Block 1was won by Richard Brooks and David King. The cross-over of Blocks 2 & 3 was won by Francis Ainley & Ian Johnson.
| Block 1 | BA&PH | RB&DK | LF&JI | CH&RW | CM&RS | B&RC | ASK | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Aikens & Paul Hinton | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | =3 | |
| Richard Brooks & David King | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Liz Farrow & Jonathan Isaacs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Chris Heath & Robin Wootton | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 7 | |
| Chrissie Merrington & Roger Sutton | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | =3 | |
| Bob & Robin Clark | 7 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5 | |
| Andrew Stewart+Kathy Kirkby | 5 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
| Block 2 | FA&IJ | T&RE | AB&FB | R&RP | B&KH | DL&SR | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Ainley & Ian Johnson | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Trish & Richard Ellis | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Anne Bolland & Fran Box | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Rachel & Richard Pointon | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | |
| Beryl & Ken Hughes | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |
| Diana Langridge & Sue Rice | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Block 3 | SC&PM | JS&PH | ST&MA | LD&TJ | SF&AG | C&LA | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Caulfield & Pat Mechen | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |
| Jenny Sutton & Pat Harden | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 5 | |
| Sandra Towner & Mike Akester | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Liz Dury & Tony James | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Simon Fen-Tye & Alan Grundy | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Christine & Les Ardley | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
Beryl & Ken Hughes beat Simon Fen-Tye & Alan Grundy 7-6
Francis Ainley & Ian Johnson beat Liz Dury & Tony James 7-6
Early bird Chrissie Merrington arrived first at the Club yesterday. Gate still locked. Key in her bag in the boot. Shut boot, opened gate, then discovered she had locked her car key and phone in the car.
There the car sat until she was able to commandeer a phone from a passer-by and persuade her sister to bring her spare keys.
In the meantime all the other competition (and tennis) players had to park on the roadside.
Still, at least she got the pick of the car park!
Empty car park after Chrissie chose her space!
(Photos: Pat Harden)
In future ....
The first of our summer season GC evening roll ups took place on Tuesday, 3rd May.
This weekly roll up will take place from 5pm until dusk on Tuesdays through to mid September.
A group of us enjoyed a friendly social chat before venturing onto the lawns to play doubles or singles in closely contested matches. Indeed, one hotly contested game of singles was still being played out when the rest of us chose to return home.
The evening was a promising start for this new, weekly event. The blend of friendly, social interaction with the fun of playing Croquet was particularly enjoyable in the quiet calm of the evening. As we progressed from hoop to hoop we considered how we can have even more fun as the Summer progresses , perhaps with themed evenings. Please offer your suggestions, they will be gratefully received and considered.
We look forward to welcoming you to our evening sessions throughout the season . Don't forget you can also bring guests along too, for the usual guest fee, to share the fun.
Graham Tucker
Nine players entered this event on Friday 29th April, dressing to the Mind Charity code of blue hue. One withdrawal (on commitments) allowed seven games of All play all, running to mid-afternoon in thoroughly enjoyable sunny, crisp conditions on Lawns 2; 3; 4 & 5. The contestants were Paul Castell; Liz Farrow; Clive Hayton; Phil Dunk; Robin Wootton; Ray Hall; Deborah Marcus & Rosemary Faulkner.
Handicaps ranged from minus - 3 to + 17.5 (difference divided by three and rounded to nearest half bisque).
All the players scored individual successes. Clive was runner up with 4 wins but joint winners on five wins each were Paul, Phil and Robin, who was nominated to take the SCCC place at Surbiton CC for Southern Area Final Sun' 8th May. £120 was raised for the Mind Charity. Many thanks to the entrants and generous contributors to the National Total.
Robin Wootton
Thanks to Robin for managing this event.
The B Series competition was won by Robyn Clark and the C Series event by Simon Turner. Congratulations to them both. Thanks to Jonathan Isaacs for managing the competitions and to the team who provided the lunch: Angela Avis and Trixie and Richard French.
| Block | Wins | Losses | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Rees | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| Robyn Clark | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Ray Hall | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Julie Tremble | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| David King | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Tony Nicholas | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Brian Jamieson | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Beryl Hughes | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Graham Tucker | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Sue Nicholas | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Douglas Shand | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Bridget Goodman | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| David Russell | 3 | 3 | -2 |
| Phil Davies | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Simon Ancell | 2 | 3 | -4 |
| Alan Grundy | 2 | 3 | -5 |
| Andrew Fall | 1 | 4 | -8 |
| Rosemary Faulkner | 1 | 4 | -8 |
| Richard Platt | 1 | 4 | -8 |
| Carol Driver | 0 | 5 | -16 |
| Semi Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Robyn Clark | Robyn Clark 7-1 | Robyn Clark 7-6 |
| Sue Nicholas | ||
| Tony Nicholas | Tony Nicholas 7-1 | |
| Ian Rees | ||
12 players competed in the CA C series GC tournament at SCCC on 1st May.
