28th May - Alternate strokes AC doubles - Nailsea and District Croquet Club

With the luxury of no double banking, lawns set out and fine weather in prospect, it was with a certain level of shock that some pairs learned of the bisques that were to be stacked against them, but play began in good spirit nevertheless.

Round one saw Mary and Pat neck and neck with Brian and Sandra and only half an hour left to play but the ladies used their time wisely and well, finishing the game +6t.

David and Brenda’s partnership provided value for money in the entertainment stakes – they started with their best loss of the day: -1t to Rob and Neil P.

Terry and Doreen monopolised the lawn taking both balls to 3 back but Kathy and James used their last 30 minutes to pull through to a +3t win.

Brigit and Rosemary had a close game against Jim and Tony winning +1t.

An excellent lunch in the sunshine and it was time to think about some supplementary awards for this competition –

Most put-upon partner?
Greatest entertainment value?
Partnership most likely to end in violence?
Any more suggestions …?

We hit the post-prandial doldrums in the second round but entered the third and final round with the semi-finalists far from certain. The thunder-threatening clouds passed over, the heat reached a comfortable level, and all was well with the world.

This seemed to revitalise play – sustained by peripatetic tea and cakes (the waitress that is, not the refreshments) – and it wasn’t until the final games had been played in each block that the positions were clear.

The results

Block A	Brigit Rmary	Rob Neil	David Brenda	Jim Tony	Wins	Pos’n
Brigit 14 Rosemary 22		-1t	+2t	+1t	2	2
Rob 12 Neil 20	+1t		+1t	+1t	3	1
David 4.5 Brenda 24	-2t	-1t		-3t	0	4
Jim 6 Tony 24	-1t	-1t	+3t		1	3

Block B	Brian Sandra	Terry Doreen	Kathy James	Pat Mary	Wins	Pos’n
Brian 11 Sandra 24		+6t	+7t	-6t	2	1
Terry 16 Doreen 20	-6t		-3t	+15	1	3
Kathy 7 James 18	-7t	+3t		+6t	2	2
Pat 2 Mary 14	+6t	-15	-6t		1	4