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The first ever Coubrough/Cowbrough Reunion, held in Kingston,
Ontario, Canada in August 2001, was followed, in
April 2003, by one in Katikati, New Zealand, and in August 2005 in the
Coubrough homeland, Stirling, Scotland. All of which locations are home to
modern Coubroughs. In August 2007, the tribe came back to
the New World.
Friday, 3 August; Troy, Michigan ,
USA
Forecast: Sunny and hot, with
a shiver of excitement!
About 20 Canadian and American Coubroughs began today
in high anticipation of a hot August weekend spent with "the
clan." Yup! It was the fourth International Coubrough Reunion.
Despite the fact that no one from outside North America was able to
attend, we did manage to enjoy ourselves. As usual at these affairs, we
spent almost as much time eating as we did talking—and for the Coubrough
tribe, that’s a lot of food!
This most recent edition, which ran 3-5 August 2007,
was hosted by Andrew and Maureen Coubrough, who welcomed us with a lovely
supper at their home on Thursday night. It was a distinct pleasure to
visit with both old friends from previous reunions and "new"
cousins, newly met. We spent a delicious evening, catching up on news, and
stuffing ourselves on Maureen’s fabulous cooking.
True to the forecast, Friday dawned clear and hot—an
auspicious beginning for the official start of the gathering. After a day
spent sight-seeing, we kicked off the party at Picano’s restaurant.
Between bites of a marvellous Italian dinner, we introduced ourselves,
told a few stories, and talked our way up the family tree. After dinner,
we repaired to Andrew and Maureen’s home for drinks, more visiting, and—you
guessed it—more food.
After keeping Maureen and Andy up much too late, we
dragged ourselves back to the hotel. Saturday morning found us up with the
birds—so as not to miss anything, you know. We spent most of the day
indoors 1, in the conference room at the
Homewood Suites hotel, where many of our out-of-town partygoers stayed.
After a lazy morning, chatting among maps and old family pictures, it was
time once again for food. The noon hour found us partaking of a catered
lunch, with more of Maureen’s home cooking for good measure. The
afternoon offered more opportunities for visiting. Some folks were content
to sit chatting around the tables in the conference room, while others,
preferring to take their show on the road, went for a walk, a swim, or a
nap. Saturday ended with another dinner at the home of the Troy Coubroughs,
who we, yet again, kept up way past their bedtimes.
On Sunday, all were invited to attend the regular service at the Kirk
in the Hills Presbyterian church, an establishment which was modelled on
Scotland’s Melrose Abbey. The heathens among us (including yours truly)
took the opportunity to and catch up on some administration. 2
The last official function of the weekend was a farewell dinner, held at
the Forest Lake Country Club. It seemed fitting, somehow, that we should
be filling our faces together one last time, since food always seems to
figure large at these parties. As always, it seemed that the weekend
passed all too quickly. Before the gabfest had got properly started, it
was time to go. So with handshakes and hugs (and even the odd misty eye),
we bid each other good-bye, amid plans and promises to meet again in Ogema,
Saskatchewan, in the summer of 2009.
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