Drew Duncan Quiach

Eight Rinks took to the ice with 2 of them short of players despite every effort to secure the services of replacements.  Notwithstanding, keen games with each player Skipping 2 ends ensued followed by diners enjoying the culinary pleasures of Lorrie's Festive Fayre menu.

 

The Dining Room looked very welcoming, prior to the game, and was soon filled with hungry Gangrels, enjoying an excellent meal.

President Jim Dunlop, having announced the results, then had to suffer the "trial by Fiery Christmas Pudding" which added extra flavour to meal.

The results were:

1st:  Willie Scott (S), David Hope, Fraser Hogg and George Hay.  10 shot differential.

2nd:  Ernest Mutter (S), Bob Cherry, Siman Bloomfield and Alistair Henry.  7 shot differential + 6 ends.

3rd:  Jim Dunlop (S), Jimmy Begg, Ronnie Wilson and Linda Wilson.  7 shot differential + 5 ends.

Fraser Cup - Final Week

 Ernest Mutter finished his team's league campaign with another win.  The team had Euan Lawrence at second and it didn't disturb their performance. They won the first six ends before giving up a 2 at the last to win by 8 shots to 2.

Jimmy Niblock's team consolidated second place in a close game with Willie Scott's team. The final score was a 6-5 victory for the Niblock four.

The third game was won by Peter Galloway's team. They only scored in three ends, but a 3 a 5 and a 2 was enough to win by 10 shots to 4 over Gordon Todd.

The final league table can be found by following this link.

Next week at 5.15 we meet for the Drew Duncan Quaich.  The whole club will be playing at 5.15 with 8 teams, followed by a meal. Recent emails from Peter have explained the details. 

Fraser Cup - Week 9

 Week 9 saw Ernest and his team continue their good form with a comprehensive victory over Willie Scott's team  They lost the first end but controlled the game thereafter and finished up with a score of 11 shots to 2.

In case you hadn't worked out the table, the Mutter team can not be caught and will complete their season next Monday against Peter Galloway.

Peter's team also had a good victory. It was a close game but they eventually won by 9 shots to 5 over Jim Dunlop.

The third game saw Jimmy Niblock score 6 in the first two ends against Gordon Todd and finish up winning by 10-3.

Next week is the last Fraser Cup game. Please note that it is at 8.00 pm.

The league table is here

Fraser Cup - Week 8

Ernest and his team, having suffered their first defeat last week, got back on track tonight with a comprehensive victory over Jimmy Niblock.  They lost three shots in the first end but didn't lose any more, and finished up by 10 shots to 3.

Jimmy Niblock's team remain in second place, however, despite their loss. They have 8 points and are joined on that mark by Peter Galloway's team.  Peter had a close game against the team skipped by Willie Scott, winning by 7 shots to 5.

The third game saw what appeared to be an easy win for Jim Dunlop's team over Steell McFadzean, skipping in place of Gordon Todd. The Dunlop team were 9 shots up after three ends but didn't score again.  The game finished with a win by 9 shots to 6.

You can see the league table by clicking here. 

Fraser Cup Week 7

 Ernest and his team are still top of the table in the Fraser Cup, but his rink suffered their first defeat of the season tonight.

Gordon Todd and his team of Steel McFadzean. David Gray and Jim Lyburn had a great game.  They were 4-1 in front at the halfway mark and scored a further 4 points in the next two ends before losing 2 shots at the last, securing victory by 8 shots to 3.

In second place last week were Jimmy Niblock's rink.  They also suffered defeat, going down by 9 shots to 5 to Peter Galloway.

The third game was a closely fought draw between the teams of Willie Scott and Jim Dunlop.  There was never more than two shots either way in the game and Jim played a great last stone to secure the draw.

The league table is here.

Fraser Cup Week 6

We talk about Ernest Mutter every week, particularly because he is so far unbeaten in the Fraser Cup.  Well another week has come and gone and, guess what, he is still unbeaten.  

