Author: rccc2017tour

Member No. 22 of the squad has gone missing, presumed abducted.  Wee Sandy was introduced to the team as we gathered for departure.  Regrettably he was only able to make it through to Sunday before ‘The Keeper of the Coo’ reported he was missing.  Hopefully we will be reunited soon.

Alex is skip of team Tiree, our Vice Captain and one half of our Quartermaster duo with Alan Roe.  Together they have thought long and hard about what it would take to make us presentable and, hey! Could we get any better?  Alex filled us in on his story.
“My home is in Dumfries, South-West Scotland and I’m 58 years old.
A former police officer, I retired in 2010. I now work as a Project Manager for Dumfries and Galloway Befriending Project, a charity that supports vulnerable young people age 8 to 18 years.
Linda and I have been married for 34 years. Our daughters are Kirsten, Lauren and Alexandra.
I have been a member of Crocketford Curling Club for 36 years. I’ve been its President for the past twelve years – not that I am holding on to it, but the status quo keeps being the only proposal at our AGM!
I curl out of Dumfries Ice Bowl, and enjoy playing at other rinks when the opportunity arises.
I curl at a reasonable level and, as a member of Team Hardie, have got to the last eight of the Scottish Seniors for the last three years.
On Tour, I’m most looking forward to making new friends and perhaps meeting up with ‘kent faces’ from the last USA tour to Scotland – and of course to the socialising and fun plus a few wins for Scotland!
My interests and hobbies are varied. I try to make time to play five-a side football (soccer) once a week, I mentor young people going through a sticky patch in their lives, I’m an active Rotarian, and Session Clerk at our local church. Any spare time I have I work in my large garden.”

Albert is playing second in Alex Dickson’s team Tiree and is our First Aider on the tour.  We were assured he possessed a good bedside manner and would proffer a sympathetic ear to anyone succumbing to ailments and illnesses. Ha! “C’moan.  Oot yer flechie and on the bus!  Sharp like.”  Ah well.  His other skills and knowledge of competition rules is certainly valuable.
He tells me –  “My home is in Aberdeen and I am now 66 and retired, having been a local government Valuation Surveyor. I am divorced, have a son Graeme and a daughter Arlene.
I am a member of AWW Curling Club, founded in 1984, and of Curl Aberdeen Juniors. My home rink is Curl Aberdeen.
I am a past President of North-Eastern Province of the RCCC and have been a member of Curl Aberdeen Management Committee since 2005. I am a level 2 coach and a level 4 umpire. I am proud to have been an umpire at three World championships, three European championships and numerous Scottish Championships.
On tour I look forward to forming new friendships, and to lots of good curling played in the true spirit.
I play some golf and enjoy going to the cinema.”

Clive is skip of team Mull, Captain of our tour and has the distinction of being the man with the plan and the dubious honour of motivating us to win that Herries-Maxwell trophy.  I’m sure he would put it better himself because, away from the tour, he has the distinction of being President of the RCCC, is a very eloquent fellow and, as his story attests, quite used to sporting spectacle.  “I was born and brought up in Glasgow and attended Belmont House School and Glasgow Academy. I’m 68 and live in Newton Mearns on the south side of Glasgow with my wife, Judith, also a keen curler. We have a son and a daughter both living and working in London.
I was an institutional stockbroker for 25 years before acquiring the conference business I now run with offices in Glasgow and Salisbury.
I have been curling since forming a club to represent the school in the Glasgow Schools Curling League when the Rector insisted that all pupils played rugby on a Saturday morning. After school I moved on to Glasgow Young Curlers and later joined my mother club, Glasgow Academicals. I am also a member of the Beechnuts and Whitecraigs Tennis Club Curling section.
I curl at Intu Braehead on the banks of the river Clyde, west of Glasgow, and am a past President of both Dunbartonshire and Glasgow Provinces.
Playing for Scotland in the Four Nations competition and winning several Province and club competitions have been the highlights of my playing career.
Before taking up administrative posts in curling I was heavily involved in tennis both in Scotland and the Lawn Tennis Association in London and was a member of the Wimbledon Championships committee for eleven years.
On tour I’m looking forward to making new friends, seeing new places and enjoying the camaraderie of my fellow tourists. I am an elder in the Church of Scotland, and when I have any spare time I enjoy playing golf and tennis.”