Joe King writes: “In sunny conditions Nottingham B and Blewbury resumed their rivalry after three successive victories to Nottingham in the previous years, each by a 6-5 margin. This time the final was hosted by Cheltenham and play started at 10:30, with 90 minute time limits. Sadly for Blewbury, the scoreline was repeated and Nottingham ran out as deserved winners.
The morning session went to Nottingham; they won two games by +1 on time. Blewbury fought back with three victories to lead at tea. It all depended on the final round.
Nottingham took first blood with Roger Steeper delivering a decisive win over Peter Allan + 11 to level the scores at 4-4. Viv Staley controlled her game against Brian Jamieson to put Nottingham in the lead. Joe King had a tight finish against Julieann Trembling to win +1 as time expired. At 5-5, Sarah Butler prevailed over Andy Evason +8 to clinch the decider – and the match.
The final was played in good spirits, with Nottingham receiving the trophy from James Death.. For the vanquished, Joe King had the consolation of reaching the 5P (peel) trigger point after his two wins.”
The day started in brilliant sunshine, but chilly. The weather forecast promised heavy rain later in the day, so we made a prompt start. A toss of a coin meant that Susan Tilbrook played Brian Jamieson on Court 1, and Nick Freund played Andy Evason on Court 2, in the Semifinals. We used the starting scores variant of the Advantage Handicap System.
Nick got off to a flying start against Andy winning the first two hoops in record time. However, Andy fought back and won the first game 7–6, Nick the second 7-5. A place in the Final rested on their third game. Andy won 7 – 6 after a nail-biting match.
On Court 1, Susan had a comfortable win over Brian in their first game, 7 – 2. Their second game was much tighter, but Susan’s clearance and hooping skills gave her a 7 – 5 win and through to the Final.
During the Semis the rain had kept away.
Who was going to win this Final, Susan in fantastic form, handicap 6, against a strong player in every way, handicap 4?
After two games the honours were even Susan winning the first game 7–4, and Andy the second 7–3. Waterproofs were on and off, and a couple of times the players had to scamper to the Clubhouse for shelter.
The third game was very close, clearing each others balls continually. Susan grasped the title by winning 7–4, despite Andy’s efforts to keep her at bay!
Well done to Susan on magnificent play, but also to all the Semifinalists who made it an entertaining day for the spectators.
In previous years there has been an event of this kind with one day at Phyllis Court and one at Blewbury and a second event shared by High Wycombe and Phyllis Court. Last year there was a suggestion to complete the triangle and have an event hosted by High Wycombe and Blewbury. So it happened with the full complement of eight contestants.
It was organised as a Swiss with a 2.5 hour time limit to permit three rounds to be played on the first day in daylight. The first day was at High Wycombe with excellent weather and quite fast lawns. The second day was held at Blewbury where the final two rounds were completed with some occasional light rain – but much better than expected. The day was punctuated by an excellent lunch prepared and served by Minty.
At the end of the fifth round there were three people on four wins however Simon Ling had beaten Brian Jamieson who had beaten Andy Evason who had in turn beaten Simon Ling so choosing the winner was down to the hoop count making Simon the winner. Choosing the second place was easy as Brian had beaten Andy in their game. So the first three were:
Simon Bryant, unstoppable winner of GC+10 tournaments when he joined Blewbury in 2024, conquered the club’s best players in the level play Championship. Peter Allan? John Garnett? No problem . Simon smiled even more broadly than usual as he and his victims enjoyed Carol’s wine and snacks. A proper Cinderella moment to celebrate. Simon, we salute you….
Saturday saw the Semifinals and Final of the GC Championship 2025.
Four of our leading GC Players, John Garnet, David Vincent, Peter Allan and Simon Bryant took to the courts at 09.30 on a chilly morning, but the promise that it would warm up during the day. Well, the weather did and so did the croquet.
The semifinals, John v David and Peter v Simon were contested with vigour. Both matches were close with only a couple of points between the winners and losers. Both matches were won in two games out of three. John overcoming David 7- 6 & 7-4, while Simon pulled out all the stops to beat Peter 7-6 & 7-6
The first game of the 3rd /4th play-off was up to the semis standard with Peter getting the better of David by 7-5. Peter again showed David the way winning the second of their games 7-4 to take third place.
In the Final on Court 1, Simon continued his excellent play and outwitted John in a close first games winning 7-5. John went out after lunch with a determination to win. Well, he won the next game 7-4. This meant they had to play a third game. Simon, after being 3-1 up on John, was in fighting mode and took a 6-3 lead. What would Simon do now? His answer was to win the next 4 hoops to win 7-6. That was a game to remember. Congratulations to Simon, whose Handicap, is now 3. Commiserations to John, who put a great challenge.
This year, we’re inviting all members to nominate a candidate/candidates for the prestigious Player of the Year award (POTY). The name implies excellence on the courts, but nominees should also contribute significantly in other ways. As this a one off prize, don’t nominate previous winners; Peter Allan, John Garnett, David Grinstead, David Long.
Key areas to consider:
Administration:: development of capital projects, overseeing maintenance, accounting
Practical help: mowing, white lining, catering, cleaning
Behaviour: a friendly response to fellow members at all times, even if provoked. Mutual respect and humour create the ambiance small clubs thrive on.
