Howzat?!
One of the highlights from the Glorious Weekend’s closing ceremony was the unveiling (used figuratively) of a stunning portrait of Dave Christie holding The Village Cup back in 1985. For once painting and Freuchie Cricket Club were mentioned without Dave feeling the urge to pick up a paint brush in one hand and a tin of emulsion in the other.
Local artist James Fretwell presents a portrait to Dave Christie
We asked the artist, Freuchie’s own James Fretwell, about his inspiration, process and reasoning for producing such a beautiful piece of art.
James replied:
How could I borrow Dave’s 1985 tie for reference purposes, without arousing his suspicions?
How could I ask him why he’s the only team member who hasn’t got his jacket buttoned on the Grace Gates photo, without appearing rude?
How could I look into his eyes to see what colour they are, without him getting the wrong idea about me?!
And my answer to anyone who asks why I’ve painted Dave’s portrait is simple:
“How could I NOT?”
Portrait of Dave Christie holding The Village Cup in 1985
James must have spent many hours on this labour of love for it certainly brings to life the admiration and affection Freuchie has for Dave “Dad” Christie.
When asked for his feelings on the gift, Dave responded:
"Superb!"
We’ll hang it in the house for the time being, although it may be so big we’ll have to think about building an extension!
I’m delighted that James based it on the 1985 photograph and has given me more hair and fewer wrinkles than I have today.
My daughter (Linda) says that she wouldn’t want it on her wall because she’d feel her dad was watching her all the time!
(Editor’s comment: We suppose that’s a rather back-handed compliment, but it’s a sincere compliment nonetheless).
Dave has suggested that at some stage, the painting might be hung in the club.
Technorati Tags: Dave Christie, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, James Fretwell, The Village Cup
Not ‘Glorious’ – FABULOUS!
This was billed as ‘Freuchie’s Glorious Weekend.’ As it turned out, ‘glorious’ didn’t do it justice. If there’s any truth in the old crack that a Scotsman’s highest praise is “no’ bad,” this was indeed – no’ bad!
One of the main features of Saturday’s Family Fun Day was the official opening of the new Sports Court, even if it’s likely to retain its now unofficial title of ‘the MUGA.’
‘Taster Sessions’ were on offer – was that not supposed to be about sampling the sporting activities rather than scran?
Patrick Laughlin, Chairman of Freuchie Community Council, kicks off the MUGA opening ceremony whilst Dave Christie and Cllr Andrew Arbuckle wait nervously for their parts to come…
Dave Christie cuts the ceremonial ribbon ably assisted by Cllr Andrew Arbuckle and Mr 60 Minutes, whilst every kid in Freuchie enthusiastically crowds around.
Freuchie Cricket Club coaches teach key skills to our youngsters during the Kwik Cricket Taster session.
The activity tents with Freuchie Church as a back drop.
The new Player’s Disciplinary Unit? Or the new dressing rooms?
Just Chillin’ in the Freuchie sunshine
Great crowds, great weather and good fun all round.
Sunday was more about cricket, with a T20 game against Falkland and the official launch of our book “Freuchie Cricket Club, 1908 – 2008.” Events were opened by Sir Menzies Campbell, attention initially divided between the cricket and a ceremonial tree-planting in the school playground to commemorate the thirteen players in the Lord’s squad. No less than nine of them were at the ceremony.
Sir Menzies Campbell opens events on the Sunday
….. but what on earth is Coo looking at?
“And dae ye mind yon time ….?
The closing ceremony with Sir Menzies Campbell, our president Ian Paterson, the irreplaceable Dave Christie and Cricket Scotland president Bob ‘Faff’ McFarlane.
We’re betting this blanket has a story or two to tell…
Like so many days of the kind, it’s hard to do justice to all the people who worked to make this weekend what it was, but we have to mention Helen Lawrenson and her team for much of Saturday’s events, Rachel and Dave Tosh for the catering, our bar staff, the players who ran Saturday’s sports for the kids, Falkland Cricket Club for joining us on the Sunday, Liz Smith MSP, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, our local councillors and Bob McFarlane, Scott McCrone for ‘The Book,’ (all but five of our fifty copies already spoken for) Jock and Black Light for the Lord’s video display – the list just goes on and on. And we finished the day with a win over our old rivals, Falkland. What more could a body ask for!
Over the next few days we’ll be adding more blog posts with even more photos and commentary from the weekend.
