The annual Bonspiel in honour of Hamish Tait was played on 30th November between the four clubs associated with him. Penicuik was represented by Dave Carr, Jim Cowper, Jean Noble and Nicki Cassie. Merchiston was skipped by David Cunningham (with Stuart Blackwood at lead). Pat Edington and Tom Mitchell skipped Watsonians and Chartered Surveyors respectively. Penicuik’s games were all tight but a risky attempt at removing a Merchiston stone in the last end cost Penicuik a 3. Chartered Surveyors big win over Watsonians was the deciding factor giving them +7 overall. Penicuik were second on 0, Merchiston third on -1 and Watsonians fourth on -6. The Bonspiel was followed by refreshments and good chat upstairs, with Tom Mitchell recalling previous outings with Roger and Bill (Jacobs). Bribes may be required to prevent the stories coming out. Thanks to Jim Cowper for presenting the trophy to Chartered Surveyors. And also for giving the history of the Bonspiel to those who did not know Hamish.
Jim speaking about the history of the Trophy
Martin accepting the Trophy for Chartered Surveyors.
Saturday, 26th November . News just in……Bruce Mowat wins European Gold again! Also at this time another (maybe not so big) match takes place at Murrayfield featuring players from DAFS Curling Club against Penicuik Curling Club.
In what looked like a step away from responsibility in the DAFS rink, Graham Thompson persuaded Jon Pickup to take charge of proceedings on their behalf with David Lindsay at Third and Catriona Graham as Lead. For Penicuik, the line up was Sweeping Master Jim Cowper at Lead, David Ballantyne at Second, while Mrs Ramsay supported Mr Ramsay at Third.
The first end of any game is always a tester as teams find out ice speeds and capabilities of opposition players, but the brilliant Penicuik Skip stole the first end with a near perfect draw hide to the button for a 1. Trouble brewed for Penicuik in the 2nd and 3rd ends when a 2 then a 1 were lost.
Not to worry though! Penicuik were in the game again at the 4th with both blue and yellow stones contesting closely for the button spot. Penicuik had last stone which needed to nudge the sitting opposition stone for shot. It had to be the right weight and line which it mostly was but at the last moment the handle changed which, rather than the expected , gave Penicuik a 3.
We were back in charge and stole a further 2 at the 5th end making the score DAFS 3 Penicuik 6. Being a friendly match, Penicuik pulled back and let our opponents back into the game by leaving them the opportunity of a 1.
A lot of thought had gone into the DAFS game which resulted in time catching up with us (nothing to do with Graham of course) Four minutes to the bell and the 7th end started.
It proved to be a very tight last end. Jim and David playing the stones asked to split the house each play only to be countered by their opposite number. DAFS were now lying 2 when it was the turn of the ‘Man of the Match’ , Pamela, who played her second double take out of the game. Unfortunately, the DAFS Third got the better of us and drew shot.
It was now all up to the Skip shots. Mr Pickup played his first stone and took a second counter for DAFS. The poor Penicuik Skip had so much pressure on him… the two DAFS stones were hidden and best that could be done would be to chip one out. Just that wee bit too much weight saw it ‘stay out’ and slip by. The final DAFS stone was perfect weight but could not hide which left them sitting with 3 counting stones. Oh! that poor, poor Penicuik Skip, what to do? Try and chip out again which might work or take the easier 3rd DAFS stone and not miss the gap. A wick in might have been possible but best to be sociable and submit the 2 to DAFS which left the game after 7 ends at 6-6.
As is the custom, the eight players retired to the Bar to relive the game and discuss the if and maybe. 6pm. – better get home for Strictly!
Penicuik were invited to play against Land o’ Burns Curling Club through our association with Ian Robertson, a member of the Gorebridge Traders Golf Club of which Dave Carr, Jim Ramsay, Geoff Dawe and Dave Anderson are also members. Unfortunately Ian was unable to play as he had been unwell, but he did come along to watch the proceedings.
Two rinks of Dave Anderson, Liz Anderson, Reg Dunbar and Graeme Cassie and Jim Ramsay, Dave Carr, Pam Ramsay and Jim Cowper ventured west to take on two rinks from Land o’ Burns.
Jim’s rink lost 3 in the 1st but got 1 back in the 2nd and it was nip and tuck all the way from there with a final score of Penicuik 7 – Land o’Burns 8
Dave’s rink got of to a good start with a 1 in the 1st and it was fairly even until the 5th when we lost a 3 to go 6 – 2 down. The next end was the turning point when the skip tried to follow the opposition stone to gain 1 shot but unfortunately it caught a guard, and we lost 5 shots. There was no way back after that and we shared single shots in the remaining ends to lose the game 12 shots to 3.
The aggregate score was consequently Land o’ Burns 20, Penicuik 10
Thanks to all who travelled to Ayr, a first visit for most. We look forward to the return match in February ‘23
The first social event of the new season took place on Saturday 6th August, and after a little light rain first thing to revive the drought stricken croquet lawn, the sun shone on what was a fantastic afternoon’s lighthearted competition and fun in the grounds of Penicuik Estate.
