This is the double games newsletter. Both Grandfather Mountain in NC and the New Hampshire Highland Games at Loon Mountain!

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1 Clan Thom(p)son Society Newsletter ~ 3rd Quarter 2016 This is the double games newsletter. Both Grandfather Mountain in NC and the New Hampshire Highland Games at Loon Mountain! Clan Thom(p)son s first time at both of these games and a great time was has by all. The tent was busy as new members were gathered. Many were happily surprised to find us and joined on the spot. The membership is the highest I ve seen in my time as Membership Secretary. Very gratifying! If you haven t been to these games and you live close enough to attend treat yourself next year and pay a visit, they won t disappoint. Yours aye, Sherry 61st Annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games July 13-14, It was a dark and stormy morning. No really, it was. My friend Janis and I drove up to Grandfather Mtn. on Saturday morning to meet Tom, Mary, Heidi and Allan (all Thompsons, the lot of them) the games. The weather dawned cloudy and humid but the crowd was not deterred. The tent remained busy throughout the day despite the gloom. At Right Ian (3 rd from L) and the X- Marks the Scot crew. Below: Allan showing the local yeti the finer points of sword play. No Yetis were harmed during this photo shoot. Above: Janis and Tom at the tent. At right: Allan and Ian at the tent with the new parade banner and 18 th century cell phones! Open Night Calling of the Clan Torch Light Ceremony, Allan represented.

2 More Grandfather Mtn Games Clan Batman was there! As were over 60 different other Clans! but wait there s more! Below: Heidi educating a new member about our Clan. Sunshine returned slowly to the venue and on Sunday it was perfect! Above & below: Sunday s Kirkin of the Tartans Below: Heading for the Parade of Tartans with 2 new members. Awesome shot of Allan at the torch light ceremony. Mastermind of the trick to keeping torches lit in the blowing rain. Heading back from Parade. At the end of these Games we had broken down another door previously closed to the Clan, gained some new members, ate some scotch eggs, listened to bagpipes, sold some T-shirts, walked around and enjoyed the sights and sounds. Good times!

3 On to New Hampshire! September 15, & 18 The venue scenery was beautiful. The weather was changeable cloudy then sunny, not too hot, not too cold. Yes, Goldilocks it was just right. Proud Thompsons! Stu & Dot, looking good at the New Hampshire Highland Games at Loon Mountain. I think Robert and I were the last of the tent crew to make it to New Hampshire. A long drive from North Carolina, but who doesn t love a good road trip, eh? We got there Friday night and made it to the tent Saturday morning where the action never stopped. There were people every where and the lines to get in were out of the property and down the road. We had 7 new members join. Below are just two of the many. The Thompsons ride again!

4 NH Highland Games cont With a double tent we had plenty of room to gather. Many of the people stopping by were unaware that the Thom(p)sons were a Clan of their own. A lot of education went on, with visitors and new members alike soaking it up. At left my hubby Robert, looking the dandy in his kilt and waistcoat, earned himself the nickname of the Blind Preacher. I think it was the sunglasses. Below we line up for the parade. Stu and Tom looking smart and ready to march. Bottom: New member Tara Audette posing for a photo with Clan President Tom Thompson Left the littlest Princess had her picture taken while Tom held her steady on the step behind the scene. This photo op was very popular with all ages, as Janine Thompson shows below. Next, Heidi and Dot, with Robert hovering in the background. Followed below by Allan, Heidi (photo bombing) and Paula.

5 More New Hampshire Highland Games Not too hard to find the Thom(p)sons, that red banner shown over all others. This fellow had to get in the photos too. His Clan was our neighbor in the next tent over. And the parade begins. Massed bands on parade ground after marching down the mountain. I will be uploading a video to the Clan Facebook page in a few days. Log on and take a peek. After a long day on Saturday the drive home to the cabin in N. Lincoln was lovely.

