Grange Team Calendar

The Grange Teams' fixture lists have now been loaded into the Grange Calendar gmail account at:
squashcalendar1@gmail.com


Alternatively you can load the fixtures directly into your own calendar using this file.

Grange 2s Vs Watsonians 3 (29th Jan 2014)

First blog post in a while.  Is it because we only sing when we are winning?

Another convincing result for Grange 2's
Wednesday 29th January saw Watsonian's 3rd team pay Grange a visit. A fine result for Grange cements a strong league position and reputation as a team to be feared.

Aoife at no. 5 took three games comfortably. Gorzer at no. 4 raced to a 2-0 lead vs. Ian Clarke but took his foot of the pedal... the fourth game particularly tough to watch with the match poised at 8-8, Ian confirming 'Set 1' and Gorzer slamming the tin to push on into five games! The fifth moving swiftly in Ian's favour, ending 3-2 to the visitors.

At no. 3, Forbes seemed to take things comfortably, winning in three games. A similar story for Wallace who closed out his game swiftly vs. Chris Green (only to continue going after securing the win). At no. 1, yours truly dropped a game but managed the win vs. a keen Jim Dougal.

Overall, the 2's have 170 points and remain secure in Division 3 with the prospect of promotion not too far away!

Two's at Hatton put themselves safe from relegation (Mon, Mar 18)

We’re stumbling to the finish line but at least we’re safe in Division 3 for another year!  At 210 points and only 1 more match to go, it’s impossible for any of the bottom 3 teams to reach us.  Well done lads & lassies! (Sloan Ranger)

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Gordon Sloan	1	3	33			David Tinning	0	2	28
2	Duncan Walker	0	1	21			Nick Tinning	1	3	31
3	Allan Wallace	1	3	33			Alan Love	0	1	26
4	Georgina Jamieson	0	1	26			Danny Pollock	1	3	32
5	no player	0	0	0	Forfeit		Malcolm Mitchell	1	3	27
Total		2	8	113				3	12	144
Competition Points		8						15

Teams Ladder

Team

Round

Total

Dunbar 1

Comp Points

287

Edinburgh Sports Club 4

Comp Points

275

Deer Park

Comp Points

263

Tyne

Comp Points

226

Hatton

Comp Points

213

Grange 2

Comp Points

210

Mamma's Pizzeria

Comp Points

195

Dean 1

Comp Points

171

Waverley 2

Comp Points

157

Dalgety Bay 4

Comp Points

148

Seconds home v ESC4 (Tue, Mar 13)

Last week was a  bad week (we postponed/cancelled one team and sent out another with only 4 players), and the coming week is going to be even worse (cancelling 1 team and probably sending out another incomplete team).
Should we drop a team next season?

Home Team: Grange 2					Away Team: Edinburgh Sports Club 4
Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points		Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Colin Williamson	0	0	15		Andrew Snowden	1	3	27
2	Ian Forbes	0	0	16		Mark Adderley	1	3	28
3	Robin Steel	0	0	19		Ronan Beale	1	3	27
4	Alan Stokes	0	0	22		Sean Morgan	1	3	34
5	Mark Dutton	0	0	13		Ken Steele	1	3	27
Total		0	0	85			5	15	143

Two's home v Tyne (Wed, Mar 6)

Firing on all cylinders

 

When the media talk about a Grand Slam this weekend, it’ll not be rugby they’re referring.  Grange 2 generated a dynamic display of squash on Wednesday night to take the maximum number of points from Tyne – currently above us in the table!  The relatively young Grange team, playing at home, were clinical at times and took all their chances.  The result should cement our place in Division 3 for another year as we battle for 4^th spot in the next few games.  A win like this reminds us why we love to play the sport - well done boys!

