And I’ll give you that one – I am an old tosser.
It’s a category of the World Stone Skimming Championships which will be held on September 27 on Easdale Island.
And yes it’s still slated to take place. Well with all those banks and beaches around you it won’t be hard to keep social distancing.
The brainchild of Bertie Baker, it was started in 1983 before falling away.
Before being brought back in 1997 by Eilean Eisdeal (The Easdale Island Community Development Group) as a fundraising event.
And a social gathering with the aprés-skim mighty as ‘stoners’ bopping away to covers band None the Wiser after the event.
A rolling stone
I know this why? My old Travel pal Keeley whim I met in Switzerland www.myswitzerland.com and Swhisskey on the rocks.
When we sidled off from the rest of the group to go stone skimming on an Alpine lake above Interlaken.
There’s something about the Alps and I was back skimming in Austria and Germany on my Topflightforschools www.topflightforschools.ie. walking trip around the Tyrol www.visittyrol.cim.
Stony, stony banks
Stone skimming is a game we all learn as children, easy to pick up with simple rules which translate across oceans.
And which can be competitive too…
As my iron-pumping New York cousin Eddie displayed when he took me out on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond http://www.visit-lochlomond.com and www.visitscotland.com.
The Son and Heir
I worked on my throw, angle and trajectory (it’s all in the crouch) as I travelled through life finding new worlds as I went.
And a new pal to play with, the Son and Heir.
Being the competitive sod I am I needed to hold back the inevitable passing of tbs baton, or skimming stone.
Wicklow throwers
How sweet is the valley: Avoca
I would tale him on around the pools, streams and waters of our adopted county Wicklow www.visitwicklow.ie.
On one occasion I took it too far, at one of our favourite stretches, the poet Thomas Moore’s Meeting of the Waters in picturesque Avova http://www.themeetings.ie.
When I skimmed a ten and it bounced up onto the opposite bank.
Duck!
Luckily for me the boy in the other side ducked at the right moment and it jumped over his shoulder.
Of course there are. times when skimming a stone can be a solitary, reflective pastime when you want to get things off your chest…
Or out of your hand.
French farce
Off to go skimming on the Fresh Riviera
Such as when I found it the only way to get rid of my frustrations after I was denied the chance of driving a Fist 500 around the cliffs of the French Riviera.
I had stalled the classic car three times in the car park before we took off.
And the hire company’s guide persuaded me that he should take the wheel… The Boat D’Azur and https://www.google.ie/amp/s/uk.france.fr/en/news/article/contact-us/amp
All about the craic
Where’s your crouch? At the worlds in Scotland
The World Stone Skimming Championships http://www.stoneskimming.com is, of course, more than just the stone throwing.
It’s all about the craic too.
Time will tell if the pandemic will have abated to allow the Championships to run in September.
But until then I’ve got plenty of time, and space, to practise down North Berwick beach.