Day 21

Sunshine. Sunshine!
On our foot tour of Philadelphia, with guide we saw and heard the story of many recent and old features of the city including the Liberty Bell and sites of significance dating back to the 18th century.
Then on to Bucks County Curling Club in the area between metropolitan Philadelphia and its suburbs. In 2010 its members acquired sole use of the building and provide curling for 11 months of the year. Bucks County now has 150 active and enthusiastic members. Quite a few go to bonspiels as far away as San Francisco. We found the ice, made and maintained by a team of members, good after the first few stones.
One of the features of the building is the hecklers bench. Bill Arnot, John Hodge, Jim Ramsay and Ian Young had a bye and were highly focal at the side of the rink. Could that catch on in Scotland?
The welcome we got at Bucks County was open-hearted and that feeling stayed with us all the time we were there. On our way into the dinner we lost our sense of direction and reputation when we walked past the bar to derision of the US curlers. Within seconds the bar was spotted and had another excellent meal and entertainment.
Our singing for Bucks County and friends including Herb Kupchik, was good and we think we merited the applause. Malcolm MacAskill has since said it was a “partial standing ovation” something he may care to describe in more detail…. or maybe not.
Day 21 was interesting and most enjoyable in many ways: the tour of Philadelphia, the enthusiasm at Bucks County, the company at dinner-and the sunshine. Well done everyone.