An Investment in Freuchie
A fund given to Freuchie by Campion Homes has helped us to buy a replacement outfield mower. Our new workhorse arrived this morning, on a rain soaked day more suited to ducks than the cutting of grass.
Photos: Groundsman Dave Christie says farewell to the auld mower and welcomes our new workhorse on a rainy Freuchie day
Administered by Freuchie Community Council, the money is intended to be used for the benefit of the whole village, and this mower does just that. The park is one of Freuchie’s major assets and is used by the whole village, but not everyone realises that the Cricket Club provides all the effort to keep it clean and to cut the grass, as well as paying for all associated costs – including rates. We are grateful to Campion Homes and Freuchie Community Council for this contribution to the heavy costs of maintaining the park. Our staff photographer was on the spot to see the new mower arriving and the old one going away (to the big outfield in the sky?)
Photos: New mower arrives
Photos: Dave’s last ride on auld faithful and he says farewell as she is loaded onto the back of the van
Photos: Dave gets the new workhouse out of the rain
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
Back to School
The Lords’ team was sent back to Freuchie Primary School on Sunday afternoon. Had Fife Council Education Services finally tracked down those Freuchie lads who had spent way too much time on the cricket field? Certainly not! Their presence was required at a tree planting ceremony commemorating their 1985 achievement.
Commemoration plaque secured to the school wall
Elizabeth Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, was enthusiastic about taking part in Freuchie’s Glorious Weekend celebration of the Lords’ victory. Liz, who is no stranger to cricket, is a former member of the Scottish Ladies Cricket X1, a Governor of George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, Deputy Convener of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Sport, a coach of two girls’ cricket teams and has been an admirer of Freuchie Cricket Club’s achievements for many years.
Elizabeth Smith MSP at Freuchie’s Glorious Weekend
Liz was delighted to be involved in the tree planting ceremony and spoke of the wonderful cooperation in Freuchie between village, club and school to the benefit of the whole community:
"I remember the famous Lords’ occasion in September 1985 very well indeed. It was an extraordinary achievement by the 13 men from Freuchie and a real boost for Scottish cricket, the benefits of which I believe we are still enjoying 25 years on. In particular, I congratulate Freuchie Cricket Club on its youth development programme and on its strong links with the local primary school in the grounds of which 13 fruit trees will be planted to celebrate the 1985 victory. That feature is a terrific link between the cricket stars of the past as those of the future."
Side note: The club hopes to arrange a match next summer with Liz’s under 14 girls team, so come on Freuchie girls start training now, the facilities are there.
The tree planting delegation and VIPs listens to Liz Smith’s tribute
Left to Right: Ann Duncan (wife of Alan Duncan), George Crichton, Stewart Irvine, Mark Wilkie, Dave Cowan, Fraser Irvine, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Dave Christie, Brian Christie, Andy Crichton, Elizabeth Smith MSP, Bob McFarlane (President, Cricket Scotland) and his daughter and Pete Hepplewhite
Formalities complete, it was down to the Lords’ players and their representatives to plant the new fruit orchard.
[ Click on any photograph to see a larger version ]
Davie Cowan aka “Coo” plants a Pear “Williams” tree
Ann Duncan plants an Apple “Tydeman’s Early” on behalf of her hubby Alan aka “Duffers”
Ann had a starring role in the 1985 BBC and STV documentaries which were running in the clubhouse all weekend, courtesy of the broadcasters and Black Light.
Editor’s comment: It was noted Alan didn’t turn up until after Mr 60 Minutes had finished up for the day and gone home. Could this be another “Stig” type identity? Just a thought!
Mark Wilkie plants a Pear “"Williams” with headteacher Rona MacLean-Ross keeping a watchful eye for any misbehaviour
Pete Hepplewhite plants a Pear “Conference” tree
Stewart Irvine aka “Jasper” plants an Apple “Blenheim Orange” tree
Brian Christie puts an Apple “Ellison’s Orange” into the ground
Fraser Irvine plants an Apple “Blenheim Orange”
George Crichton jokingly asks, “Where’s the rest of it?”, as he plants an Apple “Charles Ross” tree
Club President Ian Paterson aka “Patsy” is honoured to plant a Cherry “Stella” tree on behalf of Niven McNaughton
Editor’s comment: The tree planting was really motoring at this point! Our photographer wasn’t getting a moment to line up the shots before the tree was planted and it was onto the next one. Please send us any better photos you may have of Patsy planting this tree.
Many people expressed their delight to see Niven had managed along to the club on the Sunday even if someone had to stand in for him at the tree planting ceremony.
Andy Crichton plants an Apple “Charles Ross”
Dave “Dad” Christie gets help from Jasper to plant an Apple “Ellison’s Orange” tree
Davie Houston aka “Housty” plants a Pear “Williams” on behalf of George Wilson… but where’s Robbie!
And finally…
Alan Wood of Norsk Hydro, a sponsor of the 1980’s, plants an Apple “Bramley” on behalf of Terry Trewartha
Gasp! Job done and it was time to watch Freuchie beat Falkland.
The Daily Record produced an excellent reunion article earlier in the week which provides a little background on each player and their contribution to the victorious Village Cup run. We heartedly recommend you take a look if you’ve not already done so.
Once again there are so many people to thank for making this special commemoration possible: headteacher Rona Maclean-Ross; the pupils and the staff of the school; our invited VIP guests; the Lords’ squad and their representatives. There is also a long list of people who shovelled and trundled barrows around to prepare the ground: David Girdwood; Andy Mather; Mrs.Lesley Thomson; Mrs. Catriona Nimmo; Mrs. Wendy Simpson; Gill Milne; Mrs. Cam McIvor and Scott McCrone. Thank you one and all.
