At the end of July
the usual team of five players from Watford (Cassiobury) Croquet Club headed for
the South West in what has become a regular annual event since 2003, playing
friendly matches against five clubs in the region on consecutive days. However,
this year they abandoned Butcombe Farm as their local base in favour of the Bowl
Inn at Almondsbury, near Bristol. From there they enjoyed the best of a new
selection of nearby pub restaurants in the evenings - as well as playing some
croquet!
Tour organiser: Mark Homan.
26 July - Swindon
(supported by Kington Langley): Swindon has usually had the better of this
fixture on the outward journey, and this year was no exception. To be more
accurate, the weather had the better of it this time and a rain-soaked match was
abandoned after the morning play, leaving the home team with a 3-1 victory.
Umbrellas were useless. In the car park there was as much rain bouncing up as
falling! The stock market crashed 200 points in sympathy. Fortunately the worst
fears about a Tour wash-out proved unfounded, and the remaining matches were
played in pleasant conditions.
27 July - Bristol:
Lisa Jones hit excellent form for the hosts, winning her morning match from 1
and 1 against Rover and 1-back without giving her opponent a look in and
following up with a convincing +26 win in the afternoon. However, Watford had
the better of close finishes in several of the other games and ended up winning
7-3.
28 July - Nailsea:
John Moore arrived mid-day to replace Bill Gillott for the rest of the Tour
after Watford had lost the morning session 2-3. A closely contested day ended up
with a 5-5 draw, but only after Watford managed a very tight +1 victory in each
session.
29 July - Dyffryn:
the courts had been under 18 inches of water a few days before, but by the time
the Watford players arrived the skies had cleared, the floods had disappeared
and the courts were playable, if slow. Dyffryn had the better of the morning
play, but Watford perked up after the ritual lunchtime round of 'Croquet'
aperitif (kept chilled in a portable refrigerator - this is touring in style)
and had the better of the afternoon, resulting in 4-4 draw overall. Jonathan
Bowen, just off the plane from Australia and amid some uncertainty about his
handicap, starred for Dyffryn. Watford duly awarded him scratch status, a rating
borne out by his later performance in the Welsh Championships.
30 July - Cheltenham:
in spite of having had no mains water for several days, the hosts impressed with
excellent lunch and teas. With a good balance of handicaps between the teams,
games between the lower handicappers were played to Level Advanced rules. This
time it was Watford's turn to have their team bolstered by a visiting
Australian, Martyn Prins, and his assistance enabled the Tourists to end their
Tour with yet another draw, 6-6. John Moore of Watford won his two games to
clinch a handicap reduction from 16 to 14, no doubt helped by having borrowed
the shoes of a 6 handicapper for the day! But the highlight came from Carol
Smith of Cheltenham who came extremely close to completing her first TP in the
morning play against Ian Parkinson, and it only eluded her at the last gasp.
Better luck in 2008!
Open AC Midweek Advanced
National GC C-Level (7+) Series Final
At the end of July
the usual team of five players from Watford (Cassiobury) Croquet Club headed for
the South West in what has become a regular annual event since 2003, playing
friendly matches against five clubs in the region on consecutive days. However,
this year they abandoned Butcombe Farm as their local base in favour of the Bowl
Inn at Almondsbury, near Bristol. From there they enjoyed the best of a new
selection of nearby pub restaurants in the evenings - as well as playing some
croquet!
Tour photos by year:
