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14 May 2000

Budleigh Salterton week 8-13 May 2000

Report by Hamish Hall

There were some moments of elation and pleasure, exasperation and frustration, but if not at all times, certainly at most, a week of croquet played in good humour. We missed Martin GrangerBrown who had come off his bike and fractured his jaw. Both Paul McDonald and Mary Goodhart had fallen, and also had to withdraw from the singles, all giving initial hassle to the manager. Mac Burnie Wood.

The doubles typified the good humour. Veronica McClements chortled with unmitigated glee as she and Richard Clark demolished the old enemy - Andrew Potter and Mauren Evans. Margaret Pena and Hamish Hall could not contain their mirth when playing their long standing friends, the Owens. These octogenarians ran around the court, hitting everything in sight, comprehensively demolishing their ‘B’ class opponents. An inspiration as to how the game should be played.

The Scaddons sensibly lost in their first round, and happily collected what looked suspiciously like a couple of bottles of Oxford Landing. which Bunny Porter had judicously added to her stocks behind the bar.

The ‘X’ demonstrated the handicapper’s problems, as the Pirates of Penzance (Tony Backhouse and Malcolm Hooper) cheerfully bought round after round on their way to meeting Sheila Adams and John Gibbons in the final, it might not be so easy next time, as David Purdon, tournament handicapper, axed Malcolm’s handicap by 4.

Tony Backhouse is back right, Malcolm Hooper to his right.

The Godfrey Turner cup was comfortably won by John Gibbons from Watford. The locals were delighted to see Michael Lester pose with the JK Brown Cup, and Richard Bourke took the Pat Turner Cup.

A notice "Hare around the Court, and win a mystely prize” was to encourage rapid play. David Mumford put down his marker at 1 .5 hours. Margaret Pena knocked 15 mins off that, before Sidmouth’s Paul Whittall romped home in 45 mins. The prize was a three foot tall chocolate Hare, won by the manager in a charity raffle. Paul was duly photographed with his prize by the local press before donating it to a children’s hospital

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