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Cricket Scotland, Falkland Cricket Club, Liz Smith, Menzies Campbell, MUGA, Scott McCrone
Teams for 22/23 May
Saturday 22nd, First XI at home Corstorphine – meet at 11.15
Scott Galloway, Dave Cowan, Scott Birrell, Robbie Birrell, Scott Gourlay, Dale Cowan, Steve Rowley, Jock Wallace, Mike Jackson, Liam Kelly, Stewart Gibson
Saturday 22nd, Seconds away to Marchmont, meet at 10.30
Blair Forrester, Alan Wallace, Robbie Wright, Shane Munro, Lee Duncan, Grant Horsburgh, Ross McMurdo, Rory Brown, Chris Hunt, Blair Lawrie, AN Other
Sunday 23rd, Third XI at home to Kinross, meet at 11.30
Dave Cowan, Scott Galloway, Greg Birrell, James Fretwell, Shane Munro, Robbie Wright, Rory Brown, Grant Horsburgh, Max Brown, Liam Kelly, Ross McMurdo
Technorati Tags: cricket, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Corstorphine, Marchmont, Kinross
The Silly Season
Bill Ramsay, long-standing friend, adversary and supporter (except when we were playing Glenrothes, that is) wrote to us recently, closing his letter with “See you in the Silly Season.” Well the Silly Season starts tomorrow – Captain’s XI v Vice-Captain’s XI.
I played in one of these forty-odd years ago, in the early days of my involvement with Freuchie Cricket Club. If I thought that this was going to be a “friendly,” it didn’t take long to be disabused of that idea – I never played in such a needle game in my puff. Guys who usually just turned their arms over turned into Freddie Trumans. Guys who usually poked gently at the ball lifted it over Fairfield’s wall … But tomorrow won’t be like that. We’re better behaved. I think. Anyway – fingers crossed for decent weather.
And on Sunday – our first venture into the Strathmore Union. We were delighted to be accepted into the Union this year to give more opportunities for competitive cricket to some of our younger players (and maybe some of the older?). We will be at home to Cupar Cricket Club – some confusion about venue now settled. Cupar have suffered some plumbing disasters after the severe weather of this winter and we wish them all speed in getting things back in order.
So – weather permitting, it’s cricket at Freuchie Saturday and Sunday, with SNCL and ESCA business starting Saturday 1st May. We’ll get the fixtures posted before then.
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Glenrothes, Cupar Cricket Club, Cricket Scotland, SNCL, ESCA
Tour de Freuchie 2010
Date will be Saturday 2nd January, start time 12.30 pm
There’s some concern about the state of the road round Lathrisk; it may have been all sorted by 2nd January, but if it’s not, we’ll do what we did last year and mark the worst of the pot holes with cones. We’ll try to get a better copy of the map for this post, but for the moment, Alan W’s note says:
Why are we racing?
Very good question! From the Cricket Club perspective; sponsorship, the events in the clubhouse during the day and the winter buffet disco at night, this event will raise a substantial sum for the Club funds. From a health perspective the race will allow us to burn off some of those Christmas Calories. From a realist perspective it’s a chance to toast the festive period in good company.
The Race
31½ Mile Relay Race
Each lap is 4½ miles
Each team should consist of one lady (the captain) and three guys. The captain will be required to complete one lap (the first lap), whilst the guys will be required to complete two laps each, therefore each team completes seven laps.
The Circuit
![clip_image002[1]](http://www.freuchiecricketclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/clip_image0021.gif){kind=small}
Teams
Each Team consists of four cyclists. Teams will be issued Team Numbers and cyclists will be issued with Letters.
For example Team one will have cyclist 1a (the Captain), 1b, 1c and 1d. For the purpose of timings it is important that cyclists remain in the ‘a to d’ order (first four laps) and ‘b to d’ order (laps five to seven).
Starting
Each lap will start and finish at Freuchie Cricket Club.
This year we have restricted the number of teams competing, so all the Captains will start at the same time.
The Bike
In the interest of fairness, racers are not permitted. Mountain bikes only. Maximum of two bikes per team.
Race Marshals
Volunteer Race Marshals will be positioned around the course. Marshals will record cyclist passing designated points ensuring that each lap is completed correctly, whilst ensuring that the cyclist can race safely. Cyclist must obey the Marshals orders at all time. Any instruction/decision given by the Marshals are final.
Age Restrictions
All cyclists must be aged 13 or over.
Protection
It is recommended that cyclists wear a helmet and high visibility clothing.
