2017 – 2018
End of Season Bonspiel
The long and winding road. Takes me …. Gosh! Was that really 6 months o’ curling? Well. We had Lesley and Graeme Cowe, Sheena, Bill, John Burns and Luigi all taking part in the final fling of the season. We thought the first session held all the drama with John Burns and Sheena, in James Dixon’s rink setting the pace on sheet 2 but Bill was snapping at their heels all the way on sheet 3. Finally, with both on 6 ends, James’ notched up +12 and Bill a +11. Ah but! In the next session it looked like there would be another 6 end winner involving Graeme but no! They lost 2 ends. Ah but! Lesley on sheet 2 in Paul Jess’ rink had rather cleverly steamed on to get 8 ends in and had a real prospect of grabbing a 5. Half way through the end it looked possible but no! Colin Stirling was not having that and pinged out a couple. So. Sheena and John Burns were in the winning team with Danny Ewen, a young first season player from the Virtual club. Congratulations to them all. It was well done.
A notably nice thing about the competition was the number of new curlers playing, not only from the Virtual club and they did seem to have a good time. I certainly hope to see more of them, come October.
Auld Yins League
Almost at the last gasp. Hee Hee! I hear that Luigi scored a +11 with Brenda Robertson amongst others. I’ve checked my notes. Honest. I’m takin’ it he meant they won the Auld Yins Bonspiel.
Beware the Slides of March
Good advice, that. Ending up with zero wins for your scribe. Hrrmph! That final game though, against Graeme Cowe, saw the destination of the title swing away from league leader John Stevenson to Graeme. It was a very tight game, I have to say and the win was well deserved. Congratulations to Graeme’s rink then of Luigi, Graeme Wilson and Steven. GW was subbing in the competition for Margaret and on this night, Lesley Wilson subbed for Luigi. Dont know how they sort all that out for engraving the trophy. Have we got one? Best make it a sandwich plate. That should be long enough.
Ladies League winners
Super Tuesday Finals day and three of our ladies were in competition for the top prize. We had Marion’s rink with Liz, Margaret Robertson and Nina Clancy playing against Christine McLain’s rink with Wendy, June Swan and Louise Seed. Great to see our girls featuring in the final and at the end of the final at the end of the day, it was Marion and Liz who had their hands on the silver, recovering from loss of a 5 in the 3rd end to finish 11-8. Very exciting. Congratulations. We weren’t in the reckoning for the Border League but Earlston Primary School are worth a mention since they won the low road final in their competition. Note to scouts – keep an eye on emerging talent.
Stewart Salver salvaged
A really close final in the Salver between Paul Jess’ and Robert Walker’s rinks came down to a nail biting measure for second shot to decide the destination of the trophy. Lynsey and Luigi were in Paul Jess’ team and in that measure, they got the required two to win the game 6-5. I’m presuming Luigi was wearing his Duns strip for this one along with Paul and Helen Forbes but better give him a mention since it was an open entry and not club based. Well done folks.
Developers Cup
This is a knockout competition open to any team not involved in the major ice rink competitions. After first disposing of Kyle McLean’s rink, Lynsey, Russet, Tracy and John Burns faced Colin McNab’s team. Playing really well, our curlers pulled off an excellent win with a 9-0 scoreline. What’s to develop? Brilliant!.
Dickinson
Another day. Another final. After winning through against one Coldstream team in the semis to face James Stark’s kinda’ Hotstreamers’ in the final, we found that it was time for a taxi. Ewan, Marion, Wendy and Luigi found they could do very little to hold on to the game and after showing some promise by getting a two in the 3rd end, then lost a five. Eventually it finished 14-3 and they were feeling glad (it was) all over.
District Medal
Opposition in the distric medal involved a clash with far flung Greenlaw. Crikey! Even playing a team from the same province in an inter-district competition now. Naebody wants to come down over that hill at this time of year. Oh well! Always sure to get a tough time from the Greenlanders and skipped by John Stevenson!!!!! It proved to be the case. Graeme Wilson, Phil, Lynsey and Luigi weathered the ‘Beasts from the East’ to end up winners but not before they weathered a storm. Sitting 7-3 up after 5 ends, John S, played a fantastic hit and roll to take that end and then took a steal in the last to bring the score to 7-6. Not enough and a deserved medal to us for survival, I think.
