Anglo- Scottish Interclub Battle 2008

On a day of mixed weather and some delay suffered by several people due to a motorway accident, nine couples and four singles duly arrived at the Derwentwater Hotel. Having successfully claimed one of the few remaining car parking spaces, we booked in. The Hotel is under new management and we were interested to know what changes were being made. The four course menu has now shrunk to three courses plus coffee. And the fudge, previously served with coffee, has been withdrawn. No doubt the management were concerned for our waistlines!

Saturday morning dawned overcast and raining. However, by 9.30, occasional breaks in the cloud persuaded some stalwarts to set off to follow Richard on his walk to Ashness Bridge. Others, less stalwart, followed their own devices.

By four o’clock we had all gathered in the Portinscale Hall for the main event of the weekend, the interclub print competition. The judge was John Gravitt, whose style, I was warned, took a bit of getting used to. I looked forward with interest to his remarks when judging. There were 80 prints in the competition and John started off by saying that, marking out of 30, he allowed 10 points each for composition, mood and technique. He also said that he had looked through and marked the prints 5 times so he could be sure that justice had been done. His comments were all constructive and to the point and sprinkled with humour. He alluded to the meanness of several entrants in submitting snow scenes which didn’t use much coloured ink; and used phrases like “on the wonk” i.e. not quite straight. He further commented on the use of appropriate paper to suite the subject, the over-sharpening of a number of prints and his search for prints with visual power and dynamic impact. Despite being troubled by a persistent cough he managed to hold out for just over two hours, and showed himself to be an excellent judge.

Now for the results: of the two prints scoring thirty, one was Geoff Robinson’s “Road Rage 2” which John said appeared to be bursting out the frame. Our second highest scorer was Tony Redford with twenty nine for his print “Cause and Effect”

Our overall position in the competition was third behind Carluke and Keswick, a very creditable result considering the strength of the opposition.

Brian Turnbull