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Forfarshire Cricket Club - Summer Festival 2013

Weekend Festival of Cricket - Sat 29th & Sun 30th June 2013

The first ever Forfarshire CC Weekend Festival of Cricket took place on 29/30th June and proved to be a resounding success.

Saturday saw our “Aussie Themed Barbeque” and whilst there wasn’t a pair of flip flops or Speedo’s on view; this was more than made up for by the magnificent display of Aussie flags and bunting which bedecked the pavilion.

The Barbie was fired up around 1pm - and from then onwards for the whole day there was a steady flow of punters willing to risk their health and sample a burger roll or indeed a roll on sausage. Chief Inspector Sim was first up on the grill; and with his Gordon Ramsay quiff flowing in the breeze as he let out various expletives - he certainly had more than a passing resemblance to Scotland’s top chef. He earned top marks from the customers and the general feeling was his stint was outstanding.

Next up to man the spatula was Howie Garden Junior and he too showed some very nifty cooking skills. More Jamie Oliver than Gordon Ramsay; Howie was doing brilliantly until a mishap with the grease release valve lead to a scene which resembled the finale from Towering Inferno. The BBQ came to a temporary halt and just as an emergency call was being considered, Hector came on the scene with some expert advice by saying, “switch aff the gas”, which seemed to do the trick.

After a cooling off period normal service was resumed and cooking went back into full flow. Howie was relieved by his younger brother Butts and he was the star turn of the day. Showing adept cooking skills he was reminiscent of Nigella Lawson; especially when he turned his back on the punters..... His rolls on sausage received ten out of ten from Courier Food Critic John Findlay who developed a superb knack of perfectly timing a walk around the ground to coincide with his food being ready.

Drinks were also served; and ex president Reoch took a shine to the Aussie Red and was impressed with the measures being served in the plastic cups and as a result he had to be carried back to his car. The Lady President piled into her personal stock of Rose with the expected vigour and Vice President Walker fired into everything liquid except the Irn Bru.

Numerous visitors from Arbroath were at the ground to watch the Scottish Cup action unfold on the pitch - and they supported the event magnificently and our thanks goes out to them. Visiting President Geoff Fisher did indeed spend most of the game looking at the Burger Stand wondering when his food would be ready as opposed to watching the cricket....so our apologies go to Geoff.

After a (very) long day under the expert of guidance of Head Chef Davie T - the punters subsided and the BBQ was declared closed. With pockets full of takings Dave headed home to dream of doing the whole thing again the next day......

Sunday again gave us clear skies although it was a touch windy. The BBQ got readied for another day’s trading and with three back to back games of cricket scheduled - an early start was in order with the first game due up at 10am.

Stalls were also readied and a large bouncy castle was unveiled as the star attraction.

The kids kicked things off with a Kwik Cricket extravaganza and a good turnout of children and parents meant that things were busy from the off.

The children seemed to enjoy their game and also seemed to enjoy the bouncy castle. Head Chef Thomson had two fantastic helpers all day in the shape of Lindsay and Heather Cameron. Never have a husband and wife team done so much in one day to help the club out - and our eternal thanks go to them both.

The kid’s game was followed by a Juniors v Coaches affair which also included some family rivalries which proved interesting viewing............ A good encounter was won by the Juniors in convincing fashion. The burgers kept being churned out to the extent that the sold out signs were posted whilst Lindsay made a dash to Sainsbury’s for fresh supplies.

The final game of the day was the 6th annual playing of the Gordon Potts Memorial T20. In spite of a rain shower or two during the first innings, the game pressed on and the “Dundee United” team lead by Chic McLelland narrowly beat the “Dundee” team skippered by Bryce Robertson. The word “cheating” was once again used in reference to the Tangerine Mob, (for the second year running) this time in the context of dodgy scorekeeping, an imbalanced batting order, bribing of an umpire and very dodgy bowling actions.

It would seem that in spite of the supposed friendly nature of this game the Stickle Brick Crew will do anything to claim the spoils. We were delighted that Ann Potts was on hand to present the trophy and it was once again a fine and fitting occasion.

The bar continued to do a roaring trade and when the burgers eventually sold out the curtain fell on a long weekend of burger cooking and burger consuming...

The Guess the Number of Sweets in the jar stall (the number was 327) found a popular winner in JR Auchinleck who when advised that he had won the spoils commented – “as if I am not sweet enough already!”

Head Chef Thomson wishes to pay special tribute to the main burger flippers of the weekend in the shape of Simmy Sr, Howie, Butts, Lindsay and Heather. Thanks also go to Craig for his help and to Clark for occasionally buttering some rolls.

The club’s thanks especially go to Dave T for all of his help across the whole weekend.

The club would also like to sincerely thank all juniors who attended - parents, players, supporters, visitors and indeed everyone who contributed in any way over the two days. Your contribution was very much appreciated

As a result of everyone’s effort the club coffers will be swelled (final sum to be confirmed) – but most importantly we hope that everyone had a good time and enjoyed the weekend.

Thank you all.