Friday, August 29, 2008

Received In The Mail

Probably in anticipation of The Gathering scheduled to happen next July. It's not too early to begin planning for this! I believe Colquhoun is going to have our own tent at this event. I'll post more specific details next month.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Chapter 2 of Life Begins At Midnight by Retired Detective Chief Superintendent Robert Colquhoun




































Det. Sup. Robert Colquhoun Mentioned in an Article About Safecracker

This calls for another chapter from his book when I get home this weekend!

"Johnny Ramensky Was The Expert Safecracker Who Never Harmed A Soul And Stole Nazi Secrets From Hitler's Henchmen. And No Jail Could Hold.. Gentle Johnny" is the article here in the Daily Record.
"But Ramensky had earned grudging respect even from the police In 1962 Det. Supt. Robert Colquhoun, a retired cop who knew Ramensky well, received a letter from his old adversary. Mr Colquhoun had fallen ill. Ramensky sent him a letter from jail with his good wishes for his speedy recovery and telling him that he'd been taking too much out of himself chasing him.
Mr Colquhoun said: 'Like most policemen who have come in contact with Ramensky, I find him an engaging character, the kind of man who, applying his brain to another, more acceptable, type of occupation, could probably have made good.' "

Article on Capt. Walter Colquhoun Grant

An officer and gentleman or "black sheep" turned con man?
Capt. Walter Colquhoun Grant, believed to be at the age of 24 the youngest captain in the British army, 2nd Dragoons (Scots Greys), seems to have been a bit of both.


Continue reading here in the Times Colonist.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Drumchapel Heritage Group

Colquhoun Burial Crypt

Agnes Colquhoun Memorial Stone.


Another Report From Sam & Vicki





GLASGOW LANDS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL
Northampton, MA
July 19, 2008

Well, we set a first for ourselves this weekend. In the ‘It can’t happen to us’ category, IT DID. In the thirteen years that we have been hosting the Colquhoun tent we have seen our share of tents blown over, so we guess that it was finally our turn. We set up Friday night in our usual fashion – tents up full height with banner and flags flying. Thunderstorms were forecast, but we have survived them before. As we sat in the motel that night watching the Weather Channel radar, we saw the bright orange blob go right over Northampton and wondered if we would have a tent in the morning. When we got to the grounds in the morning we found the remains of our two tents. Jonathan Tucker, the Clan Coordinator, had been called out Friday evening after the storm. Apparently a microburst had hit the area. He had very graciously picked up our stuff and stacked it neatly. He even set our flags in stands for us. With the help of Dave Byrne, 2nd Vice President and New England Commission of Clan Buchanan, Stuart Greenlaw, representing both Clan Stewart and SAMS, a roll of duct tape and rope we were able to get our front tent presentable, even though it had five bent and broken trusses. Our back tent was totally useless in that it had three bent legs, bent almost at 45 degree angles. Anyone need three steel tubular hockey sticks?



Other than that, it was a rather uneventful day for us. It was hot and humid, which we have come to expect for this Game. Jonathan had the Clans on and off the field for Opening Ceremonies in record time, for which we were all very thankful. We were short on visitors to the tent, probably due to both the weather and the economy. Tyler Cowan was the first by. He is one of our several Colquhoun pipers and plays with the Berkshire Highlanders. He was hoping to get an early draw for his solo competition in order to beat the heat. Charlie Smith came by a couple of times. He is planning to buy a kilt after he buys his motorcycle gear. In what seems to becoming a tradition, Kevin Surprise came by in the morning and his sister Laura stopped by in the afternoon. Our thanks to all for braving the heat.

Vicki was a judge for the Bonnie Knees contest and the contestants voted her ‘Best Judge’. Must be those ‘Magic Fingers’.

The aforementioned Dave Byrne made Sam a hand-fashioned walking stick or hiking staff (what’s the difference?) or as Dave calls it, a leaning stick, to give his knees some relief. He made it from a maple sapling, utilizing the root. It looks almost like a dragons head.

Our next stop is the Central New York Scottish Games in Liverpool, NY on Saturday, August 9. Hope to see some of you New Yorkers there.

Vicki and Sam Overstreet

New York/New England Representatives
Clan Colquhoun Society of the United Kingdom

US: www.colquhounclan.com
UK: www.clancolquhounsociety.co.uk