Refreshment and Beverages – For Cyclists and Spectators
The Clubhouse and facilities will be open from 11am. Cyclist and spectators are invited to watch the race from the Clubhouse. Soup, Pies and Sandwiches will be available and of course the drink will be flowing, as always everything is reasonably priced.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded after the race for:
· The team that finishes first
· The team that finishes second
· The fastest individual Lap
· The team with the best name
Winners and ‘not quite winners’ will be announced after the race.
More Information
To enter a team, for more information or sponsor sheets please contact; Alan Wallace (07872 379 224), Robbie Birrell (07960 568 376) or Scott Gourlay (07882 904 765).
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Cricket Club, festive period events
Superb Ending to Centenary Year
We’ve said before that even if we’ve had a disastrous year on the field, we’ve been been having a great time off it. Nothing could exemplify that better than last night’s Hogmanay Ceildih.
Tickets sold out within a couple of days of going on sale. The club was packed, mostly by family parties. Games for the youngsters, games for the adults, general hilarity and dancing for all. Excellent music provided by John and Catriona Reid. Ever played “The Broons” game? I don’t think any of the rest of us had either, but it was run magnificently by Alan Duncan, assisted by wife Ann and by Jock Wallace. Don’t know who won, don’t even know if the game has winners, but everyone was laughing too much for it to matter, and that just typified the evening.
We’ll see what we can do for some photographs.
Freuchie Cricket Club wishes everyone a very, very good New Year.
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club
Tour de Freuchie 2008
Another great day. Expect a fuller report in a few days, but the main facts for now -
We had fifteen teams
Fastest race time was 1 hour 48 minutes 52 seconds
Fastest laps were 12 minutes 16 seconds and 12 minutes 20 seconds (from the rider of laps four and eight of the winning team)
These times compare with last year’s figures of 1 hour 50 minutes 26 seconds and fastest laps of 12 minutes 54 and 12 minutes 20, again from the rider of laps four and eight.
So our competitors are getting fitter ….. Well, some of them are. And chaps and chapesses, if you want to succeed in this event, you have to do something about this guy who is turning in these super-fast laps ….. A few drawing pins? A can of Instarust for his chain? Or just make him ride the bike that our unfortunate team of juniors was using – it wouldn’t be quite true to say that they spent more time trying to fix it than they did cycling it, but that’s not far off the mark.
And chapesses? A team of ten ladies had the fifth best start to finish time of the day at 2 hours and 34 seconds, although it has to be admitted that they completed five laps against the others’ eight. They went round in pairs, and if it looked a bit on the leisurely side at times, just be aware that at least two of the lap times beat some of the men’s.
We think we raised about £2,900 for our fund for Junior (and senior) coaching in 2009. Details to come. That’s a great, great effort from everyone, from organiser Alan Wallace to all the riders, all the marshals, the couple sitting in the car tracking times and shouting desperately “what number was that that just came in?”, the ladies with the soup and the pies, the spectators – everyone.
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club
Kiddies Party
Yesterday was the annual Kids Xmas Party here at Freuchie Cricket Club. The youngsters enjoyed themselves immensely, especially as the sound of Jingle Bells raised the roof of the clubhouse and sounded the arrival of Santa, who had travelling down to Freuchie from the North Pole. Thank you Santa.
The new Club President made his first public outing and speech to a captivated audience, well the youngsters could well have been captivated by Santa! President Paterson thanked everyone for their hard work and wished the members and their families a very Merry Xmas.
It was just unfortunate that the sound system broke down during the children’s games, leaving Faye Dick to do a grand job of belting out the songs at the top of her voice like Ethel Merman on speed.
Photos: Photos from the Kids Xmas Party 2008
At this point we’d like to quash the rumours circulating that President Paterson reacted just like Elf (video below) when he was told that Santa would be coming to the party. No truth in that rumour at all!
Finally, Santa has passed on a message to say he hopes all the children are being especially good as he doesn’t want to see anyone from Freuchie moving from the nice list onto his naughty one!
Technorati Tags: Elf, Ethel Merman, Father Christmas, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Kids Xmas Party, naughty list, nice list, Santa
Press Release: Tour de Freuchie
Freuchie Cricket Club will be ushering in their 2009 season next Saturday afternoon with their annual winter sponsored cycle race to raise funds for the cricket club and other clubs in the area.
Teams of 4 will compete against the clock in a relay race for 2 laps each of a 4 ½ mile circuit around the village. The record time from last year’s race was 1 hour, 50 minutes and 26 seconds for the winning team to complete the total distance.
