Homecoming: Flinging in the rain, but riled by the rubbish

Published on Friday 24 July 2009 22:10

THE Scottish Parliament opened its doors yesterday to the greatest gathering of clan chiefs in Scotland since Culloden – and did not even ask them to check in their dirks at the door.

As about 100 leaders of the largest, and smallest, clans and their followers from round the world packed the chamber with tartan, tweed and trews, the parliament politely waived its usual security regime.

"Ordinarily you wouldn't be allowed to bring knives or sharp objects, but given today was invitation only, the parliament agreed to accept people coming with sgian dubhs," said a spokesman.

The packed conference yesterday, tackling the role of the far-flung Scottish clans and their chiefs, was the curtain-raiser for the Gathering in Edinburgh this weekend. Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, sent his best wishes for the Highland Games in Holyrood Park, billed as the largest ever in Scotland.

The thousands of visitors converging on the Scottish capital for the Gathering had a full taste of the city yesterday when the sights, the heavens opened for several thunderous downpours, turning the many shades of tartan a little darker.

"Now this is what I expected when I came to Scotland," shouted one kilted delegate as he splashed through the puddles on the Royal Mile.

The games this weekend include a heavy events championship, from tossing the caber to carrying and throwing huge weights, with athletes from Canada, New Zealand, Belgium, Holland, and the United States, which apparently piqued Mr Schwarzengger's interest. He called them "a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Scottish history, sportsmanship and lifelong fitness. I hope everyone in attendance has an amazing time."

Tonight, the Gathering continues with the Clan parade up the Royal Mile from Holyrood to the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade ahead of the world premier of Aisling's Children: Tales of the Homecoming at the castle. It portrays the story of Scotland and its diaspora.

The roll-call of Scottish chiefs descending on the parliament yesterday included such luminaries as the Duke of Argyll, and Lord MacDonald of MacDonald, one of four MacDonald chiefs. The Earl of Elgin, chief of the Bruce, arrived, along with Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, chief of Clan MacGregor, and Michael Ancram MP, head of the Kerr clan. There were women clan chiefs such as Arabella Kincaid, of the Kincaid clan.

They were joined by delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

Robert McWilliam, president of the Caledonian Foundation USA, told the chiefs that Scots would be amazed by the "love and affection that the diaspora has for the country and its institutions".

"It's always said that there are none so Scottish as the Scots abroad." he said. "We carry the flag and show the tartan everywhere."

The parliament's presiding officer, Alex Fergusson, took the chair for the event.

The minister for tourism, Jim Mather, said: "I am delighted to welcome home the many clans from across the globe to attend this special event. Clans play a crucial role in connecting Scotland to the global community."

People converging for the Gathering yesterday got to grips with concerns that have dogged Edinburgh residents for months, if not years. The savvier guests had booked hotels on the right side of the tram lines for the games – and yesterday several said they hoped someone would empty the overflowing bins on the Royal Mile before the parade.

The Old Town was awash with puddles, kilts, Americans in search of their roots, and seagulls after spilling bags in the side-streets. Some delegates to the Gathering were astonished the streets had not been cleaned for this highlight of the Year of Homecoming

Others, coming straight into city hotels, had not noticed it – or said their home towns had problems of their own with trash.

In the Royal Mile, Tim and Deb Trainer, from San Diego, California, said they had watched the man supposedly clearing the rubbish in the street outside their hotel in Royal Terrace. "There was a guy picking up the trash, but missing every fifth of sixth piece," he observed. " We are having a great time but it was disappointing to see it in such a beautiful city."

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were hosting a reception last night for those involved in the Gathering 2009 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Nike Whitcomb and her husband James McKechnie had returned to Edinburgh to renew their vows 25 years after they married in the city. They are both in the 163-year-old Illinois St Andrew's Society, with plenty of clan connections, which was sending about 15 members to the gathering.

Regular visitors, and well aware of tram troubles, they had carefully booked a hotel in the Cowgate, on the Parliament side of Princes Street. "People are uniformly friendly and want to be helpful," Ms Whitcomb said.

But Ian Malcolm Grant Macintyre, a clan chieftain whose recent gathering drew 300 people from all over the world, said: "It must leave an awful impression, rubbish all over the streets."

Geoff Miller, an American living in London, said: "

The city is so beautiful I will come back again but you could go to other places and cities aren't so dirty so it's noticeable."

&#149 THE number of tourists making overnight visits to Scotland fell by a million last year,

Office of National Statistics' International Passenger Survey and the UK Tourism Survey showed yesterday. Numbers fell from 16 million in 2007 to 15 million in 2008.

The surveys showed there was also a fall in the economic benefits from tourism, with revenue dropping from 4.2 billion in 2007 to about 4bn in 2008.

But leaders of the Scottish tourism industry yesterday said they were "cautiously optimistic" that there would be healthy visitor numbers this year despite the global economic downturn.

A spokeswoman for VisitScotland said 2009 was a challenging year for Scottish tourism, but early indications suggest that Scotland is performing well and the Homecoming festival gave Scotland a "competitive advantage".

FULL HOUSE EXPECTED FOR MUSIC AND DANCE CELEBRATION OF A NATION

AN 8,000-strong crowd attending the centrepiece event of Scotland's Homecoming celebrations will be treated to a spectacular music and dance show charting hundreds of years of the nation's history.

Crucial moments such as the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath and the Highland Clearances become striking set-pieces with a stirring soundtrack.

For the first ever theatrical production at the esplanade theatre director and writer Mark Murphy has joined forces with composer Jim Sutherland to create what has been billed as "the jewel in the crown" of this year's Homecoming celebrations.

And a special preview of Aisling's Children, which will be officially staged at the climax of today's Gathering festivities, was given a rousing reception by about 1,000 spectators at Edinburgh Castle esplanade last night.

With just a few hundred tickets left, a full house is expected at the attraction tonight after a spectacular parade up the Royal Mile, starting at 7.45pm.

The show is staged on a bare set and cast of 200 use only a few props. The show uses dance, spectacular lighting effects and the pre-recorded soundtrack to ignite passions as it romps through 700 years of history by telling the stories of six generations of descendants of one woman, Aisling MacLean, and how their lives were touched by the defeat of the Jacobites, the Clearances and emigration.

It climaxes with tales of how Scots made their fortunes around the globe, taking their culture and traditions with them, as huge pieces of clothes are woven together, before a parade of massed pipes and drums.

Pensioner Rosalind Jackson, from Baberton, Edinburgh, who was among the crowds leaving the esplanade after last night's show, said: "It was certainly very different, but the actors, music and lighting effects were just great."

Lorna MacDonald, a health service worker, from Glasgow, said: "Trying to cover such a long period in history was just too much, but the effects were pretty impressive."