Drum Beat !

Glenurquhart 0 Inveraray 1
Glengarry 3 Glenurquhart 0 (Seconds)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a shinty team not in possession of a single goal must be in want of good fortune. If only……
Well maybe yes- a little bit of luck and the Glen might have shared the points with Inveraray for truthfully the visitors from Argyll were not team splendid. They were solid enough and despite the fact that Shady ain’t so slim any more, their defence was more or less capable of dealing with the Glen presence up front. Beyond that, when they were presented with an opportunity they took their goal-and you can’t argue with that.
In fact they actually started off quite well if only because in the opening ten minutes or so Glen struggled to get out of the blocks conceding a series of fouls which kept them on the back foot. Why so? They seemed a little slow to meet the ball and thus , coming second , found themselves penalised for pushing in the back or tackling in a clumsy way.
By about 15 minutes in however, Glen began to come more into things and Inveraray keeper Graham Macpherson had a fortunate escape when having got his club to a drive from Fraser Heath he was relieved to see it come back off the top of his right hand post.
Glen then forced a series of corners and though John Barr , Heath and Lewis Maclennan got opportunities to move the ball forward and actually did so, the close attention of the Inveraray defence in which full back Scott Robertson was on top form was enough to see chances wasted.
At the other end Inveraray were also awarded a run of corners but they were unable to test Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh more than once when he tipped a drive from Andrew MacMurdo over the bar. There were a couple of other potential problems but Andrew Macdonald was on hand to make the key clearance on two occasions while full back Stuart Reid maintained his recent run of good form and the Inveraray front men made little headway.

At the other end in 28 minutes Barr got one on one with Robertson and managed to get a powerful strike in but his shot flew just wide. In 35 minutes it was much the same story and though this time Barr’s strike was closer, Macpherson in goal did not have to make the save.
Glen then had a period of dominance winning a number of shies on the left but the Inveraray defenders in particular Douglas Dando and Gary Macpherson were clean and long hitters and were able to knock away the loose balls out of the danger area. Just before the interval Heath managed to work free from the attentions of Gary Macpherson but his first attempt was cleared by Dando and a second attempt went across the D and out for a bye-hit.
Then- bombshell!
Glen gave away a foul just outside the D at the shop end. A loss of focus ensued, Stuart Robertson played the ball to Andrew MacMurdo and he put Inveraray into the half time dressing room with a 1-0 lead with what was the last hit of the half.
Smash and grab! Certainly. The Inveraray defenders were aware of their good fortune and exchanged knowing looks but in that moment they had won the game.
The second half was déjà vu-all over again and again and again. Glen pushed hard. Changes were made. Arran Macdonald came on and played well. Shots went wide and over the bar. Sometimes shots were not taken- sometimes wrong choices were made: there was even a wee bit of argy-bargy when keeper Macpherson got bashed on to the post and he went mad in a controlled goalie like way.
An Inveraray defender was booked for a skilful “professional” trip- nothing malicious just perfectly designed to break up an attack. He took the booking though there should have been an earlier one for Gary Macpherson when he did the same thing in the first half-but again it was nothing nasty and the Glen oldies on the side-lines admired the skill with which it was executed.
The key player for Inveraray at this juncture was Dando. Robertson held the line at the back but all the loose balls breaking off the attacks were mopped up by Dando- and his centreline especially David Robertson and David Macpherson also tracked back deep to defend energetically.
They say when trouble comes, close ranks. The Inveraray defence did so and they kept their concentration - and in as much as they did that, they deserved their win but they had to hang on grimly to get it as the Glen pressed imprecisely forward.
A disappointing afternoon for the home support then, but it was not all bad. David Smart had another good performance as had Stuart Reid. Arran Macdonald did well when he came on and Andrew Macdonald also put in a performance worthy of some mention.
Inveraray? If they had committed such larceny in their home town they would have been banged up in Inveraray Jail and the key thrown away. However, given the boorach they were in at the back end of last year you are sometimes inclined to forget that this is substantially the same side which has been to three Camanachd Cup finals over recent years. They have also in that period won a MacAulay Cups and have more or less had a monopoly of the Celtic Society Cup from 2001 till a couple of years or so ago-so they kind of know how to win when they have to. Put some money on them for the Celtic this year: they will not disappoint especially given the fact that there was no sign of Russell Mackinlay at Drum. He was merely scoring a barrow load for the second team back home. Can no-one make that boy see sense?
Will the Wing Centre watch the game on Youtube? Not unless it would tell him something he did not know. Perhaps some of the details are imprecise but the broader canvas is correctly coloured in.
One final note-good luck to Inveraray’s Davie Macpherson when he carries the Olympic torch: he put in a solid performance in the visitors centreline. Hope he has a good day. A pity the gig can’t be on a Saturday when Inveraray are due to play the Glen.

On top of this result, the loss at Invergarry unfortunately made it a double downer for the Glen. It was heartening however that the young lads kept the Garry at bay for such a long period in the match.
Disappointing for the Glen was the absence of two important players Calum Miller who missed out through injury and Drew Maclennan was unwell. Manager Iain Macleod was also unable to participate through illness.
The key player for Glengarry as everyone knows is Steven “Dee Dee” Cameron and in the absence of Drew Maclennan, he was marked by Ewan “Boo Boo” Fraser and to his credit, “Boo Boo” put in a sterling performance and ran himself into the ground. When he tired he was replaced by Bradley Dixon and he also put in a good shift- the result of which was that as the game reached its conclusion the Glen were only 1-0 down. At this point Daniel Mackintosh had an excellent attempt which just shaved the crossbar.
Glen full back Donald Fraser had another excellent game. He tackled hard and his strength kept the defence focused and organised. Calum Smith also played well at wing back.as did. Ross MacDiarmid but a niggling injury to his knee forced him off at half time. In the younger age group James Hurwood and Euan Lloyd also played well as did Cameron Maclennan in goals. The only downer was that Jack Hosie who had also been playing well picked up a knock in the later stages of the match. However apart from an inability by the forwards to take the chances they have created, from a Glen perspective the feeling was a positive one. Everyone gave their all and there were no lapses of concentration or of discipline – and one cannot ask for more.
Glengarry? Apart from noticing that Ewan Brady had an excellent game-there is no doubt that he is an exceptional talent-the only other point worth mentioning is that they might win something this season. But then again they might not.
Most of the pictures are from Neil Paterson (www.neilgpaterson.com)
who seemed happy and relaxed-indeed almost carefree. But then Lovat are top of the League. Boo!
One of this week's snaps isn't from Neil. Guess which one that is.

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Tough test for Glen in opener.

Glenurquhart 3 Kilmallie 2
Skye 3 Glenurquhart 0 (Seconds)

