Wilkinson Sword 2021

1 August 2021, Knightswood

There were teams from Aberdeen, Auchincruive, Balgreen and Glasgow for this annual tournament, held at Knightswood in Glasgow for the first time since 2019. It was cool and cloudy at first, but it soon warmed up and we had some lovely sunshine for much of the day.  One lawn was rough in places, but the other one was fine and fast-paced.  Because of time constraints, matches lasted 2½ hours and were 22-point affairs, a version which was new to a number of people, but which worked fine. John and Bill played their first game against Roger Binks and Calum Worsley, representing Balgreen, who had 1½ bisques.  Both John and Calum got their balls to rover, while Bill and Roger made smaller breaks. Unfortunately, Bill missed a short roquet in corner 2, allowing Roger and Calum to get back in and go on to win 16-15 in a tense finish as time ran out.

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Basil Townsend Quaich 2021

25 July 2021, Auchincruive

Three clubs competed for the Basil Townsend Quaich with one 'Incorrigible': Auchincruive (Kevin Wright), Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan), Glasgow (Steve Barnett) and 'Incorrigible' (Malcolm Smith). The competition was played over three rounds of 18-point handicap AC.

It was another hot, sunny, and thankfully midge-free day, and the Auchincruive lawn, which had not seen rain for over a month, was playing very fast indeed. This proved difficult for all players with only one game finishing within the time allowed. The clear winner was Steve Barnett, who played some magnificent long roquets, won all of his games, and retained the Quaich for Glasgow. Well done to Steve and Glasgow!

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Spring Weekend 2021

8-9 May 2021, Meadows

Despite being held a week later than the 2018 and 2019 events, the temperature hovered around 6°C all Saturday 8 May, suffered a short rain interlude but avoided too much wind.  Sunday was more amenable as the warmth returned.  COVID-19 had put paid to the 2020 tournament.

Six intrepid players braved the elements for five rounds of 26-point handicap games limited to 2 hours 45 minutes over two lawns.  Two thirds went to time, all those double-banked, for which no extra time was given. Handicaps ranged from 3 to 16 and with varying success using Aldridge hoops some 581 points were scored over the weekend.

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