Lymphoy Cup Round 7

All teams out to finish the Currie and Balerno season. Lots to play for the final games, so lets get into it.

Kerry was on top of the table and a solid defeat of Brian kept her on top, so congratulations to Kerry and team for winning the Lymphoy Cup.

Second place was a little more interesting. Dave Munro and Andrew Galloway were tied on points, so a win from either would guarantee second place. Then Jennifer Marshall's team were on 6 points so if they could beat Andrew Galloway's team by taking all ends, and Dave was to lose then she could have come second. As it happened, Dave's team (skipped by Michael Wood in his absence) lost to John Steven's team and Andrew Galloway's team was beaten by Jennifer Marshall's team. 

It was incredibly tight for second, but congratulations got to Dave Munro's team for winning the Glenbrook Quaich by just 2 ends! Commiserations to Andrew Galloway's team and Jennifer Marshall's team. A close finish for a close half of the season.

Meanwhile on sheet 1, the game of Karen Munro and Katie Wood was won by Katie, and it was a fun game of curling with some interesting shots being played by both teams.

Thank you all for a fantastic season, wishing you all a lovely summer and look forward to seeing you all back on the ice for the 2023/2024 season!

Tom Holmes Bonspiel 2023

The Tom Holmes Bonspiel is a much loved event in the Currie and Balerno calendar. With the format of previous winners not being allowed to skip and teams selected out of a hat, it makes for an interesting mismatch of teams with a lot of players playing out of their normal positions (and comfort zones in some cases!)

This year's competition saw teams play 3x 2 end games, with ends being counted before shots. There were a number of teams on 3 ends (5 out of the 8 playing), which meant that 2nd and 3rd place were decided on shots up. The results were:

1st place: Karen Munro, Joe Barry, Eilidh Troup and Katie Wood (with 5 ends)

2nd place: Donald Kennedy, Raymond Preston, Connor Galloway and Anne Anderson (with 3 ends + 2 shots)

3rd place: Sarah Ford, Sheena Munro, Ian Keron and Kirsty McWilliam (with 3 ends + 0 shots)

Photo credit: Sheena Munro

The competition was a great success in no small measure due to all the subs that stepped in and helped us out. Many thanks to them all. 

The meal afterwards took place over the road at the Murrayfield Hotel. The food and the great atmosphere were enjoyed by all who came (the bar also was a great hit!). Our annual coin sliding competition was also enjoyed by many, with Connor Galloway taking the whisky (kindly gifted by Donald) and Jen Marshall winning the champagne (kindly gifted by Sheena and Dave). Club funds were boosted to the tune of £116, by the generosity of those having a go. 

Photo credit: Sheena Munro

Tense times watching the coin sliding! Hard floors are harder to read than ice!

Lymphoy Cup Round 6.2

 Friday really showed the power of subs.

Jennifer Marshall and Dave Munro went out with their full rinks, against John Steven and Andrew Galloway's rinks respectively. John Steven's rink was skipped by sub Ian Keron, with Sian Stockwell joining Angela Downie and Jill Gillard. They had a very good game against Jen's team, peeling 6 all. Andrew Galloway's team was skipped by Morag Wellman, who stepped up from her usual position of second, with Susan MacFarlane stepping up to play 3rd. Super subs Vicky Gumley and Eilidh Troup filled out the team. They also had a great game against Dave Munro, coming back from 6-0 to a respectable 6-5 loss. Well done to Dave's team on the win. 

The league table is looking pretty close at the top, with 3 teams in with a shout. If Kerry wins her last game, then the Lymphoy Cup is hers, but if she loses and Dave and/or Andrew win, then its down to ends! AND there are only 2 ends between the 3 teams as it stands! With only 2 trophies up for grabs, the Lymphoy Cup and Glenbrook Quaich, one unlucky team will have to miss out. No pressure Kerry! One other possibility is both Dave and Andrew lose and get no ends, Jennifer could, by winning all ends against Andrew, take the Glenbrook! You never know with curling, stranger things have happened.

Lymphoy Cup Round 6.1

 Hi All, 

Here goes, my first blog post! Please let me know if there are any issues. 

Friday seemed to be tricky for all teams. Brian Fleming and Katie Wood had an interesting game, with difficult ice being the main blame. Karen Munro and Kerry Clark had a very close game, and family vs family with the Barry's going against each other in second. Unfortunately, Karen and Brian fell short on the night, but congratulations to Kerry and Katie. 

Lymphoy Cup Round 5.2

Just when you thought this league couldn't deliver any more fun and games, it does. Big game today between Team Kerry Clark (Kerry, Jenny Barr, Maggie Barry and substitute Alexander Crich) and the league leader, Andrew Galloway, with Niall Gunn back from his Canadian adventure, Morag Wellman and Susan MacFarlane. The game swung one way, then the other but the turning point was the seventh end when Kerry scored a four. Actually, Andrew had an ouside shot at a peeled game with his last stone which he took on. He didn't quite make it and Kerry scored a two to wrap things up. Importantly, she also won the end. In the night's other game, John Steven had a big win against Woodless Katie, who was playing in the Scottish Senior Women's Championship in Hamilton. Her team was skipped by regular third, Lois Copland. John's team leapt from bottom place in the league to a slightly more respectable 5th, courtesy of a 16-1 win. Here's the results grid.

And now the league table.

You can see what I mean when I say that the last end in the game between Andrew and Kerry could be really important going forward. Andrew is still one end ahead in the league, but would have been three ends to the good if he had scored in their last end. He went for the peeled game with a really tricky runback double rather than take on the easier draw. You can see why: if he makes the double, then he peels the game and goes one point clear. But if he doesn't - well, he is still one end to the good with all to play for. In the run in, Andrew plays Jennifer Marshall and Dave Munro. Dave is still in the hunt on six points as, to be fair, is Jennifer on five points. Kerry meanwhile plays Brian Fleming and Karen Munro. League's not over yet!

Team Wylie Win Silver at the Scottish Women's Senior Championships

Susan Wylie, Katie Wood, Vicky Gumley and Morna Aitken have been competing in the Scottish Senior Women's Championships this weekend and the splendid news is that they reached the final against old rivals, Jackie Lockhart, Mairi Milne, Wendy Johnston and Katie Loudon. The game kicked off at 15.00 at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink in Hamilton. There followed a really tight game which started off well for Susan's team with a nice couple of stolen ends to take an early two-shot lead. Jackie's team is strong as well though and they fought back. The game was tied at 3-3 going into end seven, where Jackie managed to score a two to take a two-shot lead into the eighth and final end. A stolen shot secured the title for her and her teammates, but what a fantastic perfomance from Susan, Katie, Vicky and Morna and congratulations from us all on your well-earned Silver Medals.

Nice picture taken by Louise Edwards of our Silver Medallist-winning team. Congratulations all!

Apologies to Teams Munro (D) and Wood!

As a result of a transposed scoreline back in mid-January, I had recorded a win for Dave Munro over Katie Wood when, in fact, Katie had the beating of brother Mike (skipping in Dave's absence). I mean, it's there in black and white. The card is correct; it's been signed. The problem is the staff; you just can't get decent people these days - and more's the pity. What's that you're saying? It was me who got it wrong? Oh. Forget that first bit. Anyhow, many thanks to the eagle-eyed David Hogg, who spotted the error and brought it to our attention. Here's the revised (and hopefully correct!) league table.

So. All that guff I wrote last week about Dave now challenging, blah-di-blah-di-blah? Igonore it. Pathetic really, but there we are. Normal service will be resumed soon. Padded cell - what?