Unusually, this year’s Holyrood Curling Club Awayday took place right at the end of the season. The League had long been settled with Team Morrison winning by a comfortable margin so our trip to Perth could be a relaxed affair with no nagging doubts about key games to come.
This was the 22nd Holyrood Awayday and the second trip to Perth. Given that the previous visit took place in 2002, we could be excused in regarding this as new territory although there might have been two individuals (Deemo and James?) who were involved in that original excursion.
This time we had mustered the ideal number for four teams of four, the squad being made up of 12 Holyrood members and four guests. After assembling in the extensive lounge for coffees and bacon rolls, we played for a couple of hours in the huge ice hall – at eight sheets, even larger than Murrayfield.
The ice was keen. We played the same version of Quick Curling that we had borrowed from the VETS CC a couple of years ago as it works well and is good fun. Only one take-out allowed, all stones count a point with a bonus three points for the stone closest to the centre. The role of skip rotates with each end. And the format has the virtue of enabling us to squeeze in the eight ends needed to make deciding a winner easy.
As we repaired to the lounge for post-game drinks before the meal, the judges pored over the scorecards before the results were pronounced by El Presidente, Dougie.
The teams were named after the big rivers of Scotland and it was Team Tweed who were declared the winners – Bob Cameron, guest Malcolm Stewart, Alan Campbell and David Morrison – and they were duly awarded the magnificent Awayday Trophy and prizes of spirit miniatures.
There were two individual awards, presented for the greatest shots difference for the two ends played at skip. Best guest was Allan Lindsay, who judging by the photograph was clearly delighted with his miniature of Glenfiddich.
Although Deemo had the greatest individual shots-up score, albeit by a small margin, the Awayday rules preclude anyone from being awarded two prizes. Therefore, Donny Hay was declared to be the winner of the Holyrood individual prize.
Our meal was then served and the craic ensued before we said our farewells at the end of the afternoon. It had been another enjoyable annual day out for Holyrood at the conclusion of a winter of curling that seemed to have passed so quickly. Other than an AGM, mooted to take place sometime over the next few weeks, we can forget the ice and turn our thoughts to the lazy, hazy days of summer.
JW.
Holyrood Curling Club 