Day 16 - Stirling
Dave McKenzie who we curled against in Perth dropped by our hotel in Hamilton this morning to deliver badges (pins) that he didn’t have with him when we played. His daughter, who made the point in Perth when she socialized with us that she is the better curler in the family, is subbing onto a U17 boys curling team in the area this weekend. The Tourists wish Ms. McKenzie the best of luck in her tournament. The last we heard, she made it to the semi-finals!
Dave’s effort is greatly appreciated. The Tourists meet so many people over the course of the Tour and each one makes an impact on us and improves our experience. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to remember everyone’s names and therefore, we are largely dependent on those we meet to connect with us. I encourage those of you that interacted with us on the Tour to reach out to us. You can find many of us on Facebook (go here to put a face to the name: https://2022scottour.blogspot.com/2022/12/introducing-teams.html) but if you aren’t successful in finding us on Facebook, reach out to me at thecraigfischer @ gmail.com or via WhatsApp at 260 443 6673 and I can get you connected to the Tourist(s) of your choosing. I can say, without reservation, that each and every Tourist would welcome and appreciate such a reachout.
Another gray rainy morning in Scotland. Overall, we have been quite lucky with the weather in Scotland. We avoided the bad weather in the south when we were in the north and we avoided the snow in the north once we were back in the south. We have even had more sunny days than expected and the weather has been in the mid 30s to mid 40s throughout (although I may have jinxed it).
One of the traditions that we have developed on the Tour is poking a little fun at our Vice Captain Doug Potter. Each time we board the bus and are ready to leave, we do a count off from 1-22 (1-20 being tourists, 21 being the Herries-Maxwell Trophy and 22 being our courier, Dave McIntyre). One day during the countoff, someone accidentally called out Doug Potter’s number (15). Since that date, when we do the countoff, everyone yells out “15”. We elicited a smile from Doug the first time we did it. Since that time, on occasion we noticed that Doug wouldn’t call out his number, since we were doing it. So, we arranged for nobody to say it once to surprise him.
The Tourists met the local curlers at the Springkerse View Pub and Grill for coffee, as the curling facility does not have concessions. They were greeted with a bagpiper and a guard of honor. The Pub is a chain in the area but does boast a nice view as its name implies.
After some coffee, the team boarded the coach for the short ride to the National Curling Academy. The National Curling Academy is housed in a leisure center (similar to a YMCA) that has swimming, rock climbing, a 6-sheet curling rink for the local club and a 4-sheet curling rink where Scotland’s elite athletes train. The Tourists were luck enough to be permitted to play their games today on the Academy’s ice which had good speed and about 7 feet of curl. The facility looks a lot like where you see World Championships and the Olympics with the blue carpet between the sheets. It was quite memorable.
The morning results:
Team Jackson (USA/Red) vs. Team Jackson (Scotland/Yellow)
USA - 10 Scotland - 9
Team Anderson (USA/Red) vs. Team Ferguson (Scotland/Yellow)
USA - 8 Scotland - 8
Team Wright (USA/Red) vs. Team Fleming (Scotland/Yellow)
USA - 9 Scotland - 6
Team Rich (USA/Red) vs. Team Davie (Scotland/Yellow)
Scotland - x USA - x
After the morning draw, the Tourists dropped 3 points and were sitting with a 98 point lead.
For lunch, the Tourists and their opponents returned to the Pub for a buffet lunch.
The afternoon results:
Team Jackson (USA/Red) vs. Team Ainslie (Scotland/Yellow)
Scotland - 7 USA - 3
Team Rich (USA/Red) vs. Team Davie (Scotland/Yellow)
Scotland - 10 USA - 9
Team Beadle (USA/Red). vs. Team Penman (Scotland/Yellow)
USA -7 Scotland 6
Note: The scoreboard was taken down before we could get a picture, so we just posted the final score
Team Anderson (USA/Red) vs. Team Ferguson (Scotland/Yellow)
Scotland - 8 USA - 7
After the afternoon games the Tourists took the coach to the Stirling Court Hotel. The hotel sits on the campus of the University of Stirling which houses SportScotland’s Institute of Sport and the High Performance Center.
The hotel also sits on the shadow of the National Wallace Monument dedicated to William Wallace. Wallace was a Scottish Knight and leader of the first war of Scottish independence and immortalized in American pop culture by Mel Gibson in Braveheart.
The Tourists checked into the hotel and changed into their formal F-1 attire for a civic reception at the hotel hosted by the Provost (mayor) of Stirling.
The event started with drinks and was followed by a 3 course meal.
This poor soul, Grant, was unfortunately seated at a table named after his arch-rival club. This picture may be the reason he is kicked out of his own club.
The Tourists received a number of generous gifts from their hosts and the Provost. In addition, Tourist Craig Fischer won a silent auction of a signed Bruce Mouat jersey from the World Mixed Doubles championship. The rumor is that Bruce Mouat will be playing against the Tourists in Edinburgh next Saturday, perhaps to help close the gap in the scores.
After dinner, the Tourists performed their usual “entertainment”. At the suggestion of one of our hosts a couple of days ago, the Tourists are now distributing the lyrics of their final song (their curling-themed version of Highland Cathedral) so that their hosts can join them in song and it going quite well.
The Tourists (and their curling opponents) were surprised to find that the organizers had arranged for the curling opponents to sing a number of traditional Scottish songs for the Tourists, totally unrehearsed, with keyboard accompaniment.
Songs sung by our hosts and opponents included: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Marie’s Wedding, O Flower of Scotland, Loch Lomond (known to Americans as the song with the lyrics “I’ll take the High Road and you take the Low Road and I’ll be in Scotland afore you”), The Skye Boat Song and more. It was “great Craic” (an Irish term meaning a good time) as the Scots say.
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