de Ercieldoune. There is no doubt that he was a real person living in the 13^th century. Story has it that one day he walked away from the castle  into the woods followed by some animals and was never seen again, thought by many to have returned to the ethereal realm to serve as a mediator between this world and the other.

Anyone who has a story they would like to see published here, please send it to Janet.

Reminder

You are invited to attend the New Hampshire Scottish Games September 24, 25, and 26^th 2004, the place for the 2004 TCA Annual General Meeting and also the second annual meeting of the TCA officers.

Signs of the times:

Get Well Wishes: Brian Turnbull, our webmaster, a speedy recovery from his recent knee surgery. Now he has no excuses for a bad day on the golf course. Speedy recovery!!!

Scotland visit: TCA President Wally Turnbull has just returned from a week’s visit to the Scottish Borders.  Wally met with George Turnbull, the head of TCA Scotland, to promote a greater level of international TCA activity and collaboration.  They also discussed the deplorable condition of Fatlips Castle and options for restoring and maintaining the ancient Turnbull monument.  Additionally, plans were made for the petitioning of the office of the Lord Lyon by TCA for a grant of Turnbull arms.  We will keep you informed in these pages as plans and details evolve.

Clan Crest jewelry:  We appreciate the interest of those members who placed tentative orders for Turnbull Clan crest jewelry. Unfortunately not enough people wanted the items to enable a special casting.  This means that we will not be able to order or supply any of the items at this time.

We are continuing to work with suppliers of clan crest jewelry to see if we can have these items produced for sale by vendors at Highland Games and by mail order. We will let you know if this works out. Thank you again for your support of TCA and the proud Turnbull name. Wally Turnbull, President TCA

What is this thing called Curling?

In or about 1500 there was a game started to decease the boredom of winter, using rocks slithering along the frozen ponds and lakes in Scotland. The Dutch may have founded this game, the French–Canadians used cannonballs melted down in 1759-60, and the Canadians are responsible for the growth of the game known as Curling. Smith Institute has a stone, inscribed  “St. Js B

Stirling 1511”, the first such rocks weigh about 2-3 Kg, designed like a hand and were called, “loofies” . The biggest recorded was the Jubilee stone weighing a hefty 58.5 kg. The object of the game was to propel the rock across the ice from a starting point, towards

a target at the other end with 2 sweepers equipped with brooms to guide the stone by sweeping the ice to reduce the friction of the stone in forward movement.

In present time the game is sophisticated, has rules, teams, competitions, and is played around the world. It is a medaling sport of the winter Olympic Games, as of 1998 in Nagano, Japan.  Competition is between two teams of four persons (rinks) and consists of 8-10 ends (innings) which last approximately 15 minutes each.  Each player has two stones per end.  The object is to place your stones the closest to the center of the house (bull’s eye) at the farthest end of the ice. Play begins by the first team standing in the hack (foot support starting block) and sliding the 42 pound (approx. 20 kg) granite stone down the ice towards the far end of the ice.

The skip (team captain) standing at the other end can assist by giving directions or a spot to aim at. If the skip requests it the leads teammates will then assist the progress of the stone by sweeping in front of it. This sweeping can influence the direction and speed of the stone’s progress. When the last stone comes to rest, points are counted, then it is the opposing sides turn. Only one team scores in an end, points awarded by being the closest to the center. Team members can try to get a better position or attempt to displace the other player’s stone position. The second attempt makes the game more enticing by attempting to displace those closest to the center of the house. It is of course a game of skill and cunning, each team having a great deal of understanding and knowledge of curling and its possibilities. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, they buy the drinks for their teammates, while the losing team cleans the ice for the next round of games. The name comes from an old English verb to curr (to grumble), which is the sound the stone makes as it covers the ice.