Trojans v Rivets

You always know when there's trouble afoot when you get an unexpected call to play.  We were

definitely struggling to get a good team out, and to top it off our No.1 dropped out.  To make amends Mike had brought his very fetching new kit, very stylish.  So off we went to Rivets, where, would you believe they were missing their 1,2 and 3.  Things suddenly started looking up and with our hot new kit, we were pumped.  It never ceases to amaze me that something a simple as a squash court can vary so much.  Rivets have one of those big long heaters down the centre of the court, consequently standing on the T was a bit like being lost in the Kalahari desert – unbelievably hot, but the sides were quite normal. So the strategy was to spend as little time on the T as you could manage. 

First up was yours truly playing at 4 playing a chippy little Irishman. Now I am usually a slow starter, but tonight I set a new standard, just couldn't settle into it.  Lost the first game 9-1, not good. Second game was better but still way off the pace.  Lost 9-6.  Third game was time to get it sorted but I was still firing on three cylinders when the score was 7-5 to the Irishman.  Bad, and much anguish in the gallery.  Finally I managed to sort myself out and avoid a disaster. - due in no small part to some excellent advice from Steve May.  Won 9-7.  Fourth game was totally different, it was like somebody else had come on court. My serving purred, effortless dropshots, I barely needed to move.  Paddy was looking beguiled.  Won that one 9-4.  So nicely set up for the fifth and on a roll.  Then I had a wobble.  Serving got loose, Paddy got back into it.  At 6‑2 things weren't looking good.   Clawed my way back to 7-7, got my nose in front at 8-7.  At last victory within my grasp!  But just couldn't finish it off, lost 10-9.  Bugger. The gallery was exhausted.  Lost 2-3

Meanwhile on the next court, big John Catchpole was dispensing misery.  Didn't see the game but three fairly quick games put the match score on 1 all.  Won 3-0

Next was Richard Graham at three, who, it has to be said was playing probably their best player.  He covered the court well and had a very effective forehand, anything loose was convincingly put away.  Managed to watch Richard win the third 9-6, but it was not enough.  Lost 1-3.

Steve May played at 2.  Steve's demeanour on court is a bit like a man chatting to his neighbour over the garden fence while leaning on a rake – but  'relaxed'  doesn't come anywhere near it.  Steve's opponent just couldn't get into the game.  Tight serves, great shot selection, nicely weighted shots, he made it look easy.  His biggest threat was overconfidence.  But it was always under control and ran out a comfortable winner. Won 3-0.

So the match was nicely balanced at 2-2. Time for Chaps to do his stuff.  Unfortunately, he shouldn't even have been playing due to a pulled calf muscle, but had to pick himself when Harry had to drop out at the last minute.   Chances were that he would pull up half way through the second game.  And it didn't do much for our confidence when he came out with his leg covered in (very stylish) black tape.  His opponent was definitely not their No.1 - best described as scrappy and aggressive, his game plan seemed to be based on getting grumpy but fortunately he didn't seem to notice Mike trying to hide his limp.  What transpired was a masterclass in game management.  He had an awkward serve, used his reach well, didn't bother with lost causes and tried to limp as little as possible.  The gallery was nervous, could he keep it going?  The first game was close , could have gone either way, but experience showed and he won it 9-7.  The second game was surprisingly easy, his opponent was not happy and the grumpier he got, the more confident we felt.  Mike took it 9-1.  We started to believe he might be able to win if he could keep it going.  But ours fears were misplaced and he wrapped the match up winning comfortably 9-4 in the third.

So we came away with a slightly surprising 16 points to 6 win, still top of the league!!  Our opponents weren't too dismayed, they knew they would struggle but compensated by being great company over the meal.  Rivets is some club, bit like a northern workingman's club.  Good atmosphere, cheep beer and their subs are about £70 a year!! and the courts are £2.50.

Trojans,  Nike!!

