Report by Lionel Stock
“Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative,” said Oscar Wilde, apparently. If so, unimaginative I shall be. Last year our main challenge was surviving the rain and bitter cold, this year the risk came from potential heat stroke. The competitors were reminded that their health was more important than the game. They should seek shade if they felt uncomfortable. They smiled and nodded, but looked unconvinced. And so the day began.
Once again, eight pairs from five Yorkshire clubs (Ripon Spa, York, Brodsworth Hall, Beverley and East Riding, and Bishop Monkton) gathered at York. Combined handicaps ranged widely, from 5 to quite-a-lot, with most pairings around 10. The games themselves were to be played level, without extra turns or advantage hoops. Double banking always presents challenges, particularly in time limited games. One innovation this year was to start secondaries at Corner II, with primaries starting from Corner IV as usual. It worked well; half the games were completed within the forty five minutes allocated. At times, informal agreements between the players to skip a hoop rather than wait for the other game to finish contesting it helped play to continue at pace.
Quality shone through from the start. The low handicap pairs of Chris Higgins & Jo-Ann Hughes and Roger I’Anson & Ted Flexman had both won their two games before the coffee break, joined by Bob Strover & Robb Wainwright. By lunch, and another two games played, Roger and Ted’s two further wins had edged them ahead. Their rivals both managed one win and a draw on time.
Many thanks to Penny Clark for acting as Referee, and to all those who helped set up the lawns and refreshments, and tidied away at the end, and to York CC for their hospitality.
