Xmas break

                         Have a great Xmas

                        and see you for more 

                            curling in 2023

On The Beach - Xmas Special

     

Well done to everyone for, once again, being the talk of Murrayfield, even though some of the older witnesses felt slightly queasy at the sight of Graemes 'knees'.  With the group photographs successfully out of the way, the 13 players, trying (mainly unsuccessfully) to establish various alcoholic flavours of seaside rock, took to the ice. A big shout out to Annabelle who stepped up to skip her rink and appeared to be the only person (other than Graeme) able to read, follow and impart instructions/rules clearly to the other players.  A good time seemed to be had by all, although it must be noted that only one player had to be penalised for the 'silent' end.  That person was President Rosie who was unable to hold back a 'guffaw'.  In the end, the results were extremely tight with the convenor and his team of Rachael Macrae and Rosie 'guffaw' Clark running out the winners with 7 points, ahead of Team Dale(Adam and Cathy) with 6.5 points.  Third was the Martin squad (Pam and Ian) with 6 points and finally the Good Rink (Megan, Sheena and David McK) with 5 points.

Most of the players then, after having got dressed, stayed to enjoy soup and sandwiches courtesy of Paul.

Thirds reach the half way marker

With the first round of Thirds Trophy games complete there is a clear leader with Team Good.  They are currently running at a 100% win record.  In the meantime the remaining three league places are split by only ONE end.  The Wyllie (in absentia) Squad are running in second place over Peart and company with on win and nine ends each.  The two teams are separated by The Wyllie's having a better 'shots up' record by a mere three.  Currently in the 'strongman' position (i.e. propping the rest of teams up) also have a single win and are only one 'end won' behind the second and third place teams.

The positions WILL change.

ding, ding ...... round two !

'Friendly' v Haddington

Following our withdrawal from the Swan we sent one team into battle in a 'friendly' against our neighbours, Haddington.  Our rink was skipped by Graeme (mother club Haddington) and assisted by Annabelle Martin, David McKay and Pam Clark.  Opposition knowledge told us that the Haddington rink contained no less than three of their regular skips.

Due to an astute call from Annabelle, we went into the final end tied at 6 - 6 but without the hammer.  Despite our best efforts Graeme's final stone was a diagonal tap up.  Contact was made but just failed to tap in far enough leaving Haddington with a draw for three.  The final score, a creditable 9 - 6.  

Well done to our team.

NEW TEAM in Thirds League !

While skip Dave Wyllie is unable to play (hope things improve for you soon) his team, playing one short,
was last night entirely made up of reserves.  They took on a strong team and came out convincing winners.

The team was helmed by Cathy MacLean, who according to opposition captain "was making everything" and was backed up by recent new reserve member Megan, who is returning to curling after several years off and 'super-sub' Susanne Udall.   

Congratulations again to our all female 'super reserves'.

More Pies

Graeme & Adam playing in the rain

The awaited Trophy Finale saw a top of the table clash, which was a repeat of last season and the Knockout, between Team Julia and Team Graeme.  The Maguire squad, minus one Adam Hicks, set their minimum target to win at least 3 ends, set off as though they meant business.  The Mackey squad had an evening dogged by bad luck (and that was the ONLY luck that they had). 

Although the final result shows a four end to three win for Team Maguire, all of Julia's ends were kept contained to single shots while Graeme's team were picking up shots right and left.  Both skips regularly making good use of their final stones.  The final score was 12 - 3.

So, it is congratulations to Graeme, John G, Adam and Ian for the winning and successful defense of the  Trophy Competition.  This also gives them a handy lead for the Peter Allan Shield.

All Change

The first two games of the second round in the trophy both provided surprises.

Firstly Julia's quartet were beaten by third placed Mike Wood's Rink.  Then winless bottom of the table Dale and his crew thoroughly humiliated the previously undefeated Team Maguire !  There was one thing that linked both these memorable (for some) games and that was Graeme played for both defeated teams !! -  He should never have washed his 'lucky' trousers. 

Trophy at Half Way Mark

As the first round robin comes to an end, the four teams are evenly spread.

The Maguire Rink is in pole position to defend the title with a 100% record.  Snapping at their heals are the Mackey Squad with only one loss,  more importantly they are only one end down (Team Maguire do, however currently have a considerable shot advantage).  It should be remembered that Graeme only won last seasons trophy by two ends !

In the meantime, Team Wood takes third place while Team Callander currently sit in 'The Strong Position'.

We are still have the second round robin to play, so anyone can still win with a strong finish.

Early Birthday Present

The Knockout Final was a repeat of last season, with Julia playing off against Graeme.