Bulls v Bears

Kevin Mears writes:

After the usual pre-match banter, side bets and positioning, Captain ‘cotton eye’ Joe was first to hold court with Joanne. Much was expected from an in-form Joanne but Joe’s pace and accuracy were too much for Joanne to handle. A lapse of concentration in the 3rd gave Joanne some hope, but this was soon quashed by Joe in the 4th.3-1

Next up was Olly against Captain Kangaroo (Fielding). The first game was eventually won by Olly having defended 8 game balls. Dave came back with gusto to take the second, but his determination was never going to be enough to combat Olly’s natural flare. Captain Kangaroo was dispatched in the next 2, probably wishing that he had taken the opportunity to sit on a sun kissed beach in Rio. 3-1

Having recently been promoted to the number 1 slot, Heather had another tough week, this time against Stefan Lubek, making a welcomed return to add strength to the Bear’s squad. Having lost the previous week, Stefan was keen to prove that he remembered how to play squash and he didn’t disappoint. Heather put up a credible performance, but the rejuvenated bear was too accurate, too fit and too strong. 0-3

Mearsy and Hicksie were next to lock horns. Kev lost the knock up 9/0 with Mike timing everything to perfection. The first game was a breeze for Mike, with Kev hitting too many mid court shots which Mike put away with ease. At 8/2 it should have been Hicksie’s game but somehow Mearsy managed to scrape back to finally win it 10/9. The next 2 went Kev’s way. 3-0

Finally young Harry “Hurricane” Wyld was pitched against Chris “county champion” Gilders. With a win incentive, Harry was focused on the victory, but Chris is too fit and too experienced to capitulate. Exquisite to watch, they battled well and Harry’s killing shots were absolutely outstanding (it’s amazing what happens when one practises). With the second game at 8-7, Chris mimicked to perfection a ‘Hurricane” killer nic, to level the scores. The remaining games continued at a high pace, but Harry proved too much for his senior, narrowly winning 10/8 and 9/7. 3-1

With the win bonus the Bulls won 16-6, the Bears will have to regroup for the return match on 24th March.
The following questions remain……..
Will Heather ever shout or argue ?
Will Harry ever win 3/0 and will he ever mark a match ?
Will Kev ever be quiet on court ?
Will Captain Joe’s bar bill ever be below £100 ?
Will Olly’s body hold up for an entire season ?
Will Stefan play enough to reach his potential ?
Will Hicksie get a full night’s sleep ?
Will Gilders ever be 10 stone?
Will Joanne ever beat Egan ?
Will Captain Kangaroo win a team match ?

Finally, a massive thanks to Sponsor Maximon Solutions (Richard & Lis Monson) for our quality new team shirts.

Bulls v Bears: Tomorrow: Tuesday 24 November

The Bulls v The Bears is always a feisty fixture.

It's thrown up some interesting fixtures.

Well worth a watch.

7.30pm

Tomorrow

1. Heather Joy v Steph Lubek

2. Harry Wyld v Chris Gildersleve

3. Kevin Mears v Mike Hicks

4. Joe Budzynski v Joanne Smalley

5. Olly Reeves v Dave Fielding

The Bull's Skipper Joe Budweiser writes:

A couple matches further into the season after the last report/update, the Bulls experiences have been a mixed bag......

Home against RAF

A late withdrawal from the Bulls roster by Harry Wyld due to illness was unexpected, but another junior player by the same name stepped into the limelight: Harry Chapples. He went on first and played very well, taking his match on a score of 3-1. On the other court, Olly Reeves was in trouble. No matter what strategy he tried to employ, his opponent was able to match it and took the string for RAF at 3-0. All square after two strings.

Heather went on court next playing at 1 and, similar to the match against Chesham Bois Juniors, found the level of opposition a bit too strong. Quick work by her opponent set the score at 3-0 in that string, meaning Kevin and I had to both win our matches to get the team win. Fortunately, we were both up the task. Matching string scores of 3-0 for us took the Bulls over the line for the victory, if only just.

Final Result:

Beaconsfield Bulls: 9 games, 3 matches won

RAF: 7 games, 2 matches won

Overall winner: Beaconsfield Bulls

Away against Aylesbury 2

A sad tale of player availability was the order of the day for this outing. Both Heather and Kevin, two key contributors to the cause thus far this season, were unavailable for the trip. Luckily, a couple of John's (Catchpole and Bullard) were able to step in and keep up the numbers for the squad.

First on court was John Catchpole at 5 against one of the two junior players Aylesbury had on their squad. John made a game of it for the youngster, but his opponent was a bit too skilful and ended up with a 3-0 win for Aylesbury. I was playing at 2, and went on court shortly after their match started. Between my opponent Chris and I, we made quite the spectacle. Two games ended on 9-0 with one result going each way, while both of us managed to play properly for two games and split those as well. This set up a fifth game tiebreaker, which I am sad to say went to Chris in the end. Two strings to Aylesbury and not looking good for the visitors.