We should, however, pay more attention to Ernest's team.  Bob Cherry, Jimmy Begg and George Hay are also, obviously, playing particularly well.  Tonight they started with scoring at three of the first four ends and were, at that stage, up by 8 shots to 2 against Peter Galloway.  Peter refused to give up easily and scored four shots at the 6th end, but ultimately lost by 12-6.

In second place, on 8 points, is Jimmy Niblock's team. They were 4-3 down after 5 ends but scored 3, 1 and 1 to win by 8 -1.

Third place is occupied by Willie Scott. His team are on 6 points and had a closely fought win over Gordon Todd by 7 shots to 4.

The table can be found here.    

Beresord Ladies and Gangrels Bonspiel

 Six rinks formed from both clubs had our annual game last night at Ayr.  There was some very good curling on display and the winning rink was Linda Wilson, Fraser Hogg, Anne Naismith and David Hope.

Afterwards, we had an excellent meal and interesting chat at Lorries's.

Fraser Cup hits the Halfway Mark

 Five games played and now is the time when we usually review the league and see who is ahead. It's fairly obvious that Ernest Mutter and his team are playing fairly well!

The Mutter rink have beaten everyone so far, scoring 50 shots and conceding only 20.  The only other team to have scored more shots than they have conceded is Jimmy Niblock's, and that's only 2 more shots.

I guess we must all do better in the return games.  

The league table can be found by clicking here.

Don't forget, we have our annual game with Beresford Ladies this Thursday (10th) at 5.15.  The game is followed by a meal. 

 

Ernest Mutter extends his lead

 Four games have been played and Ernest and his team have won all four.  Tonight's opponents were Willie Scott's team. They got off to a great start by scoring 3 shots in the first end, but somehow Ernest and his team of David Graham, Jimmy Begg and George Hay won all the rest and finished as  well deserved victors by 8 shots to 3.

Jimmy Niblock's team were also in good form and beat Gordon Todd by 6 shots to 2.

The third game, between the teams of Jim Dunlop and Peter Galloway was tied at 3 shots each after 4 ends. Jim then scored 1, 3 and 1 to win by 8 shots to 5.

Ernest is well ahead on 8 points, but the other 5 teams  are all very close.  The table can be found here.

 

Ernest's Good Run Continues

 Ernest Mutter and his team of Bob Cherry, Jimmy Begg and George Hay continued their good run of form with a 12-4 victory over Jimmy Niblock's team.  

They scored 4, 2 and 1 in the first three ends, gave up a 4 in end 4 and then scored 2,2 and 1 in the last 3 ends.  A fairly comprehensive win.

In second place is Willie Scott's team. They have two wins, and tonight had a closely fought victory over Peter Galloway by 5 shots to 2.

The remaining 4 teams are all on 2 points. Gordon Todd takes 3rd place with 11 ends followed by Jimmy Niblock on 9 ends and Jim Dunlop and Peter Galloway on 8.

It's very close and all to play for.

The league table can be found here.

Ernest Mutter takes top spot

Ernest Mutter's team are the only unbeaten team after two rounds of the Fraser Cup. They established a 5 shot lead after 3 ends and finished 10-4 up against Gordon Todd's rink.

There are now 4 teams on two points.  Joining the aforementioned Gordon Todd are Willie Scott, Jimmy Niblock and Peter Galloway.  

Peter's rink were 5-3 down to Jimmy Niblock, but scores of 1,2 and 1 in the last 3 ends saw them finish ahead by 7 shots to 5.

Willie Scott's team also had a good win, beating Jim Dunlop's rink by 7 shots to 5.

The league table is here.

Opening Day 2022

The club gathered at the start of our new season, ready for Hon President Jim Lyburn to throw the first stone.

Jim certainly hasn't lost any of his style.

Then the games began, and there were some big scores.  Jimmy Niblock was 6-2 up after four ends and kept his foot on the throttle to beat Jim Dunlop 10-3.

Ernest Mutter also started well, but it was only in the second half of his game that he drew away from Peter Galloway to win by 9 shots to 4.

