After a frustrating day exploring every nook and cranny of Edinburgh airport, and having long conversations with everyone, our flight to Geneva took off sometime after 18.00, having spent an extra 45 minutes waiting on the plane for the OK to go. Arriving Geneva after 9pm local time, meant that I had missed the last train(s) which would have got me to Champery tonight. And since (for me) one of the things had been looking forward to on the journey was a Swiss railway experience (as those of you who follow Skip Cottage will know), I decided to make a temporary halt in the jouney!
So I'm now lodged in a very comfortable airport hotel (I'll need to sell another pair of curling stones to pay for tonight), looking forward to an arrival at Champery one day late. The train adventures will be tomorrow. As they say, it's all part of life's rich tapestry. Made me appreciate a little what the teams had to go through, not just one but two days of delay.
Highlight of the day though was meeting the daughter of John Hutchison of Creetown. Some older blogallies may remember Hutch. He died on the ice in Stranraer in 1978. I remember him fondly, because he taught us youngsters never to give up during a game of curling. You were never beaten until you were nine down going into the last end. These were the days.
It was great to have the chance to talk to Carol - it is such a small world - and reminisce about playing with Hutch as a schoolboy in the 60s at Ayr and then against him when the rink at Stranraer opened. Eric Johnstone, John Wilson and Johnny McFadzean was his 'big team' for a number of years.
Sadly though, Carol, who has lived in Switzerland for many years, and her family had returned to Scotland for her mother Mona's funeral. A lovely lady, she died last month, in her 80s.