Harry Wyld was on court next playing at 1 and had a very amusing match against Tristan. Significant amounts of shouting and racquet throwing by Tristan provided much entertainment for the gallery on the way to a fifth game (and during that game as well). Several dubious refereeing decisions for and against both players probably balanced out in the end, as Harry calmly put match ball away with a forehand volley smash into the front left nick to win 10-9. First blood for the Bulls, would a comeback be in the cards?

John Bullard was fourth on playing at the 4 spot, and his match went much the same as the other John's. While he seemed a bit more in control and made his opponent work for everything, he wasn't able to get the win, thus putting the team match victory to Aylesbury. Olly played last and, despite his movement not quite being up to scratch, managed to pulled out a 3-1 win to provide the team was some valuable consolation points in our loss.

Final Result:

Beaconsfield Bulls: 8 games, 2 matches won

Aylesbury 2: 12 games, 3 matches won

Overall winner: Aylesbury 2

Hat Club: November 8th: Peter Bruntnell: Cancelled:

This Saturday's Hat Club is cancelled.
2 tickets sold...
A big 'sorry' to the fantastic Peter Bruntnell for the inconvenience; I can only apologize to him for the embarrassing and bewildering indifference of our members...
This would have been a fabulous opportunity to see this fine sing/songwriter in an intimate setting.
Thanks to Pete Bruntnell for being so understanding
Thanks to Barry Cross for the poster
Thanks to Paul Austin for setting aside his Saturday to set up the PA
Thanks to Val and all of the staff for trying make this happen
Thanks to Di Holmes for helping with the promotion.

It's odd that many of the folk who say we are doing 'too many' of these evenings are folk who have never actually supported one of these club events...

Next effort:
December 13th: Rae Husbandes

Match Report: Bulls v Chesham Bois

Bulls captain Joe Budweiser writes:

A decent showing in the first quarter had the Bulls in good spirits for the drive to Chesham Bois. Our team chauffeur for the night, Chairman Mears, made sure all passengers were comfortably looked after in his car.... a prime example of his concern for the team's wellbeing was shown by him asking, and I quote, 'Heather, is your bottom warm enough?'

Seat heating jokes aside, a tough task was ahead for the Bulls. 

Olly had managed to arrange his athletic activity schedule such that he was playing football in Harrow earlier in the evening (thus missing out on Kevin's transport generosity). He managed to scrape a game from his opponent and looked the more skillful player, but the level of fitness required to push through for a match win was too high. First loss of the evening at 1-3, so not a good start.

Heather was on next playing at 1 in the new ranking order, and the pace of play quickly got to her. Some slight adjustments for the second and third game made things closer, but she never really found the required consistency to take a game. A 0-3 loss, two matches to Chesham. 

Harry Wyld had started on court during Heather's match, and provided a much needed dose of 'winning' to the effort. His opponent seemed to have every trick shot in the bag, but Harry took it all in stride to find himself on the end of a 3-1 win.

I was next on court, playing an opponent even taller than myself. I seemed to have the measure of him most of the time, but mental lapses in the second and third games allowed him to take the lead in the match. Fortunately, I collected things and brought it back to win the string at 3-2, bringing the overall team match score level at 2-2.

Last on was Kev (would you expect any less?), playing in the third spot. Knowing his ability to just mentally 'will' a match win, I felt sure that the overall result would be ours. Unfortunately, the first two games were a bit of a disaster, with Kevin unable to really find any sort of rhythm. He managed to completely turn things around in the third and fourth games, playing absolutely brilliant low cross courts and tight lengths to set up a deciding fifth game. But, the Squash Gods decided it was not to be, with his opponent recovering from Kevin's comeback and neatly winning the fifth game to put the match away for Chesham Bois.