 

Forbes – Got us off to an excellent winning start in just 3 games.  The wheels were in motion at this early point in the evening.  10/10

Wallace – Bruising encounter with Graham Morrison.  Victory sealed 10-9 in the third.  10/10

Walker – Taking the first two games relatively easily.  The 3^rd was a battle but the momentum was there to convert the win in 3 games.  10/10

Sloan – Best performance this season with everything (particularly the drops) working well.  Delighted to get the monkey off the back.  10/10

Grinton – Fought through 4 games versus Alan Russell.  The backhand working well – generating too many nicks to mention.  10/10

GRG2s Vs Dean 1 (27 Feb 2013)

Noisy Neighbours

Wednesday night saw Grg 2's make the short trip uphill to Dean. In spite of an ill Dougie Brown, we had a strong herd of Stags for the fixture. 

At 5th position, Allan (Annie Lennox) Stokes bagged a 3-1 win. According to Stokes, "everything went right" in the 4th game - enhancing the confidence of this shy & retiring type for the remainder of the season. Good work.

Forbes won at 4th position. The scoreline flattering Forbes slightly, for it was a tight, tough game.

Walker's game featured a few loose shots which were capitalised by the opposition but on the whole, a solid performance for our No. 3, taking it 3 games to 1 & bagging the most points of any player on the night. 

Despite a win last week, Captain Sloan stumbled to a 3-0 loss. Not leading by example! 'Nuff said! 

To Grinton. Exquisite drops and lobs. Despite losing the first, Grints managed a 3-1 result to round off a 17 point haul to take back down the hill. Well done boys. (report Sloan)

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Michael Grinton	1	3	28			Drew McKenzie	0	1	25
2	Gordon Sloan	0	0	15			Matthew Hunter	1	3	27
3	Duncan Walker	1	3	32			Richard Maspero	0	1	22
4	Ian Forbes	1	3	27			David Thompson	0	0	14
5	Alan Stokes	1	3	30			James Birkhead	0	1	22
Total		4	12	132				1	6	110
Competition Points		15						6

Seconds @ Waverley (Wed, Jan 30)

Waverley the visitors to Grange on Wednesday night.  With Waverley at bottom of the table, we thought we could give them a good run for their money and despite Sloan Ranger's best efforts to hinder things, it was a successful night for the club...  
 
At 5, the experienced Dougie Brown started slow but soon warmed up and walked off happily wth a 3-1 win vs. John Usher.  A close 4th & 5th game but well clawed out by Dougie.
 
Forbes at no. 4 - and like Dougie lost the first game but came back to take it 3-1.  Match of the evening goes to Wee Wallace at no. 3 who took on the mighty Dave Ferguson.  Wallace took the 1st game confidently but sat back in 2nd & 3rd finding himself alot to do.  The 4th game went to the wire - see-sawing between the two at the end of the game with Wallace victorious 10-9.  But... the 5th went Waverley's way - Dave taking it 9-6.  A fairly epic game lasting over the hour and a combined 59 points.  Willstrop & Matthews would be proud!
 
Walker at 2nd position looked fairly comfortable taking Pete Cochrane in 3 games.  Pete playing too much this week to sustain a strong performance.  For Captain Sloan, it was the exact opposite.  Helen Nicoll taking me to the cleaners and if the truth be known, I wasn't really in it.  More time on court required...
 
On the whole though, another successful night for the home club - established in mid-table position following a good start to 2013.  Long may this form continue.

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Gordon Sloan	0	0	12			Helen Nicoll	1	3	27
2	Duncan Walker	1	3	27			Peter Cochrane	0	0	15
3	Allan Wallace	0	2	27			Dave Ferguson	1	3	32
4	Ian Forbes	1	3	34			Neil Porter	0	1	20
5	Dougie Brown	1	3	33			John Usher	0	1	28
Total		3	11	133				2	8	122
Competition Points		14						8

Seconds home v Dalgety Bay 4's(Thurs, Jan 16)

Following a strong finish to the 1^st half, the 2^nd half of the season kicked off for Grange 2’s with a home fixture.  Dalgety Bay 4^th team the visitors.  Behind us in the league at the turn, we needed a good result to extend the gap.

Stokesy led the way at no. 5, winning 3-1 in the end.  Good result from the veteran – earning his chips.  At 4, Wee Wallace dominated his match for a straight 3 zip win.  Duncan at 3 did much the same.  Things took a slight turn for no. 2 Michael Grinton – going 2-0 down but turning things around for an impressive win in the 5^th.  The mince pies were still evident for the Sloan Ranger with a sluggish performance at 1.  Despite levelling 1-1 in the second game, I lost 3-1 overall, not exactly leading by example in a game which neither player looked to want to win!