If you are going to choose a windy day to start the Shinty season, it is as well to choose one which is dry-though reports from Argyll indicating that the Inveraray /Kyles match had been pulled for weather conditions certainly proved that it wasn’t dry everywhere. That is also what Iain Macleod’s squad for Skye found out to their cost when they finally penetrated the rain curtain which was tightly dawn over the Island of Mist. But that’s another story.
Back at Blairbeg the top squad squeezed out a win in a match they made harder than they ought to have. Certainly they were light, in as much as both Ruaraidh Cameron and Neale Reid were absent on the day, as a result of injuries and it could be argued they were missed. Kilmallie too were without one of their own forwards ,Michael Rodgers ,who picked up a ban for the start of the season. Doubtless there were one or two others absent-there always are – but Kilmallie seemed to possess the most effective forward on the day in the person of Liam Macdonald-but more of that later.
Glen started powerfully and within five minutes had carved open the ‘Mallie defence when David Smart, who has had an excellent pre-season spell in midfield, fed the ball through to John Barr. He knocked it back to Lewis Maclennan who fired a tremendous drive on goal which was somehow stopped by Kilmallie keeper Kevin Toye. From the resulting corner however some slackness in the Kilmallie defence allowed John Barr time to hammer home the opener in just on 4 minutes.
The loss of an early goal was probably hard on keeper Toye because he was –despite one costly second half slip-at his best in this match and he needed to be.
Kilmallie held on during early Glen attacks and gradually began to come more and more into the match particularly building from the midfield and bringing front man John Stewart more and more into the picture. He was though tightly marked by fullback Stuart Reid and although the Kilmallie man tried to force the pace the nearest he came was a drive that went past Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh’s left hand post. However the mood in the Glen camp changed abruptly in 21 minutes when defensive slackness allowed Liam Macdonald to fire the ball home for the Kilmallie equaliser. A good finish certainly- but slicker tidying up at the back would have prevented the strike.
Glen pressed at the other end however but Toye had his eye in and he was equal to two further attempts on goal. A rocket shot from distance by Lewis Maclennan looked to be heading for the top corner, but Glen full-forward John Barr stopped the ball in the air and the Kilmallie net was preserved intact.
Further drives from Maclennan and Smart were also stopped by Toye just before the interval and just when you thought the sides would go in 1-1 at half time, the Glen struck, probably against the run of play. The ball was hit forward by Lewis Maclennan, played across by John Barr and with the defence out of position youngster Fraser Heath kept a cool head and tapped the ball home from close range to put the Glen in with a 2-1 interval lead.
As they queued for the half time scoff, it was hard to guess which group of supporters felt more uneasy especially given the reports of crazy scores coming from elsewhere in shinty’s small parish. It seemed in particular that the sky had fallen in all over Badenoch what with Shiel having beaten Kingussie and Lovat storming ahead at the Eilean.
After all the banter is cleared out of the way the Wing Centre would like to record that Kilmallie certainly looked sharp- and their hitting was cleaner- but the Glen forwards in the first period had made the Kilmallie keeper work harder than their own man though that is sometimes hard to bear that in mind when your heart was in your mouth every time the Kilmallie front men got onto the ball.
Glen did not manage to hold onto that lead for long however because just after the restart Kilmallie equalised through Macdonald when he capitalised on another sloppy Glen clearance.
That was the pattern of the rest of the match- it was tight and it was competitive and also played in a good spirit- and nothing separated the sides except the winning Glen goal which came in the 72nd minute via Eddie Tembo.
Netbuster? Even Eddie says it was a dirtbuster and you have to feel sorry for the keeper who had also graced the second half with a number of neat saves though the Glen accuracy rate fell off somewhat as the afternoon progressed and the wind developed. Either the keeper made a mistake or was deceived when the ball took a bobble off the hard shop-end ground. Both are possible: Mr Toye will know which he prefers. Anyway it gave the Glen a lead which they just about deserved – and ultimately a victory which they also just about deserved.
Kilmallie’s shooting? Less accurate than the Glen despite Liam Macdonald’s two counters– and they will probably rue the fact that late in the second half they blasted at least three shots over and wide when Mr Morrison, their boss, would have wanted them at least to make the Glen keeper work.
Verdict? Two teams that will have to do better if they want their names on a trophy this season. No doubt they will play better in the better weather: they usually do- but then so will everyone else. It is still too early to call but with Lovat and Kinlochshiel taking two points each from the Badenoch big two, then there might actually be senior trophies up for grabs to sides beyond the favoured few this year. One shall see - but better to have the two points than not.

Up on the ‘Park of Heroes’ the reserve side found the going wet and heavy. It wasn’t helped by the fact that they had to leave Ross MacAulay and Calum Fraser, two of their most experienced lads, behind with the sickness bug. Jack Hosie missed out too while player/manager Iain Macleod had to come off the field in 20 minutes because he felt unwell. That said, the lads dug in and made it to half time only one goal down-though the main disappointment was that the side were unable to score the chances they created.
An injury to James Hurwood further upset the side and in the end two further goals were conceded. However the management squad were delighted with the attitude commitment and effort from all of the players-in particular Donald Fraser at full back who was strong in the tackle and gave the whole game 100 %. The big man also takes care of his team mates and is sure to have a big influence on the side this season if he keeps clear of injury. Ross MacDiarmid, Drew Maclennan and Ewan Lloyd also shone for the Glen while David Girvan who made the trip to Skye at short notice also impressed with his attitude and it was good to see him getting in a full game after such a long spell of injury.

The pictures? Eddie explains to Drew that he deliberately tried a ground shot to beat Kilmallie. Drew looks as if he can’t quite believe him but congratulates him anyway. The other shot? The guys after the match wondering how they got away with that.

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Friendly Fire

Beauly 3 Glenurquhart 0 (second teams)
Glenurquhart 0 Fort William 1

The first trip of the season over the hill to Beauly is as always….. well……. a trip. Not that the Wing Centre has anything against Beauly except in as much as it was from there that Mrs Wing Centre’s family originated-fortunately only on the one side.
Of late Beauly has been much dug up and difficult to get into and so the decision was made not to venture into the interior thus avoiding the chic niche shops favoured by the female of the species and merely content oneself with dumping the household rubbish in the bins at Braeview . It seems only right to a Drummer to do this.
Not much separates the two villages: they both have underachieving shinty teams. The Glen Chemist comes from Beauly while the Beauly optician comes from the Glen which seems a fair swap but there is one crucial element which hints at the differing character of both settlements. In the Glen, geese are domesticated: in Beauly they are wild -and there are lots of them.

That was certainly a thought to be born in mind as the match got underway between the Glen youngsters and a Beauly side which included some lads from the upper side.
As always the Beauly crowd were friendly and the game itself was interesting and illuminating. Certainly given the time of year, the pitch needed it all- though it is difficult to agree that the layout is as satisfying as it used to be of yore when the feeling was of more space.
From a Glen point of view there was satisfaction that for the third week in a row there was a full squad available- and though the Glen were slow to start by the middle of the first half they had a spell of dominance. Drew Maclennan at buckshee back was in particularly good form-his tackling is consistently excellent-and James Hurwood was always successfully involved at his side of the field. Prize for consistently high work rate went to Bradley Dixon while Dunc Fraser and his brother Ewan also showed up well in their spells on field.
Beauly failed to penetrate in the first half and goalie Cameron Maclennan showed good reflexes to stop a powerful Beauly drive. Indeed his play was consistently effective throughout. Ross MacDiarmid too was tidy in what he did and showed an ability to read a game which will stand us in good stead as we progress in what will be, given the retirement of a number of our veterans (not to mention the promotion of others to the top squad) a young team. Big Ross MacAulay did fine in the centre as did Donald Fraser both in defence and up front when he went there late in the game.
The youngsters, who played up front supporting the hard working front man Calum Miller, did well enough too: Jack Hosie, Ewan Menzies and Ewan Lloyd all looked good on what at times on what was for them a difficult and sticky pitch. Daniel Mackintosh had a second half run out up front and fired some good balls forward but by that time the Glen were beginning to wilt and he had to track back too deep to be a genuine threat in front of goal. Of course the difficult conditions are the same for both sides and Beauly had the edge where it came to hitting, and as the match moved into the second half the home side gained the upper hand eventually running out 3-0 winners thanks to strikes from Scott MacLean, Calum Morrison and Jack MacDonald.
While the margin of victory was perhaps a little hard, the Glen really must learn to score when they are on top- but if the positive attitude from the players is maintained then the side should make some progress though make no mistake, it is a hard League to play in with kids. Doubtless we’ll find this out in Skye at the end of the week.

Back over the hill the main point of difference was that Blairbeg had dried out well enough for the surface to be shinty-friendly. On an equally positive note it was good to see both Eddie Tembo and David Girvan getting a little time on the field in competitive conditions after some considerable absence.
Glen opened well enough in the same groove as they had been in during earlier friendlies but they found the Fort William backline a very different proposition from their previous opponents with quality defender Duncan Rodgers in particular two levels above anything they had met earlier. The game was fairly even in the first half, the one difference being that about the 30 minute mark Gary Innes worked himself free at the shop end and fired home the goal that was to be the winner.

Glen certainly pushed and worked hard but were unable to create clear cut chances. Partly that was down to good Fort defending but it was also down to not being effectively aggressive enough. Smarter, faster, harder is the only way without being silly about it-but then the guys should know that already.
Fort William are apparently down a number of quality players but chaps like Alex Duncan and Steven Stewart on this performance will step up to the mark in the course of the season. Niall Macphee had a strong game as had Bryan “Boob” Simpson and if Mr Innes can co-ordinate his lifestyle to turn up regularly then reports of Fort’s demise this season are very much exaggerated.
Glen’s disappointment in the second half was that despite some excellent interplay between the forwards, they failed to adequately test keeper Paul Mackay though it’s a fair bet he would have kept out most direct attempts. Disappointing too was the carelessness in some Glen set plays and basic drills like shies. An injury to Neale Reid occasioned his replacement midway through the half-but Liam Girvan who took his place put in a sound performance-without hitting the net. Best for the Glen on the day were David Smart and Fraser Heath.
The important thing in a friendly is not what the result is but how well it has prepared you for the campaign to be faced in the days and weeks ahead. For the Glen after the heady results of the week or so before, it is a reality check. Premier League teams are in the Premier League because they are the best in the business- as Kilmallie will attempt to prove next Saturday. We had better be ready for them.