Final match score:

Beaconsfield Bulls: 9 games, 2 matches won

Chesham Bois Juniors: 12 games, 3 matches wonOverall winner: Chesham Bois Juniors

Bulls: The Season Thus Far

Bull's skipper Joe Budweiser writes:

This season's first quarter results for the Bulls went as follows:

Match 1 - Away against Holmer Green 2; Win, 17-7
Match 2 - Home against Chesham Bois Seniors, Win, 16-10
Match 3 - Home against Wycombe 2; Loss, 9-16

The Bulls team players during the quarter were as follows:

Toby Johnson
Kevin Mears
Heather Joy
Joe Budzynski (sp?)
Dan Joy
Harry Wyld (sp?)
Harry Chapples

Some notable individual performances, especially from young Harry Wyld. He has quickly acclimated to team squash with the Bulls, and it's probably only a matter of time before he is playing in Division 1. The award for longest match this quarter goes to Chairman Mears against Phil Cornhill of Chesham Bois, with one that lasted somewhere between 80 and 90 minutes. Unfortunately he didn't come out the winner but it was a great match to mark and witness.

As regards to table position, two wins and a total of 42 points means the Bulls should end the quarter at second in the division. A decent start, but still a long way to go. Looking forward to the next quarter which includes an all-important intraclub match against the Bears.

The Hat Club: November 8: Peter Bruntnell

"Bruntnell has a remarkable knack for turning out big, dreamy, melodic, memorable songs" - Mojo

"His songs are warm and beautifully radiant" - Uncut

"One of the finest songwriters in Britain" - The Independent

"His songs should be taught in schools" - NME

"One of England's best kept musical secrets" - Rolling Stone

Our next Hat Club performer is a genuine troubadour.

I've seen Peter Bruntnell perform with a full band and solo and I can confidently say that he is the real deal. 

Melody and heartache never sounded so... English.

Please get your name on that club clip board asap so that we can be confident of giving this man/marvel a welcome that befits his talent.

Here's Peter performing with Rumer.

The Hat Club: This Saturday: October 18: David Bridie

Please don't miss out on this Saturday's Hat Club presentation.
David Bridie is flying in from Melbourne (en route to Santiago) to play for us.
I kid you not... and he is brilliant!
This is a sample of his style:

Tigers v Aylesbury 1 and Chesham Bois 1B

Tigers skipper Gareth Ashington writes:

The Tigers just managed to avoid relegation last season and in the pre- season Mike McLaughlin moved over to the Lions and we welcomed my second favourite Kiwi, Mr Paul Boyle ☺ Paul brought with him the very fit Liam Radley who plays with Paul at the Marlow Club and suddenly it didn’t feel like we would be like the whipping boys of Div 1.

First match was v Aylesbury 1

Paul v Tom Phipps – Paul had popped both calves just days before and therefore it was painful for him and painful to watch him hold back. 3-0 to Tom

Liam v Ian McGowan – everyone loves to beat a Scot and Ian managed to get 5 points as Liam was too fit, too young and patient. Ian looked knackered. 3-0 Liam

Dan v Simon Townsend – 3-1 to Dan. Simon took the first but from 2nd game on Dan was in control.

Jimmy v Tristan – Tristan is different! More on that later. Jimmy should have lost the first but sneaked it 10-9 and then was comfortable.

Gareth v Dave Heron – Tristan marked and I think at the business end of one of the games called me for a foot fault! Other strange decisions followed. I should have won but lost 7-9 in the fifth. 15 minutes later Dave was smoking his electric cigarette!

Good result, 15-7 to Tigers.

Tigers v CB1B – last night. 

I dropped myself and we won 5-0 and 19-5. Paul and Dave both won 3-0 against Phil Taylor and James Rearson and Liam beat Steve Sieff 3-1. I hear that Steve played at 2 in Div 2 last year and is now at 2 in Div 1. Jimmy was 2-1 down before managing to claw back to win 3-2.
Dan is Dan as we all know and nothing has changed. He played last with everyone watching him, just as he likes it. He started slowly and lost the first 2 games. I think you know what comes next! Well thank god for the PAR scoring system to 11! Dan played well and managed a 3-2 win.

The Hat Club: Saturday October 18: David Bridie

This is coming up soon.
Please get your name on the club clip board asap.
'Late shows' are all well and good, but it doesn't do much for the stress levels. It would be great to know that the members are supporting this venture. Live music is a wonderful thing and... where better to see the good and the great up close and personal?

Our next presentation comes to you from Melbourne Australia.

I've lifted the following biog from David's website; a more personal dissection of this top bloke will follow later...

