Looking back to the summer when I was awarded my MBE and OBE I was able to say I met the future King.
Now I can say I’ve met the current one!
Wednesday was one of those special nights when the scale of what you achieved sinks in a little bit more.
We were invited to a Buckingham Palace reception for the Olympic medallists in Tokyo and Beijing.
Apart from being a great chance to get together with Vicky, Hailey and Jen again, it was a real honour to be part of the first evening of his type since the change of monarch.
We didn’t have a clue which Royals would be there and it was only on the night that we saw the King and Queen Consort would be attending.
As you can imagine, you get an allocated place to wait for them to come around and then the King and Queen both chatted for a few minutes.
He knows all about the curling history of the loch at Balmoral but it hasn’t frozen for a long time so he might not get the chance to have a try anytime soon!
A night to remember celebrating @TeamGB medal success from Tokyo and Beijing! 🤩
Was a huge honour to meet his majesty The King and The Queen Consort at Buckingham Palace during the evening!
Thank you @RoyalFamily for inviting @TeamGB to the Palace. A night l'Il never forget!🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/2gmaDbP4iP— Eve Muirhead OBE (@evemuirhead) November 3, 2022
Camilla was very clued-up about our Olympic story. She said she was glued to the TV for the big games, which was nice to hear.
I’ve got another special occasion before I fly back to Scotland – the Team GB Chairman’s Dinner at the Rosewood Hotel.
I’m writing the column a few hours before it but I’ve been told I’ll be sitting next to the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach.
No pressure!
It’s not all about London this week, though.
I’m finally getting the chance to go to McDiarmid Park for the first time in ages on Sunday.
I’ve been a bit of a good luck charm for the games I’ve been to over the last few years.
And if St Johnstone can beat Rangers then I think they’ll be giving me a season ticket!
Scotland’s two teams for the European Championships have been named.
There’s not a lot to be said about the men’s.
Team Mouat are one of the best rinks in the world and it’s a no-brainer selecting them for the Championships in Sweden later this month.
They’ll have high hopes of defending their title.
You probably wouldn’t say the same for the women, whose main aim will be qualifying Scotland for the Worlds.
🚨🏴 Scotland Team Announcement for Euros 🚨
Scotland team selected to defend title at European Champs 🇸🇪 packed with Olympians 🥌⬇️
📸WCF/PPA#curling #ECC2022 pic.twitter.com/G77jbpK9UM
— British Curling (@BritishCurling) November 2, 2022
We won gold last time round but it’s a much less experienced group flying the flag this time.
Team Morrison have been given the nod.
Hailey Duff is the only member of my old team in the group – and she’s only going as alternate.
My message to Hailey would be – just keep practicing and playing to your high standards and your chance will come again.
I reckon this will be a pretty fluid next four years on the women’s scene for Scotland and Britain.
The first part of my trip down south was going to the opening night of The Curling Club, near the London Eye, which I’m an ambassador for.
There’s another one in Twickenham.
It might not be ‘real’ curling but the five lanes were jam-packed.
I do think it’s a great place to have a Christmas party night and it’s a pretty cool way to promote the sport.
There’s talk of one coming to Edinburgh and I could see that being a massive success.
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