The third game saw Gordon Todd start well, 7-3 up at the halfway stage against Willie Scott.  Time for a fightback?  Regretably not, and Gordon won the game 12-3.

The league table can be found by clicking on the link at the top of the page or by clicking here. 

(The link isn't behaving itself, so the table is shown below.)

Details of Fixtures now added to Website

The details of our club games, fixtures and Open Competitions have now been added to our website.

Please have a look and let Ronnie know of any errors.

Rinks for Season 22-23

 The rinks for next season have now been finalised and are as follows:

RINK 1                         RINK 2                       RINK 3

J. Dunlop (S)                J Niblock (S)              W. Scott (S)

R Charters                    P Kennedy                 G Watson

F Hogg                          A. Chapman              D. Cattanach

K Ross                           R Wilson                   R Peat                     

RINK 4                          RINK 5                       RINK 6

G. Todd(S)                    P Galloway (S)             E Mutter (S)

S. McFadzean              D Hope                         R Cherry

R. Morrison                   A. Hay                          J Begg

D. Gray                         P Reynolds                   G hay

David Graham will play for Richard Morrison over the period 17 Nov - 13 Dec and for David Hope while absent on the Canadian Tour Jan/Feb 23 (dates to be confirmed).  He will also be the first choice Reserve for all other gaps.

Rinks for Drew Duncan Quaich and Frame Salver

Rink 1                           Rink 2                            Rink 3                        Rink 4

J Dunlop (S)               J Niblock (S)                  W Scott (S)                   G Todd (S)
J Begg                         G Watson                       D Hope                         S McFadzean
E Lawrence                 A Hay                             F Hogg                         N Henderson
R Wilson                     K Ross                            G Hay                          P Reynolds

Rink 5                           Rink 6                        Rink 7                        Rink 8

P Galloway (S)             E Mutter (S)                P Kennedy (S)            A Chapman (S)                              R Charters                    R Cherry                      R Peat                         D Cattanach

D Gray                         S Bloomfield                D Graham/Morrison   J Gall
J Lyburn                       A Henry                        J Gall                          A Gall

Reserves: Nil

A Meal and the AGM follow the Frame Salver 

AGM

Following the closure of the Ice Rink and the cancellation of the Frame Salver and AGM on 14th March, a rearranged  AGM took place on Monday 28th March.

The minutes have been published and can be found by clicking the link at the right-hand side of this page.

President Peter Reynolds gave an excellent summary of a season in which the club had to cope with many outside issues but praised the enthusiasm with which we had managed to keep going.

His full report is contained in the minutes.

Kennedy Pairs Results

 There were 8 pairs teams challenging for the Kennedy Pairs Trophies yesterday afternoon.  The first session started at 2.30 with Peter Reynolds and Jim Dunlop prevailing over Bob Charters and Francis McCrossin, and Ken Ross and Jimmy Niblock  winning their game against Gordon Todd and George Hay.

Winners in the lower half of the draw were Ronnie Peat and Peter Galloway, in a very close game against Gillian Watson and Steell McFadzean and David Gray and Bob Cherry, who won against Ernest Mutter and Fraser Hogg.

5.15 saw the start of the semi finals and it was at this point that all the participants were thankful that we were only playing three stones each this year.

Ronnie and Peter won against David Gray and  Bob Cherry by 4 shots to 1, and Peter and Jim won comfortably over Ken and Jimmy.

The final was extremely close. Ronnie & Peter picked up two shots in the first end and then lost three in the second. The third end had three of the Reynolds/Dunlop shots in the four foot but Ronnie's last stole the shot.  Peels starting the final end and again it looked good for Peter and Jim but a raise by Ronnie put a shot in the four foot and Peter Reynolds last stone could not beat it.

A very good game which really could have gone either way.

Kirkbride Rosebowl Final Result

Last night's KRB final between Team McCrossan and Team Peat Skipped by Bob Cherry, was a hard-fought event and a real nail biter at the end!  Team Peat (Bob Cherry, Gordon Todd, Euan Lawrence and Jim Dunlop) set the scene by taking a shot in each of the first 2 ends.  This goaded Team McCrossin (Francis McCrossin, Jimmy Niblock, David Hope and Peter Galloway) into action by taking 2 in the third end to draw level and then creep ahead to lead 6-2 at the close of the 6^th end.  

