The Annual Stonehouse versus Gourock Park Friendly was slightly curtailed by the heavy showers which prevented most of the games from going the full distance of 21 ends. However this in no way dampened the spirits of the players from both of our great Clubs. This annual meeting of old friends has been taking place for around 60 years and is always seen as one of the most anticipated events in diary's of both our Clubs. Unfortunatley due to work commitments, i was unable to attend early enough to witness any of the actual bowling, but was lucky enough to get there in time to witness the speeches and of course the usual joke telling and sing song which is always a feature of these games.
The overall score was Gourock Park 101 shots , Stonehouse 69 shots. Highest up Gourock Park Rink was one skipped by Ian Brown along with Robert Wilson, Mark Wells and Kenny McKinlay, who finished 17 shots up and the highest up Stonehouse team was a 'triples' Skipped by T Leish along with J O Brian and A Anderson, who were the only Stonehouse team to win on the day. After the match the players enjoyed a fine meal served up by the hard working Ladies of Gourock Park, which was followed by speeches from President Hamish Ramsay who thanked all for attending and to all those that had worked hard to make this day successful. Stonehouse President, Jim Robertson made a fine speech and mentioned that the most important thing about this game is the friendship that is shared between the two Clubs and he also presented President Hamish Ramsay with an engraved Bell and Plaque to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Gourock Park, Jim also paid compliments to the fine meal served up and the hardworking bar staff and also to Ian Brown for making sure that the 'greens' were in great condition for this game. The day ended in the usual way with the legendry sing song and joke telling which is always a fun feature of this game, as usual Kenny McKinlay was the 'main attraction' but was given a run for his money with a fine array of songs from both sets of players. "See you next year lads" Gary Bradley |