Chris Patmore won the Robert Prichard Weekend

[<<] [>>] by Ian Vincent at Hunstanton
3-5 May 2008 (AC)

Chris Patmore won 9/10 to retain the Fermoy Cup, the trophy for Advanced Play Robert Prichard weekend at Hunstanton. It was managed by Ian Storey as an Egyptian, who engineered the possibility of an upset in the final round if the groundsman, Jeff Race, had won his final game, Chris having finally fallen to a TPO after his string of TPs. Phil Eardley was runner-up and Jeff shared 3rd place with George Noble. The management was all very assured, though Ian was slightly non-plussed by a report of a loss by 27, George Collin having been POPed through hoop 1.

Jeff had offered to donate a pound to a local charity for each weed found on the playing surface of the lawns, and got away with well under a tenner, which is tribute to his work on them. After being cut on Sunday morning they were a delight to play on, though the unaccustomed warmth and sunshine, combined with moisture in the ground, inevitably took the edge off their pace by the end. Hot meals were provided each day and the beer was in excellent condition. It was good to see so many friends again.

George Collin did overtime as an Examining Referee and the ROT was called on twice by the same player. The first occasion was to supervise a cannon with the croqueted ball in the middle of a hoop. The second was less straightforward, and resulted in him upholding a decision not to allow player to change his mind, having stated that he wanted the balls left where they ended after a fault, rather than being replaced.