Included in the pictures is the Wing Centre’s most favourite ever picture, taken in Beauly in 1991 with the Balliemore and London Shield winners together.The suspicion is that not since 1922 has such a snap been taken in Beauly. For the others taken in Drum thanks must go to Neil Paterson whose generosity helps give the D an occasional touch of photographic class. Many thanks Neil. He is to be found at www.neilgpaterson.com/. Have a look!!

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Glen hit Ten!

Glenurquhart 10 Lochcarron 1

All things considered it was an interesting result at the weekend for Drew’s D-Dodgers. A win in any pre-season practice match is undoubtedly better than a loss and while it is tempting to say you cannot read anything into such a large win over a Lochcarron side who were undoubtedly a player or two short, it is also correct to be fair to the Glen. They popped in 10 goals on top of 5 last week. Something must be going right- and once again Glen were under strength being without Eddie Tembo for a second week. Absent also were Fraser Heath, Liam Girvan and Stuart Reid. Arran Macdonald switched into full back while Ali Mackintosh came back from injury to take up a position at wing back.
The pitch which had seemed to dry out somewhat over the course of the week, softened up considerably under the influence of early morning snow- and while the persistence of white stuff on the upper slopes of the Glen as the afternoon wore on might have caused the Lochcarron lads some concern about their possibilities of getting home via Garve and Achnasheen, it did not materially affect the game. The spectators though -young and old- bitterly complained about the cold and it is to their credit that they stuck things out to the end which was anything but bitter.
If truth be told the Glen front men carrying on from their performance last week combined with each other well , put in a great deal of running and got the goals some of them excellent. It has to be said that their visitors certainly gave them at times too much room. The centreline held well enough with David “Dixon” Maclennan, a new face in the middle, putting in for the second week in a row a tireless and honest performance while the defence, apart from a little spell in the middle of the first half when they let Lochcarron back into the game, were well on top.
Glen opened the scoring within five minutes after full forward John Barr slipped the ball home from close range- and with that early score the pattern of the match was set. A second quickly followed when Ruaraidh Cameron who had been especially influential the previous week sent Neale Reid free and he fired the ball fiercely past Kenny Ross in the Lochcarron goal. Glen’s pace was beginning to tell at this early period in the match especially that of Reid who was just too strong and quick for the Lochcarron defence to hold. However over-elaboration from the front men put a stop for a spell to Glen scoring and then carelessness at the back allowed Lochcarron to notch up a score of their own- and a particularly nice strike it was.
A drive from Lochcarron which was going wide was needlessly blocked by Glen keeper Mackintosh but it slipped over the by-line after he touched it. From the resulting corner Lochcarron full forward Kenny Murray first timed the ball in the air for his side’s only score - and for a time with the Glen midfield and defence a little shocked it looked as if the West Coasters would get back into the match.
It was not to be though and within a few minutes Neale Reid had added two more via fiercely struck drives from relatively near which Ross had no chance of stopping. Reid was on song at this point and his power on the sprint took him away from a Lochcarron defence which was suffering in as much as key defender Angus Mackay clearly had a problem with a hamstring.
Ross was however having a tremendous game in goals and he went on to underline that in the second half with a string of tremendous saves. For all that he was on form however the Glen pushed forward relentlessly with Barr adding a fifth. Billy Urquhart, who had replaced Ruaraidh Cameron as manager drew MacNeill rang the changes, then came close before Reid brought his personal tally to four. Lewis Maclennan then scored with an excellent strike beating Ross for sheer pace.
Reid got his fifth goal and his sides eighth when he whipped the ball home though Ross will be disappointed that he let that particular strike past him. Reid and Barr both came off for the last fifteen minutes as the manager juggled with his line up but by this stage, Lochcarron with the exception of Ross were too demoralised to offer more that token resistance and Andrew Corrigan who had played soundly in the centreline took the chance to push forward and help himself to a goal when he was played in by David Maclennan. The final goal just before full time went to Lewis Maclennan with a trademark drive high into the roof of the net- and that brought the score to double figures - 10-1- a score which has not been hit by a Glen side since a decade or more.
What does it tell us?
Not a lot really although it will have helped the confidence of the Glen forwards. The last time they have moved so freely and hit goals with such profusion was against Kilmallie last season or further back at home against Kyles in bird-flu days. At other times goals have been hard to come by. However while some of the front play was exceptional and creative- and there were patches of that on view last season-on occasions there was a tendency to be over-elaborate and chances to shoot were passed up. However without Kenny Ross between the posts 15 or 16 goals were very much on the cards. Lochcarron will no doubt regroup: it was clear they did not have their top 12 out on the field and the conditions- it was bitterly cold- were not conducive to maintaining morale once the team had slipped behind by a margin.
Glen have trained hard this session and the forwards have had a chance to show what they can do. They have been superb. The rest of the side looks solid-it was good to see Dave Girvan make his first appearance in nearly a year-but so far they have not been tested in the heat of battle. Neither Strathglass nor Lochcarron provided the kind of pressure that will come every week in the Premier.
The complete squad is not yet available: that will come in the fullness of time. The test will of course arrive further down the line and there will be tight games with serious teams. If the Glen are finally to win a serious trophy after having been gallant losers for two decades then there couldn’t be a better time to start than this season for all sorts of reasons.
Can we do it? It will depend on whether the guys have the character. It certainly looks so far as if they have the ability. And then of course there is always luck. Still it looks as if it’s going to be an interesting season.

The goal scorers are pictured. The other pic? DP chats up the Cheerleaders.

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Glass Hearts Broken-Twice

Macdonald Cup
Strathglass 0 Glenurquhart 5
Ali Ban Cup
Strathglass 0 Glenurquhart 0 (Glen retain cup)

What on earth is happening to the Courier, that august organ that Miss Barron used to great effect to shape the consciousness of our town? It used to give a fair do to the indigenous sport of the Gael yet this week when the Wing Centre turned to the sports pages to read about the great Glen Urquhart victories in the Ali Ban and the Macdonald Cups respectively, there was barely a mention of the two great clubs which codified the rules of the sport back in the 1880s. There was of course plenty about Caley Swizzle and while it is interesting to read a page about Terry’s Truaghans (poor wee souls in the language of the Garden, a description now officially brought into the dialect of the Aird) enough can sometimes be too much. It makes you want to speed on the A82, it really does.
And what are they doing writing about Ross County? Much as we like to read about Ikey and his clean sheets, this is Inverness-shire for goodness sake. Next thing you know they will be reporting on Cabers which would be unfair ‘cos you never see anything about the Glen in the “Ross-shire” unless Cabers beat them which now really means never. One can only assume that the scribes at the Scottish Provincial Press have forgotten that the audiences are different.
In the absence of a Courier report of any magnitude, it falls to the Wing Centre to record some thoughts on the games in question and while he will never be impartial it is still possible that credit can be given to ‘Glass.
That the matches went ahead at all is credit to the Glasaich because mid-week it looked that weather wise any contest would have been termed “the Tussle on the Tundra” so cold had it been, but by Saturday the frost had come out of the ground though the turf was left heavy and difficult.
Lack of numbers in recent years has plagued Strathglass and last year their seconds struggled to compete despite the presence of a few decent players. On Saturday in the Ali Ban, they had to dig deep and their defence in particular had to rely on the heroes of yesteryear with Ivor Macleod, Gordy and Raymond Fraser and latterly Roy Mackenzie having to come on to hold the red and black swarm at bay.

