Our Scocce team recently beat the World Champions (pictured right) who were here for the Men's World Championship in Lowell MA. As part of the weeks events, we challenged them and they came up lacking!

I should point out that we utilized an old Scottish curling trick - we put up a case of Chivas Regal as second prize! The Champions were all too happy to forfeit the cup for the finest whisky know on ice, and we took the bragging rites! 

First prize was a tiny pewter quaich - see right, that miraculously turned into a large silver trophy when we added some Chivas  - the power of whisky!  

As the As the game was played at the exclusive Country Club at Brookline, (home of the Ryder Cup), we have engraved it 'The Slyder Cup'. We intend to challenge the Scottish team again (when we know they are at the Olympics, thus ensuring we keep the silver in America!)

To make sure there were no international repercussions (of an Olympic team being beaten by 4 middle-aged overweight men with lower back problems), we invited the British Consul-General in Boston Mr. John Rankin, who presided over the event. 

Here is a picture of the former World Champion Hammy McMillan (World Champion 1999) who actually won a bottle of Chivas Regal 18 year old when he landed a stone closest to the target in a separate competition. 

The Scottish team then took us out to dinner and onto the world championships at Lowell where we watched the US beat Scotland again! 

We sat in their corporate box, and with our kilts, matching jackets and silver trophy were mistaken for the real Scottish team and so signed autographs and hung out with the groupies, yes curling groupies! 

And just for the record, the Scottish team comprised of : 
Hammy McMillan – World Champion in 1999 and five times European Champion plus other European and World medals .
Gordon Muirhead – a member of Hammy’s team in 1999 which won the World title, also number of World silver medals and European medals include the gold in 1994.
Hugh Aitken – World Junior Champion in 1980, European Champion in 1989
Norman Brown – World Junior Champion in 1980, 4 times European Champion plus a number of other world and European medals .

They were well and duly thrashed by:
Mike 'broom boy ' Faulkner - who had curled twice.
Brian 'the Rock' Morin - who missed the first outing, so this game was his second! Pictured here in the Royal Caledonian Curling Club jacket that we borrowed from the changing room!
Craig 'Skippy' Pierce - who has curled many times ( forearms and golden locks!)
Ian 'Iceman' Lawson - first time out on the ice!
Jeremy Bell - had tried it at school once!
'Bloody Bob' Mansfield could not play because he fell the week before and hit his head on the handle of the stone! Ouch! Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!

And then to make it all even better, we got front page coverage! 

Next year we are going to make a calendar!