Update on the X Marks booth at the Pleasanton games

[macwilkin]

Alan,

From what I can gather, like most Scottish games/festivals, etc., this is an all-volunteer organization. I've seen events like these that are ran like a ship at sea, and others that have no organization at all. Most of these folks have a life outside of the games, though, so you might cut them a little slack. They can only do so much.

If you can't get the response you want from the clan liason, then contact the President of the Caledonian Society. Or someone else.

About the acohol....every clan tent I've ever been in has a cooler with beer and soft drinks in it. People walk around, sharing their flask of single-malt with friends and nobody bats an eye. At the Campbell games, the Campbell girls walked around asking for donations to their scholarship fund by auctioning off a claymore. The girls were quite free with sips from their flasks. Upshot...there is alcohol ALL OVER every Highland Games I've ever been to, here in California.

Believe me, I've seen quite a bit of it at games here in the Midwest as well. I'm not that naive!

BUT, my point is, that technically, most games prohibit it. Yes, they do turn a blind-eye -- but what if you've "gate-crashed" and attracted attention to yourself? Now they have a valid reason to escort you out. And as I pointed out before, Bass Ale is one of their sponsors -- a sponsor that probably donates a hefty sum to the games. Naturally, the organizers want to encourage attendees to drink their sponsor's beer and make more money.

As far as what they can do, well, I've seen people escorted and removed from games before by the local constabulary. Not very often, but it does happen. See their disclaimer that I posted.

Again, I'm not trying to be a wise-acre here, or trying to take the mickey out of you. Listen to Panache, and as Mike said, "play the game".

Regards,

Todd