Chewing gum has been around since the Greeks drew sap out of trees. There might be gum around curliing clubs just as old.

In the past few weeks volunteers at the curling club I belong to have been renewing the plethora of old wood work spotted throughout the club. They have made some interesting finds.

Their main find is that curlers can be boors when it comes to their gum.

Almost every piece of wordwork sports secret, old blobs of dried chewing gum attached to all manner of wood like barnacles on a sunken ship.

The worst is the woodwork around the door frames leading to the ice. Going on the ice to curl? Then of course yank the masticated mess of chewey goodness out of my mouth and stick it on the door frame so I can shake hands with my opponents without a big wad of gum in my mouth.

Even though the waste paper basket is located (2 of them even) on every sheet.

It gets worse.

Let' see. When do I curl next? Let me look at the schedule on the bulletin board. Man my gum is dry. The flavour is disappearing. Here's when I curl next. And here, right here on the bulletin board frame is where I will hide my gum. The waste paper basket is too far away.

Properly disposing of your gum would make the volunteers refurbishment go a lot faster.

Chew on it!