6 New Hampshire Highland Games Cont Life Members Harold & Patsy Bennet Friday Tent Setup Life Member Dorothy Thompson at front of tent The line for Scotch Eggs Just kidding they were lining up for the Parade. Sherry & Robert Anderson aka The Preacher & his Wife. More new members John Kienzel and Nancy McLaughlin Just a few of the heavy athletes. Pipers touring the Clan Village. This happened several times a day gotta practice somewhere, eh? The crowd was thick on Saturday, the weather held fine thru Sunday and there was music everywhere, with Albannach as one of the featured bands. There were sheep dog trials, heavy hammer, stone put, piobaireachd competions, Scottish country dance workshops and the list goes on. There was something for everyone and everyone was there! If you missed it this year, make a plan for next year. You won t be sorry.

7 This year our Annual General Meeting was held at the New Hampshire Highland Games. Below you ll find the minutes of that meeting along with the membership report. CLAN THOM(P)SON SOCIETY 2016 AGM Loon Mountain Highland Games September 17, 2016 Meeting called to order at 5:00 PM in the clan tent. Members present: Tom and Mary Thompson, Dorothy and Stirling Thompson, Sherry and Robert Anderson, Allan and Heidi Thompson, Paula Womack and Michelle Lemmond, Harold and Patsy Bennett, Charles and Janine Thompson (Tom Thompson, IN, had been at the games on Friday but had to leave) Motion by Stirling, 2nd by Dot that we waive the agenda. All ayes. Tom for all of you who don't know, the website was hacked and we ended up with Google not allowing any access to our website. We have that resolved. Mary had to go back to Godaddy to purchase and install their virus/malware app on our site ($85.00) that cleaned out the hacked data. She also paid our domain names for another year. Then, our credit card was hacked charges for McDonalds in Saudi Arabia, Russian brides, Bloomingdales, etc. The bank never notified us the only way we found out was that an order with Louis for the last group of crests never arrived. We contacted him and he told us that our credit card wouldn't go through for payment, so he didn't send them...but he never told us there was a problem! Mary contacted the bank, verified which charges on the card were ours, canceled the card and we have a new card. Only the credit card was hacked no members' information was ever touched no member information is ever maintained online and we never see any credit card information. Any questions? No. Minutes from last year's agm were sent out earlier - no comments or questions, so do we have a motion to accept? Mary/2nd Allan. All ayes. Financial report Balance of August 2015: $ Current Balance (Aug 2016) $4840 Income: Memberships and Sales $ Expenses: The directors have authorized us to purchase an additional embroidered banner and the parts to make one using an on-hand crest. They have also authorized us to order an additional 50 crests in a one time order. A continuing problem we have had with getting our crests made is that we only get the ones the Louis needs to make to fill up his machine. In other words, there could be small orders from multiple clans for crests and he waits until he has enough (50) to run some machine that spins the pewter into the molds. By ordering 50, it will fill his mold with just our crests and and he should get them out to us much faster than the months it takes now. Remember though, we are ordering at the start of his busiest season now, so there will be some delay. We will be ordering them and a few kilt pins right after we get back. Also, we are going to have to order t-shirts immediately. Do I have a motion to accept the financial report and planned expenditures? Harold, 2nd Stirling. All ayes. Games Registrations $1640 T-Shirts 315 Crests (13) 247 Ancestry 299 Insurance (Liability) 250 Printer Fuser 85 Banner 315 Postage 360 Credit (Square, 2Checkout, web, misc.) 173 TOTAL $3684 Continued next page

