Inverness Ice Centre and one of the city’s oldest curling clubs both celebrate their golden anniversaries this year.
Five curling provinces base themselves at Inverness Ice Centre, meeting weekly to compete in a variety of competitions and bonspeils.
The 15 Club began in 1968 and still remains an exclusive curling club for healthcare professionals. 98-year-old Dorothy Hadley is the oldest living member of the club and is also one of the clubs founders.
Mrs Hadley said: “When I first joined I’d never curled before and most of us had to learn from scratch so we weren’t competitive, we just enjoyed meeting up and playing together.
“At the beginning, we’d agreed on a uniform of tartan skirts and tights, which had only just came into fashion at the time, however, we quickly discovered that this dresscode was not going to work for curling, so we had to rethink that!”
Former GP Mrs Hadley, who has resided in Inverness for 58 years, was first invited to take up curling by the late Margaret McIntosh. Mrs Hadley continued to play until the age of 72 before making the decision to retire as the club became more competitive.
“I’m delighted that the 15 Club is still going strong and Margaret would be very proud too. I just loved it, we all did.”
Chairman of Inverness Ice Centre, Tom Pendreigh, said: “It was a real honour to meet Mrs Hadley and hear about her time with the curling club from its launch in the sixties. She is an amazing woman and a true inspiration with superb knowledge and a remarkable memory with some wonderful stories to tell.
“The Ice Centre has been a part of the community in Inverness for fifty years and it’s brilliant that this curling club has continued throughout the years, creating friendships along the way.”