Saturday 15th March, 25 was indeed a busy ice day for some of our members. On Sheet 5 Penicuik were hosts to Beechnut Curling Club from Irvine in a District Medal while next door on Sheet 6 was the Ramsay/Baptie Club Challenge game.

Penicuik represented by Margaret Carr, Liz Anderson, Pam Ramsay and David Carr met with “Beechnuts” (from Hamilton Curling Rink) for the District Medal Match on Saturday 15th March 2025.

The Teams met for lunch before playing and it was evident that “Beechnuts” had done their research having looked at the Penicuik Curling Club Website. They were very impressed by the number of matches the club played and the long history of the club. They were keen to hear more about both the history of the club and our outdoor ice. They were also interested in the “Challenge Match” about to be played on the adjacent sheet and perhaps introducing this to their own club’s schedule.

Play started at 12.45pm with everyone now focussing on the Match. After losing a shot on the first end Penicuik came back strongly to lead 3-1 helped by 2 lovely draws from Pam. Unfortunately by end 3 the score was all square. Another shot on end 4 meant Penicuik were once again in the lead.

The following 2 ends did not go Penicuik’s way, however, with the “Beechnuts” taking another 2 shots to win the match 5-3.

If only Margaret had got that guard on or had delivered the last stone more quickly to get another end in!

Afterwards everyone retired upstairs to enjoy refreshments and a pleasant chat.

Next door on sheet 6 Kyle Baptie, Kirsty McWilliam, Reg Dunbar and Paul Clapperton had laid down a challenge to take The Club Challenge Crook from the 2 time holders. A close game all the way through Jim Ramsay, Alan McDonald, Stuart Blackwood and Alex Moir were able to retain the trophy and are now ready for the next challenge.