Curling at Lockerbie

Another trip to 'have-a-go' at a sport meant we were heading to Lockerbie Ice Rink on the warmest day of Autumn but in multi-layered clothing. Most were getting a bit worried about having to stand or walk (or run?!) on ice.

Once welcomed to the rink our footwear was inspected as any particle of grit would cause havoc to the sliding stones. We were warmed up with a few exercises to help prevent aching muscles. Our lead coach was Marion Murdoch, quite possibly the best curling coach in the world as her son was Skip of the Olympic men's medal winning team.

We were then taken onto the ice and despite the first few steps being very tentative we soon got a bit more confident.

Split into 4 groups on two sheets (note the technical terms!) each group now had a coach. For the first hour on the ice we were shown basic techniques and rules of etiquette and the game which we tried out in turn.

Not everyone could cope with all the squatting and bending but we were taught how to use sticks to push the stones.

Gradually we were pushing the stones further and further with slight spins.
For the second hour each group had a 'match' with another group.

Please excuse the blurred photos - people were moving and I was standing on sheet ICE !!

We actually managed to get stones in the house, set guards and miss completely!!

No-one fell over but the cold did permeate through shoes and layers of socks to numb our extremities but a bowl of soup in the café (on the warmest day of Autumn) soon got us acclimatised to the outside world again.

Many thanks go the everyone at Lockerbie Ice rink for giving us such an enjoyable morning. How many will want to do it again?? 

Fun at 10 Pin Bowling

Bowling followed Pizza sounded like fun. 10 of the GIG members hired a couple of lanes at Carlisle bowling and quickly got into the swing of things.

Gutter bumpers were raised to aid shots and some of us got lucky by bouncing our way to the pins.

The ladies formed one team whilst the men on the second team vowed to get a higher score.

Fun and laughter soon followed as we tried our best. Luckily all the scoring is done automatically so we didn't have to tax our brains too much.



All too quickly the frames were completed and we headed for lunch at Pizza Hut. All you can eat buffet meant we could pick and choose slices of different pizzas along with endless salad.

Something to do again - although Curling at Lockerbie is next on the programme.

AGM and Trophy Night Wednesday 2nd September 2015

Committee members set up tables in anticipation of a good turn out for the AGM. How many people would turn up? Would there be enough members signing up tonight to make it worthwhile continuing the group?
Well we weren't disappointed. As 7pm came round people arrived carrying photographs, craft items, floral displays and food. Tables filled up and extra ones had to be brought out for exhibits. Memberships were renewed and seats filled up in anticipation. Extra seats were squeezed in and finally everything and everyone were ready to begin.
Our Chairman welcomed everyone and gave his report. A very busy year had included talks covering a range of topics and a good number of trips had been organised and enjoyed. A new Satellite group - Silver Surfers - was proving popular and several trips for the future were outlined. The Treasurer then gave her report, outlining income and expenditure and explaining that the accounts had been successfully audited. Re-election of the Treasurer followed, along with election of the members of the committee. The Chairman concluded the AGM with a thank you to all members - as without them there would be no group!
Voting then followed for the following categories-
Tom Straiton Memorial Trophy for a floral display of predominantly roses.
Hodgson Trophy for a Landscape photograph.
Annantown Garage Trophy for a Bird photograph.
Memet Trophy for a Wildlife photograph.
Craft Trophy for a hand made item.

There were fantastic entries in all categories and much work had obviously gone into every single item entered. Members of the group were then allowed to vote for their favourite item in each category. It was a very difficult decision to choose one item above all the others in each category but votes were cast. While the votes were being counted members helped themselves to the delicious looking buffet.

After the buffet it was time to announce the winners! It was very close in all the categories, sometimes only one vote separating the winner from the rest! The committee were very pleased to see just how many entries there were. Winners were announced and trophies handed out by the Chairman as follows:
Tom Straiton Trophy to Glenys Donald.
Hodgson trophy to Mike Read.
Annantown Garage Trophy to Lynne Hampson.
Memet Trophy to Lynne Hampson.
Craft Trophy to Linda Wade. (David accepted the trophy on her behalf but later sent us a photo of Linda with her prize)

Congratulations to all winners but we must say thank you and well done to everyone who entered an exhibit.