The tournament was run with 2 blocks of 6 players followed by a semi final and final to determine the final four placings.
Simon Turner (Ealing) won all his matches to take the trophy, finally beating Simon Fenn – Tye (SCCC)7-4 in the final. Paul Brown (SCCC) came third beating Francis Ainley (SCCC) 7-4 to take third place.
The standard of play was extremely good and certainly Simon turner & Simon Fenn-Tye are two names to watch in the future.
(Picture to follow)
Simon Turner playing Paul Brown in the semi final
(Picture to follow)
Simon Fenn- Tye playing Francis Ainley in the Semi Final
| A | SF | CF | PT | PB | JB | ED | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Fenn-Tye(SCCC) | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 9 | |
| Colin Farquharson(Eynsham) | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | -5 | |
| Phillip Tremble(Guildford) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Paul Brown(SCCC) | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| John Bryson(Guildford) | 2 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 2 | -7 | |
| Elizabeth Drury(Compton) | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| B | KH | CJ | BP | ST | FF | FA | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Hughes(Cheam) | 4 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | -11 | |
| Carol Jamieson(Caversham) | 7 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | -4 | |
| Bernie Phillips(Guildford) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | -7 | |
| Simon Turner(Ealing) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 20 | |
| Fiona Fall(compton) | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | -10 | |
| Francis Ainley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| Semi Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Simon Fenn-Tye | Simon Fenn-Tye 7-2 | Simon Turner 7-4 |
| Francis Ainley | ||
| Simon Turner | Simon Turner 7-6 | |
| Paul Brown | ||
| Other places | Wins | Losses | Net Hoops |
| Elizabeth Dury | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Phil Tremble | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Ken Hughes | 0 | 1 | -5 |
| Carol Jamieson | 0 | 1 | -6 |
| John Bryson | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Colin Farquharson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bernie Phillips | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Fiona Fall | 0 | 1 | -3 |
A relatively gentle day's croquet with a select band of 8 players mostly on home territory played in warmish sunshine, especially the afternoon.
The competition was played as a single block of 13pt games with no time limit. Although their win rate looked pretty reasonable in the morning session the four scratch players did not have things all their one way and by the final round several other players were still in contention. The final round saw Chris Heath, Noel Gill and Sara Anderson all on 5/7 wins so it was down to net points: +8, +8 and +9 were the scores; and the winner was .... Sara Anderson. Congratulations to Sara who took away the Monteith Challenge Bowl. This trophy was presented to the Club in 1931 by Mr & Mrs GC Braithwaite and was used until 2012 for our Summer Tournament AC Handicap class event - sadly to longer played. In the past it has been won by some well-known players including Sir Delves Broughton (he of Kenya White Mischief fame), Miss Elphinstone-Stone (1946 - she played from 1895 until 1961 and won five tournaments at Southwick), and also one of the players in today's competition - Mrs Daphne Gaitley.
| All | NG | SA | MH | DG | CM | JI | RS | CH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noel Gill | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | |
| Sara Anderson | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Mark Hamilton | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 | |
| Daphne Gaitley | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Chrissie Merrington | 1 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 8 | |
| Jonathan Isaacs | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 6 | |
| Roger Sutton | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | |
| Chris Heath | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
The competition was managed by Roger Sutton, for which many thanks from all.
He had to split this tournament into two parts - AM and PM. The winner of the AM tournament was Angela Avis who beat Pat Harden 4-2
The PM tournament has final was delayed as it started raining and now will be played next Tuesday at 12pm between Karan Hayton and Anne Stanton.
Thank you all for playing please be reminded that all scores should be put onto your handicap cards.