Just when the leaders thought they had their hand on the trophy which was on display at the Rink end, Skip Bob pulled off a superb score of 2 on the 7^th end with 1 minute of time remaining before the bell.  

It was all to play for in the concluding 8^th end with the score 6-4 and Team Peat were lying 2 to at least peel with the last hammer stone to be played by Team McCrossin.  Francis played a perfectly crafted stone to draw into the 2 lying stones to limit the lead to 1.  The final score to Team McCrossin was 6-5.

Kirkbride Rosebowl Semi-Finals

 Francis McCrossin and his team of Jimmy Niblock, David Hope and Anne Hay started their game by scoring three against Ken Ross's team.   Thereafter they seemed to show no mercy.  To be fair, they let Ken score 2 at the third end, but that was all.  A resounding win by 11 shots to 2.

On the other sheet, David Gray scored singles at the first two ends, but Ronnie Peat's team of Euan Lawrence, Gillian Watson and Bob Cherry then took control.  They finished up winning by 9 shots to 2.

Next week the two victors will play each other, at 5.15, for the trophy.   

Kirkbride Rose Bowl First Round

 The Kirkbride Rose Bowl is our Knockout Competition and the first round was played tonight. When there are only 6 teams the draw can get quite complicated, but after this round it begins to make sense.

The Highest Winner was Ronnie Peat's team, who found some form again and beat Team Reynolds by 10 shots to 1.

Second Highest Winner was Francis McCrossin, who had a close game with Peter Galloway. Four ends where they scored two shots were sufficient to win by 8 shots to 5.

The closest game was between David Gray and Ken Ross, with David winning by 7 shots to 6.  These two teams fill the places of 3rd and 4th Highest Winners.

The draw for next week's games is therefore 

Ronnie Peat  v  David Gray

Francis McCrossin v Ken Ross

Earlier in the day, Richard Morrison skipped Ronnie Peat, Ernest Mutter and Fraser Hogg in the final group game of the Ross Low Trophy.  A tied game against Ayr &  Alloway was sufficient to top their section and progress to the semi final, which will be on 28th February at 12.00, against Dundonald.  The winners will play that afternoon at 2.30 against either Galston or Troon Portland.

Gangrels v Tarbolton 10 Feb 22

 We faced Tarbolton for the 21^st time in this annual inter-Club event for the Wilkie Trophy.  To date, Tarbolton had won it 14 times and the Gangrels 7, so it was all to play for.  The President’s Rink of President Peter, Ronnie Peat, Richard Morrison and Peter Galloway started well and were 5-2 up by the 6^th end but Tarbolton came back in the 7^th end with a steal of 3 to peel 5-5.  

The Vice Pres Rink of Vice Pres Jim Dunlop, Willie Scott, David Gray and Jimmy Begg scored consistently in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6^th and 8^th ends to win 7-3 against a 1 man depleted Tarbolton Rink.  Overall, it was a 12-8 win to Gangrels who retain the Wilkie Trophy for another year.

A most enjoyable and social meal concluded the evening’s events.

Final Week of President's Cup Competition

 Francis McCrossin's rink completed a perfect 5 out of 5 wins tonight and cemented their position as winners of the President's Cup.

Skipped by Jummy Niblock, or Jimmy Nibbie as the score card has it, they were in a tight game against George Hay and the David Gray team but eventually won by 6 shots to 4.

Ronnie Wilson's rink, with Peter Galloway in charge, had a comfortable win over Gordon Todd and the Peat team. They only lost one end and won the game by 7 shots to 2.

Ernest Mutter also had a comfortable win.  He led Ken Ross's team to a 10-6 victory over Peter Reynolds, whose team was skippped by Jim Dunlop.  A score of 5 at the last end made the score respectable!

Next week's games are the start of the Kirkbride Rose Bowl.  This is a knock-out competition where the three winners and the top loser progress to the semi finals.

