Our last meeting of the year on the 14th December 2023 was a triple purpose meeting, hosting both the Annual Christmas Competition and our traditional bumper raffle draw. It was also at this meeting that the winners of the Shield Competitions held throughout the year was to be announced.
Lets deal with the Competition first, this Competition was open to all our members in all 3 categories, they could make whatever they liked and more than one entry was also being allowed as this was a stand alone Competition. The usual winning positions of 1st, 2nd and 3rd would be judged in all 3 categories by all the members present and they were all awarded a Certificate, the person with the highest number of votes regardless of category would then be awarded the MacGregor Shield, I am reliably informed that the votes for the MacGregor Shield was very close.
Here are some photos of the Competition entries, them being judged and the winning entries.
The Novice entries were the best represented by having 12 entries, the Intermediate entries numbered 10 and the Experienced had a total of 7 entries. However the number of those who entered in each category was much smaller, 6 in the Novice category, 3 in the Intermediate and 4 in the Experienced Category. We would like to see these numbers increase for all the Competitions.
The way the judging worked was to allow only 3 people into the judging area at a time controlled by David Hobson. Here you can see 3 members looking at all the entries determining which of these they think should be winners.
Here are the Novice winners. 1st place went to Susan Drew, 2nd place went to Alan Smith and 3rd place also went to Alan Smith.
Here are the Intermediate winners, 1st, 2nd and 3rd all went to Daniel Stewart.
Here are the Experienced winners, 1st place went to John Ruickbie, 2nd place went to Nick Simpson and 3rd place went to Alec Mutch.
The overall winner in this stand alone Competition went to John Ruickbie, I am reliably informed that there was a very close 2nd.
Here is John Ruickbie receiving the MacGregor Shield from our competitions organizer Nick Simpson.
The Presentations to the winners of the year 2023 Competitions for their Shields also took place. In the Novice category it went to Barry Cumming, in the Intermediate category it went to Daniel Stewart and in the Experienced category it went to Alec Mutch.
Here is Barry Cumming being presented with the Novice Shield from our Competitions organizer Nick Simpson.
Here is Daniel Stewart being presented with the Intermediate Shield from our Competitions organizer Nick Simpson.
Here is Alec Mutch being presented with the Experienced Shield from our Competitions Organizer Nick Simpson.
Now for the Bumper Raffle Draw.
These were some of the prizes to be awarded in the Bumper Raffle Draw. The draw took almost 90 minutes, it was received with some hilarity from time to time and there were a few tickets drawn where the winner allowed the item to be drawn again.
That concludes the Competition and the Raffle Draw, all that remains for me to say is on behalf of your Committee to wish you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we will see you all again in 2024.
Our first meeting in 2024 is on the 4th January, it’s being handled by Geoff Potter and Geoff will have all 5 lathes working making bowls and shallow plates.
Remember your Subscriptions for 2024 are needed before the 1st February.