A REMINDER: The Hat Club: Saturday 4th July: Dean Owens

Ok Folks.

This could be the final Hat Club.

Not a threat or grumble; just an inevitable reaction to the perceived apathy from members towards these wonderful opportunities to hear live music, up close and in an intimate and familiar environment.

Also a chance to meet unfamiliar members, make new friends AND support your club.

All of the money in the hat quite rightly goes to the artist, but all bar proceeds go towards the upkeep of YOUR club.

Every Hat Club needs your support; your commitment: names on the clipboard and your £10 in the hat means that we can comfortably reassure our guests in advance that all is well.

Dean has committed to us and is traveling down from Scotland.

Currently the process is that Di and I would ask Val how many folk have committed?

Val would usually respond 'we have 3 names Trev, shall I cancel?'

This'll be the Wednesday before the show...

At that point Di and I usually resort to 'phone a friend' which almost feels as though we are pressuring folk, our mates, into supporting the event that's there for their benefit.

It's wearying for the both of us and, frankly, our efforts deserve a better return. We are always out of pocket and anxious and not a little demoralized by the apparent lack of interest.

We work at this because we love music and want to offer a platform for emerging and established artists; artists who need support now more than ever.

If you think that the club is a bad idea perhaps you could email me as to why.

Please don't tell me that we are doing 'too many'. People who have previously done that are invariably folk who haven't been to one.

So, come on.

4th of July.

Dean Owens.

He's really good.

Kick off your slippers and give The Hat Club a go.

And then make it a habit.

You'll love it.

Dean Owens is our next guest at The Hat Club.

Please put your name on that club clip board early.

It's good to be confident of numbers.

“SCOTLAND’S MOST ENGAGING AND HAUNTING SINGER-SONGWRITER” 

IRVINE WELSH

Rocks like the E-Street Band… Uncut

Fantastic stuff….Bob Harris BBC Radio 2

For God’s sake buy this album…! Russell Brand

Velvet-voiced Dean Owens is one of Scotland’s most acclaimed and established singer songwriters, with fans including Bob Harris, Irvine Welsh and Russell Brand.

2015 promises to be a great year starting with a date at the prestigious Celtic Connections Festival, single release, and a new Nashville-recorded album – Into the Sea – coming out on April 27th on Drumfire Records.

His new album 'Into the Sea' was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Neilson Hubbard and a whole host of amazing US musicians, including award winning guitarist Will Kimbrough and renowned singer-songwriters Kim Richey and Suzy Bogguss. It is out now on Drumfire Records!!
The first single from the album – 'Valentine’s Day in New York' – was released on 14 Feb and was followed by 'Evergreen'. To hear tracks from Into The Sea and tracks from previous records visit Dean’s Soundcloud page – https://soundcloud.com/dean-owens

Dean’s music has been described as Celtic Americana with a rocky pop edge, and draws as much from his Scottish roots, especially his home town of Leith (referenced and loved by the Proclaimers) as from his US heroes. The emotional honesty in his songs shines through as he sings about people and places, love and regrets, drawing favourable comparisons with the likes of Springsteen. A gritty yet lyrical Scottish sensibility, delivered with a searingly soulful voice.

Dean’s solo career has seen him tour far and wide, including in Europe, USA and Australia. Dean is also highly regarded among other musicians and has played shows and toured with Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Joan As Policewoman, Eddi Reader, John Hiatt and Nanci Griffith, to name but a few.

In his early career Dean was the front-man of the much loved and lauded Americana band The Felsons. Since launching his solo career he has produced 5 albums, including the highly regarded Whisky Hearts (also recorded in Nashville), New York Hummingbird (recorded in the Big Apple with some exceptional New York-based musicians) and Cash Back (Songs I Learned From Johnny) album, inspired by one of his lifelong idols, Johnny Cash.

Dean Owens is a compelling live performer and his Celtic Connections gig with his 5 piece Whisky Hearts Band – a double bill with the acclaimed Chastity Brown (seen recently on Jools Holland) – was a highlight of the festival. He is a regular performer at Celtic Connections (the world’s largest winter music festival), and his song Raining in Glasgow was used to promote the festival by BBC Radio Scotland.

The Hat Club: Saturday 18th April: Brooke Sharkey and Adam Beattie

We are really hoping that members will make an attempt to get behind The Hat Club.
Please remember that bar profits help the club and that all of your £10 entry fee goes to the Artist.
Musicians are having a hard time of it at the moment.
Why not support your club AND live music?
Why not make The Hat Club a habit?
It really helps Di and I (and the artists) if folk can commit early, pay their tenner and get their names on the club clip board. This gives us the confidence of a decent turn out for the evening.
So, come on. 
Get the date in your diary.
Bring the family.
Bring a friend or two.
Spread the word.
Musicians are an endangered species.
Live music is a good thing.
The Hat Club is worthy of your support.

