Trackside Tales Archive, October- December 2007 Back to Trackside Tales
So we near the end of yet another calendar year. It remains for your columnist to bide you compliments of the festive season and a happy New Year.
My thanks to the unfortunate souls who have found their way onto this page and taken things in such good spirits. Remember to enjoy the festivities responsibly. You never know who may be watching...
Athletes Turn Bag Packers
By all accounts, the club's fund raising shift was a resounding success. The balance sheet has soared no end. A minor blip is the absence of a treasurer to look after the fortune. The day was mildly nostalgic for our website man who returned to what was his place of work for four and a half years until June 2006. It was the hardest afternoon's shift he has performed since.
Events were absent of the normal hiccups associated with this activity. No milk cartons were dumped on top of eggs. No-one's red meat was thrown in a carrier with their chicken legs. It is strange however the way every shopper automatically assumes you are a football squad. There are other sports out there folks.
The Adventures of Yo Yo Mac
Our dear secretary is never one to pass up a good shindig. One year on from his beano to the UK Awards gathering in Birmingham, Mr McMurtrie made a return expedition to the Midlands forming a vital cog in a body known as the South Lanarkshire Athletics Partnership. Said group were nominated for an accolade which, to the delight of all concerned, they duly claimed. Said revelry rendered "Yo Yo Mac" absent from Whitemoss' first indoor outing the following morning. A rare period of rest for the poor man. He returned rendering gifts however in the form of a charity calendar produced by a well known English based athletics club. This being a family website, suffice to say the poses adopted by the calendar boys and girls were somewhat unusual. Plans are afoot for a Whitemoss version. Who will be Mr February? Will we have a Miss March? The Insider's ear is close to the ground.
Forum frequenters will no doubt be aware of the various ailments afflicting three of our number. Frank Smith (alter ego, Caesar), Robert Leggate (teamshouteroaner) and Alan Potts (potsy) are all happily on the mend following health and injury scares. Unfortunately, the rehabilitation process is proving to be lengthy. At Frank's suggestion, the trio are now officially christened the "Whitemoss Leg-ends" since each of their problems stem from that part of the anatomy. Nevertheless I am sure that you will join your columnist in wishing the three amigos well in their recoveries.
The annual Whitemoss awards celebration has proven to be a rich source of material for your columnist. A number of events transpired throughout the evening. Mr Potts was duly inducted into the Whitemoss equivalent of the Hall of Fame, becoming an honorary member, following in the footsteps of previous inductees Allan Scott, Mike and Stella Smith, Robert and Lea Leggate and Myles Dougan. Making a special effort to attend was our resident Membership manager, statistician and reliable official Steven Whyteside who is suffering temporary working exile in the valleys of Wales. In a conversation with our website man, it was learned that Stato has acquired a debtors' list amounting to 80 names who have yet to cough up their annual membership. A deadline of 15th October has been set before the Sheriff Officers are sent to the door.
Still on the yearly shindig, those with the stamina to survive to the very last engaged in a spontaneous rendition of Loch Lomond. As the lights came up to reveal the carnage, Chairman McCord took the stage one more time. Having excelled earlier by laying out the raffle prizes Generation Game style, he gave a speech of thanks concluding by asking the adoring public "Who is the best club in Scotland?" The majority gave the desired answer but look out the dissenting voice who replied "Giffnock North."
Tales From The Dance Part 3: another favourite topic amidst the revelry is comebacks. The end of many a retirement has been revealed at previous shindigs and this year was no exception. Promising to dust down their racing flats and freshly press their club uniforms were Graeme Leggate and Vicky Mackie, younger sister of our former junior committee member Debbie. Graeme was spotted gingerly jogging around the track perimeter the following week while Vicky's return is promised for summer 2008. You read it here first.