However, all-in-all a very good result for the 2’s, finishing 18-8 overall – one of our best hauls of the season!  The evening capped off with a few beers with club sponsors Francos doing the job with the post-game nutrition with Stokesy (clearly still indulging since Christmas) phoning in for chips with the usual order!

Well done lads – 4^th place finish could be on the cards for Grange 2’s come March 18^th.  Sloaner.

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Gordon Sloan	0	1	26			Stephen Literacki	1	3	27
2	Michael Grinton	1	3	40			Richard Barnett	0	2	25
3	Duncan Walker	1	3	28			Colin Boswell	0	0	17
4	Allan Wallace	1	3	27			Grant Sinclair	0	0	12
5	Alan Stokes	1	3	36			Neil Shepherd	0	1	24
Total		4	13	157				1	6	105
Competition Points		16

Funeral Arrangements - Gavin Fulton RIP

Here is the notice in the newspapers (click to light a candle):
Service to be held at Warriston Crematorium Lorimer Chapel, on Tuesday, December 18, at 2.00 pm to which all family and friends are invited. No flowers please, donations if desired may be made on retiral of service in aid of Scottish Sports Aid and Organ Donation Support. Dress code optional.
Funeral is 2pm Tue Dec 18 at Warriston, function back at Grange pavilion afterwards.
(His widow Jill would be happy for his clubmates and folk from other clubs who have come across Gavin who so wish, to attend & pay their respects.)

So far 60 hits on the original thread, I just want to pop this to the top of the blog. Christy

Gavin would have been delighted to finish the year in League 1 above the current club champion!

Click here for League results Divisions 1-19







Sad news of a fallen teammate... (Fri, Dec 7)

It is with regret that I post the news of the untimely death of Gavin Fulton. I won't write too much here, except to say Gavin was taken to hospital on Fri night and unfortunately he didn't make it. He leaves behind his wife Jill and 2 young daughters who are also members of the club. My condolences go to them. Gavin was a great guy to be around, always smiling and recounting funny stories from the squash courts of Agilent and Grange. This picture taken after he won a final in the Grange Open recently is the only image I ever have of Gavin - always smiling! May he rest in peace.

Funeral is 2pm Tue Dec 18  at Warriston, function at Grange pavilion afterwards.
(His widow Jill would be happy for all his clubmates and those from other clubs to attend.)

Initial The Scotsman Report

TV report after the court case

Another report

Full Page tribute in Evening News

Deadline News PA report

List of people with message of condolences (apologies for omissions):
------------
Ross Anderson - The Dean SC
Matthew Hunter

Ken Steele - ESC
David Coutts
Mark ~Adderley

Bill Brown - Colinton Castle SC
Robin Nisbet - Bank of Scotland SC

David Legge - Dunbar SC

Claire Gray - ESSA/HWU

Richard McIntosh - Watsonians SC

Peter O'Hara - Newlands
Andrew McSherry - Whitecraigs

Agilent
--
Iain Gourlay
Charlie Patrick
Jim Watson
Gordon Hunter
Alec Allan
Alan Murray

Grange SC
--
Peter Cockburn (Club Captain)
Neil Christison (Chairman, The Grange Club)
Gordon Tolland (Secretary, The Grange Club)
Bill Marshall(Club President)
Ali Ross (Vice President)
Christy Looby (Tournament Sec)
Will Kerr (Club champ)
Brian Sloan
Patrick Langley
Stuart Moffatt
Dougie Brown
Alan Stokes
Mike Douglas
Allan Wallace
Allan Hamer
Gordon Sloan 

Grange 2’s WIN!

A night marred by captain inadequacies but resulting in a very good win for Grange Men 2’s against Div 3. leaders Deer Park.

Forbes, Fulton & Grinton won comfortably at positions 5, 4 and 2 respectively. Walker was out-muscled at position 3 despite running Taryne tight. And yet again, Captain Sloan couldn’t lead by example – losing to Colin in the fifth (note I ran my competitor close for the first time in a while!).