The usual team of helpers were busy from early morning to set up. The mini marquee was raised, the lawns measured out, mallets and balls laid out ready – all before the cars started to arrive loaded with around 28 eager competitors, packing folding chairs and picnics. It was great to see some of our new members taking part alongside some old stagers.
A welcome glass of Prossecco, ‘No-ssecco’ or orange juice was on offer along with a wonderful choice of ‘healthy option’ snacks provided by the Social Committee. With rules explained and teams at the ready, Craig called the first few matches and the serious competition began. Amid shrieks of dismay or laughter from opposing teams and spectators, play continued over the next couple of hours, fortified by a few more trips to the catering tent.
Eventually all had played 4 matches, and with scores on the board, Craig called the group to order to announce the results. Clear winners on the day were Jan and David Gillespie, whilst the team bringing up the rear were Margaret Carr and Jean Cassie, here seen being presented with their prizes.
And the winners are – Jan and David G. What a team!Margaret and Jean C. – The ‘supporting’ team.
Enjoying a drink in the sunshine.
Once again the Club is indebted to Sir Robert and Lady Faye Clerk, for permitting Penicuik Curling Club to use the croquet green, and huge thanks are due to Craig, Jan, and Geoff from the Social Committee for all their hard work. Also, to Dave Carr and his team of helpers, and certainly not forgetting all those who came along to make it such a great afternoon. However, all too soon the day was over and with all hands on deck, mallets, balls, string and tent were packed away again for next year. (A few more photos are available in the Gallery)
To round off what has been a successful season of curling, Penicuik Curling Club members met on Saturday 7th May at Glencorse Golf Clubhouse for the annual dinner. It really must have been the ‘go-to’ event of the year with 46 attendees, attracting new and past members and family, as well as our esteemed guests Sir Robert and Lady Faye Clerk. It was great to see so many people there. Everyone had arrived in plenty of time for a quick catch up over a drink or to gaze at the array of prizes and Trophies, which were newly engraved and shining bright after hours of polishing by the Club’s Secretary.
Tables had been set beautifully, with lovely floral arrangements in the centre, individual place names and an Annual Dinner programme for each guest. Once all were seated, the Club’s President Iain welcomed everyone and invited Jim Cowper to say Grace. The catering staff at the Golf Club had provided a lovely menu and did a terrific job of serving dinner which seemed to be enjoyed by all. Then it was time for the highly anticipated part of the night, the prize giving, so President Iain invited Sir Robert to do the honours.
Kettle Winners Dave and Liz Anderson, Ian Neil with Sir Robert. (Jim Hume missing from photo)
A huge congratulations must go to all prize winners from the season. (More photos of the individual Trophy Winners are available in the Gallery page of the Club’s Website) Unfortunately for Dave Anderson, although he went away with an armful of prizes, he also left with an emptier wallet, after having to fill and refill the Kettle with the traditional Rusty Nail.
With proceedings over, Sir Robert thanked everyone for the wonderful evening and congratulated the Club on it’s successes, before David Gillespie provided the vote of thanks to all involved in making it such a terrific evening. There was a little time left for more socialising and maybe the odd drink, but all good things must come to an end and with carriages home awaiting guests, it was soon time to say farewell.
The Curling Social Committee would like to say a huge thanks to everybody who has supported this and other events throughout the year. The 2022 Annual Prize Giving Dinner will be remembered as a tribute to Ronnie Hope who helped organise it with his usual flair and enthusiasm, but who is sadly no longer with us.
Jim Cowper and myself were joined by Sir Robert and Lady Faye on Friday 27th of May, for the purpose of taking part in a TV documentary.
Our participation in the Paul Murton programme in which he walks The North Esk river from source to sea has been in the planning for months. Our friend Ronnie had spent hours making sure that Paul and the production team knew everything about Penicuik Curling Club and of course our participation in The First Grand Match. Ronnie’s enthusiasm ensured that we would be a part of the programme for which the production team were very grateful.
The crew had already spent time with Sir Robert, interviewing him about Penicuik House, and they also visited the Pennycoe Press premises.
Our part was to highlight The First Grand Match and to feature our Curling House. Filming took over two hours for what might be a 2 minute highlight. We were informed that the programme will probably be aired this Autumn.
Let’s hope that we are included in the programme and that Penicuik Curling Club and Curling gains advantage from our participation.
After a two-year break, the traditional good-natured and competitive double headed friendly against 37 Club was upon us. This year, the mood was no different.
Jim Ramsay had managed to amass two strong Penicuik teams worthy of the task in hand. (It is worth noting that an unforeseen diary clash maybe helped Penicuik’s cause, with 4 curlers from 37 Club doing battle in the Province Final, thus reducing their available pool of players).