David Bridie is the quiet achiever of Australian music, seven time ARIA award winning songwriter and composer David Bridie has enjoyed a distinguished career as one of Australia’s most innovative musicians. With his repertoire as a recording artist, soundtrack composer, producer, lyricist, uniquely Australian songwriter and singer, as well as a specialist in the music of Melanesia, Bridie has certainly stamped his mark.
A founding member and songwriter of critically acclaimed musical groups Not Drowning Waving and My Friend The Chocolate Cake whose success both in Australia and across the world is well documented, Bridie has also released a number of albums under his own moniker with the 2002 “Act of Free Choice” being released in the UK, Canada and America as well as Australia. At a recent Chocolate Cake gig in Melbourne, at The Famous Spiegeltent, Bridie mused that in fact he had performed in The Spiegeltent in five different countries.
It is as a songwriter that Bridie has forged his reputation as one of Australia’s best with tracks such as This Year Is Better Than Last Year (DB), The Kiap Song (NDW), I’ve Got A Plan (MFTCC), The Koran, The Ghan and A Yarn (DB), and The Last Great Magician (MFTCC) – all confirming his individual style in painting a mural of the modern world, its geography, its political mores and its dwellers identities.

From mid-2000 Bridie released three solo albums; Act of Free Choice, Hotel Radio and Succumb. These albums see Bridie make a return to the experimental music that his earlier group Not Drowning Waving had been noted for, with Bridie’s voice and electric piano woven around a universe of found sounds, anything from Papua New Guinea conch shells to Morsecode intercepted on short wave radio, with bass and drums added over the top of lyrics that are purely and unmistakably Bridie, a ruthlessly honest musical mirror to Australia’s complex national character and wry personal insights to the state of being human.

Over the years Bridie has balanced his career as a live musician with the composition of soundtrack music, with credits for over 16 Feature films including Proof, Bran Nue Dae, The Man Who Sued God and Gone several of which received International release. His score for In a Savage Land landed Bridie the award for “Best Original Score” at the AFI Awards,“Best Original Soundtrack” by the Film Critics Circle of Australia, and “Best Soundtrack Album” at the 2000 ARIA Awards.

Credits for his 29 television/short films/documentaries soundtracks include Remote Area Nurse for

which he won an AFI Award, “Winner Best Independent Release” ARIA Award; The Whitlam Documentary, MABO; Life of an island Man, The Circuit and most recently, the feature documentary film Strange Birds in Paradise and 10 part ABC drama series The Straits. David has always explored his particular passion for Melanesian life, music and history. Now regarded as the world’s foremost producer of Melanesian music artists, David has scored, curated and produced many films, concerts and albums in Australia, PNG and The US and has been instrumental in launching the musical careers of many of these artists including George Telek (PNG) who is now considered an elder statesman of Music in his home country and had his music released on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. Other producing credits include Archie Roach’s “Jamu Dreaming”, Christine Anu’s “Stylin Up’ and West Papuan string band Black Paradise’s “Spirit Of Mambesak” CDs, Richard Mogu (PNG). His most recent work with Pitjantjatjara man Frank Yamma and the Countryman CD has seen Yamma’s career take off with UK and Europe tours and festival bookings across Australia and the world including the London Olympic Festival and Womad UK in 2012. 

The Hat Club: Tonight: Boo Hewerdine

I'm not sure if you know this but... Di and I run a music venue.
The Hat Club is hosted in the bar of your local squash club in Beaconsfield.
As you know, it's a homely little venue with a simple agenda: to promote quality music to our members and to support musicians.
It's a tough time to be a musician; music streaming generally means that recorded music has very little value these days. 50,000 plays on Spotify earns the songwriter £5.
Yup, you read that correctly.
Live performance has become a prime source of income for our ever more wandering minstrels; wondering where their next meal's coming from.
The Hat Club has a max of 65 so 'intimate' is the vibe.
Beaconsfield Squash Club offers its facility and bar staff free of charge.
Barry Cross designs and prints our posters; again, no charge.
Paul Austin is a club member who also runs a local music shop in the old town. We are grateful to him for providing a PA gratis and for being the poshest roady in town.
With all support offered freely by enthusiasts I'm proud to say that every penny taken on the door goes to the artist.
And tonight's artist is very special.

If you are free tonight, bewilderingly, we have a few tickets left but... please don't just turn up, I'd hate to turn you away. Email me at trev@lisacottage.demon.co.uk and I'll confirm you on the list.
£10 entry
Showtime @ 8.30pm
Throw him a biscuit and Boo will surely play you this...