Back to winning ways for the 2’s and a much needed 16 points overall helping us reach a ‘safe’ league position by Christmas.

Captain inadequacies? 1) The use of ‘West of Scotland’ score sheets 2) The lack of a Results Sheet until we got back to the club 3) Mis-communication on ordering pizza resulting in a precarious, icey walk to Franco’s 4) Another loss at 1 position! However, we’re making some progress so long may it continue!

Sloan.

GRG2s Vs ESC4s Thu 29 Nov 2012

Thurs 29th saw the 2's venture 2.2 miles uphill to The Sports Club.
>
>
> Up first, the Sloan Ranger once again stumbled away from home. Andrew proved a worthy opponent & played a good long game on the hot courts. Too good. Grange under the cosh immediately!
>
>
> Colin next, taking on the sports club's Kirsty Craig. After losing the first two he took the 3rd 10-9 in monumental fashion. Sadly the come-back was short lived. He stumbled to a loss but there's a bright few yrs ahead there.
>
>
> Dunc & Gav hopped on at the same time. Dunc started strong vs Trev the rev Mitchell, and looked comfortable with a strong 9-7 win in the 1st. But despite class squash at times (good number of nicks), Duncan couldn't match Trev's experience, losing 3-1 in the end.
>
>
> Game over for Grange but we still had Gav who muscled out a tricky win vs Ken - not quite sure how but we'll take it! Grints also struck gold in 2nd position after a hard-fought, long match.
>
>
> Bragging rights to ESC for now but we look forward to playing host in the new year. Gordon.

GRG2 Vs Tyne 1 (21 Nov 2012)

And so it was on a cold November night the young guns from Grange 2 headed to Haddington to meet the relatively experienced set-up @ Tyne. Both mid to bottom table and needing the win.




We ran them close and it's fair to say the 16-8 score doesn't do Grange justice on paper. Captain for the evening and starting us off at Position 1, Sloan Ranger couldn't match Colin's deft touches at the front of the court. Gav also finding the going tough but Grange powered back in the form of Messrs Walker (fresh from the Himalayas) and Grinton (fresh from the operating theatre).



Poised 2-2 for the 5th players: Grange's Allan Wallace vs. Tyne's Shane Pressley. This was by far the match of the night with a packed balcony enjoying the long, punishing rallies. Allan ran Shane close in the first two matches but to no avail. The 3rd saw Shane race to a 7-1 lead only for Allan to gather his thoughts and start the comeback. 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, 7-6... 7-7! After a few 'handouts', the score-line crawled to 8-8 but despite his best efforts and diving heroics of which Mark Dutton would be proud, Allan couldn't penetrate Shane's defences - finishing 3-0 to Tyne and cementing the win for the home team.



Thoughts turn to the Grange Open this weekend.

Sloan

Grange 2nds home v. Mammas...Wednesday 7th November.

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Ian Forbes	0	0	4			John Rae	1	3	27
2	Duncan Walker	0	0	11			Neil McAllister	1	3	27
3	Stuart Moffat	1	3	27			Lindsay Muir	0	0	12
4	Dougie Brown	1	3	36			Stuart Williamson	0	2	30
5	Mark Dutton	0	0	6			John Davidson	1	3	27
Total		2	6	84				3	11	123
Competition Points		6						14

Match Report:
The 2nds lost this match 2-3 to Mamma's, but it would have to be said that the overall match scoreline was a little flattering to us given the magnitude of the defeats of the three Grange players on the losing end.
First up was captain Ian Forbes at No 1 against John Rae. Thanks to an ill-judged decision to join the "Movember" charity movement, Ian was sporting one of the dodgiest moustaches this side of a 70's soft porn film….but that wasn't the only thing that wasn't right.  Unfortunately John's slow and well weighted style of squash was too much for Ian on the night and he never managed to adapt his game to it or force much in the way of concession from Silver Fox Rae.  A pretty convincing 1-9, 2-9, 1-9 loss for Ian and a post match comment from him that he'd rarely enjoyed a match of squash less.
Duncan Walker at No2 was up against Neil McAllister, and the story wasn't that much different to Ian's.   Duncan never really got to grips with match in the way he'd have wanted and another comfortable 3-9, 5-9, 3-9 loss for the Grange was the result.

