by Ken Scotland - Club Captain 1964-65; 65-66; 66-67

It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity of writing a few words for the 'Shire Centenary Booklet. With the club currently performing in the dizzy heights of Division V of the National League, it will probably be offensive to the present membership if I describe my first impressions as being distinctly at the Michael Green end of the scale.

The Arctic weather conditions of early 1963 did nothing to help. I joined the club in late January and it was not until well into April that it became possible to play a match. During the intervening period, the average numbers at training stayed steadily at three - a number greatly below that which patronised the upstairs bar in the George Hotel, every Saturday evening.

After months of such masterly inactivity, it took a heroic effort to put a team on the field. It seemed to me, as a newcomer, that players had been borrowed from every club in Aberdeenshire and certainly our motley appearance must have confirmed that view.

That match introduced me to the delights of the Chanonry. The amenities failed to match, by some way, those to which I had become accustomed at Cambridge or Leicester, for example. In fact, the communal changing-room, for both teams anc the referee, was completely devoid of either artificial light or running water.

I also discovered that a knowledge of the contours of the pitch was always a distinct advantage to the home side and that the expression 'hanging lie' had -usage in rugby which I had only previously known in golf!

It is a truism that adversity brings out the best in a person. During my six or seven seasons with 'Shire I had, therefore, the privilege of meeting many players at their best. This was always especially true of away games where, inevitably, either the quality or the quantity of the team left much to be desired.

I must not leave you with the impression that the Aberdeenshire of the mid-sixties was a disaster area. My memories are of great enjoyment, both on and off the field and, also, of great admiration for the small and enthusiastic nucleus of officials and players who helped provide the continuity from one generation of players to the next.

I trust that you will all derive as much enjoyment from the club as I did, and I hope that the current members will get the second century off to a flying start, in all respects.