Future attractions are:
David Bridie: October 18
Peter Bruntnell: November 8
Rae Husbandes: December 13
See below Barry's wonderful posters of previous acts.

The Hat Club: Boo Hewerdine: September 27

Boo Hewerdine  'My Name In The Brackets' tour Saturday, 27 September 2014 Ticket price £10 Doors: 8pm My Name In The Brackets is a new recording that's subject is song or rather, the writing credit that follows the title of each song. A diverse array of artists including KD Lang, Heidi Talbot, Kris Drever (Lau), Chris Difford (Squeeze), Suggs (Madness) and Kim Richey have recorded his songs but Boo's most popular work has been as collaborator, producer, songwriter and guitarist for Eddi Reader (for over two decades). Boo Hewerdine met Eddi Reader after his band The Bible split in the late eighties and ever since Boo Hewerdine and Eddi Reader (formerly of Fairground Attraction)  have been on an incredible musical adventure. In 2014 Eddi Reader released her tenth studio album (Vagabond) and the Boo produced classic Songs Of Robert Burns was re-mastered and re-issued. He says "I'm looking forward to singing songs from throughout my writing career and also new songs from “My Name In The Brackets”, this will be the first opportunity for fans to hear the new material and buy a CD"

Berkshire Summer Season - A Haphazard Relegation Tale

This, just in, from Joe Budweiser...

A short note to wrap up the summer season for a Beaconsfield Trojans team that displayed promise at some points, but in the end didn't show enough consistency to stave off relegation in the end.

The season started on a very downward trajectory with the Trojans only gaining 7 points from the first three matches, sounding the relegation warning bell and kick-starting a chase to stay up. Solid efforts to claim points and move up the table were made, with a 4-1 record over the next five matches to gain 80 points from the 100 available in those matches.

The second to last match proved difficult to field a full team for and our steady march to gain ground in the table was thwarted by a difficult away match loss to Camberley. This left a tall order for the final home stand, with the Trojans needing to win our match convincingly and rely on a loss by the next team ahead in the table to make up a 10 point difference and avoid relegation. A 17-8 win provided a glimmer of hope but the other team's result went against us, confirming our fate and snuffing out that small glimmer.

I'd like to thank all those who played for the team, a long roster which included:

Stefan Lubek
Chris Gildersleve
Kevin Mears
Joanne Smalley
Andy Wright
Guy Plunkett
John Ashington
Mike Chapples
Harry Chapples
Heather Joy
Dan Joy
John Bullard
Alex Speculand
Phil Alexander
Olly Reeves
Dan Fernandez

Lastly but certainly not least, a further thank you to Chris Gildersleve, who deputised as captain while I was away in August.

The Hat Club: Boo Hewerdine: Sept 27th

Barry Cross is a very clever man.
He designs the CD covers for Miracle Mile and my solo stuff.
He's also doing the posters for our music venue The Hat Club. 

As you can see we have the stupendous Boo Hewerdine playing on September 27th. 
If you'd like to come and see Boo in an intimate setting, please get your name on the club clipboard asap.
£10 will reserve you a place.
If you are a non member and are reading this, please just email me for details at trev@lisacottage.demon.co.uk

Boo is regarded by those in the know as one of this county's finest song writers.
I've been following his career since I saw him as a spotty youth (me not him), playing with his band The Bible. One of his songs in particular is probably responsible for me wanting to be in a band.
Yes, Boo is to blame for my wasted youth...
That song was 'Graceland'.

Boo has since gone on to develop a successful solo career and as a songwriter for other artists, notably Eddie Reader, for whom he wrote the gorgeous 'Patience of Angels'. 
Here's his take:

For more info on Boo please have a look at his website here.
It's going to be a cracking night.
Don't miss out...

Hat Club: Sat 12th: Cancelled Due to Indifference...