Please send your selection (s) to david.long@btinternet.com, stating the reasons for your choice(s). After further discussion between senior committee members, the winner will be announced at the AGM (Wednesday, October 29, 4.30, Meland Room). The closing date for your nomination(s) is September 18. Why not do it now before you forget…
Bank Holiday Monday, four short croquet courts, 18 players out to enjoy fresh aspects of the game we love. Can the sun be blazing down on this ambitious set up? Yes, it can. It would be curmudgeonly to say it overdid it, but a record breaking C29 is toasty. As it passed its zenith, David Long revealed his intricate schemes to get people playing variants they’d never tried before in 45 minute bursts.
David and Joe selflessly stood down from playing themselves to explain and coach. On the AC front, Joe took new members, James and Valerie Bentley, through their first transition steps, while Clare King tackled her inaugural game of GC. Her partner was Malcolm Cochrane, a rare but prized visitor who hits the ball with silky mastery. Clare’s verdict, ‘ I think I’ll stick to AC’, was no reflection on him….
Speed croquet? Joe was poised to operate the two faced clock he’d had so much fun making: other than winning tournaments, there’s nothing he likes more than devising intricate gadgets. Two pairs, each with a 20 minute allocation, scampered around the court at his command, desperate to be in the right place at the right time. Wasting precious seconds might be costly when the bell halted proceedings for one team, leaving the time hoarders to dominate the end game. In theory, anyway…
Kwik? Good intentions, but it hasn’t caught on. Luckily Blewbury – in this case. David Long and Edmund – have invented three ball, a version of one ball that eliminates the dreary procession factor. The extra ball is used to create a three ball break, giving craft and guile a chance. This will be presented to Croquet England as an ideal way of inducing GC players to explore AC, consigning Kwik to history. Expect three ball tournaments in the CqE 2026 calendar. Should BCC patent it first…..
As a successful project manager should, David worked out a points system for rewarding good play and enterprise switching between lawns and games to provide an overall winner. Step up Simon Bryant, 4 victories, 4 different games.. To you the bottle of fine red wine and the hearty round of applause. Bruce, Andrew and Carol were joint second, with honourable mentions for David Weston, Clare and Jackie who were close behind them.
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David and Simon celebrate in front of Joe’s clock.
Minty provided a rolling buffet of canapés and snacks throughout the afternoon, the perfect excuse to avoid direct sunlight. Also a raffle which covered all the costs of food and the open bar for several hours. Her attempt to fulfil an ambition to play speed croquet provided comic relief for everyone except her partner: sorry, Deirdre.
As David said, this lighthearted, mildly competitive event is a first for BCC. He wants feedback on all fronts: what you particularly enjoyed, anything that could be better/different, would you like the chance to do it again next year. Please take the time to send him your thoughts: David.long@btinternet.com
That was the general comment from all of the players who arrived at Blewbury on the morning of Saturday 23rd August to take part in the AC Super-B tournament. I am used to players commenting favourably on the high quality of our lawns, but this year the bar was lower. Having played in tournaments recently where patches of green were few and far between, the players were happy simply to see green lawns.
The original nine players had been reduced to a field of seven due to a combination of injuries and one late addition. My plan of running the tournament as a flexible Swiss was still valid, and gave some chance of players managing to play against all the other players. In the end, three players managed that. The handicaps of the players ranged from 0 to 3.5, so there were no easy games.
Saturday started a bit on the cool side, but the temperature quickly rose to a pleasant, warm day. Battle commenced. The three hour time limit per game was only reached once due to solid breaks on the part of all the players. At the end of the day, we had a clear leader. Adam Swinton from Surbiton was on four out of four wins. Could someone catch him on the Sunday? No we could not, Adam was a worthy winner with five out of five games. The second closest player was Neil Kingston from Bristol on four out of six.
The play had been of a consistently high standard. Everyone seemed to feel that they had played well and that if they had lost, they had simply been outplayed. Several triple peels were attempted, but none were finished. At a somewhat less exotic level, in my final game. I peeled my opponent’s ball through rover and pegged him out, demonstrating that stopping at rover does not always make you safe!
We all enjoyed the excellent lunches provided by Susan, Minty, and Sandy.
After some good croquet, good food and good company, I am expecting several return visitors next year.
Too far, too hot – the limp last minute dropout is every League manager’s nightmare. So it came to pass for the two Davids, Vincent and Dibben, as GC Advantage leagues C & D came up a player short for their final matches against High Wycombe Kestrels and Harwell. Vincent ran out of options, conceding an automatic four points to the Kestrels, but Dibben, with a stronger team that had more to lose, looked outside the box.
And up popped Philippa Turner. With zero experience of competitive singles and thinking she’d been asked to play doubles in a friendly match, she responded to Dibben’s plea. She lost the first three games, but came good in the fourth. With the fixture poised at 8-7, she chalked up a nail-biting victory on the golden hoop, sealing a 9-7 triumph for the D team. David Long and the Bryants clapped jubilantly, then rushed over to congratulate her.
BCC salutes you, Philippa: anyone who jumps into the unknown and delivers when the chips are down is top of any order of merit. DD, your number one fan, can’t wait to sign you up for 2026.
