A gem of shinty history...

Have a look at this gem of shinty history.

It comes from the the Calum Maclean Project, based at the department of Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh. The project centres upon the collected materials of Calum I. Maclean (1915-1960).

On July 27, 1952, Maclean recorded a short anecdote in English from Donald MacDonald, then aged 75, who stayed in Laggan, Badenoch about New Year shinty in the district.

Click here to see it.

COULD SHINTY SHINE AT COWAL GAMES?

Cowal Highland Gathering is, we hear, about to lose its status as one of the major pipe band championships after this August's event.
But there is no room for tears, and the organisers will even now be looking for a replacement with the punch and vitality such that the major championships are hardly missed.

How about shinty?

TENNIS RULES FOR SHINTY?

Tennis star David Nalbandian hit the headlines for the wrong reasons at the weekend after a line judge was injured at Aegon Championships final at Queen's club.
The Argentinian player, performing well and a set up at the time, all of a sudden found himself facing a break point in the second set - when he inexplicably kicked a panel in front of line judge Andrew McDougall's seat, injuring him in the process.

This show of temper got him disqualified. It cost him the the chance to close out the match, win the title and become (I understand) the first South American to win a major grass court title.

What the dickens (or words to that effect) I hear you say, has this got to do with shinty? This website is called Shintyfan, after all.

Well, it got me thinking. Never a good thing...

BORN IN THE USA. SHINTY TO THE CORE

Sun disrupts play in Northern California

A fascinating and wide-ranging interview with Michael Bentley, one of the founding fathers of shinty in the United States. 
In the article, Michael outlines the challenges involved in developing shinty in a huge country with no shinty tradition; the couthy beginnings to his shinty odyssey and the strong bonds of friendship forged over the years with many shinty people in Scotland.
And how he would love to take the USA to a shinty world cup...

'POSITIVE THINGS' AT SHINTY'S AGM

Last week's Camanachd Association AGM was all about accentuating the positive in a challenging financial climate.
The Ben Nevis Hotel in Fort William was the venue for the 2012 Annual General Meeting, held on Friday April 27.

NEWTONMORE - WHO CAN CHALLENGE?

Photo - John MacTavish

I'm just sitting here looking at the Orion Premiership fixtures for this weekend, and one thought keeps coming back...

- who can stop Newtonmore?

They are the most impressive team I have seen this season by a distance.