MORE ABOUT THE HECTOR

In the previous blog, I talked about the "Hector" which sailed from the village of Ullapool on Loch Broom, Scotland to Pictou, Nova Scotia. The journey which had brought the barest of provisions and was grossly overcrowded set out in July of 1873 at a time when the weather was worsening. As it neared Nova Scotia, the ship and its crew were met by a horrific storm which sent the ship backwards and it took another three weeks to reach Nova Scotia. By this time, mid-September, the winter was setting in and there was little opportunity to start clearing the heavily wooded areas which the settlers found were to be their future farms. If it were not for the help from the native Miq Macq Indians and some earlier settlers who had moved from New England, few if any would have survived. A full scale model of the Hector is on permanent display at Pictou. The photograph shows the "Hector" replica berthed at the special museum pier in Pictou.

THE HECTOR

A ship called the Hector sailed from Loch Broom in the west of Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1773 and landed at Pictou. Among those who sailed from Scotland many perished through hunger, and disease. A considerable number of the passengers were children and of those a high percentage did not survive the storm-bound passage. One of the settlers was Alexander Cameron from Loch Broom, who as a youth, had witnessed the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The area where he settled is called Loch Broom to this day and his descendants are still living in the Pictou area. The picture on the left is of myself with Genevieve Oliver who is a direct descendant of Alexander Cameron. We are standing outside the house which was built by Alexander Cameron after he settled in the area.

RENAMING A LAKE

It is not like me to confuse the good Scottish or even gaelic word Loch with that used south of the border. Indeed I understand that there is only one correctly named Lake in Scotland and that is the Lake of Menteith. The reason is that the loch to which I am referring is actually in Canada. While in Nova Scotia I met many interesting people with Cameron connections. Among those was a gentleman called Ian Cameron who told me about a campaign mounted by Camerons in the area to have the name of a lake changed from 5 mile lake to Lochiel Lake in Lochaber district. This was achieved in the early 1980s and now boasts a sign to indicate the name. At about the same time, the late Lochiel (Sir Donald Hamish Cameron) and Lady Margaret visited Nova Scotia and an oak tree was planted at Lochiel Lake to commemorate their visit. There was some discussion about the fact that Lake and Loch are the same word and that this name was in fact Loch Eil Loch or Lake Eil lake. In point of fact the word Locheil is an entity and represents a particular landmark in Scotland. The separate meanings of Loch and Eil are not relevant in this case and so it is quite correctly called Lochiel Lake.

PIPEFEST - HALIFAX NS

Elizabeth and I were greatly honoured to be asked to take part in the Pipefest in Halifax, Nova Scotia in July of this year. Many pipebands and kilted clanspeople assembled at the Citadel which overlooks Halifax and was built by British army to defend their policies in Nova Scotia. We then marched through the streets of downtown Halifax. The clans alternated with the pipers. Elizabeth and I were carrying the Clan Cameron Nova Scotia banner and as we walked through the streets of Halifax people shouted "We are Camerons too". It was thrilling and made you proud to be a Cameron. The march then assembled outside the Metro where the Halifax Tattoo was being held and to our surprise it became apparent that all of us were going to march into one side of the arena and out the other. A further surprise when we completed the march was to be presented with a Pipefest T-shirt. The picture shows Elizabeth and I with Sherman Williams along with piper Nathan Ellis whose mother is a Cameron and who was in one of the pipe bands. There is no doubt that with this part of Canada there is a considerable Highland connection and that the Scottish tradition is strong and vital.

THE CLAN RECEPTION

For the first time, a clan was represented at the National Mod in Fort William, this year. The twin reasons for Clan Cameron asking to have a stall at the Mod were the fact that 2007 was nominated as the "Year of Highland Culture" and the fact that the Royal National Mod was being held in our heartland. On Tuesday, 16th of October, we held a reception for invited guests and any Camerons in the area. We had about 50 people at the reception including local councillors and officials of the organising committee. Many discussions and informal relationships were formed and we were able to promote the Clan Cameron in the wider context of the place of the Scottish Clan in our society today. There is no doubt that throughout the world there is a strong feeling of family kinship and this is particularly strong in North America, Australia and New Zealand. However, recently I had an e-mail from a Cameron in Paraguay asking for help in identifying family ancestors. I think that we can not do enough as a clan association to promote the place of clans in Scotland today. I am sure that these views are controversial in some quarters but I would welcome any comments. Is clanship an important force binding families together or is it simply a relic of a society which is best forgotten? The picture shows Donald Angus Cameron of Lochiel (seated) along with from the left Col Charles Cameron, Charlie McColl (mod Convener), Alan Cameron (President Clan Cameron Association Scotland) and Tom Cameron (Commisioner for Clan Cameron North America).

THE NATIONAL MOD 2007

I have just returned from a week of culture at the National Mod. This is a festival of Gaelic culture involving choral singing for both large and rural choirs. There are also competitions for solo singing for both fluent and gaelic speakers. In addition there are competitions in Gaelic drama and the playing of the bagpipes, fiddle and clarsach. The main competitions for adults are the gold medal which was won this year by James Graham for the gents competition and Jean McKay for the ladies. The silver pendant for those whose gaelic is not quite fluent was won by Somerled Smith and Jennifer Spiers. The major choral competition for the Lovat & Tullibardine Shield was won by the Glasgow Gaelic Musical Association under their conductor, Kenneth Thomson. An interesting aside. During the Lovat & Tullibardine Trophy, one of the audience was frantically knitting a pair of kilt stockings. Apparently a member of one of the choirs had come with the wrong colour of stockings. The stockings were completed in time albeit with a hole in the toe as the knitter did not have enough time to finish them off. The Mod in Fort William had a wonderful fringe programme with craftspeople, seminars, workshops and even a stall for the Clan Cameron Association Scotland. The Clan also held a reception for 50 invited guests.
However, for me the real essence of the Mod is the variety of ceilidhs in every hotel and bar in the town. I particularly enjoyed the music of Fergie MacDonald in the Grand Hotel. I feel that the Mod is an important cultural focus for Gaelic culture. It has been criticised in the past but is still going strong after more than 100 years.



Alan