Eleven players, including
four Davids, two Ians and, as it turned out, one Heath Robinson, gathered at
Newport on 23rd June for the annual B-level tournament. The forecast was for heavy showers on both
days, and this proved, sadly, to be accurate.
Play started in bright and
dry conditions, but it was not long before the first drops of light rain were
felt, and these rapidly turned into a downpour.
Players scurried for shelter and play halted for several minutes. Although
the heavy rain was short-lived, it proved a taste of things to come. The highlight of the morning's play –
from the manager's point of view, at least – was Mike Porter winning his
gold merit award with his first triple peel, against David Ruscombe-King.
 Jonathan Toye and (?) David Ruscombe-King, Saturday morning |
Ian Storey and (background) Jim Potter, Saturday afternoon |
Following an excellent
lunch, the afternoon play proceeded in bright sunshine. Suntan cream was applied, sunglasses donned
and everything looked set for a pleasant summer afternoon of croquet... until
about 5.45, when the heavens opened once again.
This time, the rain was more persistent, letting up only for the
occasional burst of hail. Thunder rolled
around and play was inevitably suspended.
When the rain finally eased up, some 40 minutes later, a large area of
lawn 1 was waterlogged – thanks in part to the lack of a downpipe from the
gutter on the clubhouse roof – and lawns 2 and 3 were squelchy, to put it
politely. After Jim Potter spent a few
minutes, to the entertainment of all, moving water around with a variety of
implements, the managerial opinion was that the lawns were "playable,
unless you decide that they aren't" – a ruling which led to one game
being abandoned for the night, one being continued for a short while before
being pegged down, and two being completed.
Naturally, once everyone had left (except for camper/security guard
Feargal Smith), the sun came out and the lawns dried. At the end of day one, David Parkins was the
leader, having won all three of his games, but six other players were within
striking distance with only one loss.
 Flooding on Lawn 1 |
Looks like rain again! |
Sunday morning started in a
light drizzle, interspersed once again with heavy showers. It was at this point that Mr. Robinson showed
his ingenuity, averting a repeat of the lawn 1 flooding incident by replacing
the missing downpipe with a contrivance constructed from a traffic cone, a
ball holder, a kneeling mat and a fork.
 One way to prevent flooding |
Feargal Smith misses a roquet (I think) as Paul Miles looks on |
Despite the rain, play
proceeded briskly, with David Parkins racking up his fourth win. A second superb lunch was taken, and in the
afternoon, Mike made a bold attempt to surpass his previous triple by completing
the three peels of a straight triple against Jim Potter, only to miss the
peg-out from behind rover. Meanwhile,
only Medway clubmate Paul Miles could stand in David Parkins' way. A tight match was finally won by David +5 to
complete an undefeated weekend and claim the title.
The rain mostly held off on
Sunday afternoon and sunshine had once again peeped through the clouds by the
time of the presentation. An excellent weekend's croquet, despite the
weather... but please can we have some sunshine next year?
| Final Standings | |||
1 |
David
Parkins Mike Porter Ian Storey Paul Miles David Mumford David Tutt Jim Potter Jonathan Toye Ian Mantle Feargal Smith David Ruscombe-King |
5/5 |
 David Parkins is presented with the trophy by club president Jim Potter |
Full results:
Jim Potter beat Feargal Smith +18
Ian Storey beat David Tutt +4
David Parkins beat Jonathan Toye +17
Mike Porter beat David Ruscombe-King +8tp
Paul Miles beat David Mumford +13
David Parkins beat Jim Potter +17
Mike Porter beat Ian Storey +9
Paul Miles beat Ian Mantle +3t
David Mumford beat Feargal Smith +12
Jonathan Toye beat David Ruscombe-King +18
David Parkins beat Ian Mantle +1t
Ian Storey beat Paul Miles +26
Jonathan Toye beat Mike Porter +2
David Tutt beat Jim Potter +7
Feargal Smith beat David Ruscombe-King +1t
David Mumford beat Ian Storey +11
Paul Miles beat David Tutt +9
Jim Potter beat Jonathan Toye +16
David Parkins beat Mike Porter +17
Ian Mantle beat Feargal Smith +13
David Parkins beat Paul Miles +5
Jim Potter beat David Ruscombe-King +13
David Tutt beat Jonathan Toye +17
Mike Porter beat David Mumford +1
Ian Storey beat Ian Mantle +16
David Tutt beat Feargal Smith +3
Mike Porter beat Jim Potter +25
David Mumford beat David Ruscombe-King +26
Ian Storey beat Feargal Smith +16