Auld Yin’s Win
A note to say that David Mitchell helped take Mary Aitchison’s rink two points clear at the top of the Auld Yins league this year. David picked up Gerry Chrighton’s place in the rink early on in the season and it’s quite nice that he has emulated Gerry’s feat of winning this league last year. Congratulations.
Weekender
Our rink in the Weekend Trophy did well, managing to surmount all challengers to face a final showdown with Gary Craig’s Soutars+1. Phil, John Burns, Linsey and Russet played a tight final with the first six ends trading singles. The outcome though was that it slipped from their grasp after a tense final end ending up 5-3 . Luigi was the +1 in Gary’s team and being the sponsor of the competition he was able to give himself a well deserved pat on the back.
Smokin’ Oakroom
Four of our ladies participated in the Oakroom bonspiel this year – Liz, Sheena Lynsey and Lesley Cowe. This Ladies Section end of year bonspiel had a full compliment of rinks and our Lesley came out top of the ladder in Bobbie Forrests’ rink with Pat Stirling and Marion Millar. It seemed to be a hard fought match against Liz Martin’s team with honours even on 4 ends each but shaded on the scoreline of 7-6. Well done.
Birlin’ Broom
What a whirl that was. A quick wee competition in which if you were looking for a sub, you needed to have a very fast slide. Ewan’s rink of David, Sheena and Tracy ended up with two and a half wins to Bill’s, just 2. Suffice to say, those 2 were when Bill wasn’t playing!!!! Well done the rest.
The Dram
Ok. Doubles by any other name but just the same, it takes two to play. Not necessarily mixed doubles but just as intoxicating. With eight pairs taking part it was well supported and just to cut to the chaser, Graeme Cowe and Russet were the ones quaich’in all over with success. Here’s to Donnie.
Silver Seniors
Wow! A mesmerising performance by Margaret Robertsons ladies rink in the Scotish Senior Championships at Braehead Arena. I wasn’t there but was dipping in and out of the line scores on the web. Aaargh! It crashed too for a time. Whit? With our Wendy Henderson playing final stones and June Swan and Venetia Scott in the rink, they stormed their way through the group stage and semis unbeaten. A tough game ensued in the final but our girls were shaded to the top spot and a trip to Sweden. Lets not dwell on that though. There is the small but still exceptional matter of a pretty damn fine silver medal to celebrate. Great stuff. Congratulations.
Open Pairs
The pairs season is still open. Well it was. Signed off this year with Graeme Wilson and Luigi winning the Open Pairs Low Road final, winning against the Jim Lawson/Lewis McCran combo with a 6-2 scoreline. Our embeded reporter said it was Graeme who did most of the heavy lifting, but it takes two to make a pair. He didn’t say what happened in the high road!
Ralph Brooks
A good tilt at the Ralphi this year with Phil’s rink of thoroughbreds taking the first jump pretty easily against Colin Stirling. Next up for them though, was Stuart Craig’s rink containing Marion and Wendy and they were too good. Careful now with the betting, because coming up in the other half of the draw were former winners Luigi’s limpers skipped by Cary Craig. Inevitably the final run-in was between the two. Stuart’s rink came off best here, romping home fairly comfortably by taking a 4 in the first end. Eventually running out with a 6-3 scoreline. Between tears, our reporter was heard to say “The Garth Brooks has been good to me over the years. When we were going to lose, it had to be to a very good team”
Points Challenge
13th Feb and it is time for the challenge. 17 clubs entered this year with 3 players each competing to see which is top of the heap, the tip of the pyramid, the point! Har Har! See what I did there? We had Graeme Wilson, Phil ‘n Bill carrying the hopes of Earlston and John Stevenson and Luigi got a game for others. After the eight disciplines, there was no need for a tie break. Coldstream with 40 points, took the top prize sponsored by Made by Marion and our boys came in a creditable, if surprised, second with 37. Credit also to highest scoring female curler, Isla Forsyth and highest male, Bruce Porteous, who received prizes sponsored by the Chinese Laundry. Well done. Special credit though to the Earlston folk who helped out umpiring on the ice and behind the scenes scoring.
