Curling

2010 started with headlines declaring our worst Winter in 30 years. People were snowed in, local councils ran out of resources to grit the roads, cars were flipped over on the sides of roads, and there was black ice for miles...

In other words, this was an excellent Winter for snow sports. The conditions were perfect. The Lockerbie Herald had a picture from the early 60s of people curling on the frozen Kirk Loch. This was one of the first times since then that people were able to play on the loch again, and an opportunity I could not miss really.

The sight was incredible. I tried to imagine the loch normally but my eyes were too busy absorbing the scene. The skies were a perfect blue, and the sun made the snow twinkle so that you had to squint your eyes at everything. And it went on forever. People were not afraid to walk deep into the loch- the middle was apparently 13' deep, they drilled a hole to measure it, and then apparently it started cracking... My shoes crunched as I walked on the snow which lay on top of the frozen loch. It was amazing.

Kirk Loch, Lochmaben.

There was kids, families, ice skates, kids in sledges, photographers, dog walkers, on lookers, farmers, and us curling.

Katie has curled professionally so she was showing us how it's done. It was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. We used old style stones which had been sat idle on door steps for years. The stones were heavy (18- 20kg), and it was hard trying to curl the stone gracefully, and without falling over! Big household brooms were used to sweep, and make the stone curl smoother or faster on the ice. I was curling for the first time, and in the traditional way too: outdoors, old stone, and a kitchen broom. It was unreal.

Our closest game.

The aim is to get as many of your stones in the house (circles) as possible.

It was a lot of fun, and I think I did OK for a first timer you know. I even had to tie my hair up half way through, I was playing serious. We got beaten, but Katie is a junior world champ so I guess that's what happens.

I love this photo.

In the 60s, all the offices were closed so the staff could go out and curl. This year the conditions were perfect for another Grand Match, although this was controversially canceled due to health and safety so I guess I was lucky... who knows when it'll be like this again.