GIG trip to Culzean Castle Wed 12th August 2015

Our luck with the weather was holding - despite an early autumnal feel (in August!!) As the morning went on the weather improved to be a very comfortable summer day. Nothing could be seen of the castle as we arrived except for an arch leading into the Home Farm Visitor Centre. Passing through the arch we arrived in a very pleasant courtyard with stone built buildings. Tables outside the café were already filling up on such a pleasant day.

Passing out of the courtyard through another arch took us towards the castle with tantalising glimpses in the distance. The old stable buildings have been converted into a coffee house - but surely one of the smartest coffee houses you will ever see!

The castle is now in view - in all it's glory! Did you know an illustration of the castle was used on the reverse of  five pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland?

Culzean Castle sits on the cliff top near Maybole, 11miles south of Ayr. In the 18th Century the architect Robert Adam was instructed to make a basic structure into a fine country house. It was the home of the Clan Kennedy until given to the National trust in 1945. A stipulation at the time was that the apartment at the top of the castle was given to Dwight D. Eisenhower in recognition of his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WW2. He visited 4 times, including once while he was President of the United States. The apartment is now rented out for weddings, events, afternoon teas etc.
Entry to the castle opens up a historical treasure trove...

There are guides to help in each room but you can go at your own pace and spend as long as you want. There are some surprises too! On the day we were there we heard lovely harp music coming from the room we were approaching - only to find it was not just background music but a real harpist!

Out of the window we saw a helicopter starting its rotor blades - and then taking off! Who was in it and where they were going was a mystery but the possibilities were intriguing!
The final room to visit was the kitchen.... where the rules for the house were on display as we entered.

Do you think any of them should be rules for today??

After touring the house it was time to explore - the castle is set in nearly 600 acres so perhaps not all in one day. The swan pond is a 13 acre lake but there are also wonderful gardens and miles of paths as well as walks to the scenic coastline.

Walking back to the bus was quite a slow wander- were we tired or were we subconsciously putting off getting back to the bus?? The thought of an ice cream at the shop ensured everyone kept up and gave us something to look forward to. In our experience something exciting to see on the way back - such as a herd of deer - or an ice-cream at the end of a walk can keep tired legs going!

A great place to wander and explore, there is just too much to see/do in one day.

Gretna GIG trip to Wallington Hall Thursday 16th July 2015

After a pleasant ride on the minibus we arrived at Wallington Hall at 10.30am. The weather had gradually improved on the way and was looking good. Margaret had brought facilities to make tea/coffee on arrival and a delicious home made cake to refresh everyone after our  journey. A good start to the day! Even better - some members of the National Trust had vouchers for guest entries - so we had no entry fees to pay for anyone! One member of the group was even offered free access to a motorised scooter, meaning she wouldn't have to walk everywhere! Even before we got inside the grounds the day was a success.

  

After arranging our departure time, we were free to wander. Entry was through a very stately clock tower, opening out onto a huge grassy courtyard. Visitors are allowed to wander across the grass and explore the lakes, woods and grounds of the house. We decided to head for the Walled Garden, but others headed for the River walk, the wildlife hide, the plant stall, the shop or the café. There are many things for the whole family to do at Wallington.

 

 

 

We walked through the wood and past the lake.

 

Neptune overlooks the gate (and holds the key!) to the Walled Garden.



Inside is a real treat - a pool at the top with a staircase leading down through the garden. The borders are full of flowers looking, and smelling, beautiful. An Edwardian conservatory lies against one wall and is open for visitors to wander through. Everywhere looks well cared for, a real credit to the gardeners and volunteers.

 

Walled Garden

 

 

Conservatory

 

Among the plants are many statues and features. 

 

Here are some of the individual flowers, of which there were a great variety - far too many to record here. There was much repetition of "oh, look at that", "I'd like one of those" and "smell that!"

