas MacArthur Tune Composition Contest. Mary Wallace of Richmond, Va., won for her four-part 6/8 March "Gen. MacArthur’s Arrival At Leyte."

Second place went to Steve Knox of Cheltenham, England, for his four-part 6/8 March "I Have Returned," and third place went to Joel Adams of Pittsburgh, Pa., for his four-part 4/4 March "Crossing The 38th."

Mary received a cash prize of $100 for winning the contest, and each of the top three composers will receive a medallion from The MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Va.

Their were 13 entries in the contest. The tunes were judged in a two-step process: 10 pipers from Tidewater Pipes & Drums screened the 13 entries individually and picked their top three, then the overall top three were ranked by a vote of 23 band members and Bill Davis, director of The MacArthur Memorial.

Looking for a way to get a little exercise while having some fun? Then learn to Ceilidh dance.

Ceilidh classes are now being taught each Sunday evening from 6:00 to 7:00PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall at St. Gregory's Catholic School. Both Irish and Scottish Ceilidh dances are taught. No experience necessary and loads of fun to be had by all. It's also a great aerobic exercise.

Cost is $7.00 if you make an occasional class or $5.00 a class if you're a regular and pay by the month.

The classes are organized by Mary Fien and taught by Lisa Hunt.

For further information contact Mary at maryfien@celticottage.com.

Spring may be in the air, but it’s not too early to make plans for the Annual Alexandria Christmas Walk. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, December 3rd, the first Saturday of the month.

Once again the society is looking into chartering a bus to this event. No hassles with parking! It’s usually a very fun event, as those of you who have joined us on the bus trip in the past can attest.

If you're interested in joining us on this fabulous day of adventure, drop Scott MacGregor an e-mail at mcgregr@verizon.net.

Additional information will be forthcoming.

Glen Garioch: A Highland Whisky

Glen Garioch distillery, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries, was founded by Thomas Simpson, in 1798, in the village of Old Meldrum, an area with a tradition in grain growing. Many of its original buildings of the stone-built distillery are still intact.

The distillery is surrounded by some of the best barley in the country, but unfortunately ran into occasional problems with its water supply from the nearby Percock hill.

In 1908 the distillery was bought by William Sanderson, who used the whisky in his blended Vat 69. Some sixty years later, it was bought by Morrison Bowmore, one of the powerhouse distilleries of Scotland.

The distillery was mothballed in 1995, but reopened in 1997.

Pronounced "Glen Geeree," it is distilled in the old traditional way using floor maltings, which is a process of turning barley into malt by spreading it over a stone floor to germinate, after first steeping it in water. In addition, the distillery re-uses the heat generated in the distilling process to warm greenhouses in which a variety of flowers and salad items have been grown and ripened.

Glen Garioch is one of the few peaty whiskies still made in the Highlands. Pitsligo Moss peat is used for the malt drying, which is finished by gas-firing. They have two wash stills and two spirit stills. Glen Garioch uses both ex-bourbon and sherry casks.

The product is a golden-colored whisky with some pepper and spice hints, with a subtle hint of smoke. The Glen Garioch 10-year old is surprisingly smooth for such a young whisky. It is no longer in production, so if you see a bottle on the shelves, be sure to grab it.

Slainte!

The Glen Garioch 10-year old is surprisingly smooth for such a young whisky. It is no longer in production, so if you see a bottle on the shelves, be sure to grab it. It sells for about $30 in the Virginia ABC system.