2009 was an interesting and challenging year to be a Chief at Carmichael. The “Lehman factor” has affected our daughter’s Japan family’s poinsettia growing and Scottish banking, farming, property and tourism in equal measure.  Not a good year for a major fundraising or a Clan gathering, but hopefully 2010 will be much better.

On the positive side “The Scottish Homecoming” weekend in July provided some spectacular sparkle with the parade up the Royal Mile by 8000 clansmen, including our own group of thirty Carmichaels, watched and cheered on by 20000 lining the historic street and seen by millions on television. Over one hundred Chiefs attended the Scottish Parliament on the Friday before the weekend gathering, and throughout the year I have had a general feeling of coming in from a long journey with the stark contrast , between the former indifference of politicians and the new vibrancy and Clan recognition of the SNP led parliament.

There has been a spectacular BBC production on Scotland’s History running all year and on St Andrews night 2009 the History Debate was shown on BBC television chaired by Sally Mugnusson.  Neil Oliver, the series’ brilliantly good presenter, was on the panel of five and an audience of 80 invited guests included your Carmichael chief in full clan tartan regalia, the only tartan in the room!

As the debate raged on with one of the other sceptical lowland panelist’s views on the “falseness of the tartan myth” created by Sir Walter Scott, the presenter and the cameras all swung onto the Chief of Carmichael in full tartan for his contrary opinion. You can believe it was robustly given.

This was our second television outing of the year as Andrew and I had also appeared on Landward” (a farming and outdoors program) as part of a series on four Clan chiefs who still farm their clan lands. Early in the year our younger daughter Sarah had married American fiancé, Randy Smith, in Colorado and their Scottish wedding vows weekend party was held in late September here at Carmichael.  Some fifty family and friends wished them well in their future life together.

During the second half of the year, Patricia and I became grandparents for the first time, and did so in fine style with two grandsons born six weeks apart at opposite ends of the world. Fraser Lewis Carmichael of Carmichael was born to Andy & Terri on August 30^th at Wishaw maternity hospital Lanarkshire Scotland , and  Finlay Tairo Carmichael Kishimoto was born to Marama and Taka in Tokushima City, Japan on October 16^th. There are lots of pictures inside this newsletter and we have heirs galore for generations to come.

A few years ago we had Helton’s tower, a tribute roof erected by his family and friends and this year Arthur Carmichael from California built a deck on the front of The Gardeners House. The views from the deck are fantastic and the construction is pure Rocky Mountain sturdy. Thanks to Art.

In June we raised nearly £1800 for breast cancer in Scotland when Trish and I walked the Edinburgh city midnight half marathon Moonwalk in well under four hours. A floodlit pink castle entertained us, and our compulsory but spectacularly different tartan bra outfits entertained everyone else. Homecoming Carmichaels Arthur, Jennifer, Michael, Mike, Claudia, Steve and many others including Phil from the Far East contributed generously to this unique homecoming Clan chief’s fundraiser.