Future presentations:

Saturday 18th April - Brooke Sharkey/Adam Beattie
Saturday 4th July - Dean Owens
Saturday 1st August - Paul McClure & Pete Gow
Saturday 19th September - Chris Wood
Saturday 10th October - Boo Hewerdine
Saturday 14th November - Dan Whitehouse

The next Hat Club presentation should be something special.
Brooke Sharkey and Adam Beattie are up and coming and quite seductive.
Di and I first heard their delicate strains at The Union Chapel in Islington where they enthralled a pack house. We knew immediately that they'd be perfect for The Hat Club.
London based singer-songwriter Brooke Sharkey was raised between France and England.
At the age of 16, her musician Father gave Brooke the best piece of advice, which was go out on the street and start busking the first few songs she’d written.
Since then brooke has released 2 Eps and her Debut album ‘One Dress’ released in December 2012 recorded at Livingston studios in London. She went on tour the UK, France and Italy with her backing band.
Brooke has lured a considerable audience with her intense and expressive style, drawing the listener into her ever more narrative songs with a spacious backdrop of chanson, blues, folk and Latin music.
Her current band consists of Adam Beattie on electric guitar and backing vocals, a singer/ songwriter in his own right who will share the bill with Brooke.
Her new EP ‘I Crossed the Line’ was released on the 28th May at Wilton’s Music Hall, London.
Brooke is currently working on her new album and is planning a Uk tour in April 2015 and play the UK festival circuit. There are also plans to be in Spain and Italy in July.

http://brookesharkey.co.uk/homepage/

www.adambeattie.com

https://www.facebook.com/www.thehatclub.co.uk?fref=ts

Saturday's Hat Club: CANCELLED

Saturday's Hat Club is cancelled.
Apologies to the following folk for wasting their time and energies:
Adam Holmes and the Embers (Artists)
Barry Cross (Poster Design)
Di Holmes (Promotion and Photo)
Paul Austin (PA and Roady)
Des Frantom (Lighting & Accommodation)
Val and Club Staff (Promo)
Oh, and me (Headless Chicken...)

The Hat Club Presents: Adam Holmes: February 28

Our next Hat Club presentation is Adam Holmes.

Hotly-tipped Edinburgh balladeer Adam Holmes crafts lyrics that resonate like old folk songs, set to melodies rooted in haunting slow airs. 

John Martyn’s strum and sting, laced with a slice of Paolo Nutini soul and a touch of traditional folk.

The 23-year-old Edinburgh-born singer/songwriter is one of the brightest rising stars on the Scottish folk scene, with influences from either side of the Atlantic mixing traditional and contemporary folk with his own brand of Americana.

Starting out on fiddle, Holmes switched to guitar at 14, and began writing songs only a year or so later. A finalist in the 2009 Celtic Connections Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition, he was also nominated as Best Newcomer at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2011 and was further nominated for Best Up and Coming Artist at the 2013 Scots Trad Music Awards.

In 2013 he recorded his debut album Heirs and Graces with legendary producer John Wood (responsible for seminal albums by John Martyn, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny amongst many others). It was mastered by Simon Heyworth, co-producer with Mike Oldfield of Tubular Bells, and was launched to great critical acclaim in January 2014.

Heirs and Graces has received radio play in the UK, including the influential BBC Radio 2 Folk Show and live interviews/sessions on BBC Radio Scotland, and international airplay from stations in mainland Europe, the US and Canada.

Bulls v Chesham Bois Upstarts

A gloomy finish to an otherwise successful first half of the season was the result for the Bulls in their last match of 2014, playing away against Chesham Bois Upstarts. Dan and I managed to comfortably win our matches 3-0, but the others were not so lucky. Kevin was completely out of sorts, losing his match 0-3, while Harry Chapples and Heather each lost their matches 1-3. The final scoreline read 13-8, with the win going to Chesham Bois Upstarts.

HOWEVER

A more positive and team morale boosting picture is evident when summing up the first half of the Bulls season. An overall record of 4 wins and 4 losses to achieve a robust point total of 96 is very encouraging. These results have taken the Bulls to the lofty height of second in the table to finish 2014 (if only just!). A great position to end the year on, but with only eight points between the Bulls and the seventh place team the race is clearly quite tight for the second half of the season in 2015.

Notable individual statistics for the season thus far are as follows...

Top three point scorers: Harry Wyld (18), Joe (18), and Kevin (15)

Most team appearances for Bulls: A draw between Heather, Kevin, and Joe, each having seven appearances. Harry Wyld gets an honourable mention with six appearances.

Most matches being decided in five games: Another draw, this time between Kevin and Harry Wyld. Each had three matches going the distance... Harry won all of his, while Kevin didn't win any of his fifth game deciders! Heather gets an honourable mention with a pair of 3-2 matches, each of which she won.

Undefeated team players: Harry Wyld (6 wins) and Dan (2 wins)

Top three point differentials: Harry Wyld (10), Joe (9), and Dan (6)

3-0 Victories: Kevin, Joe, and Dan each had 2 team wins with a score of 3-0.

Best team win: Of course, the resounding 4-1 victory with 16 points scored against the Bears takes pride of place in this category from a team spirit point of view. However, the most points achieved in a win was 17 against Holmer Green; Toby, Heather, Harry Wyld, Kevin, and Harry Chapples all contributing points to that win.

Thanks go to all Bulls team members who have played during the first half of the season:

Harry Wyld
Kevin Mears
Heather Joy
Dan Joy
Toby Johnson
Olly Reeves
John Bullard
John Catchpole
Harry Chapples

A final thank you to Richard Monson for sponsoring the team and providing our fancy new shirts.

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.