Saturday: Scotland M v Germany

Hammy McMillan's Scottish team faced Andy Kapp's German side this evening in their second game, having dropped their first to Thomas Ulsrud.

It's a great thing about this sport of ours that there is the opportunity to have a smile about things.

What a game it was too! The Scots led 2-1 after two. The scoreboard shows that the third was blanked - only because the German skip can play triple takeouts!

But after six ends the Kapp team led 4-2. In the seventh, the Scottish skip was just too heavy on a come-to draw with a German stone at the back of the four foot. The Germans stole two and we were down four.

Fighting spirit indeed was called for, and delivered. Great shotplay in End 8 saw Hammy hit and stay on a German shot at the back of the house to collect three for the team. It was 6-5 into the ninth.

The Scots threw everything into trying to steal a single. At one point there were thirteen stones in play. But there was no way in for Hammy, and the Scots had to concede three to Germany, who ran them out of stones in the tenth.

Don't forget Mike Haggerty's reports will be on the Royal Club website here, and Leslie Ingram-Brown, back in a media role, should have some pics too.

Right, time for a salute to the team.

Lead, Sandy Gilmour

Second, Ross Paterson

Third, David Smith

Skip, Hammy McMillan

One of these days I'd like to make up a little book, just with photos of Hammy. Would it be a best seller? Maybe. Anyway, this is the cover photograph!

I'm happy to take requests! This for a big Thomas Ulsrud fan who is unable to be here in person this week.

Photos © Skip Cottage

Curlwatching this weekend

There's lots of curling to keep your eyes on this weekend. Sarah Reid (above) takes her team of Kerry Barr, Kay Adams and Barbara McFarlane to the Curling Champions Tour event in Wetzikon this weekend. Kay, in her role as the Royal Club's Web Content Officer, has posted the details of where to find all the results from Switzerland in her weekend preview here. Eve Muirhead and Anna Sloan also have teams at the ZO International.

Kay's weekend preview also has detail of the third leg of the CCT Junior Tour in Thun, where Hannah Fleming, John Penny and Kyle Smith are the Scots teams in action, and of the Under-17 Slam at Greenacres for the Baljaffray trophy.

I'll be at Murrayfield with my camera this weekend for the Edinburgh International Championship, and blogging here.

In the meantime, if you want a little nostalgia, I've posted a clip from the 1986 Edinburgh International here. Just as they are this weekend, Hammy McMillan and David Smith were together twenty-four years ago, although David was the skip back then. Bob Martin's English side had difficulty buying a shot in this game! Commentary is from Brian Alderman and Gordon Muirhead. I have to apologise for the small size of the YouTube clip. What is different this time is that the ripped footage comes, not indirectly from an original VHS tape, but from a DVD which had already been converted professionally from a tape. I suspect that the resolution on this DVD is different from that on the DVDs I make myself. Anyway, thanks to Ken Horton for lending me this, and other DVDs from his own collection. Note that you can expand the YouTube clip using the button on the bottom right of the screen.

Sarah's photo is from last weekend in Aberdeen and is © Skip Cottage

Forty years for Stranraer

This was the photo that appeared on the front cover of the Scottish Curler magazine in November 1970. The caption read, "The bright and attractive new ice rink at Stranraer which Tom Stewart, President of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, opened on 31st October. Part of the colourful mural, which is such a feature of the rink, can be seen." Well done to Hammy McMillan, snr, for his vision all these years ago!

I mention this today as the rink prepares to open for a new season on Saturday morning, October 2 - forty years of curling in the North West Castle Hotel rink. The Stranraer Ice Rink Curling Club has organised four sessions of curling over the day with 32 teams representing the majority of Clubs who support the rink taking part in an Anniversary Bonspiel.

In the evening there is to be a dinner, with guest speaker, Robin Copland, followed by dancing.

And there's more. Gail Munro says, "We firmly believe that the Juniors are the future of the Club and they have their own bonspiel on Sunday 3rd October starting at 10am with further sessions at 12pm and 2pm; a total of 96 players will mark the start of the next 40 years."

I first played at Stranraer in a weekend competition in season 1971-72. The David Horton team had a great time both on and off the ice and we were made very welcome, a welcome that continued over the years. We made many friends on that first visit. Indeed one of these friendships (with Johnny and May McFadzean, from Airylick, Port William) led to me being 18,000 feet up in the Himalayas some years later, as well as having many fun weekends on the ice in the 1980s. But that's another story!

Many great curlers have emerged from Stranraer! Let's join the celebrations today with the first of 'Great Hammy Moments' from the video archive. This dates from 1999 in Saint John, New Brunswick, the final of the Ford Men's World Championship. Canada was represented by Jeff Stoughton (skip), Jonathan Mead, Garry Vandenberghe and Doug Armstrong. Hammy McMillan's Scottish team was Warwick Smith, Ewan MacDonald and Pete Loudon.

This was a Canadian (CBC) feed broadcast by the BBC, retaining the Canadian commentary, Don Duguid and Don Wittman (and with the late Sandra Schmirler, I've also learned now). Kirsty Letton once again supplied the original VHS tape. I've edited just ten minutes from the game, see here, or click on the image below.

I hope you enjoy this 'great sporting moment'! And look out among the fans for Hammy snr and wife Janet, complete with knitting!