Team 1: (Dave Anderson, Ronnie Hope, Iain Scott, David Gillespie) started evens, trading 2 in the opening ends but then set about building ‘steady’ run of scores, but in the 6th Dave’s front end deserted him allowing 37 Club to close the gap to just one! The 7th end again saw the front end misfire slightly, leaving precision tactical play from the 3rd and the skip to hold out for the victory (8-5)
Team 2: (Jim Ramsay, Craig Brown, Keith Morris, Dave Carr) having taken a single in the first, failed to capitalise with the last stone in the 2nd thus losing a 3. They looked to be in for a different game. However, momentum began to build from the 3rd and Penicuik came powering back with two 3s and another single to secure the second victory. (9-3)
All teams retired to the bar afterwards, where Penicuik was awarded the Silver Salver provided by 37 Club to mark the special relationship between the Clubs. Penicuik then proposed a vote of thanks to both sides.
Report by Iain Scott – photos courtesy of 37 Club with action shots available in the Gallery
Robert Steeples presents the Silver Salver to Iain.Match 1 TeamsMatch 2 Teams
Friday the 18th of February brought an interesting weather forecast with snow expected for most of the day. Thankfully it didn’t fall heavily and we managed to meet at Murrayfield for the DAFS social match. The Penicuik team consisted of Craig Brown, Kirsty McWilliam, Ian Neil and Neil Lackie.
The first end Penicuik had a fairly open draw into the house to score a 5. The 2nd end didn’t go as well, with some well-placed stones in the house from DAFS and defensive guards. Routes into them throughout the end were limited which resulted in DAFS taking a 4 back. From there the scores were tighter but the experience and strength of the DAFS players showed, and in most ends this left Penicuik trying to raise stones back in for shot, or squeeze through tight ports in order to cut down some of the well built ends to get a score.
It was great for Penicuik to get a team involved that haven’t had as much experience in social matches compared to others in the club. There were excellent stones played from all positions of the team!
The match ended with a 12-6 win for DAFS, and afterwards both teams retired upstairs for a drink and a blether before the traditional thanks for the match.
On a cold and blustery evening on 16th February, 8 members from Penicuik and 8 members from Merchiston gathered at Murrayfield to compete in the 2022 edition of the Merchiston Team Points. Unfortunately, before any play could begin, Penicuik had an unavoidable last-minute call-off reducing their ranks to 7 players. Several suggestions for a work-around were made; the one proposed by Merchiston (and arguably the simplest), was to apply a correction for the missing player, ie. divide Penicuik’s score by 7 and multiply by 8 (essentially adding the score of one ‘average’ Penicuik player). With this agreed, the match started…
Immediately, Merchiston took a commanding lead after the opening discipline (Striking) one where Penicuik is historically the stronger team – not tonight! (15 v 24). Over the next four disciplines (Inwicking, Drawing, Guarding, Chap & Lie) scores were close between the teams, seeing Merchiston retaining a 10 point lead (before any correction was applied)
The 6th discipline (Wick-in-and-Curl), was to become a decisive end where the momentum swung; Penicuik scored 9 vs Merchiston’s 1. This saw Penicuik close the ‘un-corrected’ gap to just 2 points; (69 v 71). Then came the close fought run to the finish (Raising, Chip the Winner, Draw thro’ the Port, and Outwicking). In the last two disciplines only one stone was played instead of two as the bell had technically gone.
Scores on the ice (before any correction applied) – Penicuik 105 v Merchiston 104. With post-match correction, Penicuik received another 15 points so Penicuik 120 v Merchiston 104
As ever the match, whilst competitive, was played in good spirits with every good shot being applauded by both sides.
After the match, both teams retired to the Club Rooms where Chris Morrison of Merchiston gave a brief history of why we compete in this fixture, thanked everyone for giving it their all, and congratulated Penicuik for their latest win! Iain Scott received the trophy, thanking Merchiston for their spirited efforts, thanked Penicuik for delivering another win and we all look forward to competing again in 2023.
Top scorers on the night – Craig Brown (25), Iain Scott (20) & Ronnie Hope (17) for Penicuik, and Dave Cunningham (17), Mike Smith (16) and Archie Smith & Chris Morrison (15) for Merchiston.
Line graph denotes cumulative scoreIain receiving the Merchiston Team Points Trophy
The evening of 11th February saw 2 teams from Penicuik playing against 2 teams from New Stones in a fun filled and good-natured social match.
Penicuik’s first team was skipped by Barbara, with Les, Alicia and David G supporting, whilst Kirsty skipped the second team of Jim Hume, David B and Jean. Four of our newest members, Jean and Graeme Cassie, Louise and Paul Clapperton played for New Stones along with Alan and Susan Gill, Saho Arakawa and Nicki Cassie.
Penicuik’s rinks swapped ice half way, and although scores for each end didn’t really matter at the end of the day, teams did make a half-hearted attempt at keeping the cards updated. It’s fair to say that New Stones were understandably outplayed although there were some great shots from both sides, maybe a few wilder ones, but we all managed to come off the ice unscathed after a fun night’s curling.
As is customary, we retired upstairs to continue the socialising over a drink and chat. Hopefully, we have achieved our aim, made some new friends, and shown New Stones players what a friendly club we are, in the hope that those who haven’t already done so may seriously consider joining Penicuik in the future.
Penicuik Curling Club 