Things began looking up when Stuart Moffat took on Lindsay Muir at no 3.   Stuart's hard-hitting and well-controlled game resulted in two comfortable game wins to start.   Lindsay provided some resistance with his slower touch game in the third but Stuart imposed control again to win 9-3, 9-2, 9-7.

The high point of the night for Grange and the best contest of the night (the only contest, really) came in the no4 match between Dougie Brown and Stuart Williamson.  Dougie can rarely have been in better form for the club and his touch, weight and shot selection had Stuart baffled and well on the back foot for much of the match.  Doug's backhand drop and his barrage of well judged lobs to both sides had Stuartconstantly frustrated.   Stuart was no slouch though and took the first and fourth games on the way through.  Doug ran out a well-deserved winner 4-9, 9-4, 9-4, 5-9, 9-4.

At no5, Mark Dutton played last against John Davidson.    The warm-up went quite well for the Grange, but things slid quickly downhill when actual play started.  Two very quick blink-and-you-miss-it game losses were registered before Mark actually turned up.  The third game was much more competitive but the damage was already done and a  0-9, 1-9, 5-9 loss the overall result.
Post match pizzas enjoyed by all, but always conscious that in a pizza contest it's pretty hard to beat those guys…...

A tribute to Dutts...

I dive to get the ball, then I get up again,
I dive to get the ball, even tho my knees are bleeding
I dive to get the ball, then I run for the next one..

Not only that, our one and only Dutts is now an intrepid boatman, intrepid enough to get in the papers ;-)

Lifeboat called to help yacht in Kilchattan Bay

Published on Wednesday 6 June 2012

THE RNLI’s Largs lifeboat was called out after a yacht with two people on board got into difficulty in Kilchattan Bay at the south end of Bute on Tuesday afternoon.

Clyde Coastguard sent the lifeboat and the Clydeport pilot cutter Mount Stuart to help the yacht Tegan after it fouled its propeller on creel lines in the bay at around 4pm.

The Mount Stuart held the vessel from going ashore until the lifeboat arrived. The yacht was then freed and towed to Largs marina.

Journalists put the professional finish to team reports

Week 1 of the Grange Squash teams season published on GrassRootsSports - wins and photos needed next week!

A big thank you to all the clubmen who ever penned a team report, Sloan Ranger, Cockburnator, Duttz, Grievester, Sloan Leftie, Love-love & Douglaze are the regulars.
  And to the regulare commenters, Myreside MacIntosh and ESClubber plus all the other lurkers from other clubs.
Loob

Second team at Dalgety Bay 4's(Mon, Oct 1)

The first match in the 2012/13 season saw the second team hop over the bridge to the Kingdom of Fife for a warm welcome (the heaters were on a few days in advance but I'm not complaining) at Dalgety Bay.

First up, Mark (Jose Maria) Dutton. Dressed in Seve Ballesteros blue, Jose had a tough start losing 6-9 in the first only to bring it back level in the second winning 10-9. A number of trademark dives (even twice in the same rally) indicates the dedication the captain has for the team this season. Sadly, he lost the third and fourth match. At the same time, Stokesy (Poults) had an equally tough opponent who wore the red of USA. Poulter struggled in the heat losing 3-0.

At number 3, the veteran, and recently retired Dougie (Paul Lawrie) Brown used all of his experience to thwart a 3rd win of the night for the Fifers. Great victory for The Grange, Lawrie won 9-4, 9-5, 10-9 and set the wheels in motion for a comeback of European proportions.

Duncan Walker (Justin Rose) could sense the change and duly out-gunned his opponent with relative ease winning 3-1. Those long pre-season games are doing him the world of good and setting him in good stead for his Himalayan adventure in the coming weeks.

