Delight was etched onto the faces of north-east curling club members last night as they took to the ice for the first time this winter since a fire devastated their clubhouse.
The Vale of Alford Curling Club took to the frozen-over waters of Murray Park last night, six months after their base was reduced to ashes by a blaze.
The fire took with it 140 years of the groups’ history along with about £50,000 worth of equipment, trophies, mementos and photographs.
Sixteen sets of curling stones replacing the 40 destroyed in the fire – along with other equipment – have been donated to and purchased by the club to allow them to soldier on.
And last night curlers were relieved to once again take part in the sport, beloved by many who grew up in the Alford area.
Secretary and treasurer Allan Taylor said members had been keen to hit the ice for several weeks, and had been keeping a close eye on local temperatures.
He added it was “good to get going and get people gathering there again”.
Mr Taylor said: “We have been kind of chomping at the bit since the weekend. We checked on Saturday but it was far too thin ice, but we checked Monday and it was almost good to go then.
“We gave it another night of frost just for assurance and it was really ready to go. It is a big thing just being there. There will be things we don’t have now that we will soon have but we are curling and letting people know we are up and running.
“I used to be a skier as well and you were checking for itching for snow to be at Glenshee. It is the same idea. People were e-mailing and messaging at the weekend asking ‘is there enough ice?’.”
Mr Taylor said the Vale of Alford Curling Club has applied for several grant applications to raise the money needed to rebuild its base at a cost of about £21,000 – and hopes to have it up and running by next winter.
Members are now preparing a planning application for the new clubhouse, which will be submitted to Aberdeenshire Council soon.
Mr Taylor said members are hoping for a “like for like” replacement of the old building.
He added Murray Park should be open tonight as well and encouraged curlers to come along.