Hello all, My dad David Birch Parker, who will be 80 in January, was telling me yesterday of an occasion when he and his father cycled from Elrig in Mochrum Parish to Kirkcowan for an indoor bools competition. This was on the 2nd January and they arrived back home at 2 am on the 3rd. He also mentioned a time when there was a competition at Glenluce, which was won by a man named A. Cronie. This man was from New Luce and won many carpet bool competitions. To get back to Elrig that night, a McLean's taxi was hired from Port William, driven by a chap called Rafferty. My Dad sat on his fathers knee in the front passenger seat and in the back were eight or so Merry Boolers. The driver had been a truck driver in the WW2 desert campaign and my dad says he drove like he was in the desert, at great speed and all over the place. My dad and grandad were let out at the foot of the Sheugh and walked home to Elrig from there. There were Carpet Bowl Clubs in many villages, Elrig, Mochrum, Port William all had one. The one at Elrig was in the School. At one time a house a few doors up from the school house was used. Ken Parker

Hi Ken   That was quite a cycle from Elrig to Kirkcowan. As you say nearly all the villages had their carpet bowling clubs. I can remember the name Cronie from New Luce.  My husbands parents were from there.   When you mentioned the bowling club in Elrig being in the school I wondered if your dad remembered a family called Stewart who lived opposite the school.  My grandfather (Samuel) was a blacksmith.  My mum would have been 84 this year.   Mary Forsyth --- On Thu, 16/12/10, Ken Parker <[email protected]> wrote: From: Ken Parker <[email protected]> Subject: [WIG LIST] carpet bools To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, 16 December, 2010, 5:19 Hello all,              My dad David Birch Parker, who will be 80 in January, was telling me yesterday of an occasion when he and his father cycled from Elrig in Mochrum Parish to Kirkcowan for an indoor bools competition. This was on the 2nd January and they arrived back home at 2 am on the 3rd. He also mentioned a time when there was a competition at Glenluce, which was won by a man named A. Cronie. This man was from New Luce and won many carpet bool competitions. To get back to Elrig that night, a McLean's taxi was hired from Port William, driven by a chap called Rafferty. My Dad sat on his fathers knee in the front passenger seat and in the back were eight or so Merry Boolers. The driver had been a truck driver in the WW2 desert campaign and my dad says he drove like he was in the desert, at great speed and all over the place. My dad and grandad were let out at the foot of the Sheugh and walked home to Elrig from there. There were Carpet Bowl Clubs in many villages, Elrig, Mochrum, Port William all had one. The one at Elrig was in the School. At one time a house a few doors up from the school house was used. Ken Parker ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message