Friday 16th September

On the Garden Croquet front, lots of people on holiday this week so a bit thinner on the ground than normal. However three bottles of wine and a large dish of chocolate shortbread told a different tale! Rather an odd day for Trevor because he spent most of it using the internet to book flights and all the requirements for Geraldine to climb Mount Kilamanjaro in February, all 19,341 ft of it. That was their excuse for being late to play croquet. The Noels had a more plausible excuse - drinking which apparently Paul likes doing, can't imagine why. Carol brought the shortbread, yum, yum. Victor and Lynne came and we tried some one handed croquet with some success. As we were exactly even numbered, the cameraman Duncan was playing all the time so no video this week. The 20' x 10' gazebo eventually gave in and was, as I told the supplier originally, rubbish. Virtually all the thin spars are now bent or broken. So the excellent quality of the Gala Tent came to the rescue in the guise of a new canopy of 6m x 3 m using the very strong frame work that (with additional poles) also takes the 12m x 3 m canopy which is currently resting. The modular system offered by Gala Tent is excellent - I should be on commission!

Trevor and Geraldine beat Victor and Carol +1 (but spies told me that they might be in need of a divorce lawyer prior to the Kilamanjaro ascent)
Carol and Paul beat Victor and Geraldine +2
Duncan and Anne beat Trevor and Annette +2 but were behind until the last turn.

Again a week of very close games made all the more colourful by the hilly lawns at Bygrave. Duncan did some coaching on rolls and split shots and although the concepts seem complicated the techniques were used to good affect by the players. Everyone is improving and beginning to grumble that the end of the season is nigh.