Museum plea

At the Royal Club's AGM last Saturday, David Smith spoke about the proposed curling museum in the Kinross National Curling Academy development at Kinross. He said:

"Sister and Brother Curlers and NAEBODIES, of whom I am certain there are some present! You've heard from Matt Murdoch, Bob Tait and Colin Grahamslaw about the progress so far made in relation to the National Curling Academy at Kinross.

Provision has been made in the plans for a museum - not a huge museum but an adequate museum, and among the trustees we have a professional museum man. We must remember, however, that the stage we're at just now is only an application for outline planning permission.

Although curling is 'Scotland's ain Game' its history has not been very well served by museums in Scotland. There are a few stones here and a few stones there; a picture here, some photographs there, some paraphernalia thonder, a medal or two there, but no museum attempts to tell anything like the whole story of our great national game, the love of which brings here today from all quarters of the country, 'united in a game the darling of our forefathers', as the secretary of Peebles Curling Club put it in 1821.

What the trustees of the RCCC Charitable Trust wish earnestly to do is to fill that void and proclaim to our fellow Scots and the whole world what a glorious history curling has had and what an amazing part of Scotland's culture it has been over the centuries. We are trying to formulate plans as to how the story should be told, and we would very much welcome ideas from fellow curlers.

What we will need more than anything is money. We hope that curlers throughout Scotland and beyond will recognise the importance of such a museum and dig deep into their pockets so that what we create is a 'world-class' institution which will delight us and our overseas friends, and be something of which we as a nation can be proud.

When the appeal for money comes please give generously!"

Perhaps prompted by this speech WCF Vice-President Kate Caithness has already made a donation to the RCCC Charitable Trust. It consists of a GB curling kit for the 1998 Olympics. The trustees are very grateful.

Please contact the Trust via the Royal Caledonian Curling Club here.

The RCCC Charitable Trust

One of the purposes of the RCCC Charitable Trust is to participate in the establishment of a museum of curling. It was expressly to that end that the late Bob Gardner of Falkirk made his very generous donation not long before he died. That gift enabled the Trustees to make a start and buy and save for the curling world the very important collection of prize medals won over the years by WK Jackson and his son Lawrence, including their gold medals won at curling at the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix in 1924.

The trustees have been collaborating with the RCCC and the Kinross Curling Trust with a view to the provision of sufficient space for a museum in the proposed Curling Academy at Kinross.

The plans for Kinross are presently being developed and the trustees have formed some preliminary ideas for the sort of displays the museum should hold.

At this stage they would like to hear from anyone who is interested in the museum project and who has ideas or expertise to share; and who would be willing to become involved as a volunteer.

The present trustees are:
Bob Tait, chairman of the RCCC Board.
Matt Murdoch, president, RCCC.
Colin Grahahamslaw, CEO, RCCC.
David B Smith, historian of curling.
John Burnett, curator, National Museums Scotland.

The ways to contact the RCCC are here.