Thanks to:
- Barry Cross for doing the brilliant poster (free of charge, as per usual)
- Paul Austin for arranging the PA set up, free of charge, as per usual
- Val and the crew for trying to push the tickets
- Di for trying to talk it up
- Chris Guildersleve for being the only person to actually put his name on the list and paying up front
- In particular Paul Armfield for still offering to come and play for 'one man and his dog.'
Unfortunately, although Paul is ready to travel from the Isle of Wight in the hope of late arrivals, I'd be embarrassed to present him as our guest for the possibility of a miserly £20, hence the cancellation.
We have two more dates on the horizon:
- Sept 27. The world famous Boo Hewerdine
- Nov 8. The critically acclaimed Peter Bruntnel
I could post videos & rave reviews about them.
I'm sure that I will closer to the date but at the moment, frankly, I can't be arsed...

Hat Club Saturday Night: 6 Tickets Sold! Please Make an Effort Folks!

Hat Club: July 12th

I went to the club last night to talk up next week's Hat Club presentation.
Not
One
Ticket 
Sold…
Now, I'm not one for hectoring but…
These shows, Dear Member, are put on for you.
- Paul Austin provides the PA free
- Di and I do quality control
- Musicians come from far and wide to perform for you
It's a great night out, throws unfamiliar members together and it puts vital money behind the bar.
What's not to like?
Paul is coming across water to play for us.
However, if we do not have a minimum of 30 names on the list by Wednesday I'm going to have to cancel the show. Sorry to say that this might impact on our enthusiasm for future shows… and there are a couple of crackers in the bag.
After Paul we have:
Sept 27: Boo Hewerdine
November 8: Peter Bruntnel
Folk travel long to see these guys play.
You'd just need to stumble down to the club...
Come on people, get your names on the list; preferably before Wednesday.
Rant over…

The Hat Club: July 12th: Paul Armfield

Come on folks.

Support your club and…

Support live music!

The Hat Club: Paul Armfield: July 12th

Our next Hat Club presentation will be on July 12th.
It's a real pleasure to announce that Paul Armfield will be performing songs from his back catalogue and from his fine new album 'Up-Here'.
Why not read a review of that album here.
For those who want copious details I've copied some biography notes from Paul's own website for you to trawl through.
For those of you who prefer brevity:
- Paul has a voice of golden gravity; like Leonard Cohen steeped in honey.
- It's unlikely that there will be dancing.
- There may well be the odd 'man tear' shed.
£10 will get your name on the club's clip board.
Paul is journeying across water to play for you (he lives on the Isle of Wight) so please book early to guarantee him a warm welcome and to keep my anxiety levels low.
Meanwhile, here's the title track from Paul's 'Evermine' album.



After many years playing bass in an assortment of bands, bookstore manager Paul Armfield eventually sat down with Joan Baez’s guitarist Adam Kirk and wrote and recorded a handful of songs. These demos came to the attention of a new label who comissioned an album.
With his collaborator and friend now in the States Paul turned to other friends to make up a scratch band- the remarkable Four Good Reasons who, along with producer Ian Caple (Tricky, Stina Nordenson, Jan Tiersenn) and arranger Dickon Hinchliffe (Tindersticks) created the album Songs Without Words. One of the tracks on the album- Paul’s self translated interpretation of a lesser know Jacques Brel song Why Should It Be That A Man Gets Bored, made it onto Barklay’s Brel compilation where it sat very comfortably alongside the likes of Bowie, Scott Walker, Nina Simone et al.
Those who got to see Paul live during this period, whether as a duo supporting Lambchop, solo with the Go-Betweens or with all four of the Good Reasons witnessed performances of intense emotions, wringing tears of laughter, joy and sadness from the audience on a nightly basis. After witnessing their performance at the Glastonbury festival James Delingpole raved in the Sunday Telegraph of his ‘star find’.
Paul’s third album ‘Blood, Fish and Bone’ was recorded live over only four days, each of those four days were separated by six month intervals, scheduled around the visits of Adam Kirk from his new home in San Francisco.
Paul and Adam were joined by JC Grimshaw and drummer Rupert Brown in Rupert’s mostly valve studio. Unrehearsed, spontaneous, and full of the creaks and rumbles of furniture and outside traffic, the performances are also fairly hushed, partly as a response to the songs but also as a consideration to the terrible case of tinitus from which Rupert was suffering.
More recently Paul has taken to writing songs to order,bespoke songs for members of the audience as the in house laureate at Larmer Tree Festival, a song about skateboarding in Ventnor to raise money for a local skate-park, and contributing a song ‘Flagbearers’ to the second Folk Against Fascism album.
In 2009 to celebrate the bicentenary of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s birth Paul put some of the former poet Laureates poems to music and performed them at Tennyson’s Island home Farringford. An album of these songs was released in the autumn of 2011.
As a sideline Paul also performs double bass duties in gypsy jazz trio Tzigane and 1930s jazz and hula outfit The Gramophone Party.

