Sochi, Curling, and Ailsa Craig

  Curling is a sport born in Scotland, and played there since medieval times. The first written record of this contest on ice dates from 1541. The game’s popularity and viewership soar every Winter Olympics, particularly during the Games in Sochi, Russia where...

On Dogs Who Work

  Someone told me once that dogs are happier if they have a job, if they have work to do. When I heard this I recalled the sheepdog trials that took place in the fields of Crossburn Farm in Troon, fields that were separated from our back garden in Hunter Crescent...

On Baseball and Winning

  The first baseball game I ever saw was in Houston at the Astrodome in 1980. My companion explained the rules to me. In school in Scotland we had played a similar game called rounders where we hit a tennis ball with an ungloved hand. My Texan friend tried to...