It is heartening to see the Fife Council Community Payback Offender’s Scheme being used for such good work in our little village. A big show of appreciation to the staff and clients of the service who also put in so much hard work.
Members of the community who missed the start of the Freuchie vs Falkland 20/20 match to watch the ceremony should also be thanked for choosing to come along to witness this historic moment.
Editor’s comment: Hopefully we’ve not missed anyone out!
One final thing, the man from Del Monte has been on the phone and he says “Yes”! – for those too young to remember the advertising campaign, you can check out this advert on YouTube.
Technorati Tags: Alan Duncan, Ann Duncan, Brian Christie, cricket, Dave Christie, Dave Cowan, Davie Houston, Fraser Irvine, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Freuchie Primary School, George Crichton, George Wilson, Liz Smith MSP, Mark Wilkie, Niven McNaughton, Pete Hepplewhite, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Stewart Irvine
Captain’s Corner: Must Do Better!
These are the words that spring to mind when thinking of Saturday’s first league game against Corstorphine. I’m sad to say that they out played us in every department.
Unfortunately I lost the toss and was put into bat, Its just a pity the cricket wasn’t up to that standard! Other than Steve Rowley there wasn’t many pass marks on the batting front, as again players weakly gave up their wicket through bad shot selection, 166 was never going to be enough to defend on a drying wicket.
This brings us onto the bowling, apart from the opening partnership of Dave Cowan and Scott Gourlay, who again both troubled the batsmen on several occasions and kept runs to a trickle, the bowling was far too short and the lines not tight enough which enabled the batsmen to score freely on both sides of the wicket and made setting the field very difficult.
We will certainly be working hard at training this week, weather permitting!
Saturday cannot come quick enough to try and redeem ourselves and get our first (much needed) win of the season. We welcome Scott Birrell back into the squad after work commitments last week, this will surely strengthen the batting and bowling at Prestwick.
Behind the scenes we are working fervently to get Mario Saliwa, our professional, into the UK and playing cricket for us throughout Scotland. We’ll keep you up to date on the pro situation as it developers further.
Again we must thank Dave Christie for all his efforts as the wicket was exceptional for this time of year. There were a few comments about how good our ground looked from both umpires and players.
Resources:
Scorecard for Freuchie vs RH Corstorphine
Technorati Tags: cricket, Corstorphine, Corstorphine Cricket Club, Dave Christie, Dave Cowan, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Mario Saliwa, Prestwick, Prestwick Cricket Club, Scott Birrell, Scott Gourlay, Steve Rowley
Captain’s Corner
With the cold winter months hopefully behind us we can now look forward to the forthcoming cricket season. This will be my first full season as captain and I’m really looking forward to the challenges ahead. There are a few people I’d like to thank before the season has even started, as we all know alot of work goes on behind the scenes during the closed season. Firstly I’d like to thank John Thomson who is putting together an impressive website for us, hopefully we can keep providing him with plenty of material to keep it interesting and informative. Secondly I’d like to thank Dave Christie for all his hard work once again in providing a first class square for us to play on. Another thank you must go to Scott Galloway for all his help and research with finding our overseas players for the season.
I’d like to wish Ian Patterson all the best as President this year, he has been very supportive and I’m sure under his leadership Freuchie Cricket Club can move forward.
Saturday was our first game of the season, a friendly against Glenrothes Cricket Club. Unfortunately we lost by a mere 16 runs, due to some slack bowling and some bad shot selection by the batsmen. However, as it is our first game of the season we will not dwell too much on the result but rather look on the positives which were that all the batsmen spent some time at the crease and the bowlers all turned their arm over. Special mention must go to Jamie Macintosh who has committed himself to play for Freuchie this season and looks to be a very good addition to the playing staff.
Looking forward to next week as we are off to Huntly for a weekend of team building (and drinking!), we will definitely be joined by our amateur Dan Harper who arrives this week and we also hope that Mario Saliwa, our Pro, will also be here in time to join us. However we are still waiting on word back regarding his Visa to enter the county, we will keep you posted on this situation as it unfolds.
Regards
Robbie Birrell
Technorati Tags: Dan Harper, Dave Christie, Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Glenrothes Cricket Club, Huntly, Ian Paterson, John Thomson, Mario Saliwa, Robbie Birrell, Scott Galloway
Odds and Ends
We are working hard to have a couple of overseas players this year and hoping that things are just about settled. A pro has been identified and we’re at the crossing i’s and dotting t’s stage. Scott Galloway took on the job of finding a suitable pro, and crossing eyes has been just what he has been doing. What a job. Anyway, fingers crossed as well as eyes. If all goes well, we’ll have South African fast bowler Mario Saliwa and New Zealand batsman Dan Harper. Just the bureaucratic hurdles to come.
Membership subscriptions are due, so if you haven’t renewed yours …..
Courtesy of our sponsor, Black Light and the labour of our own Jock Wallace, we have shiny new disco kit, so look for sparkling discos from now on. Any apprentice DJs out there?
Cricket Scotland demands that all clubs playing in the senior leagues have a groundsman qualified to Level 1, and while Dave Christie has Level 2, it makes sense to have some back up. So Dave McIntosh is registered for an Institute of Groundsman course this month. Good on both Daves.
Race night this Saturday. Get up there and back a winner!
Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Cricket Club, Cricket Scotland, Black Light, Dan Harper, Dave Christie, Dave McIntosh, Mario Saliwa, Scott Galloway