Glen totally dominated the contest from start to finish but a combination of poor finishing, bad luck, an uneven pitch and good rear-guard action by ‘Glass meant that they failed to score though they threw everything into the match and have every right to be proud of their efforts.
In 5 minutes Calum Miller had a chance to open the scoring when he was put through on goal by Ewan Menzies but he pulled the shot wide. Shortly after another drive was saved by defender Ivor Macleod while a few moments later Raymond Fraser pulled off a tidy save from Brad Dixon. If the forwards were having no luck in front of goal, the youthful Glen backs and midfield played excellently. Ross Macfarlane looked sound and team captain Drew Maclennan subdued former Strath first teamer Barry John Phimister. Ross MacAulay and Duncan Fraser won more than their share of ball while young James Hurwood in the centreline showed that he has the tenacity and the ability to influence games.
The second half saw more of the same. Calum Smith at wing centre and Daniel Mackintosh continued to move the ball forward and youngster Jack Hosie who starred at the end of last season showed nice touches but was frustrated by the pitch which grew heavier as the morning progressed. Glen manager Iain Macleod rang the changes and to counter the big Strath defence he pushed defender Donald Fraser forward in support of Miller but though the big man won a good share of ball he too was unable to find the net. Liveliest of all the Glen forwards was student Ewan Menzies whose accurate shooting brought two excellent stops out of Strath goalie Fraser while a number of his other shots late in the second half fizzed narrowly past the post or struck the side-netting.
In the end the match finished 0-0 and while the lack of goals was a matter of frustration, Glen at least had the satisfaction of retaining the cup due to the fact that they were present holders having won it last season and so team captain Drew Maclennan was presented with the trophy by Jimmac Mackintosh who, though he has a foot in both camps, is really a Glenner at heart. Ref John Sloggie did well to keep the match flowing in difficult circumstances .The two pics show the young Glen squad with the cup and without the cup.

The big match was a pleasant watch for a Glenner but not if you were a Strathglasser which in some ways is a shame because when the matches are closer then the banter is better. But it was not to be- and Strathglass despite the sterling efforts of George Phimister and Donald Fraser at the back- and they are two lads who are fair players-Strathglass were unable to cope with the fitness and penetration provided by the Glen front men. Strath have fallen some way short of their level in 2009 when they were Balliemore winners in Bute. Since these glory days they have not only lost Lee Bain but Gary Reid, Mark MacLauchlan and Scott Douglas have come off the roster and though youngsters have stepped in to fill the gaps, the lack of quality showed.
Once again Glen dominated this match from the moment ref Duncan Kelly threw up the ball to start the contest and from the moment an early drive by Ruaraidh Cameron was tipped over the bar for a corner by Strath keeper MacLauchlan the scene was set for an afternoon of red and black dominance. Glen continued to push in the early phase, moving the ball about freely in the sort of sticky conditions that had thwarted their junior colleagues. The opening goal came in 10 minutes when Neale Reid whose powerful running was being barely kept in check by Strath broke through on the left and fired an unstoppable shot past MacLauchlan. A few minutes later and the Glen went two up. Once again Reid found himself with time to fire a shot on target and while the Strath keeper was able to keep the ball out the rebound fell kindly to internationalist Andrew Corrigan who made sure from close range.
The Glen’s third goal was probably the best worked of the day with Cameron sending a defence splitting pass into the path of John Barr up front and he finished clinically. Barr’s front play at this stage was well-nigh perfect-he has the physical presence to give any back a tough time but his touch play and ability to link up with quick running forwards gave the Glen a dimension they tended to miss out on in earlier seasons. Equally influential for the Glen were the two Davids- Smart and Maclennan: both lads performed excellently and ran themselves into the ground on a pitch which was far from simple to play on.
In defence the Glen did not have a great deal to do if truth be told, but what was required to be done was done well especially by full-back Stuart Reid and Strath did not really get many opportunities to test out Glen keeper and team captain Stuart Mackintosh. When they did so, he was up to the mark, which let’s face it, is what he always is.
The second period saw two more Glen goals the first of which came at the end of a piece of quality play. A ball through from David Smart found John Barr. He played on to Lewis Maclennan who sought out Ruaraidh Cameron and when Cameron’s attempt was blocked, Maclennan was quickly on hand to send the ball into the net for number four.
Shortly afterwards another scramble around the Strath goal saw Cameron underline his claim for man of the match when he made the score 5-0 with a finish from close in, this time after an attempt from Lewis Maclennan had been blocked by the home defence.
That was the end of the scoring and while Glen pushed forward for the final quarter they were unable to add more to what was an already substantial lead. A good result then – and one which was achieved with a less than full strength team. Absent through injury were Ali Mackintosh ,Eddie Tembo and David Girvan while Arran Macdonald came off at half time as a precautionary measure against a leg strain.
After the match Glen captain Stuart Mackintosh was presented with the Macdonald Cup by former Camanachd Association President Ken Thompson, a Strathglass stalwart from the good old days. Ken’s been away from the sport for a wee while and it’s good to see him back among shinty people who remember him not only as a former President but as a pretty fair goalie as well.
Newtonmore’s Rab Ritchie was charged with the task of choosing the man of the match- and his pick fell upon the Glen’s Ruaraidh Cameron. A hard decision to choose one from amongst the Glen’s centres and front men but Cameron’s tireless running, allied in particular to his thoughtful and creative play tipped the balance in his favour. Well done indeed.

The pictures explain themselves but you might like to read the snap of the top team as a work of Art allied to Social History. As such, you should note the pylon on the right hand side symbolising the link that Strathglass has with hydropower. The large break in the tree cover might also draw your mind to Strath’s forestry connection-it might be a firebreak or it might hint at modern tree cutting to allow the Beauly/Denny line to go through( symbolically of course because it’s not actually going through here.) On the other hand if you prefer not to see it as Art perhaps you should regard it simply as a badly framed photograph of what is, after all, a winning team.

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Glen shinty mourns the loss of Vice-Chieftain John Alick Mackenzie (1937-2012)

With the death of John Alick Mackenzie on the 27th January yet another link with the successful side of the 1960s has been severed. In recent years John Alick has been an ever present at home matches in the “stand”. His generous smile and cheerful disposition will be much missed by the regulars over the course of the season to come and far beyond.
Though born in Morvern, Argyll, John Alick spent his school years at Torgoyle in Invermoriston where his father worked with the Forestry Commission and in due course he took up his place at Glenurquhart Secondary School , though such was the state of communications at the time that in order to do so he had to take up lodgings in Lewiston. Though he had doubtless become acquainted with shinty before he arrived in the Glen, it was at Secondary School in the Glen that he honed the skills and made the lifelong contacts which were to be of lasting importance to him in the world of shinty. That this was so may be seen in the picture of the school team of 1952 which lost out in the semi- final of the Macpherson Cup to the eventual winners Kingussie.

After leaving school John Alick went on to Aberdeen University where he became a key member of the Varsity side of the late 50’s, winning three Littlejohn Vases including with the side pictured in season 1956-7.

He then returned to play for the Glen as part of the all-conquering side of 1963 which saw victory in the Sutherland Cup (3-2 against Kyles at Spean Bridge) and the McGillivray Junior League. A versatile player whose height and long reach gave him an edge over many opponents, John Alick played up front and in the centreline not just for the Glen and Aberdeen University but over the course of his career for Lochcarron, Glasgow Mid Argyll and Oban Camanachd also. The Lochcarron appearances were a particular source of amusement to him because he became part of a side that at the time included 11 Mackenzies, which even to John Alick would have seemed somewhat excessive.

When John Alick left the north in 1964 to take up employment in another shinty area in Argyll it meant that his playing days in the Glen, though not his shinty career, had come to an end. However, he was to pull on the black and red jersey once again as part of a Glen veterans’ squad which came together on 15th August , 1987 to play a team of Inverness veterans to mark the centenary of the Inverness Club. The Glenners are pictured above and of course there is delight as well as sadness evoked by the picture taken to mark the Centenary of the “Town” club. One can say “Town “ rather than “City” of course because back in 1987 Inverness still had to achieve city status while the Glen had yet to reach a Camanachd Cup Final.
The Wing Centre was present at the game and while the score has slipped from his memory he can remember the silky skills of Bob Macdonald on one wing and Jocky Macdonald on the other. Both Macs were on target that day, Bob’s strike being a first time drive from a ball slipped across from Jocky. Of course supplying the midfield power were John Alick, Peter English, Geordie Stewart and a tireless Jimmy Burnett who was guesting for the day. Jimmy was the player with pedigree on the park having captained Kilmallie to Camanachd Cup glory in 1964. Sadly including John Alick, six of these Bught veterans are no longer with us. Don Cumming, Bob Macdonald, Peter English, Jocky Macdonald and of course Jimmy Burnett himself have all passed away and shinty in the Glen is the poorer for their passing.
It was a wonderful day of shinty at the Bught not only because the old Glenners triumphed over the old Invernessians by 4 goals to 0 but also because for the afternoon the years seemed to roll away.

