PEEBLES Curling Club held its annual AGM, dinner and prize-giving at the Tontine Hotel on Friday, with the season having ended in March.

Ian McLeod, club president, and Brenda Waddell, president of the ladies’ section, reported on a largely successful season, tempered by the occasional cancelled game when snow made the journey to Murrayfield too risky to undertake.

A concern was, and is, the difficulty in recruiting new players. It is a game requiring a good commitment of time, especially as all games are in Edinburgh.

The committee resolved to consider further how to attract new blood. It is a highly enjoyable activity where equal pleasure can be gained by all abilities.

Past president Graeme Coulthard, led the club in a few moments of fond remembrance for Honorary Past President, Jim Forsyth, a Peebles stalwart who sadly passed away in September 2017.

But the club was delighted to vote in as its new Honorary Life President another Peebles stalwart, retired solicitor, Bill Goodburn. Bill, in a short speech of customary graciousness, advised that he had been a member of the curling club since 1962.

An astonishing 56 years and he still glides the ice with aplomb, barring the very occasional wobble. The good curling genes have been passed to his son, Robbie, who secured the club’s individual points competition by an unprecedented margin, taking home the 1823 Victory medal.

The main club league championship, the Challenge Rink Cup, was won by Morris Anderson’s rink, with Ian McLeod, Douglas Brinkhurst and reserves. It was an exciting and close league as four rinks had the possibility of winning going into their final game.

Billy Emerson, with Dougie Graham, John Still and Graeme Coulthard were undefeated in securing the John Milne Championship. Billy’s reward is to skip a team in next season’s Challenge Rink Cup.

He then led his team to victory against the ladies’ equivalent, adding the Waddell Quaich to his haul. The men also triumphed in the Denmark trophy when the winners of the main club and ladies Rink championship go head to head. The main club skip had escaped to golf in the Florida sun but, nonetheless, a slightly changed team of Ian McLeod, Douglas Brinkhurst, Roger Scott and Gary Swinney still managed victory.

However, gender honours were reversed when, for the second time in three years, the ladies secured the Blackwood Quaich. This is when three teams from each of the main club and ladies’ section compete over different days, with the points’ accumulation determining the result. In other competitions the Royal Bank Quaich was won by Gary Swinney, with Alisdair Dawson and Bill Goodburn, after a cliff-hanger final stone when Gary spectacularly converted a match lead of 1 to 5 with his final stone, to secure the Quaich, over the pole position team, by just one shot. The Championship salver went to John Cairns, with Graeme Coulthard, Tom Hardie and Kay Wilson.

The Pairs’ competition was won by Jill Black and Ian McLeod. Jill also holds the Silver Broom, having held off various challenges over the season with a changing cast of players. Gary Swinney was awarded the Blackstock trophy, for the second time, being considered the club’s most improved player.

The club had notable success in the intra-county Peeblesshire Province, securing both the Paterson Rosebowl (skip Graeme Coulthard) and the Mendick trophy (skip Billy Emerson). A total of from Peebles contributed to these games, exemplifying the club’s strength in depth.

After another excellent evening of good food, wine, banter and conviviality, members and partners left to a summer of other activities unfettered by snow and bitter cold prior to returning to Murrayfield, with its new ice floor, in September.

We eagerly anticipate the improved playing conditions although it may no longer be easy to blame a poor shot on the vagaries of the ice. However, there will always be the skip or sweepers to blame…

Before that there will be golf and bowling outings to keep everyone in touch and some fundraising for the bi-centenary in 2021.

Peebles Curling Club plays at Murrayfield from Late September to late March.

It caters for all ages and skill levels. Should any reader be interested to play and enjoy some winter exercise and good company, then they will be made most welcome. Contact: thomashardie@btinternet.com or 01896 831717.