BRITISH OPEN INVERNESS SCOTLAND

[tommyc]

Aye Shane done well theres no doubt in winning the British and its a good title to win,but considering it was basically a 3 horse race i dont think its anything to get carried away about,there will be BIGGER fish to fry in Dublin,thats the reality!!

You might say "just another brick in the wall"!!...........Teacher leave them kids alone.

[Bernard Coll]

Hi Shane,Once again a hearty congratulations on your win. I am sure you could have set a formidable target for yourself and other contenders in the future,but you chose not to. To win was enough. A mature head on young shoulders! Regarding position of your name on the Slade Shield, I personally would prefer you sided with Rawle Allicock. He did not have 3 brothers more than willing to gift maximum points ! Like yourself, he stood on his own feet! My opinion only.

[Irma Sierra]

CONGRATULATIONS FROM MEXICO!!!!

[tommyc]

Shane and Myles have just called with me on the way home.They were all in one piece and looking for a cuppa tae,after their exploits in Scotland.The famous British Slade Shield is in need of a lota "loving care and attention" in pretty bad spec really.Its a shame anyone would see fit to present it in the condition its in,a distinct lack of the respect for such an historic piece of draughts memorilia first presented way back in 1938,but i know its going to a good home this time and Shanes Ma will not doubt give a good clean up and bring it back to its former glory.But the condition of it speaks volumes for the mind set of the state of draughts.???

[william]

Hi Tommy

I remember when I won the shield in 2000 , it also needed a real good polish . I took great pride in polishing up the names of the many great players and dispaying it on the mantelpiece.I am sure that Shane will also get a buzz too!

I am extremely relieved that he was presented the shield ,on the day , and actually got to take it home , ( thus avoiding an uneccessary fiasco to the detriment of the reputation of our grand old game) this is after all what the whole week is all about , isn't it?

The qualifier in Ireland will certainly be a must to follow...

greetings to all

William

[tommyc]

Aye yur right Billy,im sure his mother will get a buzz out polishing it up after she has a good rant abt the condition of it AFTER DEBUGGING IT FIRST ,i suppose getting it cleaned up every 10YRS is abt as much as we can expect,so in 2020 it will have to be made a condition that the winner has to clean it.?? As for Shane putting it on the mantle-piece, well theres a problem there::he ll have to get a BIGGER mantle-pice.LOL.

PS.......i wonder was it kept in the same dusty closet under the stairs as yur Scottish Cup ......that nvr was???hehehehe

[tommyc]

by tommyc on Wed Jul 29, 2009 8:34 pm ...............HERES A WEE REMINDER!!


"SCANDAL IN STONEY" (Ode to Billy Doherty)

Scandal at the Scottish,as the drama it enfolds
No cup to be presented , of silver nor of gold
Ive heard this story oft before,and many more i fear
Cups are going a missing,one almost every year.

Its such a disapointment, embarrasment as well
Enought to make a grown man cry,if the truth i was to tell
But life goes on no matter what, and when im old n grey
Twill be a nice wee story,to tell the "wains" some day

Of how i fought hard for a week, no food and little sleep
In a tent so cold and draughty,blowin rain and hail n sleet
And when my greatest moment came,my heart was racing fast
Proud winner of the Scottish Cup, the "feckin" thing got LOST.

I might write a song about it,and put in on UTUBE
And maybe sing it for you ,when im in a better mood
For when i think of what went wrong,it makes me very "cross"
The day i won the Scottish Cup.........and the "feckin" thing got LOST.!!

[william]

Yes the situation is getting beyond a joke!

These prised objects have been mistreated for too long now . I remember feeling uneasy when i saw the state of the shield , and thinking to myself that it should never have come to this! i think that i spent over 2 hours shining it up.

Anyway as you say , I am convinced too that it has found a nice temporary home where it will be looked after correctly ,, Hell Shane could even sell entries to his house for curious visitors wanting to see the thing , and if they want to touch it ,then he doubles the cost!!! LOL , I however am still " cupless" and will have to continue begging on the street and singing that song of yours with my guitar!!

