It was an occasion which always promised to provide a turnip for the books.
And the inaugural World Neep Bowling Championships in Kemnay during the weekend proved such a resounding success the organisers have confirmed it will now become an annual competition.
Hundreds of participants from all across the north east convened at the Bennachie Lodge and, impervious to regular rain flurries, created a genuine family atmosphere, even as the action raged on the green.
Saturday’s pairs event was a keenly-fought affair, but Alford couple Lyndsey and Derek Taylor eventually triumphed after bringing along their own ‘neeps’, as significant crowds cheered their efforts.
The idea, which was initially inspired by a Broons cartoon strip, was brought to fruition by Bennachie Lodge director, Sandy Elrick.
And he watched yesterday, as the team competition brought the swede smell of success for the Barclay quartet from Kemnay, comprising Davie, Connie, Heather and Bob Barclay who were just too good for their rivals.
The proceedings were a step in the dark for Mr Elrick and his staff, but there was no disguising their delight at how the novel concept unfolded.
As he said: “It has been a great success and we have already had people coming up to us and asking us when we’ll be doing it again.
“We even had somebody from Ballater talking to us about putting on something similar in their community.
“Given this was the first year, we weren’t entirely sure how it would work out and the weather could certainly have been better, but that is the only complaint.
“It didn’t seem to matter, though. The place was still packed, both with competitors and people cheering them all on, and we can start work now on the 2018 World Championships.”
Mr Elrick wore as many hats as Audrey Hepburn during the two days, whether umpiring, scoring, updating the media, or meeting and greeting the many visitors who turned up.
And he even found time to make sure the turnips weren’t wasted once the action ceased.
As he added: “We ended up with over 100 neeps, but we weren’t going to let them go to waste.
“We were approached by a farmer and we have made sure they have been recycled.”