8 Sherry - with today's members we are over 170 members. That's the most we've ever had we've almost doubled our membership since I started as Membership Secretary in Motion to accept the membership report Stirling had a question about the 47 new members prior to these games, and lost 33 who didn't renew. Motion to accept the membership report? Stirling, 2nd Paula and Michelle (same time). All ayes. Election of 3 directors for 3 year terms - Paula Cash counted votes sent in online 35 absentee ballots. Candidates: VP Cheryll Thompson, unopposed, Director at Large, Thomas B. Thompson, unopposed Secretary, Mary Thompson, unopposed. Motion for a unanimous ballot on all candidates. Stirling/2nd Heidi. All ayes. Paula gave the online ballots to Tom for file. Sherry I think we should raise the membership $5 across the board except LIFE. We are probably the cheapest membership rate and sometimes the mindset is, if you are cheap, you aren't worth anything. We would be more inline with other clans' membership rates and costs are going up also, so it would be a bit more money coming in. Motion by Sherry/2nd Stu. All ayes. Members can vote by to admin@clanthompson.org if they wish. Sherry also, I think we should give thought to having our own tartan made because as long as we keep wearing one used by another clan, we're going to have problems. Our own tartan would differentiate us as our own clan/society. Motion by Mary/2nd by Stirling. Discussion does it go through Lord Lyon? No, just gets registered with the Tartan Authority. Tom said that we will look into designing and get some cost factors so we can send that out to the members. Stirling we should poll the membership for suggestions on patterns and their input on changing tartans. There are a number of online programs where you can design tartans let membership design patterns and send them in for review and comments. Mary as the blue tartan we currently wear is a Thompson tartan (made originally for Lord Thomson of Fleet) we can continue to wear it. But Clan MacTavish also wears it and we need to know if the membership feels a new tartan (i.e. a clean break) is warranted or we just go on as we are. Also, we were Border Reivers and would have worn browns/heather/gold/green/etc. To blend in - not a bright blue - just something to think about. Motion by Paula/2nd Michelle. All ayes. (Members can their comments to admin@clanthompson.org. Please let us know if you are planning on submitting designs.) Tom does anyone have a suggestion for the next agm? We will put it out to the membership for suggestions as usual. (Please suggestions to admin@clanthompson.org) Motion to adjourn by Paula/2nd Michelle. All ayes. Meeting adjourned at 5:38 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Thompson SecretaryMembership Secretary s Report - September 10, 2016 See next page for Membership report

9 Total Membership Sept Total Membership Sept Charter Single Annual Members Charter Couple Annual Members Life Members Senior Single Annual Senior Couple Annual Total Members New Members since Sept 2015 Source of the 47 new members Charter Single Annual Members 29 Estes CO = 11 Charter Couple Annual Members 5 Edgewater CO = 2 Life Members 0 Central VA = 1 Senior Single Annual 10 Columbus IN = 2 Senior Couple Annual 3 Grandfather Mtn NC = 6 Loch Norman NC = 1 Smoky Mtn. TN = 2 Florida = 1 Texas = 1 Online = 14 and Mail in = 3 33 non renewal mbrs from Sept to date, with no response after 3 to 5 s, or mail. 22 Charter Annual 3 Charter Couple 6 Senior Annual 2 Senior Couple

10 Member Location 2 in in 2016 Members from Australia 4 in in 2016 Members from Canada 4 in in 2016 Members from the United Kingdom 1 - Member from Botswana 136 in in 2016 Members from the United States. Member renewal dues in the last quarter of 2016 Month Dues Notes September - $ reminder s sent prior to AGM October - $ November - $ December - $ EOY Total due - $ Respectfully submitted September 10, 2016 Sherry Anderson Membership Secretary 10/8/2016 We are now at 174 Members.

11 Scottish referendum: 50 fascinating facts you should know about Scotland Scotland has been part of the United Kingdom for more than three hundred years, but it is unlike anywhere else in Britain. Here are 50 facts you should know about the country: 1. The official animal of Scotland is the Unicorn. 2. The shortest scheduled flight in the world is oneand-a-half miles long from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The journey takes 1 minute 14 seconds to complete. 3. Scotland has approximately 790 islands, 130 of which are inhabited. 4. The Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae (pictured Right), on the island of Orkney, is the oldest building in Britain, dating from 3100 BC. 5. The Hamilton Mausoleum in South Lanarkshire has the longest echo of any man-made structure in the world; a whole 15 seconds. 6. Scotland has more than 600 square miles of freshwater lakes, including the famous Loch Ness. 7. The capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, is only its second largest city, after Glasgow. 9. Like Rome, Edinburgh (pictured below) was built on seven hills and the capital has more listed buildings than anywhere in the world. 10. Scotland had its own monarch until After Elizabeth I died, James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, ruling both countries. 11. St Andrews Links is considered the "home of golf"; the sport has been played there since the 15th century. 12. Queen Victoria is reputed to have smoked cigarettes during her visits to the Highlands of Scotland to keep away midges. 13. Edinburgh was home to Skye terrier Grey Friar s Bobby, who captured the hearts of the nation by sitting on the grave of his dead owner for 14 years. 14. Scotland is currently the second largest country in the UK, after England. 15. The highest point in Scotland is Ben Nevis, (pictured Left) at 4,406ft (1343m) 16. The motto of Scotland is Nemo me impune lacessit, or: "No one provokes me with impunity". It is used by the Order of the Thistle and on later versions of the Royal coat of arms.

