The following items were originally posted on the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games website concering Cluny's visit as honoured guest in 1998. Inasmuch as this information is of considerable interest to members of CMA and will be lost once the GMHG site is updated following the the 1999 event, said information has been shamelessly pilfered from the aforementioned site in order to preserve it for posterity.

Cluny Enjoys Games

If you were unable to meet the 1998 Guests of Honor, you missed a treat -- for the Chief of Clan Murdoch (i.e., the MacPhersons) and his lady, Sheila, were the hits of the weekend.

Editor Jim Thompson of The Mountain Times, Boone, put it best when he noted, "In a time when some Chiefs -- against Scottish tradition -- act as if they were very superior to everyone, Cluny was a refreshing example of what being a Chief means." "

Being a Chief means being first among equals," Cluny told the crowds on Saturday. And he meant it.

Not only did Sir William meet and shake hands with many of the hundreds of our visitors, he took part in the Friday night ceilidh at Lees-McRae College. He also competed in the NC Provincial Gaelic Mod. The Chief and Donald MacDonald sang a duet -- an emigrants' song from the MacPherson village of Kinguissie, in Badenoch. The duet did not take a place at the competition, but the Chief was filmed by a BBC Television crew as he sang.

Responding for himself and for his wife, Cluny sent the following by mail:

"We have such a myriad of memories in store -- and we flew home in a glow of pleasure. Indeed, the lasting feeling is one of such true happiness and joy at all the events. The Ceilidh, the Games, the parades, the church service, the Mod -- and, above all, the company and the people. We were much spoilt by everyone, and we enjoyed every minute."

Court Recessed for GMHG

Sir Cluny left important business behind in order to come to MacRae Meadows. Newspaper readers and TV viewers all over Britain -- the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Northern Irish -- knew of an important legal case which involved Cluny as Judge of the High court of England and Wales (Queen's Bench Division). The case had to be recessed so that Sir William could come to Linville.

In April, 1993, an 18-year-old black youth named Stephen Lawrence was set upon and murdered at a London bus stop by a gang of five white youths. London's bobbies reportedly botch up their investigation, and no on was charged with the murder. As a result, Lawrence's parents lobbied the government for action and the attempted to a private prosecution. The attempt failed, but on March 16, 1998, a new inquiry was begun.