In more recent times sadly John Alick suffered both from health problems and from the personal tragedy of losing his son John in a car accident. His spirit however remained strong and over the years accompanied by his good friend Jocky Macdonald he took up his regular place in the stand- and on Jocky’s death in 2008 he maintained his regular attendance at matches accompanied now by his brother Davie who was also a member of that schoolboy team of 1952. He was made Vice-chieftain of the club in 2000
The pictures are as follows:
The Aberdeen University side of 1957. For some reason they are pictured without the Littlejohn. With John in the picture are Brian Denoon and the late Peter English.
Also pictured is the Glen trophy winning side of 1963 with John Alick to be seen.
The final snap is of the Glen Vets who played at the Bught to mark the centenary of Inverness Shinty Club
For those who are curious the players are as follows:
(Back) : Andrew Ian Macdonald, Peter Macdonald, Geordie Stewart, Jocky Macdonald, Tommy McKenna, Peter English, John Alick Mackenzie, Bob English
(Front) Don Cumming, Jimmy Burnett, Alan Bell, Iain Macdonald, Bob Macdonald, Calum Fraser.

See how many you can spot in the team of 1963.
Thanks to Brian Denoon for the Aberdeen Uni picture: the other b/w images came from Peter English's book on Glen Shinty (1985)

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Memories are made of days like these

With the publication on the website of the forthcoming friendly fixtures, including the Macdonald Cup and the Ali Ban, the Wing Centre at least has the illusion that progress is being made towards the new season. Training is also in full swing on the Astro though the ability to actually play on grass has been very much compromised by the incessant rain which has turned the fair field at Blairbeg into a green sponge. If it’s been that bad in Glenurquhart , which was shown in the 80s & 90s, according to the little weather station, at the school to get as little rainfall as Bournemouth –presumably it all fell in Strathglass before it reached here-then goodness knows how bad pitches must be in Skye, Lochcarron or Balmacara. One can only guess at the situation in Bute, Inveraray and Tighnabruaich while the permafrost no doubt still covers the Dell and the Eilean.
The matches scheduled are as follows

Sat 11th February
Strathglass V Glenurquhart (Macdonald Cup Throw up tbc)
Strathglass V Glenurquhart (Ali Ban Throw up tbc)
Sat 18th February
1st team - Glenurquhart V Lochcarron - 1:30
2nd team - Boleskine V Glenurquhart - 1:30
Sat 25th February
1st team - Glenurquhart V Fort William - 1:30
2nd team - Beauly V Glenurquhart - 1:30

- all of which shows just how little the Wing Centre has to write about when he is reduced to repeating a list of fixtures the Chairman has already published on the website.
However having spent some time looking at the squad training, the vibe is a positive one. Of course, the situation is as it always is at the start of a season-one of anticipation and hope but of course success will depend on how much effort and commitment the lads are willing to give over the whole course of the campaign. Early signs look good- and there is certainly a buzz about the place and not just because for the moment the lotto stands at a nice round figure. This is not either the time or place to write about managers or players–it’s too early for one thing- but that will come in time. Suffice to say that despite how the village changes the Wing Centre simply wants to see more bairns going up and down Balmacaan Road with shinty sticks in their hands going off for a wee knock. One was spotted the other day-the first wee swallow of the summer-but there are not enough of them. Mind you they don’t go down the road with footballs either, not in this village nor nationally which is why the SFA managed to persuade someone in authority to create seven National Football Academies throughout the land where the kids are chosen by ability and receive specialised coaching as part of the curriculum. Given that they do the same thing at Plockton for pipers and fiddlers you wonder why the indigenous sport doesn’t get a wee bunk up too- with our own network of shinty academies? Of course the Wing Centre knows perfectly well why not. Not only football but rugby, badminton even hockey get a better deal than the indigenous teuchter sport but at least he is thankful that for the moment that an aforementioned football academy has not been established in the North though doubtless the townies will be squeaking for it. If the nation really responding to the public demand and preparing guys and dolls for a lifelong participation in sport, we should be setting up Academies for snooker, pool and darts. If it is the economy that requires boosting then there ought to be academies for science, engineering, construction…….at this point of course in full rant mode it is time to return to the shinty itself. Why? Because to continue in this vein is to compromise sanity and lead to madness, so it’s back to the shinty ghetto with some reminiscences about days gone by when every bairn in the Glen had Mac in his surname - the Frasers, Grants and Chisholms were always Norman incomers - and went to school with a shinty club and a slab of dried porridge for his play piece.
One little piece of memorabilia came to light a week or so ago when James Gibson dug out an old programme which was created to mark the centenary of Glen School back in 1993. James did not actually have any photos of the teams involved on the day but the programme which was a little faded indicated a match between the “Has Beens” and the “Would Bes” on June 12th 1993.
The “Has Beens” were the side which in May 1967 won the MacPherson Cup –a date incidentally which has gone down along with 1977- into the history of Glen shinty despite other achievements having been equally great. A side including Graeme Young and Dugald Ross won the Macpherson in 1979 but then of course the presence of Strathglass’s Roy Mackenzie may have properly caused it to slip from the Glen’s collective memory.
While few can recall with any certainty what the score was in the Commemorative match and the Wing centre was inclined to remember it as a draw.However a communication with Iain Macleod of the youthful "Would Bes" elicited the information that it was a draw 3-3 with captain Burton Morrison credited with all three scores for the vets.In Iain's recollection Andrew Macdonald salvaged the reputation of the youth with an equaliser late in the match.
Of the side which defeated Lochaber High in Fort William in May 1967 a good number including Ally Mackintosh, Ron Fraser, Mike Cameron and Jim Barr are still very close to the club while Burton Morrison had a long and distinguished career with Mid Argyll and Ken Kennedy was still involved with Kilmallie last season. Many of the others played their part in Shinty at Aberdeen University (Mike Girvan/Ruaraidh Taylor) the late Davie Morrison played for Aberdeen Camanachd when work took him there while Donny Paterson and Ronnie Smart also played for Glen big teams. James Gibson also played Glen shinty for a time while Kenny Carmichael was a superb full forward at Aberdeen University and also returned to star in the Glen 1st team for a number of years. The only player that it is hard to recall as having played in the adult team is big Duncan Campbell- but then he may well have done-though his career was not a long one.
Of the “Would Bes” a number have been and are still to the fore in Glen sides i.e. Eddie Tembo, Calum Fraser, Andrew Macdonald, Paul Mackintosh and Iain Macleod. Charlie Duncan was a regular in the firsts for a season or two even after he settled in Edinburgh and Lee Lendon served for a season as top team keeper before he left the village. The other three Glenners in the side were Andrew Allan, Jon Trelfer and Kenneth Macpherson while Strathglass boys Dean Harrison and Gavin Rafferty filled the remaining places. On the bench were Colin Macrae from Drum and Cannich’s Chris Burke.
A little piece of Club history is then recalled by an old programme and as luck would have it Iain was able to provide not one but two pic. The first which shows the two captains jointly about to receive the trophy after the match. It is to be presented by Home Economcs teacher Mrs Jessie Mackay whose late husband Murdo taught Science at Glen School and who managed the boys of '67 to victory.

One further thought does occur. Why did so many of the 1967 guys stick around with shinty over the years when fewer of the ’93 guys did - given that the ’93 guys had been nurtured in the heady excitement of the late 80s and early 90’s when the Glen was winning stuff and getting to a Camanachd final? A social change in the population which plays the game? More things to do? Maybe it’s just chance.

The nostalgic train of thought is continued in the two photos displayed here also. Recently the Club won the London Shield a victory which not only occasioned the photo which was uploaded but also a little conversation about when the Glen had won it last. The picture recently shown of the school in which James Clark was included was of course of Glen School and the Wade Cup. The two photos included here are of the London shield winners: the first in 1991 at Beauly (grateful thanks again to HD and his book) where the result was a 4-3 win over Oban Celtic. The other picture marks the team of 2001 and the background is clearly the Jubilee at Ballachulish. The team defeated were Inveraray but without HD’s book to give the score all that can be claimed is that it was a Glen win. How do we know the date? It is printed on the photograph at the bottom right. 26. 05. 2001.
Thanks to Iain Macleod and to Glen secretary, Hazel Stewart for the pics.