Directors
We fielded 10 curlers in various teams for this year’s Directors competition with everybody getting into the second round. Sorry. The quarter finals. That’s where it ended for all except John Stevenson, Bill and Graeme Cowe. This year, with John Hodge completing the rink, they negotiated their way past Andrew Reed’s and James Stark’s rinks to reach the final. Losing a three in the first end was not a great start against Colin Martin’s team, but they picked their way back with four singles. The pendulum swung again though and with the last two ends lost by single shots it ended up 5-4 against.
Earlston Club Points
Almost real-time reporting here with an account of the club points competition held last night. Nine members signed up for the competition this year and all turned up. With the two sheets of ice available we managed to get 4 stones at each discipline but as always that doesnt count for much when they are played on two entirely different sheets. At the end of it all, we had Graeme Wilson out-pointing everyone with a score of 41. Phil came a close second with 40 and Bill, 36. So those are the three who will take forward the club banner into the Points Challenge competion on 13th Feb. The three were presented with ‘a bag of sweets – Galaxy ‘Counters’ which was nice. The others – John Burns, Graeme Cowe, Lynsey, James, Tracy & Luigi were presented with a stick of fudge for…. well you work it out. Thanks to Mrs President for the prizes.
Gala Cup
Two teams in the Gala cup this year again. Graeme W with Ewan, Wendy & Lynsey and Jim with Bill Liz and Sheena. For once, in opposite sections of the draw. Were they destined to meet in the final???? Well Jim’s rink managed to get to the semi’s and came up against Duns and after struggling to get into gear, made a game of it to threaten a draw. Duns won that one. GW’s crew disposed of Jedburgh in their semi and faced Duns in the final. Duns won that one too. I was going to mention our itinerant player, Luigi but since he was playing for Duns, I wont. I will mention Julie though who subbed for Sheena in the second game.
Cowdenknowes Trophy
The Cowdenknowes Trophy was played out at the weekend with 6 rinks having taken part in games running through from the begining of December. Some pretty tight games played on the way but ultimately the final saw John Stevenson’s rink of John Burns, Margaret and Russet lined up against Ewan’s Phil, David and Julie. With John being down 6-1 at one stage, they pulled it back to an insufficient 7-4 – on some really slow ice, he said!!!. Well done to Pates’ people.
Cullen Cup
This year was the first running of the Cullen Cup and 5 rinks were signed up for the competition played as a league. Well. Make that 5 very good teams because it turned out to be a really competitive contest. In the end, we had to wait and see if John Stevensons’ rink could haul in a huge number of shots to win it but ultimately Graeme Cowe’s team of Ewan, Lesley Cowe and Kath carried off the cup.
Canadian Tour
The Canadian Men’s tour rolled into town for the second last stop on their 3 week tour, hoping to recover the Strathcona Cup wrenched from their grip by the Scots tourists 5 years ago. Ha! Hope didn’t come into it. It was won a good few games ago. Anyway they were here for two sessions and an evening banquet and we fielded 5 curlers to play them, Jim, John Stevenson, Luigi, Graeme Wilson and Bill. Mixed fortunes in their games and with two wins and two defeats in each of the sessions, BIR pride was saved when we ended up +3 shots in each session. +6 overall. Certainly very few ice rinks able to say that, for these tourists.
4N at the NWC
To anybody that wasn’t there, that means the Four Nations competion held at the North west Castle in Stranraer. For those of us that were there – John Burns and Lynsey, they had a fab time. Look! I’ve had a good look at the competition report and spoken to both our members and I still find it hard to understand how they can win their games and lose a trophy. or was that lose games ..and win troph?? Its all to do with trophies for different inter nation games and Ladies/Gents/Mixed and overall score and…….. I need to get better at this. Oh and there was Irish Dancing. And partying.