Graeme's rink got off to a flying start taking the first three ends.  The game was fairly evenly balanced though.  Graemes squad were winning ends but mostly by single shots while Julia's team were picking them up two at a time.  After six ends, Team Mackey were still playing catchup but were only 5 - 4 down.

Graeme finally made his last stone count and took a two leaving Julia needing three shots to peel.  Due to several takeouts, this was looking unlikely when Graeme played another strike, through a port to further restrict Julia's chances, when he got a lucky (no such thing, it's all skill - ed.) double to remove the shot stone and set up a steal of 3 for the title and more importantly, the PIES.  

The final score of 10 - 6 did NOT reflect the game.

Congratulations to Graeme Maguire, John Good (who had a belter of a game), Adam Hicks and Cathy Maclean (subbing for Ian Campbell)

Knockout Round 1

 With three players muddling up the start time (all different times) it was a confused start and three teams commenced short handed.

Julia's Rink was helmed by Dave Wyllie, got off to a great start , going 6 - 0 up after 3 ends against the absent Mike Wood's Team, skipped by John McOmish.  John made a fight back splitting the last four ends but it was a little too little too late.  The final score saw Team Wyllie prevail 8 - 5.

Meanwhile, The Callander Rink got off to a great start leading  5 - 1 after three ends.  The opposition then took their revenge by taking the next three ends with a 5 then stealing a 4 then stealing again for 5.  The final end was also another steal leaving the final result 15 - 5.

The Final will, for the second year be, between Teams Mackey and Maguire and will be on Saturday 15th October at 16.45.

Starting as she Finished

 Julia's new team started the season off exactly the way she ended last season.  On a mission.

Having got a taste for The Bothy's finest, there is a determination to scoop up everything on offer ! 

The opening game against Dale's squad saw every end score at least two shots.  Unfortunately only one of those ends went in Dale's favour while Julia's team showed a dominant performance.  Indeed they didn't have to take advantage of the additional ten minutes session time before lapping the opposition on the scoreboard.  The eventual result was 15-2.

Congratulations to Julia, Dave Wyllie, David McKay (sub) and Rosie.

The other teams tremble !

Syllabus & Fixture List

 Hooray !

At last the Syllabus has been wrangled and should have been sent out to everyone by email.

A huge thanks is due to Pam and Mike for helping while I have been away enjoying myself (but that is about to stop as the first games draw near!)

The draws for the external competitions are also on the fixtures tab.

PLEASE NOTE:- the Game on 19-1-23 is now at 6 pm rather than the later time indicated on the previous spreadsheet issue.

Also note:- Stan is NOT on the WhatsApp group, everyone else should be.

Late Summer Housekeeping

 While we are enjoying the hot summer (it's raining outside) and awaiting the ice allocation, I will be undertaking some 'housework' on the site in preparation of the 2022/23 season.

She does it again

 In the final game of the season Vice President Julia was on a mission to humble Dale, who last week bragged about how many trophies he was currently holding.  Her mighty team also went on to secure the final trophy of the season.

So it's once again, congratulations to Julia Mackey, John Niven, John McOmish and Adam Hicks.

 

The game was followed by the usual, very swift AGM which took nearly 43 minutes this year...... But we did approve our first constitution since our formation in 1860 !

That was followed by a very convivial Dinner at Chez Murrayfield.

That is another season done and dusted, with the exception of our annual dinner and prizegiving which will be late April and will be announced shortly.

And Another Trophy Decided

Julia, spurred on, no doubt by Dales posting of all the trophies that he currently photographs himself with nightly was on a mission.  The first two ends of last nights Shots went to Team Maguire who then went to sleep and were eventually beaten in the remaining five ends, going down eventually 10-4.  

This result gives the Mackey squad a two shot lead over their rivals for the last Pies prior to their showdown on Saturday.

This result also clinched the Peter Allan Shield for the Mackey Quartet, consisting of Julia Mackey, John Niven, John McOmish and Adam Hicks.  CONGRATULATIONS !

Skip Mackey, on top of the world.

 

President v Vice President

Following a convivial early supper/snack the warriors took to the field of battle.  I don't know if the higher echelons of the club had fallen out but rather then the traditional President's rink playing against the Vice's Rink (as the competition title suggests) they decided to play on separate sheets.  This was perhaps convenient for what was to come.

The President's Team, headed by John Good started off like they were still playing in the shots competition (which I guess they were, kind of) got off to a magnificent 7 - 0 scoreline after two ends.  The early supper than seemed to take them into a post meal stupor and allowed Dale to battle back to reduce the deficit to two before John struck again with another big score of three.  The final score being 10 - 7

Meanwhile on a sheet not that far away, Vice Pres Julia's rink had a much tighter game against Team Wyllie.  The final score favoured the Vice President by 6 - 3.