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Our revels now are ended: let the shinty begin….soon …please!

In the Glen for the moment all traces of stick game activity have vanished completely off the radar and for the connoisseur of the Celtic sport for the time being there has been little diversion save reading about the game, watching Caman on the telly and going down to the A82 to read the notice board at the field. This last is understandable if you want to find out the lotto numbers but apart from a general Happy New Year to all and sundry, there has been little to catch the eye of the committed shinty fiend.
The Wing Centre has poured all his festive energies into reading in particular two excellent shinty publications. The first of these, and the one the Wing Centre did not open until that dull windy period between Christmas and New Year was “Toss thine antlers, Caberfeidh“ It was read in a oner and a fascinating oner it was. Edited by Hugh Dan Maclennan -where he gets his unlimited bags of energy and enthusiasm is a mystery to this writer-it takes the reader through the successes and personalities , past and present of Ross-shire’s greatest ever shinty club. Family connections, continuity, loyalty, courage and tradition-it is all there. When the Wing Centre thinks of Cabers, he always thinks of Willie Maclennan as the player par excellence in a blue jersey but doubtless there were heroes in every generation and if the performance of Kevin Bartlett in the international against the Irish recently is anything to go by the present generation is no different from those that went before. And the Glen angle? - because there usually has to be a Glen angle in anything that gets into the “D” On page 18, in the centre of the picture of the victorious Cabers team which beat Kingussie 2-0 in the McGillivray final at Inverness in 1963 is none other than “Doey” Fraser (Doey Kerrowdown) who played for and managed the Glen in the 1970s. “Doey” was a fine player and a gentleman and his untimely death in 1980 at the age of 46 was not only a family tragedy but left a gap in Glen shinty which took a long time to be filled.
The second publication which the Wing Centre had time to read with some care was of course Aberdeen University’s “Keeping the Camanachd Flag Flying” which came out in August in time for the 2011 Sutherland Cup Final which the Glen failed to reach (to the chagrin of the Wing Centre who had already booked accommodation in the Silver City in anticipation of a great Glen day out)
The Glen angles to this book are far too numerous to mention running as they do the full gamut from Peter English to Jamie Bell and from John Alec Mackenzie to Billy Urquhart but if the Wing Centre was to think of Aberdeen University then the player par excellence that comes to mind is Burton Morrison- and his piece on the 1970s was a particularly pleasant if nostalgic read .
The Wing Centre-and his good lady – spent an interesting afternoon picking out the Glenners in the pictures- and truth to tell it was an endlessly diverting pastime because no sooner did you think you had got them all when up would pop Jamie Macpherson or Corky in a photo. Should you count those who went to Drum School but did not play for the Glen as bona fide? No –Well perhaps it’s always best to agree the rules of a Christmas game before you start to play it.
Thanks for production of this excellent book of course go to Steven Mackenzie who hails from Beauly but despite that little blip he has worked tirelessly on behalf the indigenous sport in the Granite City over the years. Steven also popped up on the final episode of Caman to talk about shinty in Aberdeen- and the verdict has generally been that the series has been a positive thing for shinty, showing the community roots and the athletic focus of the players. Also on the last episode was the First Minister. Did he really say ‘fitba’? That can be said in an Aberdeenshire accent and be natural-and Oor Willie can say it- though only in writing if you catch the Wing Centre’s drift-but otherwise it just sounds a little patronising given the surrounding verbal context. But then who is the Wing Centre to talk (or even write) about the subject of patronisation! However, given the momentous events about to happen in the next year or two, it is probably a good idea to sound genuine.
With snow on Culnakirk it was simply not sensible to nip over the top to see the Lovat/Beauly New Year game (which Greg Matheson won with his usual brace) so further effort had to be put into diverting oneself without any actual games to watch. As always the Skye website keeps one up to date with matters caman-shaped and Torquil Macleod, the Chief Operating Officer of the Camanachd has provided the Sgiathanaich with a 6 part interview which pretty much says it all, though there is still some uncertainty about where the Association stands on the Iranian nuclear question. Perhaps T will let us know in part 7.
What did catch the eye however was a really nice piece in the WHFP (23/12/2012) which escaped the Wing Centre’s attention until the windy day after New Year when he was going to use it to light the fire. By Angus Peter Campbell, it dealt with Kinlochshiel’s Noel Gordon and was filled with shinty crack about Kinlochshiel and Sorley, as well as a nice picture of the ‘Shiel Sutherland winning side of 1962 with Willie ‘Doonsie’, Noel and his brothers, Colin Campbell, Philip Mackenzie from Kyle and of course Iain Dubh. This latter picture sent the Wing Centre back to Hugh Dan’s “Shinty-100 Years of the Camanachd Association” –the only work of Shinty reference known to man- and this tells us that Shiel beat Kyles 5-4 at Fort William. This was of course a year before the Glen managed their solitary triumph in 1963 at Spean Bridge, Kyles being once again on the losing side.
And that was all the Shinty fix that was available unless you count Radio nan Gaidheal’s Annual Sports Round Up which took forever to get round to the Shinty. The Wing Centre had to sit through football, rugby, the Island Games and goodness knows what before they reached that memorable commentary of Gilleasbuig going mental at the Camanachd final. It has to be said that it is only memorable after being heard on 31st December for the first time, since the Wing Centre was at the match in question and thus never heard it on the radio. Now he wishes he had.
Hugh Dan was talking about Rugby. The Wing Centre hopes that for Uisdean it’s only business and that he can find some time to update his book because without an update you are never going to know who won what, when and where unless you go looking back through old Camanachd Cup Final programmes, and then the one you find only has a list of the referees. To get Hugh started, the Wing Centre will give him a title –“Shinty – 119 Years of the Camanachd Association”. Yep-it’s really been that long though perhaps it wouldn’t seem so bad if the Wing Centre got out more!

Come on HD. The Wing Centre has even done the Maths on the cover.















The last pic ? The Glen coaches get prepared!! Good.

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Christmas Greetings from the D

The above is the Glen’s Christmas card this year and they will have been dropping through more than a few letter boxes over the past day or two in the run up to Christmas. It features all three teams-the Premier side, the North Div 2 and, of course, the Under 17s with the London Shield. Also sending out Christmas greetings from whiteout Shintyland is the Glen’s Snow-bodach who was trying to get a wee knock on the front green before Santa came - nice to see he’s reassuringly retro with his “Currachd Ruadh” and his old McPherson hickory one –piece.
Without even Zandra’s Sixes to keep us on our toes, at this time of the year there not much doing shinty-wise in the Glen except to turn on Caman on Alba every Thursday at 8.30pm. to see what EJ has been up to the previous week. He’s had quite a time so far, but for the Wing Centre the highlight has been when he got that Chinese bird to put him on fire. As if merely sticking pins in EJ wasn’t enough, the lady in question attempted to cause him to burn down and Ed in his pants too! No doubt there will be some further ups and downs to come but the betting in Balmacaan is that he’ll be back fit to play for the first team before the end of the series.
To strike a more sensible note for a moment, the programme is turning out to be not half bad with one particularly powerful, genuine piece of television when David Macpherson (senior) spoke movingly about when young Davie told him about his cancer. One might have thought that such a moment was worth a mention on one or other of the TV reviews that are churned out in the broadsheets and tabloids- but no such luck.
Such was ever the way with things shintywise. Though we are making strides, Shinty is still ignored by the big wide world. Ever since Greek traders came in contact with nomads on the Russian steppe north of the Black Sea in 800 BC, the notions of “civilised” and “barbaric” have come to poison European thought. The prejudice was picked up by the Romans, fed into European kingdoms and besides providing notions of Empire and racial superiority fuelled the anti–Highland prejudice of the Lowland kings leading to the Statutes of Iona and eventually the proscription of a culture post Culloden with consequent Clearances. Shinty? Mere collateral damage and it still suffers today and still after all this time, if one is not vigilant, it is liable to be patronised at every turn.
Wow! What was that about? Where did that come from? Doesn’t the Wing Centre care that Prof Tom Devine might pick holes in the analysis –always assuming he can find any? Nuh! . For one thing it’s always nice to see the reasons for Shinty shabby treatment in a wider context and there ain’t no wider context than the one provided above. As well as that, a further cause of the rant was the Wing Centre’s realisation that, despite Aberdeen University Shinty Club having Eck Salmond as President, his appointment won’t make any difference to the sport. Perhaps it’s better having him on board than having him not involved at all but the Wing Centre has studied carefully pictures of Eck and he does not have the look of a particularly sporting guy, and therefore he will not be especially interested in any sport let alone this quaint Hieland one. If only a football-obsessive politico like Henry MacLeish had been born in Tighnabruaich. But then again the Wing Centre might be wrong because he has been known to be wrong in the past. Once or twice.


