Details of the
activities of members of the Clan Society are described
below:
A
Craftsman with Wood
****
We have recently discovered that one of our longstanding
members is a true craftsman. Francis Hallowes works
from a workshop next to his home in Surrey,
England, producing, by hand, a limited number of hardwood
pieces of furniture and jewellery boxes, or boxes “for a
purpose”.
****
Please click here to visit
Francis's website which gives much more information about the
craftsman himself and the beautiful items that he makes. Your
webmaster has commented that any of the boxes illustrated
would look wonderful with a piece of MacThomas
Tartan inset in the lid.
****
Added
16/10/2013
Norwegian Member learns the
Pipes
****
Members may have
read elsewhere that Jo Viljam Drivdal from Norway has been
learning to play the bagpipes. It seems that his interest was
kindled when he attended the Gathering of the Clans in
Edinburgh in 2009 with other clansmen from Norway.
****
Jo Viljam has now
written a short article about the learning process and members
can now click here
to read this. There is also an opportunity to listen to Jo
Viljam playing at a family wedding.
****
Added
05/11/2013
A Passion for Gardening
****
Members will know Grahame Thom as our Clan Sennachie, Chairman
of our Archive Committee and Treasurer of the Australian
Branch. His articles on family research regularly appear in
Clan magazines and on this website. What is perhaps less well
know is his love for the Garden which he and his wife,
Rossie, have built around their house in Victoria,
Australia.
****
Please click here to
read Grahame's story of the construction of their
wonderful Garden and to view more photographs of the fruits of
their labours. The Australian branch picnic took place in this
garden late in 2012.
****
Added 23/10/2013
Musical MacThomas
****
Adam MacThomas
Clan Society
Member, Adam MacThomas, otherwise known as Mac the Piper, is a
professional musician based in the Franconia area of Germany.
As well as the Bagpipes, Adam plays piano, guitar and Irish
pipe whistle. He also composes and arranges music. Adam wrote
and performed the air "Praising the Clan MacThomas" to
commemorate the 50th Anniverary of the Clan Society in 2004.
The music for this composition can be found in the book "The
History of the Clan MacThomas" and a rendition can be
downloaded from Adam's Website. **** Please click here
to view Adam's website in German or here
for an approximate English translation. *****
Added
17/10/2013
Members Celebrate
Wallace
****
Wallace
Two of our Clan Society members who are based in and around
Aberdeen take a keen interest in the Wallace 700
Association. This organisation was formed to
advance the education of the public about the life of Sir
William Wallace and his relevance to the heritage, culture and
history of Scotland. Each year they arrange a special
commemoration, as part of Tartan week in Aberdeen, to
mark anniversary of Wallace's death.
****
Clan member, John
Mackay, is Secretary of the association and organises much of
the annual event. Albert Thomson is an active participant and
in 2012 proudly wore his kilt in the MacThomas modern
tartan.
****
Please click
here to
read Albert's report on the 2012 commemoration.
****
Added 31/10/2012
German Pipe Band wears MacThomas
Tartan
Members may be
surprised to learn that there is a pipe band in Germany whose
regular members wear the MacThomas modern tartan. The Ems
Highlander Pipes and Drums come from the town of Emsdetten in
Northern Germany. Clan Society member Sebastian Thomas is a
piper in the band and he persuaded his fellow band members
that the MacThomas tartan would be suitable for their kilts,
bagpipe covers and ribbons. The band is sometimes joined
by guest pipers who wear other tartans.
To view exclusive
videos of the band please click here.
!!! New
!!!
******
For further
information please click here
to view the band's website in German or here
if you prefer English.
*****
(Note:
Most web browsers encorporate an automatic translation
facility).
****
Added
05/10/2012
Another
Musical Member
****
Longstanding Clan Society Member, Jeremy Thoms, is a founder
member of the post-punk band, "The Cathode Ray", which was
formed in 2006 and is based in Edinburgh. Jeremy performs lead
vocals and plays guitar.
****
The band released its fourth single,
"Dispersal", in June 2012 and this can be downloaded from
various websites. Their first album "The Cathode Ray" was
released earlier in the year. They are currently working on a
second. To find out more please use one of the following
links:
Former Clan
Society member John (Jock) Thomson from Walkington in
England was the founder and an active participant in the
Hayriders Ceilidh Band which is well know in the East
Yorkshire area. The band provides
entertainment and dancing for a variety of events and plays a
range of traditional music from all parts of the British
Isles. Jock played the Highland and Northumbrian pipes, whistles and the accordion. He liked to
sing Scottish and Irish folk
songs.
It is with great
sadness that we report that Jock passed away in March 2012
after a long illness. Jock's obituary appeared in the 2013
edition of the Clan Magazine - Clach na Coileach.
For further
information about the Hayriders please click
here.
Added
03/09/2010
Last Updated
16/10/2013
Another
Keen Gardener
****
Further up this
page we featured the wonderful Garden built by Grahame and
Rossie Thom in Australia. They are not alone in their passion.
Your webmaster's late Mother, Jean Hunter Hedges (neé
Thoms), who was a member of the Clan Society for a short time
in 1973, built an exceptional garden around the family
home in Surrey, England.
****
Please click
here to
view a selection of photographs of the garden.
****
Added
05/11/2013
Family Research from Australia
Clan Society
Australian member, Grahame Thom, has spent time researching
his family history and has built a website to publish this
information.
In 2010 Grahame was appointed to the role of Clan
Sennachie.
*****
Last updated
06/11/2013
A Celebrity
in our Midst
****
European branch
member and singer-songwriter, Sandi Thom, hails from Macduff
in Aberdeenshire but currently lives in the USA.
She hit the headlines when her
first single "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With
Flowers in My Hair)" was a success in
2006 following a series of webcasts from a her flat
in Tooting, London.
*****
Sandi regularly
tours in the UK, continental Europe, USA and Australia
and her activities often feature on our Scottish
News page. She is also one of our Notable
Clansfolk.
*****
Added
05/11/2013
Please contact the
webmaster if you participate in
an activity that you think that could be featured here.
Priority will be given to activities with a Clan or Scottish
connection.