Our next half tournament is on the 30th May please enter via the website.
| Block 1 AM | AG | DC | SG | AA | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Gill | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| David Comber | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Susan Gale | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Angela Avis | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Block 2 AM | SG | JS | LD | PH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Gale | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jenny Sutton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Linda Davies | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Pat Harden | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Dave Comber beat Linda Davies 4-1
Anne Gill beat Stephen Westwood 4-2
Angela Avis beat Pat Harden 4-2 to win the event
| Block 1 Pm | NS | RD | JK | TE | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nira Scutt | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| Rita Dona | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| Jerry Key | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Tony Elkin | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Block 2 PM | AS | MH | KH | CI | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Stanton | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| Moira Harlow | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| Karen Hayton | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Chrissie Issacs | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Block 3 PM | AS | AI | HM | EB | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Sherriff | 3 | 3 | 0 | =3 | ||
| Allen Innes | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| Hilary Mackenzie | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Elizabeth Bell | 3 | 3 | 0 | =3 |
Karen Hayton beat Nira Scutt 4-2
Anne Stanton beat Jerry Key 4-2
Final to be played: Karen Hayton vs Anne Stanton
The Good Friday tournament and donations raised just under £200 and the club is making it up to £200 which will be sent to the Red Cross Ukraine Appeal.
Roger
Unfortunately Covid caused a late withdrawal and a slight re-organisation of the draw. Saturday was chilly - freezing actually - with a cutting wind at times, if interspered with some weak sun. The results proceeded as expected to produce semi-finals of Jamie Burch vs Nigel Polhill and Dominic Nunns (the current trophy holder, albeit from 2019) vs Phil Eardley.
Here is a slightly edited version of Dominic's commentary on CroquetScores:
The two semi-finals featured top seed Jamie Burch against Nigel 'Polecat' Polhill and Dom Nunns versus Phil 'Fingers' Eardley. Both matches finished their first games on a chilly Saturday early evening and resumed in sunnier, warmer weather on Sunday morning.
In Game 1, Jamie Burch ended up on a very delayed triple peel attempt, successfully peeling hoop 10 and making the long rush back down the lawn to 9, before eventually coming unstuck at hoop 12. He then made a posthumous peel to finish for peg and peg. Some interaction ensued before Jamie hit a 15-yarder flush in the middle, rushed oppo's other ball to partner in corner 4, making the cannon. Taking care not to send oppo off along the south boundary, the rush on partner went close enough to the peg to complete the peg-out to win and go one up. In game 2, Jamie missed a straight rover peel on a 5th turn triple peel. Nigel then unfortunately blobbed hoop 9 on an otherwise successful turn, from which Jamie was able to finish +18.
The other semi pitted last year's British Open Doubles semi-finalists against each other. In game 1, Dom Nunns hit in and made 9 but was only able to make an Old Standard Leave with a fairly tight rush set in corner 4. Phil Eardley sportingly admitted in the post-match analysis that having aimed for the corner ball he was somewhat fortuitous to not only snick the other ball, but to do so in such a way as to create a corner cannon, making the ensuing break start easier. This proved something of a turning point. Dom missed his first lift, and then, after Phil made a break to peg with one peel and a decent leave, narrowly missed his second as well; Phil finished for 1-0. Game 2 began with 2h20m on the clock. Dom missed a short hit-in attempt, but then succeeded with a longer one, making 9 and a Maugham Standard Leave. After Phil missed, Dom made a fluent break but was unable to coax the balls into peeling positions and then made an indifferent leave which was hit. Phil made 9 hoops, with the clock already in play, but offered a long shot at a triple target down the east boundary which Dom hit. However, he only made one hoop, leaving Phil with an 11-yarder to hit. There followed a swashbuckling turn, with time already called, and Phil needing at least one peel in addition to his break to prolong the game. He managed two peels, allowing him the luxury of pegging off his own ball and one oppo ball whilst still a point ahead. Dom then missed his last-gasp 18-yarder so Phil won 2-0.
[Jamie Burch commented on Phil's second semi "It was an impressive fight back in the second game from four-back and peg and one and one from Phil, especially the time looming, he wasn't phased by it. (Actually, Phil said that himself, he didn't feel nervous until the last two shots) And it was genuinely impressive actually. It's not easy when you're against time because Phil knows he's slow, he didn't have ages to get a ball and he had to hit his last shot. Dom did a leave and Phil had to hit it and he had to go around and he did. So actually it was it was an impressive win."]
Dominic's commentary on the final continues:
In the final (best of 3) Jamie played a supershot opening in Game 1 and after two misses, he had the first break,
making 9 hoops and a Diagonal Spread Leave. Phil narrowly missed the long shot at a boundary red. Jamie continued with a tp which became a delayed double which he completed to take the first game.
In Game 2: Phil missed Jamie' supershot opening but Jamie fails to capitalise and Phil makes 9 hoops with black ending with a diagonal spread. Jamie hit the short shot and looked as the break progressed to be going for a tpo; in the end Jamie finished his turn with two peels on opponent and was able to finish the turn under control and peg his ball out. Phil saw some action in the three ball ending but eventually Jamie got in on a three ball break and finished to win the match and the (absent) Southwick Salver.