Finally the news has broken that the greatest shinty player who ever pulled on a red and black jersey has decided to retire. Yes it’s true! Big James Clark who helped Fort William to 5 Camanachd Cup wins (2005, 2007 2008 2009 & 2010) has decided to hang up his golden caman at the age of 37. Big Jim has let it be known that being a partner in a joinery business has meant that his work commitments mean that he has found it difficult to attend training sessions. His loss is huge for the sport because though as far as the Wing Centre is concerned he did not really receive the media attention his special skills deserved. On the field he was a massively powerful figure with the surest of touches with the caman, an excellent shinty brain and a deadly shot in front of goal. At his peak his skill and physique made him simply unplayable. After a season and a half with Glengarry, his home side, Jim joined Fort William in 1993, earned caps at under 21 and full international level before in 2005, winning the first of his Camanachd Cup winners medals at An Aird in the 3-2victory over Kilmallie. Jim was the man who made the difference that day when he scored two goals the second of which was the late goal which landed the Cup. He scored two more including the winner as Fort beat Inveraray 2-1 in the 100th Camanachd Cup final at Inverness in 2007 then two more as Fort beat Kingussie 2-1 at An Aird in 2008. For the Wing centre however big Jim’s most spectacular assist was in Oban in 2009 when Fort beat Kyles 4-3 in a Camanachd final in which the big man started as sub. Clark came off the bench and fired home a double including once more a last gasp winner that gave Fort 3 Camanachd Cups in a row. The big man picked up yet another winner’s medal in 2010 when Fort William beat Kingussie 3-2 at the Bught though this time unusually he did not find the net. One other little statistic that is worth mentioning is that while there have been a few players who have won the Albert Smith medal, given to the outstanding player in the Camanachd Final on more than one occasion, so far no one except big Jim has done it back to back as he did in 2007 and 2008.

The thing about Big Jim is that having worn the black and red as a schoolboy in Kilchumein,he could have easily chosen Glenurquhart . He must be kicking himself when he thinks about all the Macdonald Cups and Strathdearns he could have won if only he had picked his team carefully and correctly. Indeed look at the pic here. OK so it’s not top quality but here is big Jim in a Glen strip way back in the mists of time. Indeed it is so old that it looks as if the chemicals in the print are disintegrating. Yet despite this Jim went to the Fort. Was it something we said, Jim?
Never mind you are always welcome to come back. You’ll be in good company because most of our Strathdearn guys find it hard to make training too.

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The Cups and Downs of Shinty.

Like all of shinty’s faithful followers in the Glen and the Aird, the Wing Centre likes the “Courier” even though he gets a little tired of the fact that in recent times its sports page has tended to focus too much on Caley Swizzle. Not that he is in any way against Caley manager Terry Butcher because, despite living in Abriachan, he at least seems to perform the socially useful function of attempting to keep the traffic on the A82 under some sort of control with his admonitions. To be fair though the Courier does give shinty a regular place-we have even had a recent sports editorial on the indigenous sport-though, as always, there is more that could be done.
Which is why the Wing Centre was most disconcerted last week to see the following little snippet in the Courier section which is entitled a bad week for....

In the Glen we did not really consider that particular victory to be the marker of a bad week. Winning a National Trophy for the first time in ten years was generally held to be a good thing , though when the point was put to the Chieftain he did indicate that he hoped the victory would not go to the heads of the youngsters involved and that having won at that level, they would continue to think of themselves as students of the game “with a lot to learn”. It is possibly a groundless fear because the last time that this trophy was won, it was with a side that was captained by Michael “Ikey” Fraser and contained Corky, Arran ,Lewis and Stuart Reid all of whom have gone on to be mainstays of the senior side. Michael has gone on to play in Ross-shire, not only in another county but also in another sport. It seems like a waste of a good Glenner but there you have it. That day victory was claimed at the Jubilee Park , Ballachulish and the opponents were Inveraray – and some of their guys have gone on to do quite well too.
This year’s victory came over at the Crofterdome on a day when that noble stadium undoubtedly harboured the only playable sward in the whole of Shintyland. A dreadful morning of wind and rain made for an anxious hour or so of wondering whether the match would go ahead but in the end Kinlochshiel came over the bealach and the match got underway with ref Graham Macmillan in charge of proceedings. The Wing Centre enjoyed the atmosphere- because despite the weather there was a sufficiency of aficionados present to create one- and the game wasn’t half bad either. Being of a gloomy disposition your reporter did not start out with too much faith in his valley’s young folk – especially when he considered that Shiel’s Connall Fraser had got four goals in the semi – but right from the start the young Glenners put in a shift. Inspired by Ewan Brady , Ewan Lloyd and Jack Hosie in the middle ,the black and red babes, with the help admittedly of a strong breeze, managed to secure some territorial advantage though secure defending from Shiel prevented both Daniel Mackintosh and Sam Cumming from turning early half chances into goals.
Glen took the lead though in the 15th minute when Connor Golabeck was put through on goal and the youngster kept a cool head to slip the ball past Shiel keeper Hugh Macrae for the opener. Glen kept up pressure and Cumming saw a drive come back off the post while another chance or two also went begging. At the other end Kinlochshiel tested the Glen defence when Jordan Fraser edged his shot just over the bar but both Fraser Heath at full back and James Hurwood at buckshee were on top form while Rory Maclean and Lachie Smith on the wings also kept the pressure on the Shiel forwards and star player Connal Fraser found himself with neither enough time or space to strike a telling blow. However just before the half time break Shiel got back into the game thanks to a close range strike by Aedan Macrae. Played in by Connal Fraser he slipped the ball past Glen keeper Cameron Maclennan and the sides went into the interval all square.
If Glenners on the side lines were worried that their youngsters were going into a second half having not made enough of the advantage the wind gave them in the first period they need not have worried. Glen kept on the front foot and their defence was alert enough to deal with whatever the Shiel lads could throw at them. Daniel Mackintosh fired home the decisive strike in the 57th minute when he persevered to find himself space and fired a powerful drive high into the Shiel net for what turned out to be the winner. Shiel were not completely out of it yet and Glen keeper Cameron Maclennan had to make an excellent save from a powerful drive by Fraser before Shiel resistance was finally overcome and the trophy went over Culnakirk for the first time in a decade.
An excellent advert for youth shinty, this game raises hopes that perhaps in the years to come it might be that a Glen side will have more trophies to put on the top table at the Dinner Dance than the Games Cup for the Tug of War !!
So what on earth were the Courier guys thinking about when they judged the victory as heralding a bad week for the Glen?
“That’s an easy one.” said Mr Reid, as he sorted out the Lotto tickets for the weekly draw.
Now if Mr Reid thinks it’s easy then most likely it is very complicated but in this case everything hinged on something that the Wing Centre hadn’t quite taken in.
“I bet they’ve got a little mixed up over the Premier League situation.”said Mr Reid and he went on to explain that when the last Premier game of the season, the Kyles v Kingussie match, had been cancelled the Camanachd decided that the points should be shared. Kings and Kyles got a point each, so the Glen slipped from 4th to 5th in the Premier League table since Kings now had the same points but a better goal ratio. Glen lost a place without even playing.
“A little bit like the old Pools Panel eh Mr Reid?” said the Chieftain. “What was the score?”
“0-0”
“What? They didn’t even give Ronald a goal? That was pretty mean of Astie.”
“Suppose so” said Mr Reid “but I bet Stevie Borthwick was pleased.”
“Why?”
“ ‘Cos Kings finally kept a clean sheet , that’s why”
With that Mr Reid went back to sorting out the Lotto. It was clear that he thought Kingussie were so jammy that if a Kingussie guy had come in and bought a ticket, he would have won. Not that Mr Reid would have sold him one.

