2011-12 Photos of the Argyllshire Gathering and Oban Games

[creagdhubh]

Greetings,

Below are a "sampling" of photos taken at the annual Argyllshire Gathering and Oban Games at Mossfield Park in Oban, Argyllshire, Scotland. The photos were taken during the 2011 and 2012 games and gathering. Many of the images feature the 28th MacCailein Mor, the 35th Chief of Clan Campbell, His Grace, the Duke of Argyll, Torquhil Ian Campbell. It is interesting to see the "variations upon a theme," in regards to the traditional manner and approach of the wearing of Highland dress. Each individual as their own unique style and personal preferences, yet they are not vastly different from one to the other.

One of my good mates and professional piper, Matt Pantaleoni of St. Louis, Missouri, can be seen in the crowd of pipers that lead the parade (the pipers are always placed immediately in front of His Grace, the Duke of Argyll, et al) from the harbor in Oban, onto the games field at Mossfield Park. Matt competes in the piping circuit throughout Scotland, with the Argyllshire Gathering and the Northern Meeting, quite obviously, being his top competitions.

The Argyllshire Gathering and Oban Games are truly a thrilling sight to behold, and I encourage those who have not yet attended, to do so at some point in your life. You will certainly be given a warm, West Highland welcome and undoubtedly, will have a most splendid and memorable time. Enjoy the photos.












Cheers,

[creagdhubh]

Continued...



My good mate, Tom Macpherson of Exeter, can be seen amongst the group below. He is obviously wearing the Macpherson 'hunting' tartan. Fun chap!

[Thomas H]

Wonderfull Pictures Thank you for sharing

[chewse]

Great pics! It looks a more formal event with jacket and ties.

[creagdhubh]

Great pics! It looks a more formal event with jacket and ties.

Good observation. The majority of men are indeed dressed in this manner, because it's the norm and always has been. Sure, you may see chaps in a collared shirt, jumper, polo, or even a football jersey, yet the vast majority are in traditional Highland day attire. This is one of the reasons why I absolutely love the Argyllshire Gathering...tradition.

Cheers,

[Tobus]

I love threads like this. So much to look at! So many observations to befuddle the mind!

This one really caught my eye. Lise MacDougall (thanks for the correction, Kyle), in her signature boots, tartan skirt, and jacket (I remembered seeing photos of her wearing it at the Aboyne Highland Games in another thread).

But I was also checking out the fringe on his day plaid. Wow, that's a long fringe! I think it looks great. In gearing up to do the fringe on my own day plaid, I was wondering just how long is normally seen, and this one surprised me.

[John_Carrick]

Looks to be a wonderful and happy event. Thank you for posting the images.
John

[Cecil]

Thanks for posting these. I love Oban, almost has much has Mull. Hope that was 14 year old Oban Single Malt they were handing out in that one picture.

[creagdhubh]

I love threads like this. So much to look at! So many observations to befuddle the mind!

This one really caught my eye. As I recall, this is the Duchess of Argyll, in her signature boots, tartan skirt, and jacket (I remembered seeing photos of her wearing it at the Aboyne Highland Games in another thread).

But I was also checking out the fringe on his day plaid. Wow, that's a long fringe! I think it looks great. In gearing up to do the fringe on my own day plaid, I was wondering just how long is normally seen, and this one surprised me.

The lady pictured is actually Lise MacDougall, whom is often the Games Steward there at Oban. The man pictured is her husband, Charlie MacDougall. His plaid is very smart indeed. I think one has a bit of latitude when it comes to the finer details such as fringe-length on a day/blanket plaid. Mine all have 5-6" of hand-purled fringing on each end. MacDougall's appears longer, yet it may also just be the other end of his plaid that is underneath the top portion. The part underneath may be hanging a wee bit lower, thus causing the fringing to look almost twice as long as what is usually seen (think the purled fringe-length on a piper's plaid, which is the length most commonly seen). Of course, I could be wrong, but in any rate, he is well turned out nonetheless. If you like longer fringing, then I say go for it! After all, it's your plaid and no one will say otherwise!

Slainte mhath,

[Tobus]

The lady pictured is actually Lise MacDougall, whom is often the Games Steward there at Oban. The man pictured is her husband, Charlie MacDougall.

Ah, you are correct. I got some misinformation from that other thread, and apparently didn't read far enough to see that it was corrected there. I've edited my post so as not to repeat the same mistake. Thanks for that, Kyle.

Great set of photos Kyle and fantastic variety of colours in the tweed jackets. Would love to get hold of a few of them.

That's the other thing that really caught my eye about these photos. The lovely tweeds. I see some terrific combinations of tweeds, tartans, and patterned ties that really reinforces Jock Scot's advice for not worrying about being matchy-matchy.

I also take note of the bonnets being worn. Aside from the black Glengarries worn by pipers, we almost uniformly see the gentlemen wearing Lovat green or Lovat blue Balmorals (with only a few black ones thrown in, and at least one 'fawn' coloured one). Considering recent discussions about the shapes, colours, and wearing styles of Balmorals, I see a nice range of styles here. What's interesting is that even though the majority of bonnets are virtually the same type and colour, they each have their own unique style of wearing them. Unlike other types of hats that men wear, the Balmoral really does lend itself to personalization.

Take, for instance, this photo. The style I've tried to emulate with my own Balmorals is like the one on the left (this appears to be Charlie MacDougall), where the crown flops to the right, well over the edging. But the fellow in the center (sorry, I don't know who he is) wears his more centered on his head, and it actually looks pretty good. It's not a crisp "flying saucer" look, but rather more floppy and soft.



Then you have His Grace, the Duke of Argyll, whose bonnet has a much smaller crown and appears older and more 'crushed'. If I remember correctly, that bonnet was passed to him from his father, and has a long history. Is that correct? It certainly has its own particular personalized look, while still being of the same general style.

I also see an impressive array of cromachs and full mask sporrans. Very nice.