Stellar Sellar
Did I say ‘lost’ in a sellar? Pshaw! Congratulations to Wendy who was in Margaret Robertson’s winning rink of the Sellar Competition held at Murrayfield. With Macsween Haggis sponsoring the event there was a lot at steak. Oh deer don’t go down that root Bill. Some fantastic teams leading, apparently, to a very exciting final which went down to the wire with Margaret managing to score 3 in the last end to beat Maggie Barry’s rink 8-7.
Harry Hogg
The HH concluded at the end of January and sad to say we didn’t make the final. Starting out at beginning of December with Bill, Wendy, Bobby and Russet playing a hard fought match against Luaderdale, only after peeling 5-5 did we get through with Wendy playing the final draw-shot. Phew! Next was another tough match against James’ Dixon’s Chirnside team. After that came a semi final against Yester where Graeme Wilson subbed for Bill, who conveniently had arranged a holiday and Ewan subbed for Wendy who was lost, deep in a sellar somewhere. We were just pipped in that game by a single shot. I guess the only nice thing about that is they went on to beat Ayton in the final.
Border Bonspiel
First up in this terribly terrific, treble team tourney was Bill’s team of Cammy, John Burns and Sheena facing up to a mean looking Greenlaw rink. I mean! Our very own John Stevenson skipping against us? Phew! Cannot have that – and we didn’t. A win of substantial margin, 9 shots, laid a platform for the second round. Graeme Cowe, Phil, Linsey and James kracked Kelso by 5 shots bringing our total to +14. Not bad we think. All down to the second day game between Ewan’s rink of Wendy, Bobby and Russet and they didn’t disappoint, flinging a further 6 on the pile. Wouldn’t have been so bad but those Duns folks posted a whopping +16 in their first game and in their second, squeaked a single to give them +17. As it turns out, the average of 17/2 beats a 20/3 any day of the week. So they won and we didn’t. Worse still. Luigi chose the correct side to play with in this one. Aargh!
PS. Haven’t a clue, again, how the Quizspiel went. Anybody there?
A Reel Bonspiel
The Rhymer’s Reel came out swingin’ again this year for the club bonspiel. Joined by 19 guests, the 8 teams enjoyed a wee tot ‘o glayva before stepping onto the ice and coming to understand just how this contest is danced. The gallery watched on and tried to keep track of who was doing best and at the end of it all, were completely thrown with who came out on top. Yes indeed. Not yer normal bonspiel when it is won with a margin of 5 shots. Even more so, when the lead is shared on both shots and ends won. So it came down to how they fared against each other, as it turns out, in the very first end. Oh well. Tough but sociably done. Congratulations to Judith Dixon’s team of Bert Duncan, Ian McCreath and Russet. Glynnice Lauder, Phil, Alistair Lindsay and Ian pipped into second place. Mention also required to Colin Martin’s team who were presented with a ‘clean slate’ coaster for ooo, how to put it? Coming in 8th. Thanks to President Linsey for providing the Glayva, bottles of wine for each of the winners and the coasters. After a very enjoyable meal in the clubroom, Vice President Sheena conducted proceedings with presentation of prizes, Irish bingo, raffle and a fishy tale.
Thanks go to all those that helped put together and run the event. Went down well, I think.
Mixed bag o’ Seniors
A new experience for John Stevenson’s rink this year. Playing down at the Ice Bowl in Dumfries AND getting some wins. John Bill and Graeme Cowe, complimented this year by John Hodge from Dun,s notched up 2 wins and were a hair’s breadth from getting to the play-offs for a qualifier spot. How good is that? AND We had our best ever score in the draw shot challenge – 3rd in our section. Kuh! Heady heights. He’ll not thank me for starting this but Jim had a tough time at Forfar and is looking forward to next year.
Tale of the Kettle and the CRAWFORD CUP
I imagine you’ve guessed.
As you know, two rinks play in the Tweedmouth Kettle and this year – Graeme W, Phil, Cammy & Sheena and Ewan, Wendy, Linsey & Liz rattled their way through Duns opposition to get to the 2nd day and semi-final round. Unfortunately for Luigi, he was playing on the wrong team this time round and was dinged. Into the semi’s and Jim subbed for Phil and Bill subbed for Linsey. Foulden opposition fell doon to us (have to say fighting) and a final against the mighty Ayton Castle beckoned. That proved tougher. In fact insurmountable for both teams as we fell to two clear defeats. Oh well. That won(??) us the ‘coveted’ Crawford Cup and a shed load o’ shortbread.