Photo: Dave Cowan and Robbie Birrell getting in some training
Cricket club first team captain, Robbie Birrell, who was out on his bike practicing last weekend, told us:
“It’s a great way to get all the family out in the fresh air, work off some of those extra pounds gained over Christmas and get ready for the Hogmanay celebrations. Some of the cycling can be a bit tricky at this time of year on wet roads, but we’ve got marshals all round the circuit to keep everyone safe”.
The Fife club, who are the only ever Scottish cricket team to win the UK Village Championship at Lords, managed to raise over £3000 at last year’s event. This year they are also inviting other local sports clubs to join the race and use it as their own fundraising opportunity too.
Vice captain, Dave Cowan, who was also out getting in some training last weekend, added:
“There was a great party atmosphere last year with families out supporting the cyclists, having something to eat and drink, and a disco in the evening to award the prizes. We are hoping to repeat the same success again this year and would welcome anyone from the village or further a field to come along and join in the fun”.
More…
The race starts at midday next Saturday 27th at the rear of the clubhouse on Muir Road, Freuchie. There will be refreshments available all day and anyone who wants to enter either as a team or as a club, or come along to the evening disco should contact the event organiser Alan Wallace on 07872 379224.
Ends
Editors Supplemental Notes
- Freuchie Cricket Club was founded in 1908
- In the 1985 final at Lords, Freuchie became the only ever Scottish team to win the UK Village Championship
- Christiegait in Freuchie is named after Dave Christie, the Captain of the victorious 1985 team
- Freuchie’s first team play in Division 2 of the Scottish National League, the second team in Division 2 of the East of Scotland League and the club have 4 junior teams playing in various age groups
- Freuchie Cricket Club is both a sporting and social venue at the heart of the Howe of Fife village’s community
For further information on Freuchie CC please contact Richard Blanchfield, Press Officer, on 01337 858433.
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Fife
AGM – Onwards and Upwards
Our AGM on Sunday 7th December was the best-attended for a long time. A cynic might suggest that this was because we had such a stinker of a year on the field in 2008 and a lot of people thinking things needed fixed, but that would be quite wrong. The mood of the meeting was very positive and actions before and since testify to that.
Just the one bit of not-so-good news: We have known for a long time that our Centenary Year President Alan Duncan was going to step down. We bent his ear mercilessly about staying on, but in the end admitted defeat – for a good cause. Alan looks after Grey Lodges in Dundee, a charitable organisation dedicated to promoting learning, leisure and local action in the community. His operation had a difficult year in 2008. He knows it’s going to be even tougher next year and we know that what Grey Lodges do is very important in Dundee. Maybe they need him more than we do. Let’s recognise that if we had a bad year on the field in 2008, we had a great year off it – our pre-season tour to Ireland, our mid summer cricket festival and our fixture with the Cross Arrows in September – all down to Alan’s enterprise and contacts. He remains with us as a committee member (and says he’s in training to get back into the first team!).
Not easy to find a replacement, but we think we have a good one in Ian Paterson. Patsy’s involvement with us came about through the football club, but he’s been a committee member (and 2nd XI batsman of distinctive style – say no more) for the last few years. We had our first committee meeting with Patsy in the chair on Monday night, with more buzz about the place than we’ve seen for a while.
That in turn comes from one of the most gratifying outcomes of the AGM – more players on the committee. Freuchie Cricket Club is about cricket, first and foremost. If our committee has maybe been a bit short of active players in the recent past, it’s not now! Scott Birrell and Scott Gourlay come back, Steve Rowley joins us, Robbie Birrell and Alan and Jock Wallace are still with us, and two really positive additions – junior member Robbie Wright and football club member Davie Houston. Development of our junior players is absolutely crucial, and having Robbie on board will help in that, while the mutually beneficial relationship of the cricket and football clubs is so important for us all. Good on ye, Davie Houston!
Robbie Birrell takes over as club captain and is already making an impact. Indoor training starts in January, with a programme of events already mapped out, and we’ll have the experience of Dave ‘Coo’ Cowan as vice captain. Second team leaders have yet to be elected.
We are also – gulp – working to bring in a pro for next year. We’ve said before that while our overseas players have not necessarily been highest scorers or wicket takers, week in, week out, they have provided a strength in the team that we visibly lacked in 2008. Even more important, we must have top-level coaching in place to bring on our juniors and younger players. Why ‘gulp’? Gulp and gulp again, because we look like pushing our finances to the limit, and there’s a lot of nail-biting about our plan. But we have no wish to be financially comfortably-off and sliding out of the SNCL leagues.
Onwards and Upwards!