200 Years of Curling in Peebles

An engrossing and sometimes entertaining story of Peebles Curling Club’s origins, the importance of curling in Peeblesshire in the wider context of Scottish curling, the Club’s challenges and development over the years and its relationship to the town and the wider community.

The talk, mostly focused on the earlier years, will reflect that curling is embedded in bygone Scottish culture, both city and rural, and was an egalitarian activity, favoured and supported by many, from Royalty to the farmhand. Until the early 20th century it was an outdoor game, played in the cold on ponds when the ice was sufficiently frozen to bear weight.

The talk only touches upon the technicalities of curling. It is, rather, a representation of curling in its wider, cultural and civic setting, reflecting prevailing views and a way of life that have some parallels with today.