Yes , sad days it is , and something must be decided at next agm's to ensure the condition of these trophies AND ensure the presentation of them at the TY's... in the meantime I'd like you to throw together a song celebrating shane's victory ... the biggest slaughter in Scotland since the clan Macdonalds/clan Campbells massacres

[Lindus Edwards]

When William posted a message with concerns about the Scottish Open trophy I could understand why. During the past four years I fruitlessly tried to discover the whereabouts of the Welsh Open trophy (Alf Huggins Shield) and now, finally, I have given up the search. I regret to say that the trophy, bearing my late father's name several times (and mine, several times by sheer luck) is irretrievably lost. Even though I know the name of the player who last won the trophy, following which it was never seen again, and who gave me a vague explanation about it perhaps being in his attic, I will not reveal the name of this player as he is no longer active so far as competitive play is concerned and, to be fair to this person, did a huge amount to promote checkers.
I wish I could say that this was the only trophy I have tried to locate over the past ten years. I regret to say that four others disappeared! I will refrain from detailing any information on these trophies as the players responsible for their loss are now no longer with us.

[Ingo_Zachos]

Why don't you donate the shield to a museum under the condition that each year the winner could be added?

And the winner recieves a gold medal to keep for the given year.

But that of course, is only possible, if the shiled still exists.

Greetinx from mourning Germany,

Ingo Zachos

[S_McCosker]

Hey Guys,

The British Open shield has been restored to its former glory (in other words Its been cleaned I can actualy read the names on it now!).

Hi Shane,Once again a hearty congratulations on your win. I am sure you could have set a formidable target for yourself and other contenders in the future,but you chose not to. To win was enough. A mature head on young shoulders!

Well to answer that I supose winning by 1 point is the same as winning by 4 or more, being over agressive when having the lead can backfire as one could be setting records for going in the wrong direction .

Thats just one thought but overall tournament strategy is something that everyone can improve on by decideing when to take a chance againts which opponents and knowing when you should retreat and wait for a better ballot, I did play a bit agressively in earlier rounds but as the tournament was drawing nearer to a close I was able to play a few more confineing lines to maintain my balance.

Regarding position of your name on the Slade Shield, I personally would prefer you sided with Rawle Allicock. He did not have 3 brothers more than willing to gift maximum points ! Like yourself, he stood on his own feet! My opinion only.

Request granted! based on the number of votes of course as I like to be diplomatic . I think no matter what I choose here I'll be in good company.

Lindus I hope that the Alf Huggins Shield turns up as these old trophies show the history of our game written in stone I supose, much like an ancient tablet
only with no cave men just checker players .

also thanks again to everyone for the warm congrats recieved

Shane McCosker

[Lindus Edwards]

Thanks Shane for your kind wishes about the Alf Huggins Shield. I too hope it turns up one day

[graham young]

Congratulations to Shane on winning last week’s British championship in convincing fashion. Incidentally, the Slade Shield is the property of the EDA. They are totally responsible for the welfare and condition of their trophies. It is not SDA policy to make negative comments about the condition of other association’s trophies. Could I suggest that if anybody is dissatisfied with the condition of the Slade Shield, that they take the matter up with the office bearers of the EDA.
Graham Young
Secretary of the SDA.

[liam stephens]

Congratulations, Shane.
Here is a little bit of History I found in New Draughts World - Nov 1938, Page 384:

ENGLISH DRAUGHTS ASSOCIATION

----"It was decided to purchase a trophy as a memorial to the late F. W. Slade and use it as a perpetual trophy for the British Individual Championship, this to be the property of the E.D.A., and Mr. S. Cohen's name to be put on as the winner for 1938 and be presented to him next Easter. The reason for this is that the idea was mooted before the last British Tourney, but it was felt that the Annual Meeting must sanction it first."----

[Jay H]

Mr. Bernard Coll recently took some photos of the Slade Shield and donated them for exhibit at the Online Musem Of Checkers History.
Here is a link....
http://www.online-museum-of-checkers-hi ... /id23.html

Perhaps Shane would like to donate an "after cleaning" photo to go with the exhibit....?

Regards

Jay H