Thanks to Neil Paterson(www.neilgpaterson.com)for all the pictures except the first one and the one of Garry and Dan.

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The biggest shinty fortnight since the season began

“Well,” said the Chairman, as he adjusted his new hands free kit in the Caman-mobile so he could listen in to the first shinty scores on Radio Free Beauly, ”That must have been the biggest fortnight for shinty since the season began.”
“Couldn’t disagree with that”, said the Wing Centre, “what with Kyles dropping that vital point to Inveraray and then Newtonmore getting the Premier League winner in the last minute of their final match. You couldn’t make it up”
The Chairman looked at the Wing Centre: there was a profundity of pity in his regard. “EJ was right, Wing Centre. You always miss the point. I never gave Newtonmore, Inveraray or Kyles a thought when I said it was a big fortnight for shinty. What I meant was that Glenurquhart have had a Sale of Work, an AGM and a Dinner Dance all in the last week or so”
“Wow!” said the Wing Centre, “What happened on these auspicious occasions?”
“I don’t have time to go through it all now “ said the Chairman “but why don’t you do what everyone else in Shinty does when they want to find out something about their own club. Just Google up the Skye website- you will find it all there.”
With that he engaged the gears in the Caman-mobile and set off in the general direction of Pitkerrald Road.
There was nothing for it then but to take his advice and look up the Skye website and what a treasure trove that turned out to be. It was nearly all there. You wonder how these Skye guys do it. If their League position is to be believed they can’t play shinty like boys from Lochalsh and Kintail,but they can find out secrets all right. Suppose when you think of it there’s a Skye person to be found in every village in the Highlands either living openly or not letting on, and it’s clear from the website that they are gathering info on the local shinty teams with thoroughness reminiscent of the East German Stasi. Still it is useful.
The mole missed out on the Sale of Work though, a spectacular event which took place on Friday 5th November and which saw the hall packed with a most lively throng of happy buyers. All the usual stalls were to the fore with the venison, the baking, the books and the bottles flying off the shelves with abandon. A particular feature this year was the large number of Christmas decorations which sold especially well to youngsters and families.
The next event was the AGM which was held for the first time ever in Glen Urquhart High School as opposed to its usual venue of Blairbeg Hall which was otherwise engaged.
To find out what happened it is as well to quote what the Skyvers say :
Scottish Hydro Premier Division side Glenurquhart has pulled off a management coup by appointing Fraser Mackenzie and Drew McNeil as first team co-managers at their Annual General Meeting on Friday 11 September 2011.The two most recent Scotland managers take over from Jim Barr who stood down at the end of the 2011 season and they are already preparing for the 2012 campaign.
Drew McNeil managed Scotland in the Shinty / Hurling internationals against Ireland in 2010 and 2011 and before that he was assistant manager to Fraser Mackenzie when he managed the Scots.
The duo has also experienced the highs and lows of club management. Drew McNeil won the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup with Fort William for three years in the row before he was replaced by Peter McIntyre. Fraser Mackenzie managed the Lochcarron first team prior to taking on the Scotland job.
“I’m delighted to be back in management and can’t wait to get going,” said Fraser Mackenzie. “Drew and I have previously worked together in the Scotland job and we are both driven and we get on well. Drew has had a lot of success at club level with Fort William and I’ve had my time in charge at Lochcarron so we know how it can go right and how it can go wrong. We also hope to appoint an experienced assistant manager from within the club and we hope to be able to make an announcement on this in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Mackenzie and McNeil are both keen students of the game. “Drew and I have both been at Glenurquhart for a season and we have had a good meeting with the players where we discussed what is expected of the team next season and we’ll try to bring success to the club. We are not looking at this short-term but we want to help the club longer-term from the youth set-up right up to the first team and I must say that everyone is very positive.”
“We are looking forward to a good pre-season so that we can build on the last few seasons. We have a great bunch of guys and the players can certainly take belief from beating Kingussie and Newtonmore on their own pitches this season, We just need to get consistency and we can look at Kyles to see what can be achieved. James Perlich has done a fantastic job training the Kyles boys and their fitness is fantastic. You get out of the game what you put in.”
Mackenzie is expecting the strongest top division for a few years now. “The Premier Division is going to be very tough next season,” he said. “Bute are a good side and I think Kinlochshiel will surprise a lot of teams and I would be very surprised if ‘Shiel were relegated at the end of the season.”
Drew McNeil’s two year tenure in charge of the Scotland team has come to an end but he has aspirations of continuing in that post. Fraser Mackenzie doesn’t see why his international successor cannot continue in a dual role especially with a strong management team looking after Glenurquhart affairs.
Mackenzie also has a family link to the area, “It’s great for me to be involved with Glenurquhart as half my family come from the area and my mum lives here. The new season can’t come quick enough.”

(To be found at http://www.skyecamanachd.com/news.html)


In the interests of historical accuracy it should be pointed out that the Fraser Mackenzie mentioned as manager is of course the “Official” Fraser Mackenzie. The Original Fraser Mackenzie continues as Treasurer. Unusual, two Fraser Mackenzies in Glenurquhart? Not so- far stranger is the fact that there are two Ally Mackintoshes, two Andrew Macdonalds, two Peter Macdonalds and at least three Dave Maclennans in the village.

The Chairman continues as chairman while Hazel Stewart remains in the key post of Secretary while Mr Reid keeps his fingers in his many club pies including the lottery and Stuart Mackintosh stays on board to handle the fixtures secretary’s post. Second team boss is to be Iain Macleod.
Better was to come for Smack though at the annual “Do” held at the Clansman when he was awarded the club’s trophy for Player of the Year. The accolade was richly deserved too after his excellent season and international honours though if rumour is to believe he was pushed close by his brother Al while as you may see in the snap his cousin Paul is indicating how close the voting was. Gary Smith was named Junior Player of the Year for his performances with the second team. Also honoured was young player of the year Fraser Heath who has not only had some first team experience this session but has also had under- 17 district and national acclaim. A special award in the shape of an inscribed caman was presented to retiring second team manager Steven Henderson. Hendo has won 3 league titles in a row, a Strathdearn Cup and made a Sutherland final. This year though League form was a problem the side, despite big changes in personnel, also made it through to the semis of both the Sutherland and the Strathdearn.
Other presentations made on the night were to Jim Barr who stepped down as first team supremo, Helen Maclennan for all her efforts, everywhere, all the time Janet Emery for her work at the pavilion and present High School Head Teacher Josie Mackenzie retiring after 31 years of tirelessly promoting shinty in the halls of academe.
In sum it was an excellent night with superb food with over 70 persons present amongst whom were some of the Clubs most generous sponsors and as ,we were wont to write of yore,” a good night was had by all ...... while everyone else seemed to enjoy it as well.” On the top table was a fine display of trophies amongst which was the Macdonald Cup , the “Clash of the Camans “ piece of kindling, under 17s Inverness Sixes Cup and of course the Tug o’War Cup from the Glen Games.

At this point the Chairman returned to vet the blog. We have, it is true, tight media control in the Glen after experiencing some choppy journalistic waters earlier in the season- and after a minute or so of tutting the boss said “It‘ll do but I’m not sure I like the tone of the last par. It does not seem to be entirely respectful of the trophies”
“But we do respect them. At least EJ didn’t take them up to the top of Queen Mary’s Rock and pose for a snap without his shorts on”
“Who did that?”
“The Newtonmore boys. They took the Camanachd and the Premier League Cup to the top of Creag Dubh and took off their pants for a photo. The shot was captioned ‘Naked Ambition’. It is a visual pun.” added the Wing Centre helpfully.
“I bet their Mams weren’t pleased,” said the Chairman.
“I doubt if they were. Still you can’t blame the guys-they must be Team of the Year now. All the Twits say so”
“It’s not Twits...It’s Tweets- but you still don’t get it do you Wing Centre?”
“Get what?”
“This Team of the Year thing. Look, which team beat the Glen twice this season?”
“Well it wasn’t Newtonmore or Kingussie was it?”
“No, It was Kyles. Ergo, Kyles must be Team of the Year. If the Glen can beat someone then there is no way that team can be Team of the Year, so it has to be Kyles, hasn’t it? Astie chose them and Astie’s not daft.”
Apparently not.
Enjoy the pics.

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