The final table for the President's Cup is here.

 

Team McCrossin win the President's Cup

Congratulations go tonight to Jimmy Niblock who skipped the McCrossin rink to a 5-4 victory over Gordon Todd and the rest of the Peat team.  Jimmy is now standing at a perfect 8 points from 4 games, four points clear of his nearest rival with only one game to go.

Ronnie Wilson's team, skipped by Peter Galloway, had a very good start and was 7-1 up after 3 ends. They didn't show any mercy afterwards either, and scored a further 4 shots to win by 12-1.

Ernest Mutter and the Ross team also had a good start, scoring 8 shots in the first three ends and winning eventually by 10 shots to 5.

There are no games next Monday and the final games in the President's cup finish on Monday 7th February at the usual time.

The table is here  

Points Competition Results

Peter has sent the following email with details of the Points last night.  Congratulations to everyone for a well organised evening.

"Thank you for playing last evening and many thanks to the scorers Ken, Peter R and David G.  As usual, each sheet had its own unique challenges which tested us all in the 7 disciplines completed in the time available in both sessions.  The top results were:

Winner;  David Hope with 33 points.

2nd;       Alistair Henry with 28 points.

3rd equal; David Gray,  Ken Ross and myself with 25 points."

Jimmy Niblock takes the McCrossin rink to the top

Jimmy Niblock continued the unbeaten run for Francis's team by scoring a 10 - 2 victory over Ernest Mutter, skipping for Ken Ross.  Ernest took singles at the first and last ends, but Jimmy scored 10 shots in between. The McCrossin rink are the only team still to drop a point.

Gordon Todd continued his good form for the Peat team and won the game by 5 shots to 4 against Jim Dunlop and the Reynolds rink.  However they were handicapped by only having three players and suffered a 3 shot penalty, leaving the result 7-5 to Peter.

The third game was close and indeed finished 5 shots all.  There was only one shot in it all the way through for the Gray and Wilson rinks.  George Hay was skip for David Gray and he managed to score a single at the last to ensure a share of the points and to break their duck.

The table can be found by clicking here.

President's Cup Week 2

 Francis McCrossin and Ronnie Peat remain unbeaten after two games.  Gordon Todd skipped Ronnie's team to a victory by 8 shots to 3 over Ken Ross, who skipped the Ernest Mutter Rink.  Gordon was 5 shots up after 3 ends, but Ernest scored 3 over the next two.  Scores of  2 and 1 in ends 6 and 7 were enough to seal victory.

Jimmy Niblock was in charge for Francis and had a comprehensive victory over Peter Galloway and the Ronnie Wilson rink. They were 6-2 up after 5 ends, scored a 5, lost a 1 and finished up by 11 shots to 3.

The third game was tied at 6 shots each.  Jim Dunlop was 5 up after 2 ends and 6-3 up after 6.  George Hay took 3 at the seventh and the game finished tied at 6 all.

The table is here.

President's Cup

 The New Year of 2022 brings a slightly amended way of curling, but it really was good to be on the ice again.  We can cope with only one sweeper being allowed.

The President's Cup is where the skips play lead and everyone else moves up. As I've mentioned before this can cause confusion, so I will continue to call the rinks by the original skip's name, while acknowledging in the comments who is actually skipping. 

This is particularly relevant in the first game mentioned, where Gordon Todd skipped Team Peat beautifully and had a convincing 11-1 win over Team Gray, skipped by George Hay.

Team Ross was skipped by Ernest Mutter and the game was closely fought. The score was 4-4 after 6 ends against Peter Galloway and the Wilson rink. Scores of 2 and 1 and the last two ends gave Ernest a 7-4 win.

The third game was also close. The McCrossin team were led by Jimmy Niblock and they scored at three of the first four ends to lead 5-1. However, Jim Dunlop (Team Reynolds) fought back with a three at end 5 and was only one behind playing the last.  Jimmy scored a single shot to win the game 7-5.

The league table is here and is also available by clicking on the President's Cup link at the top of the page.