Royal Kingston is a large, modern, six sheeter ice rink that allowed us all to play. The Town Crier, ,was very impressive with his uniform and powerful voice as he welcomed us all by name. Mayor Paterson who hadn't played in 20 years played the first stone, which was swept by the two flag bearers. A delicious four course meal was served, We were entertained by the local Rotary men's synchronised swimming team, performing their choreographed sequences on dry land! Rippling "muscles" (being kind here), goggles, speedo caps were in full array. A curling Abba song session followed, led by Taya Williams, a talented young singer. Then the Scottish Tourists entertained with three songs of their own. Kingston is known for being the birthplace of Bryan Adams, the famous rock singer, guitarist and songwriter. Info re hosts to follow.
A short journey from our hotel was followed by a warm welcome. We were piped on to the ice by 16 year old Liam, who had apple juice for his toast rather than the customary Scotch. After the games on their 4-sheeter ice rink, a delicious lunch - chicken pie/quiche - was enjoyed by the Tourists - again served by the men. One of the servers took his role very seriously in his kilt, jacket and Tam O'shanter. We learned that Gananoque, usually shortened to Gan, means "water over rocks/stones". Thankfully our rocks/stones had been over frozen water! Some of the ladies who were not playing enjoyed a walk down to the beautiful lake in the sunshine. We also learned that "Gan" is the home of 1000 island dressing, a bottle of which we received as a gift, as well as a beautiful book showing the wonderful scenery close by. Info on Hosts to follow
Russell Curling Club was our next port of call and we had a very warm welcome from the members. The junior curlers - The Bantams - looked after our needs and directed us to the cloakrooms. We were welcomed on the ice by Mayor Pierre Leroux and Cindy Saucier then had 4 games on an ice rink that provided benches for the tired sweepers, but notably none for skips! We then enjoyed a lovely dinner in their beautiful club rooms again served by the gentlemen, many thanks to Kristine Hercur, Lorraine Robinson , Lucy Brault, Linda Macwillie, Jim Campbell, Ian Ross and Dez Kortash.This was followed by some great entertainment, with live music from Charles Gregoire and Heidi Brault which led to an impromptu dancing session where we all took to the floor.We didn't want to leave but the road to Gananoque was calling.
We were joined on our bus by Carlos our guide for the morning. Ottawa is the federal capital of Canada and sits on three rivers. The Ottawa, the Rideau and the Gatineau. There is also the Rideau Canal which when it freezes over in the winter becomes the 'longest skating rink in the world'.
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born here during the war and the people of the Netherlands remember this by sending over one million tulip bulbs each year for a spring festival. We toured through Little Italy and Chinatown which became home to 45k Vietnamese refugees. We then headed up Sussex Avenue where there are 120 Official Residences. Photo stop on Parliament Hill which is the heart of the parliementary precinct and then on to a visit to Canadian Museum of History to see the totem poles. Our tour ended at Tucker's Market Place for a wonderful buffet lunch - if only we had been more hungry! This is our first day of back to back curling, our first venue was the Ottawa Club, just across the road from the hotel. This was a beautiful old curling club, five teams were piped on to the ice by Graeme Ogilvie, Pipe Major RCMP Pipes and Drums, a very popular Dundonian for photo opportunities resplendent in his red Jacket! We enjoyed good curling with the ladies of Ottawa club, and thanks to Sandra Chisholm and Gayle Greene and their volunteers for their fantastic hospitality, special mention to Dalal for her wonderful Baklava! Ottawa Hunt Club As we arrived here many of us were greatly tempted by views of the golf course, sadly the greens were all wrapped up for winter.We were ushered in to the extremely sumptuous clubhouse, beautifully decorated for christmas. We were welcomed by Jane Venus of the Host Committee, aided by Audrey Charlebois and their team of volunteers. All six teams played, and one of the opposition teams was a Junior team skipped by Sierra Sutherland. We had a delightful dinner followed by entertainment provided by Storyteller Mary Wiggin. The tourists responded with their tour song which is beginning to sound better!
Relaxed and exceedingly well fed, after swimming, massages, manicures, and walks and geocaching round the lake,we sadly bade farewell to a fantastic haven in the middle of our tour.