Pairs Palaver
The pairs competition seemed to come up all of a sudden allowing us to barely catch our breath after the league. Anyhow off we went with 8 pairs managing to somehow juggle the dates. Semi finals between GWilson/Tracy & John Stevenson/Linsey on the one hand and John Burns/Sheena & Robert/Margaret on the other saw a high standard of play. Eventual winners of the trophy were John S and Linsey and the runners up John B and Sheena getting the plate. On reflection. It all went very smoothly. Wow!
RCCCzzzzzz
Our two teams in the Rink Championship were unable to make any impression in the competition this year. Both coming unstuck in the first games. We did get beat by the winners though, aherm! So it shows we were up against a tough team. ’nuff said.
The League
A fantastic finish to the league this year saw the final 3 games being played in a ‘who dares wins’ sort of climax. Bill, Marion and Graeme Wilson all on the same points with Ewan 1 point behind. Ewan beat Graeme and Cammy beat Marion leaving Bill to win or draw against Jim to lift the title. In the final game, after spending an age trying to figure out how to generate a two to clinch the draw, they were clutching at straws. The upshot is that Ewan, Lynsey, James and Linda are this years worthy winners. Well done. Terrific finish.
Mixed Invitation – Mixed fortunes
Three members involved in the MI this year and it seems fair to say some did better than others. Our embeded reporter said there were some pretty tough games. Phew! in a weekend that saw some fantastic curling in the European’s with gold medals for the girls and silver ones for the boys an’ the rugby inexplicably brought a Scots trashing of the golden Aussies, Wendy and Bobby, playing with Graeme Baxter and Margaret Robertson found themselves pipped to the winners rostrum taking second place. Luigi playing with Paul Jess, Helen Forbes and Anne Macauley closely followed them into the bronze position. I hear Luigi was very succesful in the raffle and got another new hip as well!!!
Berwickshire Bonspiel
Two teams took to the ice to see if we could rack up enough shots between us to win the Bonspiel trophy. Pah! First up were Graeme Wilson’s rink of Phil, Luigi and David who had to contend NOT with Lees, as 1st drawn, but Swinton. Your reporter caught the last few ends of the game and boy, it was a hard fought draw. There were a few good scores posted in the first two sessions so our other team, playing in the final session, had to pull out all the stops to amass enough shots to win the day. As it happens there just weren’t enough stops to pull out and Bill, Graeme and Lesley Cowe and Sheena had to settle for what they could get in a hard fought draw against Ayton Castle. Just as well. It wouldv’e been a tough task anyway to match the Coldstreamers who scored +15 in the same session and even that wasn’t enough to beat Duns who had a joint total of 16 shots to get the silverware.
HendyBish, Bash ‘n Bopped
Cannot believe the time for the Henderson Bishop qualifier has come round again. This premier Ladies competition presents a tough challenge for the team hoping to win through to represent the Borders in the finals at Hamilton in February. We had Lynsey, Lesley Cowe and Sheena. playing in one team, Marion and Wendy in another and Russet playing again with last year’s qualifiers. Sadly nobody got further than the second round games this year. Still, an exciting final was served up and we saw Glynnis Lauder’s rink taking the glory.
Masters Qualifier
Whilst the Matty T was blasting away at Kelso, The National Masters playdowns were on the go at Greenacres attracting more than a few Border curlers. Last years Masters Champions were again on the go with Jim Cullen, playing in Keith Prentice’s rink, managing to gracefully qualify at the head of their section. That’s it. Nae mair Earlston players to talk about. Oh! but there was an 8-ender scored in one of the other draws which would’ve been great to see, or terrible, depending on your perspective at the time. You see, it can happen in the best of company. Best of luck for the finals in January at which you’ll also see Michael Sutherland’s rink playing.
