Castle the venue for cribbage not quidditch

A cribbage enthusiast ticked off Northumberland at the weekend during his quest to play the card game in all of England's historic counties.
Cribbage players Andrew Stevens and  Siv Sears at Alnwick Castle.
Picture by Jane ColtmanCribbage players Andrew Stevens and  Siv Sears at Alnwick Castle.
Picture by Jane Coltman
Cribbage players Andrew Stevens and Siv Sears at Alnwick Castle. Picture by Jane Coltman

As previously reported by the Gazette, Siv Sears is on a mission to play the game in each of the 39 historical counties of England by his 39th birthday in June.

He contacted us in March as, by then,he had played in 30 across the south and Midlands and was about to head north to play the others.

Cribbage players Andrew Stevens and  Siv Sears at Alnwick Castle.
Picture by Jane ColtmanCribbage players Andrew Stevens and  Siv Sears at Alnwick Castle.
Picture by Jane Coltman
Cribbage players Andrew Stevens and Siv Sears at Alnwick Castle. Picture by Jane Coltman
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The Gazette suggested that one of the county’s castles would be an appropriate venue and the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland gave Siv permission to play at Alnwick Castle, more usually associated with Harry Potter and quidditch, following its role in the first two films, than cribbage.

Through our story, we also managed to find Siv an opponent – Andrew Stevens, from Alnwick, who previously played in club leagues for many years around his hometown of Oldham, Lancashire.

Siv’s quest is part of a larger project which aims to promote the game of cribbage in the UK while he investigates and records the state of the game in the nation at this time, through the writing of a book.

You can read more about Siv’s journey so far on his blog – www.cribbage.org.ukAnd in case you were wondering who won Saturday’s match, Andrew defended Northumberland’s honour, winning a close encounter by two games to one. He beat Siv by just one point in the second game and two in the third.