The Earl of Erroll and Alex Forbes of Druminnor at the annual Clan Hay gathering

This week sees the publication of the 2013 edition of the annual Clan Hay Journal, eagerly awaited by members of the Clan Hay Society across the world.

More than ever before, the Clan Hay Journal is packed with information on every aspect of the Clan Hay Society's life and about members of Clan Hay, both past and present, from our Scottish homeland and from every corner of the world.

There are stories from the Hay castles of Duns and Delgatie, the Clan Hay Centre.  The annual gathering of Clan Hay at the Aboyne Highland Games in Aberdeenshire is described, supported by extensive photographs of a successful weekend that included lunch at Delgatie Castle, the Clan Hay Centre and guided tours of the two castles of Slains, for many centuries the seat of the chiefs of Clan Hay, the Earls of Erroll.

We learn of the 100th birthday of Clan Hay member Victoria Hay Pacaud of New York City, a famous horsewoman in her younger day and the granddaughter of Col E. B. Hay, a famous U.S. attorney and actor.

The cosmopolitan nature of the extended Scottish family of Hay is demonstrated by the reports from the Clan Hay Society's branch network, extending from continental Europe to Canada, Australia, the United States and New Zealand.

There is an account of a Hay family in Norway and of the involvement of our Hay forefathers at the Norwegian Battle of Kringen.  Further stories are told of Hay families in Australia, northern England and of the Hays who settled in Christchurch, New Zealand, who include Sir Hamish Hay, a former Mayor of the city and his brother Sir David Hay, a distinguished surgeon.  And among much else, there is a biographical article on the life of war hero Commander Ronnie Hay, a cousin of our commissioner Malcolm Hay of Seaton.

This describes only a small part of what can be found in this year's journal, alongside details of the Clan Hay Society's activities over the next two years which will take in the significant anniversaries of the Battle of Flodden later this year and of the Battle of Bannockburn in June 2014.