Berks Summer League: Royal Berks ends v Trojans

Joe Budweiser writes:

The Trojans were off to their first away match of the campaign, travelling to Bracknell for a visit at the Royal Berkshire Health and Racquets Club. A very nice facility one must admit....

First on was Guy Plunkett, who quickly found the quality of opponent higher than his previous match. Down 0-2 in short order, he did manage to make a game of it in the third but alas could not keep up the pressure on his opponent. First match to Royal Berkshire. Playing his inaugural match for the Trojans, John Ashington experienced a similar result on the neighbouring court. His opponent's mid-court drops and ability to chase down length was the difference. Second match to Royal Berkshire.

The third match was to be played by Andy Wright, who made several appearances last summer for the Trojans. He had also volunteered as team chauffeur for the evening, a task not many sign up for and even doubly surprising as I had offered to do so! Driving to Bracknell clearly took a toll on his performance, as he was blanked 0-3 in the same manner as John and Guy.

This left myself playing at 2 and Olly Reeves at 1 with the task of getting some measure of points out of the evening.  Alas, it was not to be. We each put up a fight and at times seemed like we may get some momentum going, but the short version is both our matches ended on scores of 1-3 to the hosts.

A bit of a squad rethink will need to occur before the next match, as the Berkshire Summer League is proving a challenging environment for the Trojans....

Final score:

Beaconsfield Trojans: 2 games, 0 matches won

Royal Berkshire 2nds: 15 games, 5 matches won

Overall winner: Royal Berkshire 2nds

Match Report: Berks Summer League: Trojans v Greenacre 2nds

Match Report by Joe Budweiser:

The team was hopeful for a flying start, having consolidated two teams from last year's summer league and moving up into the Berkshire's third division.....onto the match.

First up, Guy Plunkett found himself down 0-2 in games before changing tactics and powering his way to a third game win. However, all that extra power used up any reserve energy he would need for the fourth game, leaving Beaconsfield with a 1-3 loss in the first match. Next, John Bullard drew the unfortunate circumstance of playing a current Scotland Masters team member, but fought well. Regrettably, he was similarly dispatched on a scoreline of 1-3.

Not looking good for the Trojans, team match score showing 0-2 after the first two matches.

I was on court next, putting in a reasonable performance for the first game only to capitulate at 7-9. I then lost my way and proceeded to only score six points in the next two games. Do the maths and you find that you can't win games much less matches by doing that. Overall team match to Greenacre 2nds at this point. Alex Speculand had a similar result in his match, losing a very tight first game 8-10 and then also yielding games two and three for a match score of 0-3.

Down 0-4 in matches, Phil Alexander was the team's last hope for some points and to retain a (small) bit of pride. And what a hope it was....Phil turned out an entertaining and whiteknuckle performance, sending his opponent the wrong way more times than I care to count. The match see-sawed with Phil winning the first and then the fourth to force a fifth game. Experience then ruled the day, as the crowd saw Phil take a very solid fifth game victory (completed with a nick for the final point!) to win his match and prevent a complete sweep by the visitors.

Final score:

Beaconsfield Trojans: 5 games, 1 match won
Greenacre 2nds: 14 games, 4 matches won

Overall winner: Greenacre 2nds

Hat Club: TONIGHT: Saturday April 26: Paul Gilbody

A reminder that the excellent singer/songwriter Paul Gilbody plays The Hat Club TONIGHT.
As well as having a thriving solo career Paul has been a hired gun for many excellent performers, including Karine Polwart, KT Tunstall and Ricky Ross.
He's just about to release a new album that features his unique eclectic mix of folk, pop and funk.
Paul will be playing two sets tonight and takes to the stage at around 8.30pm.
There will be a late bar and our own playlist of music throughout the evening.
And… we've polished up the club's mirrorball specially… what's not to like?
I'm thinking that you could turn up and pay on the door but it would be nice to get advanced notice of numbers. Please add your name to the club clip board asap; £10 reserves you a spot.
Paul has journeyed down from Edinburgh specially to play for us.
I'd love for him to have a warm Hat Club welcome...