12 20. Scottish city Aberdeen is known as Europe s oil capital, or the Granite City. 21. The deepest loch in Scotland, Loch Morar, reaches 1,077ft (328m) down and is ranked the seventeenth deepest lake in the world. 22. Scotland s smallest distillery, Edradour in Pitlochry, has 100,000 visitors per year but produces just 90,000 litres of malt whisky. 23. It is home to the oldest tree in Europe (pictured right), a twisted yew which has stood in Fortingall for 3,000 years. According to local legend, Pontius Pilate was born in its shade and played there as a child 24. The raincoat was invented in1824 in Scotland by Charles Macintosh, a chemist born in Glasgow. In Great Britain, the garment is still called a Mac. 25. The official religion of Scotland is Christianity, with churches traditionally being called kirks. 26. Scotland gained independence in 1314, after Robert the Bruce (pictured left) defeated the English army at the Battle of Bannockburn 27. The Kingdom of Scotland remained as an independent state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union joined it with England, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain. 28. Since July 1, 1999, Scotland has its own parliament, for the first time since The country has an area of 30,414 square miles (78,772 km²) 30. The total population is around 5.2 million, around 8.5 per cent of the UK s population. 31. The country has approximately people living per square mile. 32. There are as many Scottish people living in North America as in Scotland, with censuses in the United States and Canada identifying around five million people claiming Scottish ancestry. 33. The country still has its own legal system, separate from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Juries can return verdict of guilty, not guilty and not proven. 34. The Bank of Scotland, founded in 1695, is the oldest surviving bank in the UK. It was also the first bank in Europe to print its own bank notes. 35. Famous Scottish inventions include the television, developed by John Logie Baird in 1925, the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell (pictured below) in 1876 and penicillin, by Alexander Fleming in The first teaching hospital in America, the Baltimore Infirmary was founded by a Glasgow surgeon, Granville Sharp Pattison, in Scotland has three officially recognised languages: English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic, with just one per cent of the population using the last.

13 38. It is home to 19 universities and institutes of higher education, including St Andrews, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met. 39. Scotland has about the same land area as the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Panama, the US state of Maine, or the Japanese island of Hokkaido. 40. The two first Prime Ministers of Canada, John A. Macdonald ( ) and Alexander Mackenzie ( ), were Scottish. 41. One of Scotland s most famous products, whisky, was actually invented in China. It was first distilled by monks in Ireland in the early 15th century, before reaching Scotland 100 years later. 42. The most infamous Scottish dish is haggis,(pictured below) normally made with the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep, traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach. It is not known where it originated, but a similar dish was mentioned in Greece 2,500 years ago. 43. Scotland has spawned some of the greatest thinkers of the modern age, including Adam Smith, James Watt, David Hume and John Stuart Mill. 44. Notable Scottish inventions include the method of logarithms (1614), tarmac (1820) and the pneumatic tyre (1887). 45. Many of Scotland s most famous inventions kilts, tartans and bagpipes - were actually developed elsewhere. Kilts originated in Ireland, tartans have been found in Bronze Age central Europe and bagpipes are thought to have come from ancient central Asia. 46. Famous names from Scottish literature include: Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 47. The flag of Scotland is known as the saltire (pictured right) or St. Andrews Cross 48. The flower of Scotland is the thistle. 49. Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads in the world. Around 13 per cent of the population has red hair, with 40 per cent carrying the recessive gene. 50. The first official international football match was played at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick in 1872, between Scotland and England

14 Young Thom(p)son Reiver Lass Ye either get it or ye don t. From the Mountains of Western North Carolina Keep the heid and have a blether. Yours aye, Sherry