Day 13 - Greenock

The Tourists departed at 8:30 am from the Doubletree by Hilton North Queensferry and bid a fond adieu to Tour Courier Bill Arnot.  They will meet up with Bill again at the closing night party on January 29th, until then the Tourists will miss him daily.

In the meantime we are excited to get to know Tour Courier David McIntyre better. 

We got some more pictures of the bridges on the way out of town, this time in the morning light. 

 

The Tourists headed for Paisley Abbey.  On the way, they got a view of “The Kelpies”.  The Kelpies are 98 ft high horse-head sculptures depicting kelpies (shape-shifting water spirits).

They also drove past a statue of “The Angel of the Nauld”, known locally as Arria. 

We had another interesting sighting on the bus. I was not sure this was possible (for those that don’t know us, one of the Scots commented today the Doug seemed to be “six foot twenty”)

Paisley Abbey

Paisley Abbey was initially constructed in 1163 with ongoing construction and additions occurring over the ensuing centuries. 

Robert the Bruce had a soft spot for Paisley Abbey. 

The first written evidence of curling appeared in Latin, when in February 6th, 1540, John McQuhin, a notary at Paisley, Scotland, recorded in his protocol book a challenge between John Sclater, a monk in Paisley Abbey and Gavin Hamilton, a representative of the Abbot. 

On the way into Greenock, we passed a statue that is irreverently referred to by the Scottish as “The Skelpies”.  In Scotland the word “Skelp” means to beat somebody. 

The tourists were joined by this afternoon’s opponents at the Greenock Arts Center for a lunch of soup and sandwiches. The Tourists then took the coach a block or two to the Waterfront Leisure Center. The leisure center has has a pool, ice skating, curling and a spectacular view of the River Clyde. 

The afternoon results:

Team Anderson (USA/Blue) vs. Team Sutherland (Scotland/Yellow)

USA - 6  Scotland - 6

Team Beadle (USA/Blue) vs. Team Hawthorne (Scotland/Red)

Scotland -  9  USA -  5

Team Jackson (USA/Blue) vs. Team Clark (Scotland/Yellow)

Scotland - 6  USA - 3

Team Rich (USA/Blue) vs. Team Allwood (Scotland/Red)

USA - 10  Scotland - 3

The result for the day was “peels”,  as the Scots say, which means all tied up. So the USA maintains its 80 shots lead. 

Cumulative Score:

USA:  455

Scotland: 375

After the games, the Tourists headed to the Glynhill Hotel (the same hotel they stayed at upon their arrival in Scotland) and quickly dressed into their formal attire. Then back on the coach for the ride the civic reception at the Greenock Town Hall. 

The Greenock Town Hall was an awesome location for the formal reception tonight. We we welcomed by the Provost (Mayor) of Greenock and other dignitaries and joined by our opponents from our games at Waterfront. 

The Tourists performed their “Entertainment” in the most amazing room, the Greenock district court. 

On the way back to the hotel, we were able to stop back at “The Skelpies” to see them lit up at night. 

Here is the Tourists‘ path so far:

Peter’s single malt count sits at 67 as of 10:22 pm tonight. He has been somewhat limited as the clubs and establishments we have attended lately have had blends but not single malts.  He promises to accelerate his progress soon. 

Tomorrow, the Tourists return to the Greenacres Curling Club on Howood outside of Glasgow (the one with sheep outside) to play two draws against the Glasgow and Dumbartonshire Provinces. 

Access the Tour’s photo share here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/d5uWGEjqgF93FQWA8

Access the Polarsteps trip tracking here:

Follow my trip ‘2022 Scot Tour’
https://www.polarsteps.com/CraigFischer/6333246-2022-scot-tour?s=0A7D2614-845D-46BC-BD52-DCDB847951F2