"Hit the road Jacques" and after an hour we were welcomed at the RA Club in Ottawa. For the first time all six teams took to the ice together, we were greeted on the ice by Deputy Mayor Bob Monette and Lady President Dorothy Breeze. We enjoyed good curling and close games, followed by a sumptuous dinner.Team 4 played against Terry Ananny who is a highly rated artist from the area, and has won many awards. We were all delighted to receive one of her prints of children curling, which she then patiently signed for us.We would like to acknowledge the host committee headed by Margo and Diane Burgess and their volunteers, for their wonderful hospitality. We arrived in the Chateau Montebello and took some time to suss out the facilities and take in the grandeur of the place. A good number of us headed for the Spa and the spectacular pool.for various forms of well-being treatments, this was followed by a delicious dinner in a private room reserved for us.
The main part of the hotel is built around a circular chimney with 6 log fires blazing merrily, these are never normally all lit at the same time, but they had put them all on especially for us, quite a spectacle!! The whole building is like a giant log cabin, but very warm , cosy and comfortable, ideal for a snowy winter holiday, or a hot sunny one on the lake or golf course. Montreal
Jock picked us all up and we headed into the city where we were met by our tour guide Rene. First of all we headed up to Mount Royal past some very grand houses. Some of these are fronted wih red sandstone from Scotland ‐ it was use as ballast in the ships when they came over to load with timber. The mount has 400 acres of parkland in the middle of the island and no building in the city is allowed to be higher than the 'mountain'. From here we looked down over the city and could pick out the Olympic stadium built for 1976 games. When we came back down we parked up for two minutes silence for remembrance day. Montreal will be 375 years old in 2017 and there are major constructions taking place all over the city. Jock then took us over a bridge on to the Formula 1 circuit Gilles Villeneuve and raced us round the track ‐ the bus doesn't corner too well but I am sure Jock could give Lewis Hamilton a good race! We finished our tour at Dunns restaurant for a salt beef and fries lunch. Now off to our next destination Le Chateaux Montebello. A warm welcome was extended to all 24 ladies before the games began, by the Mayor Claude Dauphin on the delightful three-sheeter. The ice hall sported an array of murals as well as the ice markings reminding players of their etiquette regarding the do's and don't's of curling. Three teams not playing enjoyed a visit to the Lachine museum. We were talked through the culture and history of Canada by Sabrina, our museum guide. Lachine used to be a fur-trading post, the beaver being the main source of income. Set in beautiful parkland by the lake, the museum is housed in a 200-year old cottage filled with artefacts going back over 1000 years. The cottage and lake, helped by brilliant sunshine, provided a perfect photo op before rejoining our fellow tourists and our hosts for lunch. We were again served by the gentlemen, resplendent in their red blazers. We definitely like this tradition! We enjoyed a local speciality, 'tourtiere', a pie filled with minced veal, pork and beef - delicious. Susan Nicol our host, club President Francois Leroux and Lady President Nancy Mark, welcomed us warmly, we appreciated everything they and their team of volunteers did for us, and their lovely gifts Post-lunch entertainment was provided by both hosts and guests.in their club room with its enormous fireplace. Laughter and hilarity sadly gave way to farewells Pointe Claire
We arrived at Ponte Claire to a fantastic arch of crossed brooms, again another lovely ice rink and great hospitality. Three teams curled here and the other three teams were escorted by a lady from Pointe Claire on a tour of the very pretty village and down to the windmill on the lakeshore, on what was a beautiful warm day. In the evening we were treated to a superb dinner, and lovely gifts, from the Mayor and the ladies of the club After an early start we arrived at Royal Montreal Curling Club, the oldest curling in North America, which had some beautiful traditional features, as you can see above. We were once again piped on to the ice, three teams played in the morning, and three after lunch, we were fortunate to win all our games here, which helped to redress yesterday's results! We were served a lovely lunch by the gentlemen of Royal Montreal, a tradition we would like to bring home to our own ice rinks!
After the second curling session, we were piped through the streets of Montreal by none other than the President of the St Andrews Society Brian McKenzie, much to the amazement of the residents of Montreal. He piped us up Sherbrooke Street in the Golden Mile to the St Andrews Society premises, in one of the grand old houses of Montreal, where we were treated to a lovely wine and cheese reception. |
Archives
November 2015
Tour RETURNS
SCOTLAND 902
CANADA 752 FINAL RESULT The Tourists very much appreciate the following sponsors for their very generous support of the Tour
|