First match of the year for team A and there was, unsurprisingly, a little pre-match tension.

The first half of the season was to say the least disappointing with team A not recording a single win despite some close matches. Lady luck was clearly not on their side.

Fielding a full team Team A mustered all their strength and prepared to do battle.  The opposition Team C, skipped by John MacC, was due to field Geemo, Gill and super-sub Bob.

This match was important.

Ice man Stuart had a quiet word before the bell. “The ice was cut a little harder than normal and so expect a bigger swing” he advised.

The bell rang.

The first stones (Team A playing yellow and Team C playing Blue) were delivered and we realised that not only was Stu’s advice sound but the ice was really keen.

Geemo missing, but despite the shortage and superb play from Gill the first end went to Team MacC.

Frantic phone calls from the skip J MacC revealed that Geemo had forgotten all about the match and was curled up in front of a warm fire enjoying a favourite malt whisky.

Clearly Geemo is enjoying retirement.

Capitalising on the opposition being in disarray Team Auld managed a second end win.

Was this a flash in the pan? Could their luck have changed?

Spirits raised they won the 3rd end also. And again the 4th.

Good team work, great sweeping and consistent delivery were all paying off

The 5th seemed to break Team C. The house stacked up in yellow stones, guards of blue and yellow caused all sorts of difficulties and it was another win for Team A.

Clearly the missing Geemo was having an effect – sweepers Gill and Bob  were looking very hot with the extra sweeping and even John MacC’s legendary brilliance (or should that be flukery) could not recover the situation.

Team A continued to stretch ahead leaving the opposition trailing 1 point to ‘A’s 11. An outstanding performance from the Team, at last breaking the season’s duck.

The long climb uphill has begun (I hope).

Dougie

A short report written too long after the event to go into detail.  This was a somewhat controversial result as penalties swung the overall outcome.  Team Deemo snatched a hard-earned victory on the ice but the unexpected and unplanned absence of Steve cost the team a three point penalty in the final reckoning. This changed the result to a narrow win for Team Waterlow on the scoresheet.  There was some debate about the late arrival of Team W’s doughty third, Jim Craig, but as he arrived on the ice well within the current Holyrood rules for lateness (“a player has until the last stone is thrown on the first end to arrive with no penalty”) so there were no grounds for an offsetting forfeit. 

(Club Secretary’s comment: I agreed with David that the club’s existing penalties for missing and late players should be reviewed at a now much-needed AGM – I have added this to a list of various items to be placed on the agenda)

After losing the first end by two shots, Team Deemo then proceeded to take the next four ends. They were all hard-fought and close, taken with singles and just one two. But then a two for Team W in the sixth closed it to just 5-4 to Team Deemo and all to play for in the seventh and final end.    

The end went well for Team W and they were lying two shots up before JW’s last stone – all he had to was guard the front.  But while the line of his stone was true, the weight was just a little too heavy and it ended up near the centre and exposed – if Deemo could just come up to it the end was his.  And that is just what he did – a perfectly aligned and weighted shot.

John.

This was the last game in the Thirds League and results in Ken Herd and Team B being overall Thirds Champions. Although he and Jim tied on points (four apiece), Ken won on shots up, with eight over, compared to Jim’s net zero on shots for and against. As it happened, Ken also beat Jim on ends up.

This game was exceptionally close. Jim only needed to draw to win the Thirds League and by the sixth end, this or a win seemed entirely feasible as a stonking three from Jim’s last stone levelled the score at six all. But Geemo and the gang continued to fight hard. A superb draw by George put him one up in the seventh and although Jim’s final stone was an equally superb draw, it failed to tap George’s out of contention by just an inch.

There was just time to start an eighth end before the bell but try as they might, Team Jim couldn’t grab that elusive win, with Team Geemo adding another end to the tally.