Edition 4

What’s happenin’ in the HOUSE:

1. Only 26 days until Christmas – Are you ready yet?  That also means, only 22 days until the logo vote happens and the first EVER bead winners are announced! 
2. We have had great feedback on our Social D Division – let’s hope the L2C (Learn to Curl) female participants want to join our league in January!
3. Our very own Janet Murphy is heading to the Senior Nationals in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia! Best of luck to Janet and her Team (Rizzo) Dec 4 thru to the 10th! 
4. The Sportsman’s Bonspiel, which supports sleeping children around the world (all proceeds go to the charity) is looking for sponsorship or raffle donations. The Bonspiel is Jan 27-29 2023. Contact Jim Wilson – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
   
   

Laugh of the Week:

A ham sandwich walks into the OCC and asks the bartender for a beer.

The bartender says “sorry we don’t serve food here”.  Ha!!

Get to Know our WNL Teams:

 Team “Sandwell”

Who are the members of your team, and how long have you been curling?

Carol Sandwell – Skip - I have been curling on and off since high school (can you say corn brooms?) Started in Grimsby, played recreationally for a bit at University of Waterloo and then Oakville.  I will try not to date myself or Mary St. James but I have known her since high school (although she has always been the better curler) and beat us already this year .

Rhonda Lawson – Vice - Curled at Oakville CC 9 years - played with Carol all 9 - joined the team when I moved to Oakville in 2013.  Years curled - 50, started playing "School Boys" in Highschool, then played at Humber Highlands - Etobicoke, Avonlea Scarborough, Leaside - Toronto and Annandale - Ajax of which only Leaside still remains. Played competitively for many years, then life got in the way.

Leslie Vivian – Second - I started curling in 2009. My first year I curled at the Royal Canadian Curling Club in Toronto. Then I joined Scarboro Golf & Curling Club. It was a fabulous experience as we had Roy Weigand, a world champion, as our Curling Club Manager and on-site curling pro. Any time you wanted some coaching, Roy was there to give you expert tips and fix whatever it was that needed fixing.  I joined OCC in 2016. I spared for several different teams in Wednesday Night Women's and then in 2017 joined Carol Sandwell's team and have happily curled with Carol, Rhonda and Fran ever since. 

Sally Tang – Lead - My first encounter with curling was with the Toronto Actuarial Club hosting a curling activity at Toronto Cricket Club in 2020 Feb right before covid lockdown. After the lockdown is done, I started curling in 2021 and hopped into Learn To Curl program here at Oakville. This is my second season! 

Tell us a story about your team

From Rhonda: So many games, can't remember most of them, most favourite bonspiel was the Muskoka International Bonspiel where you curled at Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville over 3 days with home hosting.

From Carol: We are a new foursome as Sally joined our team and we have only had 3 games to date.  I used to play some competitive curling and best moments were winning against my sister and also Marilyn Bodogh (again dating myself ….)

From Leslee:  Win or lose, we always have a good time curling together. Fran is now off her hiking adventures all over the world and just spares for us occasionally, and we've welcomed Sally to our team. 

When I curled at Scarboro, I used to curl in competitive events and playdowns with my women's team. My partner Eric and I also played in the TCA Mixed a number of times.

My most favourite bonspiel was Bigley's in Bobcaygeon. My women's team went up and stayed the weekend. Great food (a lot of it made by the local curling club members), so much fun and even a fashion show. The prizes were all from Bigley's clothing and shoe store. I won a gorgeous burgundy leather handbag that I used for years.

From Sally: I guess the story is still under construction… stay tuned! 

What would you like the other WNL members to know about your team?

Our team has had some good games in Oakville over the years but really don’t like to start off in A division.  

What is your team's favourite food? 

We have not had any team social activities yet but in the past few years we have managed some golf games and dinners- no special places but always looking for restaurant recommendations.

Leslee: My favourite food ... it's a toss up between Mexican and Italian. Can't go wrong with either one.

Sally: Something to find out in the future! Personally I like hotpot and spicy food, BBQs are good too  

Special Pin Competition:

Remember your “special pins” – Have fun with it – and remember – it has to be ON PURPOSE!!

See Sheri if you need more beads or ribbons…

The “darning pin” is on the bulletin board in an orange envelope marked Ribbon pin!  Please ensure you return it promptly for others to use if needed.             

Stuff that will help us Curl better:

Communication!  There are some keys to a good team and the biggest one is communication. 

Times to communicate:

1. The person delivering the rock – tell the sweepers what you think the rock’s weight might be (according to how you felt you threw it)
2. Sweepers – have a quick tête-à-tête at the hog line – where do you think it might end up?
3. Skip – is the line good? Let them know
4. Sweepers – Tell the skip where you think the rock is going to be past the hog line….. If things change – yell it to your skip
5. Skip – Keep your sweepers in the loop – is it curling – do you need it straight? Do you want it to curl?
6. Be supportive, kind and have fun!

Recipes Around The Rings:

 Pear and blue cheese tart

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 1 tbsp almond meal
• 2 small firm pears, thinly sliced lengthways
• 1 tbsp honey
• 50g blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup (25g) walnuts, toasted, chopped
• Honey, extra, to serve
• Baby rocket leaves, to serve

Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place 1 pastry sheet on lined tray. Top with remaining pastry sheet. Lightly brush with egg and sprinkle with almond meal.

Step 2
Arrange the pear, overlapping slightly, over the pastry, leaving a 1cm border. Drizzle with honey. Bake for 20-25 mins or until the pear is just tender and pastry is golden brown and puffed.

Step 3
Sprinkle the tart with the blue cheese and walnut. Drizzle with the extra honey and sprinkle with rocket to serve.

WNL Logo:

Don’t forget the contest!  Here is one of the submissions:

Deadline – Dec 21^st.

WNL Swag could be an option for us in the new year!

Got something you want in the newsletter? Maybe a tip for us?  please send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for our next edition of WNL².  I need stuff!