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The perfect day
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| Sadly not a Bonspiel |
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| Lake of Menteith at dusk |
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| Brush, brush, brush |
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| Lake Hotel |
For 15 days, the temperature had been below zero and the Lake of Menteith had frozen over by the New Year. The early curlers, made brave by whisky, were out on the ice by 3 January and speculation about a Bonspiel was growing by the day. Conditions were well nigh perfect on both the 7 and 8 January but instead of the authorities focussing on what precautions should be taken to facilitate a Bonspiel the Royal Caledonia Curling Club, Central Scotland Police and Stirling Council evaded any positive responsibility and instead hid behind Health and Safety matters and the opportunity to stage the Bonspiel was lost. Roads would need to be cleared, shuttle buses from the nearby villages provided, traffic control in place and a clear statement about risk being a matter of personal responsibity.
The issues should have been addressed in a positive fashion starting in earnest at the end of December but the overly long festive break meant that most authorities were not back until 5 January. By this time there was no time or appetite for constructive discussions and, with the roads clogged with snow and the fear of recrimination, the decision not to proceed was the sad but inevitable outcome. But it is a lesson for everyone: focus on seizing the day not strangling a unique event in what were blissful conditions. Our ancestors knew how to extract joy and fun out of severe winters, oh that we were not so risk averse.
We did the next best thing and had an amazing afternoon sauntering across the Lake in this magical arctic winter.
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