[<<] [>>] by George Noble
23rd August 2006 (AC)

The inaurgural Medway club mid-week open tournament was clearly aimed at the pensioner market but, in the event, lots of yoof turned up and one of them won it. The yoof were readily identified because they arrived in two-seater cars.

Interesting lawns and well set hoops meant that fast games were at a premium and lawn occupancy was high (no time limits): only two players managed as many as seven games over the two days.

No stunning play on the lawns to report but the cooking, by David Tester, deserves a mention. A delicate smoked salmon salad on day one and a stunning cold chicken and ham pie on day two. I can assure you that raised pies are very difficult to get right: The pastry has to be edible and yet maintain its shape and the jelly should set properly without being rubbery. The Tester pie hit all the right spots and was outstanding.

The low spot was the communal dinner in the Chiltern Hundreds pub, just north of Maidstone. Two hour wait for an indifferent main course: I knew that we were in trouble when we saw a notice on the door advertising for three cooks!

Turning to the croquet Paul Salisbury won the final of a flexible swiss, beating John Daniels +5. A good couple of days for John D who began the tournament with a handicap of 3.

Detailed Results

John Daniels bt Paul Castell +12
Jon Diamond bt Jack Davies +4
Jerry Guest bt Paul Miles +1
Dave Mundy bt George Noble +17
Nigel Polhill bt David Parkins +3
James Tuttiet bt Paul Salisbury +13
John Daniels bt Rodney Parkins +15
Dave Mundy bt Jerry Guest +11TP
James Tuttiet bt Jon Diamond +10
George Noble bt Nigel Polhill +9
Paul Salisbury bt Jack Davies +7TP
Paul Castell bt Paul Miles +14
James Tuttiet bt Dave Mundy +20
Jerry Guest bt John Daniels +8
Paul Castell bt Jon Diamond +23
Paul Salisbury bt Nigel Polhill +16
Jack Davies bt Rodney Parkins +19
David Parkins bt Paul Miles +9
Paul Castell bt James Tuttiet +4
Dave Mundy bt Jon Diamond +25
John Daniels bt James Tuttiet +3
Dave Mundy bt Paul Castell +17
Paul Salisbury bt Jerry Guest +26
George Noble bt David Parkins +3
Jack Davies bt Nigel Polhill +26
Rodney Parkins bt Jon Diamond +5
Paul Salisbury bt Dave Mundy +25
David Parkins bt Paul Castell +21
Jerry Guest bt Jack Davies +21
Nigel Polhill bt Paul Miles +4
Paul Salisbury bt John Daniels +5
Dave Mundy bt Rodney Parkins +19
Jerry Guest bt James Tuttiet +10
George Noble bt Paul Castell +3 TP
Nigel Polhill bt Jon Diamond +2
Paul Miles bt Jack Davies +11