East Lothian Ladies are presented with a history making opportunity when they face their counterparts from Glasgow IBC in the garden countys first ever appearance in the final of the Scottish indoor bowls Premier League this Saturday, (12noon).
Read MoreWhiteinch (Glasgow) is the venue and the Glasgow morale will be boosted by a handsome victory there in the process of them finishing top of the West Division whilst their East Division opponents will be parading their skills on unfamiliar territory. However having achieved an earthquake type victory over two in a row defending champions Auchinleck in the semi finals stage there is a mood of quiet confidence in the East Lothian camp that they are capable of delivering a title winning performance. And in the words of team manager Gordon Pryde, Glasgow will be given our full respect and deservedly so but our team is in great shape and fired up by a driving ambition to capture a national crown that would adorn our trophy cabinet for the first time since the clubs inception 32 years ago Scotland cap Yvonne Veitch is a notable absentee due to being overseas however teenage Junior cap Megan Kivlin is an exciting returnee in a strongly formed line up that reads, Rink 1. Melissa Penman, Megan Kivlin, Margaret Thomson, and Janet Fairnie (skip). Rink 2. Jackie McFarlane, Arlene Berwick, Leanne Baillie, and Lauren Baillie (skip) Rink 3. Margaret Murray, Jean Russell, Kim Hoggan, and Emma Logan (skip). Rink 4. Margaret Devine, Beth Riva, Gillian Mackintosh, and Dee Hoggan (skip).
Bainfield gents romped to a 10-0 points triumph in the prelim round of the Scottish cup with the giants of the premier league dwarfing their lowly division 2 opponents Cowal at Whiteinch. West Lothian joined their Edinburgh neighbours in this weekends first round proper with an 8-2 formbook win over Inverclyde at Blantyre.
Bainfield step up their bid for cup glory against Glasgow at Falkirk while West Lothian face Tweedbank at East Lothian.
Midlothian enter the scene against Dundee at Abbeyview while East Lothian face Forfar at Headwell and Balbardie go head to head with Falkirk at Livingston.
Bainfield crashed out in the prelim round of the Ladies Scottish Cup making an 8-2 exit to Abbeyview at East Lothian while West Lothian lost the local bragging rights in their 6-4 defeat to their Bathgate neighbours Balbardie at Falkirk.
The 6-2 defeat of West Lothian to Abbeyview at Bainfield means that there is now no Lothian representation in the quarterfinals stage of The Team Championship mixed event.
The seniors brigade from East Lothian, Midlothian, and West Lothian have all progressed to the second round of the Scottish Knockout Cup with wins over Headwell (6-4), Falkirk (6-4), and Stirling (6-4), respectively.
Jamie Macnab of Midlothian and Joe Mower of East Lothian are members of the Scotland team -managed by five times world singles champion Paul Foster biding to recapture the British Isles Under 25s title in the series being played this weekend at the Jim Baker stadium in Belfast.
East Lothian IBC staged their high profile Pro-Am Triples Tournament last weekend with the trios skipped by Graeme Archer, Derek Oliver, Colin Walker Darren Burnett, Ryan Burnett, Stuart Airey, James Fleming Jnr, and James Speirs qualifying from the Round Robin stage. The final of the Johnston Fuels and Medical & Professional sponsored event was a real clinker with Fleming (Inverclyde) skipping Andrew Thomson (Aberdeen) and Jamie Macnab (Midlothian) to a two shot victory over West Lothians Richard Mark, Gary Orr, and Speirs.
The recent sudden passing of West Lothian’s world-renowned iconic sporting figure Linda Brennan at the age of 51 came as a massive shock to the Bowls Community and all who new her. Linda – the hugely generous and massively supportive proprietor of David Gourlay Bowls – played 15 Outdoor and 14 Indoor international series for Scotland under The Middleton Hall and WLIBC banner’s and also raised the profile of her native West Lothian as a member of the Scotland Team in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. They came from England, Wales, Ireland and perhaps other far horizons to join a turn out of Scotland mourners that filled Winchburgh Parish Church to overspill capacity in an emotional burial ceremony, shared by the local minister and local priest, that paid a fitting tribute to an extra-ordinary person.
A statement released by the National Governing Body of Bowls England said “ Linda has an amazing legacy and has touched people across the world with her humour, smile and passion for all things bowls”. Chair of Bowls Scotland, Sue Beatt said, In every conversation with Linda her passion for the sport shone through, She was a huge advocate of sustaining and modernising the game and had loads of ideas which in typical fashion she delivered at 90 miles an hours.
Five minutes in Linda’s company had you laughing and uplifted .She was an irrepressible and irreplaceable force and her absence will be acutely felt throughout the bowls community, not just in Scotland but also around the world”. The numerous tributes on facebook included,
“A larger than life character with a bubbly personality”, “A pair of bowling shoes that nobody will ever fill”, “Linda new half the people in Scotland and the other half new her”, “what a wonderful ambassador for our sport”, “Always a breath of fresh air”, “we will never see her likes again”. Linda was not just a can do person she was a will do person who always said yes and not no, turned negatives into positives, raised vast sums for charitable causes, and if you were down in the dumps would lift your spirits in a jiffy.
Yes our Linda was some girl – and had a heart of gold that cared for all communities.