This was Jamie's seventh trophy at Southwick and the fourth time he has won this event.
The plate event - for a bottle of wine - was managed (the verb used rather loosely!) as an Hands Egyptian and allowed all players not remaining in the main event to play what games they wished. As is often the case there were some breaks when no-one was available to play. By dint of some extended (and possibly suspect) maths the Manager declared Nigel Polhill the lucky recipient of a bottle of Southwick's best plonk.
Thanks to all for taking part and to Dominic Nunns for being Joint Manager.
| First Round | Second Round | Semi Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Burch | Jamie Burch +20tp, +19tp | Jamie Burch +17, +18 | Jamie Burch +26tp, +13 | |
| Paul Castell | ||||
| Phil Cordingley | Phil Cordingley +3 | Nigel Polhill +13, +13 | ||
| Phil Dunk | ||||
| Nigel Polhill | Nigel Polhill +11 | |||
| Roger Tedstone | ||||
| Anthony Hardwicke | Phil Eardley +24tp, +25 | Phil Eardley +17, +3 | ||
| Tudor Jenkins | Phil Eardley +15 | |||
| Phil Eardley | ||||
| Chris O'Byrne | Dominic Nunns +16tp, +13 | |||
| Dominic Nunns | ||||
Plate and other games:
Jamie Burch beat R.Tedstone +17tp and T.Jenkins +16tp
Dominic Nunns beat R.Tedstone +22 and A.Hardwicke +10
Nigel Polhill beat C.O'Byrne +17 and P.Castell +7
Tudor Jenkins beat P.Castell +9, J.Burch -16tp, P.Dunk +14, A.Hardwicke +12 and lost to C.O'Byrne -26
Chris O'Byrne beat P.Dunk +8, P.Castell +17, T.Jenkins +26 and lost to P.Cordingley -26 and N.Polhill -17,
Roger Tedstone beat A.Hardwicke +8, P.Dunk +3 and lost to J.Burch -17tp and D.Nunns -22,
Phil Cordingley beat C.O'Byrne +26 and P.Castell -14
Phil Dunk beat P.Castell +16 and lost to C.O'Byrne -8, T.Jenkins -14 and R.Tedstone -3
Paul Castell beat P.Cordingley +14 and lost to T.Jenkins -9, C.O'Byrne -17, P.Dunk -16 and N.Polhill -7
Anthony Hardwicke lost to R.Tedstone -8, T.Jenkins -12 and D.Nunns -10
This attracted nearly a full entry. The competition was divided into three separate blocks by ability.
Block 1 was won by Roger and Chrissie Merrington with 5 out of 6 wins, beating Richard Brooks and David King on points and in the match between them.
Block 2 was won outright by Reg and Julia Soffe winning all their games.
Block 3 was won outright by Fiona and Andrew Fall with 5 out of 6 wins.
Congratulations to them all.
Thanks to Roger for managing the day and to Rachel Pointon, Judith Peek and Dinah Hutchins for preparing the lunch.
| Block 1 | RB&DK | R&RC | RS&CM | S&TN | FP&TJ | AS&CK | DG&PH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Brooks & David King | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | |
| Robert & Robyn Clark | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | ||
| Roger Sutton & Chrissie Merrington | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| Sue & Tony Nicholas | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | |
| Fiona Phillips & Tony Jolly | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Andrew Stewart & Cathy Kirkby | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 7 | ||
| Daphne Gaitley & Phillip Harrison | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Block 2 | J&RS | K&BH | JR&DS | FB> | L&CA | SA&VL | A&NG | SF&JL | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julia & Reg Soffe | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Ken & Beryl Hughes | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | ||
| Jill Richardson & Douglas Shand | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Fran Box & Graham Tucker | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Les & Chris Ardley | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Simon Ancell & Vincent L'Estrange | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Anne & Noel Gill | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | ||
| Simon Fenn-Tye & John Low | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| Block 3 | A&MA | SC&PM | PBPH | P&RW | GD&SE | TJ&ED | IJ&FA | A&FF | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angela & Martin Avis | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Sue Caulfield & Pat Mechen | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Paul Brown & Pat Harden | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Peter & Rosemary Wyld | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Gail Dowd & Sue Evans | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Tony James & Elizabeth Drury | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Ian Johnson & Francis Ainley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Andrew & Fiona Fall | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
Chilly briefing from Roger before the start of play