Poised at 2 games each, The Sloan Ranger (aka GMac) huffed and puffed his way into the match. With warm courts, a young opponent, and full gallery, the squash was exquisite and rubbish – sometimes in the same rally. The wee man in the end couldn't find 5th gear and succumbed to the sustained pressure in the 4th game losing 3-1, resulting in an overall loss for the team. The tears on Monday night weren't of joy.

Pub grub followed at the Hillend as usual - very nice it was too. Not a great result to start the season but we're off and running and things can only get better... Special mention again to Duncan Walker who continues his training in the remote regions of Nepal! - good luck Dunc.
(Report: The Sloan Ranger.)

Pos	Player	Rubbers	Games	Points			Player	Rubbers	Games	Points
1	Gordon Sloan	0	1	29			Stephen Literacki	1	3	34
2	Duncan Walker	1	3	28			Colin Boswell	0	1	10
3	Dougie Brown	1	3	28			Willie Schultz	0	0	18
4	Alan Stokes	0	0	5			David Edwards	1	3	27
5	Mark Dutton	0	1	20			Grant Sinclair	1	3	36
Total		2	8	110				3	10	125
Competition Points		8						13

World Master's (July 2012)

Well what a week and what an experience. On Saturday 21st July nearly 800 competitors gathered in the beautiful main hall at Birmingham University to take part in the opening ceremony of the http://www.squashworldmasters.com/
On Sunday evening  Birmingham University's  Elgar Music Hall  was set up with the spectacular  'surround' glass backed  court to enjoy an exhibition match between World ranked no 1 James Willstrop and the young Indian World ranked No 25 (Saurav Ghosal)-
James wins the match  3-0 after a tight first game. Seeing The World no1 in the flesh, I was not the only one who was of the opinion that physically he does not appear to be a great athlete. In reading his recently published book
"A Shot and a Ghost" Willstrop more or less says the same about himself and the toll his severe  fitness training has taken on his "large frame"  over the years. You would never know this when you seeing him playing 'live!!!'

Back to lesser mortals, my first game was against a seeded player from Oxford England, Robert Warner at the famous Edgebaston Priory Squash and Tennis Club.I lost the first game and then had 5 game balls to make it one game all. Sadly could not convert and found myself 2-0 nil down. Took the third game and was back in with a great chance of taking out a seed. Unfortunately playing squash in temperatures in the very high 70's did not help me in my attempt to take the match any further-eventually losing the 2nd round match 1-3.
My opponent went on to be knocked out by Pierre Roodt from South Africa -- the eventual winner of my age  related section.
I entered The Main Plate competition were I managed to win four matches, before losing in the semi-finals. On the way to the semi finals I played an Englishman, a Frenchman, a 'Finlandian' and two Germans.
The squash was relatively easy compared to interpreting who had actually won the serve prior to the start of the game!!!

To sum up it was an amazing   to take part in a truly 'Global' squash experience. Many of the winners of the 'younger' age groups are ex professionals such as Derek Ryan, Craig Van der Wath and Nick Taylor and it was a 'bonus' to watch them all playing on the show court. The fitness levels of all the age related groups  is very high and quite inspirational!
In watching the winners of the O55's and O60's there is no doubt I would have to raise my fitness levels another 25% +. Oh dear it's an eye opener when you leave behind the comfort zone of your 'local' courts!

Towards the end of the week I found myself being interviewed by the Tournament's media man about the benefits of 'Eastern' style exercise systems [such as Tai chi] as a way of preventing injury in squash and sport in general. I guess there interest was as a result of the 2014 World Masters taking place in Hong Kong. The first squash court I ever stepped on in 1980 was next door  to  the Europe's first "China Town" situated in Liverpool city centre. Funny old game! (Report: Mike Hall)

Come back and stay for good this tiiime... dum dum duu duu duu duh duuu

A tribute to Izzy and Patrick from the teamsters...

Interesting Links for squash nerds

Interesting 10 min report on squash in Scotland: 

from 19min00sec to 24min00sec watch 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01hbm0l/Sport_Nation_01_05_2012/

Also, App for marking squash matches -

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=squashscorer.medhurstt&hl=en 

Apple: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/court-buddy/id435120120?mt=8