{"id":23586,"date":"2023-03-13T21:21:06","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T01:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=23586"},"modified":"2023-03-13T21:25:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T01:25:17","slug":"episode-779-curling-where-no-one-will-ever-curl-again-grenadier-pond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=23586","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 779 CURLING WHERE NO ONE WILL EVER CURL AGAIN, GRENADIER POND"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 779    CURLING WHERE NO ONE WILL EVER CURL AGAIN, GRENADIER POND<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
March 2023<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Grenadier Pond, High Park, West Toronto, January 30, 1993,\u2026wearing a Russian Afghan<\/div>\n
War field hat, ancient Canadian Buffalo Coat, What were we doing?  Throwing 40 pound<\/div>\n
curling rocks just to test the ice ?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That was 1993<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Dateline  March 13, 2023<\/div>\n
Global  warming and the Insurance Industry have combined to ensure that the event described <\/div>\n
below will never happen again.   What event?   Curling on Grenadier pond, (High Park, West Toronto)\u2026<\/div>\n
the Grand Curling Match of 1993 organized by the High Park Curling Club. AT least I think the<\/div>\n
event will never be replicated.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Grenadier Pond is large and deep.  Rumour has it that British troops drowned there in 1812 when they<\/div>\n
tried to get their artillery across the pond as they fled from American invaders.  Hence the name \u201cGrenadier\u201d<\/div>\n
Pond . Untrue.  Never happened.  Although there may be a kernel of truth in the legend.   People have<\/div>\n
fallen through the ice and are drowned on ponds and lakes every year.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Al White was one of the Grand Match organizers I knew. There were many others but I knew Al White best.  How did he ever persuade the HPC club insurers that<\/div>\n
it was possible for a hundred curlers and a pipe band to throw 40 pound stones back and forth<\/div>\n
across the winter ice?   Maybe he did not tell the insurance company.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This curling match was one of the great experiences of my life.   There were no winners.   And no one died.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
My favourite picture\u2026that stone weighs 44 pounds.   The day was cold and snow began to fall.  No now left the ice.  The curling ws hopeless.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The curling stone, or rock, is made of dense polished granite from Ailsa Craig, Scotland, and in the Olympics, each rock weighs 19.1 kg (44 lbs)<\/span>. The bottom of the stone is concave so that only the outside ring, called the running band, is in contact with the ice.<\/span><\/span>Feb 7, 2023<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

Grand Match, Grenadier Pond, High Park Curling Club Jan 3o, 1993<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
EPISODE 155     THE  GRAND MATCH OF CURLING\u2026ON THE ICE BENEATH WHICH THE GRENADIERS WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE DROWNED<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
THE Schneller Team entry in the High Park Curling  Club GRAND MATCH 1993 celebrating  80 years of fine curling.  Left to right:  Mike Dent, Alan Skeoch,<\/div>\n
Dave Snyder ,  Brad Schneller (skip).  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Dateline: Winter 1993<\/div>\n
Occasion: HIGH PARK CURLING CLUB GRAND  MATCH<\/div>\n
Location:  Grenadier Pond, Toronto<\/div>\n
Danger: Would the ice support 64 curling jteams<\/div>\n
with their stones?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THE  GRAND  MATCH, HIGH PARK CRLING CLUB, 1993<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The telephone  rang  as the winter wind blew.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHi, Alan, I have an adventure for you.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGreat Brad, spill it out.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Brad  Schneller was almost breathless\u2026excited.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get a curling team together for the Grand Match\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat Grand  Match?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe HighPark Curling  Club is 80 years old  this winter\u2026planning a<\/div>\n
special competition on Grenadier Pond\u2026let\u2019s enter a team.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDid you say the Grand Match would be on Grenadier Pond?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow many teams?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201c64 Curling Teams\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of people on ice that could be  thin.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLucky this is a bad winter\u2026I figure there will be more<\/div>\n
than 300 people out on the ice when pipers and Fort York guards are included.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRemember what happened  to the Grenadiers in 1812?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure that really happened, Alan\u2026the drowning of the Grenadiers is a myth I think.\u201d\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cAccording to the story the soldiers were retreating from Fort York hauling their cannons<\/div>\n
with them\u2026that\u2019s a lot of weight.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAbout as  much as 300 curlers?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you do a dive last summer to see if there were cannons at the bottom of the pond?<\/div>\n
\u201cWe did\u2026a CBC radio story\u2026Kevin and Andy did the diving while Christopher Thomas  and<\/div>\n
I were in a rowboat.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWell\u2026the result?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAndy reported  \u2018Dad, I  shoved my arm deep  in the mud at the bottom\u2026right up to my elbow\u2026no cannons yet.\u201d<\/div>\n
It was  a  stupid idea.  Dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIf we all break through the ice\u2026there will be a lot of curling stones down there<\/div>\n
for future divers.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIce collapse  is Not likely this year\u2026been dreadfully cold winter\u2026ice  as thick and tough as old concrete.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd now a snowstorm is coming.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNothing stops the bagpipes so we should not feel intimidated\u2026let\u2019s throw some rocks\u2026find<\/div>\n
a team willing to play.  A lot of people trying to clean the ice with their brooms\u2026<\/div>\n
sort of hopeless  for real curling.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cSuppose we  get Mike Dent to lie down and  use him and his coonskin  coat as a sweeping  machine.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou grab his feet, I\u2019ll grab his arms\u2026now walk \u2026 see  we are clearing a sheet.  How do you feel Mike?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust keep my coonskin closed\u2026otherwise  I will turn into a block of ice.  Pull\u2026pull.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAny help with the game?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot much\u2026snow keeps  coming.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThrow your rock, Brad.\u201d\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cJust throw, forget about the fine tuning\u2026most rocks do not even get to the other end.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s refine the game\u2026forget about accuracy\u2026see how brute strength works\u2026wind  up with<\/div>\n
a big back swing and then rifle the rock down the ice.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSee who can throw the rock the farthest\u2026forget about real curling.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen the rock  hits the ice, it echoes.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHits like a cannonball.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet go, Mike\u2026let go!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHoly Samoley, Mike did not let go and threw the rock with all his might\u2026he flew with the<\/div>\n
rock\u2026parallel  to the ice.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHere come Ed  Werench\u2026top curler of 1993\u2026looks sceptical\u2026not exactly optimum conditions\u2026he wans<\/div>\n
to meet the so called ice maker.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThis is turning into a wonderful afternoon\u2026a real  celebration for the High  Park Curling Club\u2026<\/div>\n
an event that I wish we could duplicate each year.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201ci think the insurance companies would put an end to that idea.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
 <\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/span><\/div>\n
\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

<\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 779    CURLING WHERE NO ONE WILL EVER CURL AGAIN, GRENADIER POND alan skeoch March 2023 Grenadier Pond, High Park, West Toronto, January 30, 1993,\u2026wearing a Russian Afghan War field hat, ancient Canadian Buffalo Coat, What were we doing?  Throwing 40 pound curling rocks just to test the ice ? That was 1993 Dateline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23586\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}