Matthew Templeton
The Matthew Templeton attracts some pretty fine teams and again, this year they managed to get the 16 teams to make a fine competition. Graeme Wilson’s team of Phil, Ewan and Bob Henderson did best by getting out of Section A and into the semi’s but couldn’t get the better of Jam’s Stark’s rink, who, incidentally had a certain Robert Laidlaw playing lead. Starky’s men had previously sorted out John Stevenson, Bill, Graeme Cowe and Luigi but there again, so did everybody else. They couldn’t maintain the performance however and lost the final to Dave Prentice’s rink. Also worthy of note though was Wendy’s team also playing in Section A, who finished mid table.
Ladies Challenge
This is your action news reporter filling you in on the verrrry old news now that our girls had a big hand in winning the Ladies challenge this year. Wendy and Liz playing in Margaret Robertson’s rink were 1st to the prize beating Glynnis Lauder’s team. Congratulations to them for getting there in the first place by winning their three games in a section that also contained Marion’s team. By all accounts a pretty tough competition. Good to have Lesley Cowe and Russet also playing in the comp.
Ladies Opening Bonspiel
In the first competition of the season, our girls made a respectable turnout for the Ladies Bonspiel. In their bonspiel of 12 teams this year, which was a great response, seven of our Earlston ladies – Russet, Sheena, Marion, Lynsey, Lesley Cowe, Liz and Tracey took part. Russet came closest in the runner’s up spot with Glynnis Lauder’s team taking the prize.
New Season Sociable
2017 got off to a great and very sociable start with 18, yes 18, people turning out to try and remember just how their slide should be put together. They say its like riding a bike and you never forget how to do it. Maybe so but that doesnt stop it being a bit wobbly. One or two new pairs of shoes in evidence. Wee bit slippy ice to get use to. Ach! after 40 minutes or so, we needed to get into a game – of sorts. Sides were randomly selected and once we understood which sheet we really should have been playing on, off we went. There were scores on the boards but I never noted them and afetr a respectable passage of time, we headed for the bar to catch up on summer exploits. When’s the first game?
Jim Cullen – Mr P RCCC
The RCCC AGM was held on Saturday 16th June at Braehead Ice rink in Galsgow. Much business was processed and you’ll get to feel the effects of that in due course. Only joking. Big item on the agenda of course was installing our Jim as President for the year. This is a really prestigeous honour for Jim and by association, our club.
The last President to hail from the Borders was Tommy Hinnigan of Kelso club and he was there too, to see him inaugurated. Five club members made the trip through to support him – Liz, Graeme & Leslie Cowe, John Burns and Bill. As it turned out, 14 Borderers in total turned out, so, a pretty good show from BIR.
Much to do and some great experiences to be had over the course of the year. I’m sure we all agree he will make an excellent job of the role. The distant marker of the next AGM, to be held in BIR on 16th June 2018, when he will hand over the badge of office, will no doubt rush forward.
Best of luck.
AGM – Results just in
In the midst of election fever where the local contest has been settled rather Conservatively, the French have elected a leader with no backup and we look forward to the Westminster hooha getting everyone’s back up, we worked our way through the meeting. What news? you cry. Well …..
There were 14 members there for a start.
For the next year: President – Lynsey; VP – Sheena; Secretary – Wendy; Treasurer – Jim (and with assistance from David Mitchell in this busy RCCC P year); Committee – George, Marion, Bill, Julie, Liz, Ewan & David. Ladies Rep – Sheena.
Subs – Likely that the RCCC sub will increase by £1.00 but agreement that our combined club & RCCC sub will remain at £25.00. Non-Mother club members will pay £5.00.
Still Solvent.
Nominations for skips (to be voted on at the general meeting in August) – Jim, Graeme W, Graeme C, Marion, Bill, Ewan, John Burns, John Stevenson, Cammy, Wendy and Lynsey.
Make sure you get to the GM to ensure your vote is cast. We will also need to have a discussion then on how we schedule competitions and which competitions we run next season to make sure it meets the aspirations of all club members for good enjoyable curling.
I think thats the headlines. See you at Carfraemill for the Social night. (We’ve had a hand in a heck of a lot of trophies again, dont you know.)