Doonie run up Palace Road proves
to be decisive in Boy's Ba'
(Story dated: Monday, January 2)

Susan Learmonth who threw up the Boys' New Year's ba'. (Picture: Kenny Pirie)

Waiting for the throw up of the Boys' New Year's ba'.

The Boys' Ba' heads toward the assembled players. (Picture: Kenny Pirie)

The ba' goes loose on Broad Street . (Picture: Kenny Pirie)

Some of the younger players in action on the outside of the pack. (Picture: Michael Macleod)

Christopher Guthrie is lifted with the ba' at the end of the Corn Slip. (Picture: Leonard Bain)

Christopher Guthrie is hoisted high with his trophy, preceded by his mother, Yvonne. (Picture: Michael Macleod)

Twin brothers have claimed both the Christmas and New Year Boys’ ba’s, giving the Doonies a double win.

Christopher Guthrie, twin brother of Marcus, both of Royal Oak Road, Kirkwall, claimed the ba’ after a closely fought 150 minute game.

A crisp, sunny and clear day greeted the small crowd which gradually grew in strength on January 2 for the 2006 Boys’ Ba’.

The ba’ was thrown up by Susan Learmonth promptly at 10.30am.

Then they were off, and the action began immediately as the pack surged across Broad Street where there was a scramble as the boys ended up against the barricades at Orkney Television Enterprise.

Shortly afterwards, a pair of feet appeared from the crowd as a player was turned upside down.

Another push took the pack to just in front of the Merkat Cross, back to where they had started.

Here they stayed, locked in a scramble for the ba’ for the next few minutes, while shouts of “three, two, one” could be heard as the players tried to regain some movement.

Ten minutes later, having hardly moved an inch, a big push took the scrum towards The Longship, before beginning to inch downwards towards Lows estate agents.

Another big push by the Uppies saw the pack again moving back to the starting point, in front of the Merkat Cross, but no sooner had they got there than a Doonie move saw the players moving back towards Lows.

But the Uppies regained some ground as they moved slowly back towards The Longship. Then, minutes later, the scrum was back at the Orkney Television Enterprise where it stood in another standoff.

Just after 11am, another big push took the ba’ back to the Merkat Cross.

It then went back briefly to The Longship, before the Uppies pushed play to outside the Orkney Museum.

After some tussling, a move was made towards the Kirk Green and a few boys scrambled around the Covenanters’ memorial, before the rest of the pack joined them and then the scrum slowly edged towards the cathedral graveyard wall.

Suddenly they raced over to the opposite side of the street to Florabunda, but another push took them back to the wall of the Cathedral graveyard, where they swirled around before the most dramatic and decisive move of the game happened.

A break away by Christopher Guthrie, at 11.43am, was sudden, as he burst out of the pack, sped up Palace Road, to Copland’s Lane, running through King Street and Laing Street before emerging onto Albert Street and making it as far as Bridge Street, in front of the Paterson’s fishing tackle shop, before he was stopped and the rest of the players caught up with him.

Then as they fought it out and a confused crowd desperately tried to find the pack again, the second dramatic break took place, when Uppie, Andrew Cahidy, at 11.50am, broke away with the ba’ and got as far as the car park behind Mackay’s where he was stopped in his tracks.

Here the pack swirled back and forth towards Mounthoolie Lane, but then back again to Mackays, before edging very slowly to outside Matchmakers around 12.20pm.

At this point a resident, appeared from his garden to put up a Ba’ barricade, realising the game was heading towards his home.

Around 12.22pm there was a small surge, which scattered the crowd, but turned out to be a false alarm, as the players dug themselves in again.

Many spectators were obviously anticipating a Doonie win as they had already gathered at the harbour.

The pack ended up in the garden of the person who had taken the precaution of putting up the Ba’ barricade, in the house across from Matchmakers.

Around 12.30pm there was a steady push towards the harbour as they reached the Orkney Wireless Museum, before moving towards the Kiln Corner roundabout, and then headed towards the Shapinsay slip.

They swayed back and forth between Kiln Corner roundabout, the Shapinsay slip and the Girnel when a rare sight of the ba’ being thrown towards the basin, raised great cheers, but it fell short, and the players were jammed against the railings in a final fight.

A final push saw the players quickly moving down the Corn Slip and it was in the water of the Basin at 12.59pm.

A short scuffle to decide the winner followed, and it was Christopher Guthrie, twin brother of the Christmas Boys’ Ba’ winner, who emerged triumphant, and visibly moved by this win.

As he was back through the streets, and congratulated, he said: “I don’t know what to say, I’m very happy. It was a good game, real close.”