 

 

 

We could have spent more time in the tranquil garden but there was so much else to see! After a delicious lunch in the Clocktower café we moved on to explore Wallington house. It was gifted to the National Trust by Sir Charles Trevelyan, a Socialist MP. His family was rather unconventional and loved being outdoors and close to nature, hence the informal grounds. However the house is full of beautiful furniture, amazing collections and curiosities in every room. The National Trust have taken a new approach to visitors in the house in that they have removed many of the ropes that keep people away from the exhibits. You can now wander around each room and get close to the treasures within. Informative volunteers acting as guides were all over the house to answer questions and give information about individual items.

There was so much to see in the house that we used up the rest of our time inside.

Friezes in some of the rooms

 

Beautiful painted walls

 

There are lots of toy soldiers and dolls houses in the house

 



We didn't see many of our group after going our separate ways but here are just a few snapshots we managed to take during the day!

 

 

 

A quick visit to the shop and the plant stall concluded our visit - but there was just one more photo to take before we set off home....... 

 

 

 

A brilliant day- but there was so much we didn't see that another visit is  definitely needed!

Gretna GIG trip to Eddie Stobart Depot, Carlisle. Wed 24th June 2015.

A short drive from Gretna brought us to Kingstown Industrial Estate in Carlisle. Keith was our driver again and the weather wasn't looking too bad. On reporting to the office we were given the Health and Safety rules for a busy, working site with huge lorries moving around all the time. High-viz jackets were the order of the day too - everyone looked so fetching in them!

Our guide then gave us a short history of the company- Eddie Stobart started an agricultural business in the 1940's. With the help of his son, also called Eddie, this expanded into a haulage business. Eddie Jnr and his brother William finally took over the running of the business in the 1970's. It became more and more successful and became a public company known as the Stobart Group in 2007.

 The company has a distinctive livery for its lorries and their drivers and the expectation is that they will both look presentable at all times. For the lorries there is a lorry wash on site.

Eddie Stobart is a multi-modal logistics company in the transport, storage and handling sector across the UK, Ireland and Europe. With over 2000 units, over 3000 trailers and huge areas of warehousing Eddie Stobart meets the distribution and warehousing needs of many customers. It has a growing inland ports operation, a long running rail freight service and the car transportation division carries vehicles on behalf of many leading manufacturers.

We were shown around the site and watched lorries refuelling as they returned. Eddie Stobart lorries use thousands of litres of fuel, and have a delivery every day.

We were then taken to the warehouse used exclusively for the storage of Homebase products, which Eddie Stobart delivers all over Scotland. Another local firm were busy delivering pallets that will later be filled with Homebase stock. A second warehouse was full of thousands of empty cans used in the drinks industry. Pictures were not allowed as the cans belonged to customers, but the sight of so many cans was awe inspiring. Pallet after pallet full of different coloured cans were stacked almost to the ceiling. It was like looking at vertical rainbow. Eddie Stobart is at present building a new warehouse at Carlisle Airport and will transfer there in September. It will be several times bigger than the one we saw!

 

 The types of trailer used by Eddie Stobart were lined up in the depot for all to see and our guide explained the codes used to identify them eg HB is a Homebase trailer, CT is a can trailer, ET is a European trailer. 

 

From the early days of the firm each lorry has been given a girls name - the first was called Twiggy. Each lorry also has a Fleet number.

 

Once people began to notice the names on the trucks they began to "spot" and record them. Eddie Stobart began to get more and more letters asking for a list of the names, so decided to start a members fan club. Members receive a magazine and Spotters handbook, which lists all the truck names. The members club has developed over the years and now has thousands of members. Two GIG members are in this spotters club and were busy collecting truck names while we were at the depot!!

 

To conclude our tour we were allowed to look inside - and sit - in a lorry! The highlight of the afternoon for some! It isn't until you sit in the lorry that the realisation of how big these vehicles are really hits home. The inside of the truck is quite spacious, a necessity if you spend many hours and even sleep in the vehicle, as some drivers do. 

 

Everyone really enjoyed their visit to Eddie Stobart having been given a brief insight into the world of the trucker! Thanks to everyone at the depot for a fantastic visit.