When the sharp minds finally worked out that this meant an aggregate score of 13 - 13.  Just like the film Highlander, 'there can be only one' so we all know what that meant ........

 

So, it is congratulations to Vice President Julia for her win in her first President v Vice Game.

Also Woohoo, first video clip on the website (Thanks Adam).  Can anyone spot the moment where Julia realises that Rosie's stone is going too fast ?

Goodbye Thirds - Hello Shots

The final rubbers of the Thirds took place with little left to stake - The Steak (Pies) already having been settled.  This was just as well as The Howard squad took this opportunity to get their first point on the board against the previously unbeaten Wood team.  The Wood squad did manage to stay unbeaten by taking a three in the final end to peel the game.  The mid table teams also played off against each other and despite Team Niven defeating Team Wyllie, the defending champion's team claimed second place due to the additional three ends they had picked up throughout the tourney.  This was fortunate because if it had been down to shots up or total shots, the Niven Rink would have snagged second.

Now we move back to the Shots Competition where the pies are awarded to the team with the best 'shots up' score.  

Wins do not make for good eating BUT ..... wins in this competition do contribute to Peter Allan Shield results.  Its time for the skips to earn their crust and target which prize they are after !

Important updates and Message from the President

The President v V. President’s match – this match shall remain as per syllabus on the 14^th March at 7.45 pm.   We thought it would be convivial to meet before this game for a snack at 6.45pm. We hope that you can join us.  We will no longer have the AGM after this match as time is limited.

·      Saturday, 19^th March at 2.30pm – CHANGE TO SYLLABUS – In addition to rinks B v C rinks A and D will also play at this time.  Please contact your skip ASAP if you can’t play.  These games will be followed by the AGM and end of season celebratory supper.

      PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE NO ABERLADY CURLING ON THURSDAY, 24TH MARCH

      WE ARE ASSUMING THAT EVERYONE IN THE FOUR RINKS CAN PLAY AND WILL BE STAYING FOR SUPPER ON THE 19TH.  PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU CANNOT DO EITHER ONE OR THE OTHER.

     RESERVES – We would be delighted if you would like to play in the P v VP match and, of course, we would love to see you at the light supper on the 14^th .   You are also cordially invited to attend the AGM and celebratory/ support for Paul supper on the 19^th.

Pie Encounters of the Third Kind

 In a top of the table clash between the holders, Team Wyllie and the young upstarts Team Wood (well one

of us is young and the rest are upstarts) the destination of the 'Thirds' pies were decided.  With skip Wood deciding that they needed ends above everything else, the game commenced. The Wood squad settled their nerves with a huge five (pipe down team Niven, it wasn't a seven but we were playing for ends!) in the first end.  Thereafter Team Wyllie tried hard but it was one of those nights where they always seemed to get a bad rub.

So, its Congratulations, and a good supper, to Mike Wood, Graeme Maguire, Pam Clark and Adam Hicks for lifting the Thirds trophy.

Seven Up

 A SEVEN  !!!!

Pairs 21/22

Being absent, this should be an 'interesting review'.

The brave players that ventured forth have caused our club engravers difficulties, with not one but two players picking up their first club silverware.  The convenor, Mike Wood, ran a five team round robin.  Much to his delight this produced a clear winner with Julia Mackey and Ian Campbell going undefeated to pick up the Alexander C Nicoll Tankard.  One place behind them were David Wyllie and, on her club debut, Sarah Ford who only lost to the overall winners.  They collect the Warren Harris (who he ?) Tankard, normally reserved for the 'Low Road winners'.

Congratulations to our Pieless winners and I hope that someone has told Sarah that as a winner she will have to become a full time member next year ;-)

Individual Points

Following a very rapid exit from the Haddington Pairs, John Good and Graeme Maguire headed over to join the other 6 players for the Aberlady Points Competition.  John elected to play while Graeme took a supervisory position to ensure that the competition ran smoothly (at least that was his excuse).

It was heartening that four out of the eight players were playing in our Points for the first time, one of them coming a creditable second !  The same could not be said for our two 'regular' skips who only managed fourth and fifth places.

The overall event was low scoring this year which, I'm told, was down to some 'tricky' ice.  This is possibly contradicted by the winner improving their 'best ever' score (for the second year running) by a total of nine points and moving up from their best placing of fourth to record a truly impressive win.  Not only that, they were also the only player not to record a blank and only one of two players to record an eight !

So it is Congratulations to Pam Clark who wins her first Points Competition !

Second and Third places went to former 'New Stones' members.

Honorable mention also goes to Ian Campbell, who although finishing sixth was in SECOND place after 5 exercises (one point behind John McOmish).