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The members of Henleaze Tennis Club are renowned for their friendliness, energy and enthusiasm as well as their ability to eat well…as the pictures on the website tell us! They are also keen tennis players (!) and the annual novelty tournament before Christmas is a good time to bring all this together.
Not only did I select to change the theme from Christmas to Pantomime – the santa hats were getting a bit familiar - but the weather decided to throw in its own challenge and there was a very hard frost on the Saturday night.
So, 10am on Sunday morning there was bright sunshine, not a single court safe to use and everyone on time in all the glory of fancy dress. Made of stern stuff - and in the knowledge that there would be no hot soup or mince pies if there was no play – we set about a bit of team work and court clearing …and then a cup of coffee while we let the sun do its bit. The temperature didn’t really get much above freezing all day but it was lovely and warm in the club house!
The whole schedule for the day was thrown into disarray but there were no moans and the first few ‘matches’ were played on the short court as the backs of the courts were still slippery. With a random draw, and some players decidedly challenged by their costumes, battle commenced. The competition was as fierce as usual but with lots of Christmas good will and sporting play. After all, it’s hard to be seriously competitive if you are wearing a hat with cats ears and whiskers on your face or sporting a horse’s tail!
The tournament winners were Cameron and Janet. Well done both of you. A quick screening of the photos on the website looks as if Cameron has won a box of chocolates every year in this tournament…maybe we should make sure he plays left handed next year to give us a chance!
The pantomime costumes were fab…thanks! The photos say it all – everyone made a real effort to dress up - some hired costumes, some made their own and some dug out random items from old ‘dressing-up’ boxes. Prizes for the best costumes went to Jo with her Fairy Godmother and Jonny with his Charlie Chaplin.
At the end of an excellent day we went home in the late afternoon weary but full of Christmas cheer from the mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas cake. Jo produced an excellent soup and bread at lunch time, thank you Jo, and many thanks to Sue, Pat and Basia for the other refreshments.
Hmm, its January already, I’d better start thinking about a theme for Christmas 2010…or shall we play some ordinary tournaments first?
Wishing everyone a big forehand, a stunning backhand, a reliable volley and lots of aces in 2010. See you on court soon.
Heather
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